The Andromeda Strain

Nestled somewhere between science fact and science fiction is where "The Andromeda Strain" thrives, remaining to this day as a film that has a rarely-replicated style. Adapted from the Michael Crichton novel of the same name, the Robert Wise-directed sci-fi thriller takes great pleasure in organizing an ace team to study a new threat and takes even greater pleasure in watching science turn on them. Not really forgotten or unloved as it's just an interesting step in the evolution of a very specific genre, "The Andromeda Strain" is up for reappraisal with a thorough new Blu-ray release by Arrow Video.

After an unknown and barely visible contagion invades and wipes out nearly all the citizens of Piedmont, New Mexico, the U.S. government assembles a team of talented scientists to investigate the matter. Dr. Jeremy Stone (Arthur Hill), Dr. Charles Dutton (David Wayne), Dr. Mark Hall (James Olson) and Dr. Ruth Leavitt (Kate Reid) are assigned to study the virus - nicknamed 'Andromeda' - at a top-secret facility dubbed 'Wildfire.' The main laboratory, which inhabits some of the world's most advanced research equipment, is located five levels beneath the ground, with four disinfection levels above it to prevent the spread of any pathogen. If Andromeda evolves and tries to escape, the facility is armed with an automatic nuclear self-destruct mechanism that only Dr. Hall can shut off.

"The Andromeda Strain," mentioned earlier as a film that has a style that is rarely used these days doesn't very much care to see the effects of an unknown deadly virus on a large group of people. When the doctors don their containment suits and survey Piedmont, every victim seems to have expired almost immediately after being exposed. Rather than stage a giant global massacre (almost surely to be included in a modern adaptation of the novel), the film focuses on the group of scientists as they exhaust every option and theory at their disposal.

Their version of going into battle is in studying Andromeda before trying to snuff it out. Some may complain about the 130-minute runtime being a bit too flabby for something that only arrives at a climax minutes before the end of the film, but that kind of strikes me partially as a modern audience that's been trained to consume these thrill-a-minute projects that litter theaters nationwide. There's no market for "The Andromeda Strain" anymore because it is much more interested in the nitty gritty behind science, the understanding of something instead of destroying it. But such is one of the film's few faults. The camera cuts away to highly stylized split-screen sequences or amplifies its shrill score in a bid the heighten the drama. Director Robert Wise had such a bona fide sense of mise en sc�ne that there's plenty of terror to be mined from his relatively simple images.

As is Arrow's wont, this new Blu-ray edition looks and sounds terrific. The restoration from a 4K scan of the original camera negative is, I imagine, the closest a home audience will ever get to the look and feel of the original film. Plus, there's a bevy of special features in town. In particular, there's a great appreciation of the movie by critic Kim Newman titled "A New Strain of Science Fiction" that takes a look at where "The Andromeda Strain" stands in the history of science fiction. If you're a fan of the film, there's a fun and light 'making of' featurette with interviews from Robert Wise, writer Nelson Gidding and author Michael Crichton. Other special features include:

� Audio commentary by critic Bryan Reesman
� "A Portrait of Michael Crichton," an archive featurette from 2001 directed by Laurent Bouzerau
� Cinescript Gallery, highlights from the annotated and illustrated shooting script by Nelson Gidding
� Collector's booklet featuring archive publicity materials and writing by Peter Tonguette

"The Andromeda Strain"
Arrow Video Blu-ray
$39.95
https://mvdb2b.com/s/TheAndromedaStrain