The Andromeda Strain [Blu-ray]

My father took me to see this movie in the theaters when I was ten. Westchester, California. We were in line at the box office and I asked him what kind of monster was in it and he simply said, “A germ.” Just the notion of such a thing thrilled me. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen it -- I’ve lost count. Many, many times. That goes for the book, too. After 40 years+ the story still holds up for me. It’s smart, suspenseful, original, beautifully acted and directed. I even love the strange soundtrack. What an excellent concoction by Michael Crichton, Robert Wise, and all the actors.

Saw this one in the theater when it came out too….I loved it and even got a little scared back then too. Back in this day, movies had really great actors and actresses…the effects where done which models and little wires and such, they just felt better and more real to me. These days it is all computer graphics and while they are really cool, I have long loved movies from this age and a little earlier. Used to go to the theater and spend a whole afternoon watching multiple movies and eating candy, drinking Coke, and eating BUTTERED popcorn. Miss those days too, I recommend the movie here and a lot of movies from this era.

You may instantly skip reading any review dated before June 10, 2019, which is just about all of them. You want to know about the Arrow - what a concept, eh? Well, it's miles ahead of the previous Blu-ray, which was taken off an older, fading to brown master (which was also the source for the German Blu-ray). This new transfer finally has proper color, is really detailed and sharp (especially impressive given the number of opticals in the film), and I can't imagine it looking any better. The film itself isn't great - it has excellent sequences but in the end there's enough wrong with it that it simply becomes irritating. On the page, as in Crichton's novel, a relentlessly crying baby is fine - on screen it is, after the first ten seconds, incredibly annoying. The Kate Reid character is terrible and she's been asked to play it in a way that simply doesn't work. Olson is good, Arthur Hill is always stalwart, and the rest of the cast of Universal familiars are fine.Bottom line, this is a major upgrade in quality.

This review is for the Blu-Ray edition of 'The Andromeda Strain' released by Universal Home Entertainment in 2015.I'm going to keep this review to a minimum (for me) because this movie is very well known, much talked about over the years and very well reviewed. I don't have a lot to add to what has already been said on this one.If you have never seen this film and you are among the younger crowd, it is still worth watching. The production values were excellent for the day and it mostly stands up today.BLU-RAY: This film is shown in widescreen format with a 2.35:1 aspect ratio. I thought the picture looked excellent. I'm sure experts in photography could give you more details but to these 50+ year old eyes the picture looked almost like new.EXTRA'S: You get some good extra's. There is a 'Making of' documentary called 'The Andromeda Strain: Making The Film'. There is also a 'Portrait of Michael Crichton'. You also get the theatrical trailer.PLOT/SUMMARY: The movie opens with a government recovery team investigating a crashed satellite in New Mexico. Almost everyone has died. The only survivors are a baby and an older alcoholic man.The survivors are brought to a secret underground facility to be studied. There are four scientists and they undergo extraordinary decontamination procedures before they are brought into the laboratory. The remainder of the movie focuses on their attempt to solve what was brought back by the satellite and what is causing it to kill almost everyone it comes into contact with.PRODUCTION/COMMENTS: This movie was released by Universal in 1971.-This movie had a large budget for the time period. It was made for $6.5 million. Ultimately it was a financial success.-The movie was directed by Robert Wise. He is the director of some excellent Sci-Fi and horror films such as 'The Body Snatcher', 'The Day the Earth Stood Still' and 'The Haunting' among many others.-The movie was based on the book of the same name by Michael Crichton, who would go on to much fame for the many movies based on his books.-The female character of Ruth Leavitt was a male character in the book.-This movie is notable for using many accurate scientific procedures.-The fictional town in the movie was located and filmed in Texas.-Micheal Crichton makes a cameo appearance in this film. He is in the background as a doctor. He was put in the background because of his height.RECOMMENDATIONS: I'm giving this release 4 1/2 stars which I'm bumping up to 5. The only thing that it is lacking as far as I'm concerned is an audio commentary. The picture is excellent and you get some pretty good extra's.Recommended for all fans of science fiction films.

Was really looking forward to this release from Arrow video as they say this is a New restoration from a 4k scan from the orignal negative! Well all i can say is go back & try again' Now if your in to film grain then your in for a good time. In moments after putting it on i also could see how the skin tones were very very red' I know this as i have the german release on bluray from Koch Media that i've had for a couple of years that is far better then this Arrow release' Less grain not so red in the face but just every bit as sharp! So whats going on? This film is one of my all time fev's but i well not be watching it from the Arrow effott.

Another BLURAY from ARROW films, THE ANDROMEDA STRAIN remains, for me, a bit of a puzzle. The BLURAY is good quality, but I can't say I notice anything special about the transfer, good as it is. Clear picture, sound and Subs. Ratio 2.35:1 (bars top and bottom). Loads of extras, all listed here on the Amazon site. Whenever I watch this film I struggle with the middle hour or so. An excellent, tense opening 30/40 minutes, and a similar closing 30/40 mins. It's what is in between that some, and I stress some, may find just a bit boring, but it tells the plot and keeps you watching, hence 4 stars. Maybe it lacked "star" power? All 4 main actors have big reputaions and can act their socks off...but... I would have liked to see more of Paula Kelly as a sympathetic nurse. She was a remarkable actres/dancer who should have been in more films. All in all this is definiteley worth seeing this intelligently written film, but don't expect anything like "ALIEN"!!!

This is a brilliant film. Top notch script, cast, f/x and story. Back when they made proper films. Tense, scary, fascinating and believable it delivers on every level. No fast paced, fx driven, shoot-em up nonsense here just character driven story and drama. This is good transfer too with original sounds intact.

I purchased for nostalgic reasons as I first remember seeing this film when I was about 11/12 years old. Great for its time. Sadly my dvd version is missing the ticker tape subtitles I was so impressed with as a 70s kid. That is why I have had to deducted a star. However I enjoyed the film very much it may be a little dated in some parts but is still a good watch.

"Andromeda Strain" is one of my favorite movies because it stands the test of time. Although made in the early 1970's, the technology shown,including the computers still looks up-to-date, with the main difference being that today, the graphical displays of the data would be much more colorful. However, the techniques used to analyze the "Andromeda" organism would be the same . Of course, much of the suspense of the movie is created by a stuck sliver of paper, and that would not occur today, but 99% of what is shown (including the threat to mankind for terrestrial biological warfare or extra-terrestrial organisms) is still very relevant. In fact, the society in which the film takes place is more "future-oriented" than our current one because reference is made to the Lunar Receiving Laboratory in Houston which processed the samples returned from the Moon by the Apollo astronauts, and which has since been idled by the loss of the spirit of exploration in our current society, so the makers of the film were able to do more futuristic thinking and make a story and laboratory that looks contemporary even decades later. Finally, the actors, led by Arthur Hill (one of my favorites) are all "cool, intellectual" types, and although there are differences of opinion between them, they all submerge their egos to get their vital work done. It is sad that films of this type are not made any more.