The Andromeda Strain
1971
**½
Director: Robert Wise
Cast: Arthur Hill, James Olson, Kate Reid, David Wayne, Paula Kelly, George Mitchell, Ramon Bieri, Kermit Murdock, Richard O'Brien
A team of scientists are summoned to Wildfire, a top-secret underground facility, to study a crashed satellite which mysteriously killed almost everyone around it. This adaptation of Michael Crichton's 1969 novel takes the term science fiction very literally. After an intriguing start at the crash site, we must sit through a 20-minute orientation video about the decontamination procedures on the five levels of Wildfire, and then watch four scientists at work for the rest of the runtime. The long and self-satisfied film milks every minute out of its futuristic sets, costumes, and gadgets. The characters are dry and the proceedings are dull, but Robert Wise's use of split screen and Gil Mellé's unusual soundtrack spice things up a bit.
