The Andromeda Strain

The Andromeda Strain is a science fiction disaster movie. The film is based on the book of the same name by Michael Crichton and was directed by Robert Wise who went on the direct Star Trek The Motion Picture. The film stars Arthur Hill, James Olson, Kate Reid, and David Wayne.

The film did reasonably well at the box office but was never a major hit; however, it has become somewhat of a cult classic. This is possibly due to the fact that the film is not your typical disaster film. The scientists are not stereotypically tanned beautiful ‘Hollywood’ characters, but are portrayed as the geeky socially inept people that great scientists often are.

The lack of big screen dramatics lets the story unfold by itself and draws the viewer along with it keeping your attention and not playing to the lowest common denominator. The film was nominated for two Academy Awards; Best Art Direction and Best Film Editing. a TV miniseries in 2008 called The Andromeda Strain was also based on the book.

When a satellite crashes to Earth a scientific team discover that an alien virus has wiped out almost an entire town and the military team sent to recover it. However, an old man and an infant have survived the virus and to find a cure the scientists need to find out why.

Cinema release 1971

Certificate PG

Available on DVD