"The Andromeda Strain"

[Thomas Veil]

Anybody else watching this on A&E? (Part 2 tonight.)

So far I'm disappointed. The original movie (1971) was pretty faithful to the book, but this one is only moderately so. I'm wondering, for example, what, if anything, the reporter character adds to it...or Dr. Stone's strained relations with his wife and kid, for that matter.

Perhaps it's unfair, because the 1971 movie was such an instant classic, but a lot of what I'm seeing in this version immediately makes me think of how great the original film was. Even little details, like the soldiers gathering up the Wildfire team, telling each of them, "There's a Wildfire Alert, sir." In the older version, they simply say, "There's a fire, sir." A small detail, but the former comment sounds like government code, whereas the latter version is totally impenetrable to anyone but the person the message was intended for.

I keep hearing Gil Mellé's music in my head, too, while watching this thing.

I'll view part 2 tonight, but I really don't expect it to get a whole lot better. Too bad.

 

[Sdashiki]

The book was better than the original movie, and if the original movie was any good (it was meh to me, but then again, it has certainly AGED alot) this new one simply cant. Audiences dont want a long movie with tons of science and weird concepts they cant understand. They want death, destruction, suspense and chaos.

The book did a fine job in prose...that just can't translate that well to screen.

Jurassic Park did wonderfully but was only about 65% accurate to the book (Mr. DNA's ride in the movie did the job of about 200 pages of stuff)...if it was 100% like the book, I doubt it would have done as well. (everyone basically dies)

 

[PlaceofDis]

the book is better than any movie.

 

[Virgil-TB2]

the book is better than any movie.

Agreed.

Still, since this is one of my favourite movies of all time, I would still like to see the HBO version. Anyone want to email it to me?

I think the original movie still stands up today also. Science Fiction movies age rather fast given what they are, but this one still has a plausible threat, realistic social details and a generally believable plot even in today's world.

The only parts that really kind of ring hollow to me today (speaking from memory), are those where everyone is so shocked that the USA is doing something dastardly with weapons research. Horrors! How could that be?

It's kind of like the big shock at the end of Soylent Green. In 1970 both the idea that the US military could experiment on innocent civilians, and that we might someday be so hard pressed for food as to recycle the dead, were considered "shocking" ideas. Not so much now.

 

[Sun Baked]

It's kind of like the big shock at the end of Soylent Green. In 1970 both the idea that the US military could experiment on innocent civilians, and that we might someday be so hard pressed for food as to recycle the dead, were considered "shocking" ideas. Not so much now.

Think of it as really, really close.

Remember we are getting darned close to reinjecting processed waste water into the fresh water drinking supply to bolster diminishing fresh water supplies.

Only problem with this is that this is also the same point in history that funeral homes are looking at dissolving bodies with lye and flushing them into the wastewater stream in order to meet emissions standards.

Mmmm.... human slurpies in your fresh drinking water.

 

[Thomas Veil]

The only parts that really kind of ring hollow to me today (speaking from memory), are those where everyone is so shocked that the USA is doing something dastardly with weapons research. Horrors! How could that be?

I do think there's one single thing in the original book and film that was improved in this new movie.

Originally when (almost) everyone in Piedmont was killed, they sent a pilot to do a flyover, to take aerial pictures. In the new version, they sent a pilotless drone.

Made a lot of sense to me. But then they didn't have automated aircraft in the late '60s/early '70s.

Incidentally...you mentioned an HBO version. Did you mean the A&E version currently airing? Or do you know of another one?

 

[Nabooly]

Havent seen the movie yet ( I actually didn't even know there was a movie ) but the book is pretty darn good

 

[Thomas Veil]

Oh...one other thing that really annoyed me.

I hate it when there is something that is so outlandish and jarring in a movie that I immediately lose that "willful suspension of disbelief" and find myself thinking, "Bull____!"

Well, the primary virtue of "The Andromeda Strain" is that it is just plausible enough to scare the living crap out of you. So naturally, when they went all "Star Trek" on us and started talking about singularities and wormholes, I thought, "Oh, bull____!"

They just had to go off the sci-fi deep end, didn't they?

 

[Prof.]

I watched the first part last night.

I love how the "ID Tags" the ppl wear are the top half of RAZR phones.

 

[IJ Reilly]

You have to stay off it for a while if you want it to heal.

 

[pooky]

the book is better than any movie.

I can think of one (and only one) exception: The Princess Bride. Great, classic film, rubbish book.

 

[Gray-Wolf]

Seen some reviews of it. I have seen the old version and I loved the book. I'm not sure I want to see an updated version.

These days, they seem to want to update a lot of old good movies.

 

[iJohnHenry]

Seen some reviews of it. I have seen the old version and I loved the book. I'm not sure I want to see an updated version.

These days, they seem to want to update a lot of old good movies.

Perfecto.

I've seen the original several times.

Not quite on a par with The Day The Earth Stood Still, or even Forbidden Planet, but good.

Part of my wants to see that TDTESS "refreshed", but done properly, without the added BS.

The message is clear enough, IMO.

 

[MacDawg]

Not quite on a par with The Day The Earth Stood Still, or even Forbidden Planet, but good.

Can't help but watch those two if I ever see them on

I remember as a kid repeating "Klaatu Verada Nikto"

Good ole Gort and Robbie, two of the best robots ever...

Good stuff

Woof, Woof - Dawg

 

[CafeJJ]

Oh...one other thing that really annoyed me.

I hate it when there is something that is so outlandish and jarring in a movie that I immediately lose that "willful suspension of disbelief" and find myself thinking, "Bull____!"

Well, the primary virtue of "The Andromeda Strain" is that it is just plausible enough to scare the living crap out of you. So naturally, when they went all "Star Trek" on us and started talking about singularities and wormholes, I thought, "Oh, bull____!"

They just had to go off the sci-fi deep end, didn't they?

It's 50 minutes into part 2 right now. Thank goodness I'm not the only one who thought the addition of the "singularities" and "wormholes" was a bit too much BS. But I guess it's all part of bringing the novel up to date to a newer generation. There are way too many people who were born after the 1970s and who have not heard of or seen the original novel or movie. Otherwise, it may have been sort of a repeat of the mid 90s movie "Outbreak," which in turn is sort of a repeat of the original Andromeda Strain novel and movie. This sort of thing has become kind of inevitable in order to justify one more remake.

 

[rpaloalto]

I didn't even bother to look at this made for t.v movie.
I knew I would be disappointed, as I enjoyed the book very much.
I had a feeling they were going add to much new stuff, and stray far from the original.

 

[operator207]

I am recording it to watch this weekend. I have read the book at least 5 times, and seen the movie a few times too.

I did see some of it, I caught it ~30 minutes into part 1. I am recording the second showing. I like Ben Pratt as an actor, (Law and Order fan from the early years) so I am glad to see him in something recent. However, I am not sure about the movie as a whole. I was, in the ~30 minutes of what I did see, already complaining about the plot change. Though not big complains. I have not gotten to wormholes and whatnot. I am starting to think I am not going to like this "extremely-loosely-kinda-sorta-based-off-of" AS movie. I'll watch it anyway, as I am a sci-fi fan in general. If not for the AS remake, then for the sci-fi.

 

[Virgil-TB2]

Perfecto.

I've seen the original several times.

Not quite on a par with The Day The Earth Stood Still, or even Forbidden Planet, but good.

Part of my wants to see that TDTESS "refreshed", but done properly, without the added BS.

The message is clear enough, IMO.

Holy Weirdness Batman!

Are you sure you are "close to Toronto" and not in Vancouver?

You have almost the same name as my brother and you just named what are probably my three favorite movies of all time, with TDTESS being my number 1 favorite.

I too have longed for a good remake of this classic classic story, but from the sounds of it, it will be a really crappy movie. Kenau Reeves as Klatuu is all you have to hear to be certain of that. He would be better off playing Gort.

It's a shame that for true science fiction lovers there is only one good movie every ten years or so, even though Hollywood has churned out thousands over the last few years alone. We are living in a time of great Sci-Fi *quantity* and extremely low Sci-Fi *quality* IMO whereas in the 70's it was the reverse.

So sad.

.

 

[iJohnHenry]

Sorry, not your bro. Only have one sister.

Near Toronto is actually Oshawa, and we agree on the depth of these early "warning" flicks.

 

[KingYaba]

Crichton fan here. Haven't watched the series. Haven't even seen the movie. I hope they show repeats.

 

[ucfgrad93]

I haven't read the book or seen the original movie. So far I have only seen the first part of it and I really like it. I will hopefully watch the rest either tonight or tomorrow night.

 

[mikeypizano]

UGH! I forgot about setting my TiVo for this!

 

[bbbensen]

Im currently about 200 pages in, and its good. I like it.


I plan to rent the movie soon.

 

[Ish]

Hopefully, it'll come to the UK. It's a good book and the one thing I noticed about the original film is that, with everything being compressed into an hour and a half, you felt that all the investigation was done in a short time, even though the days were mentioned and they had everything looking tired etc. With more time to play with it might give a better perspective.

 

[wordmunger]

UGH! I forgot about setting my TiVo for this!

Don't worry -- they're repeating it about seven million times.

We Tivoed it and finished watching last night. I had read the original book about 20 years ago and loved it. I agree that this movie doesn't do justice to the book but neither did the original movie. I think this film is just fine -- there was plenty of suspense and it was a fun ride. The first hour or so (out of four hours) is a little slow but it picks up after that.