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Ghost Canyon

'The Andromeda Strain: Special Edition' [Blu-ray]
(Arthur Hill, David Wayne, James Olsen, Kate Reid, et al / Blu-ray / G / (1971) 2019 / Arrow Films UK)

Overview: A government satellite crashes outside a small town in New Mexico and within minutes, every inhabitant of the town is dead, except for a crying baby and an elderly derelict.

The satellite and the two survivors are sent to Wildfire, a top-secret underground laboratory equipped with a nuclear self-destruct mechanism to prevent the spread of infection in case of an outbreak.

Realizing that the satellite brought back a lethal organism from another world, a team of government scientists race against the clock to understand the extraterrestrial virus codenamed Andromeda before it can wipe out all life on the planet.

Blu-ray Verdict: Before he created Westworld and Jurassic Park, Michael Crichton first blurred the line between science fiction and science fact with his breakout success 'The Andromeda Strain'.

Two years after the novel's publication, Robert Wise ('The Haunting') directed the film adaptation, a nail-biting blend of clinically-realized docudrama and astonishing sci-fi visuals that ushered in a new subgenre: the killer virus biological thriller.

Aided by innovative visual effects by Douglas Trumbull ('2001: A Space Odyssey', 'Silent Running') and an unforgettable avant-garde electronic music score by Gil Melle ('The Sentinel'), Wise's suspense classic still haunts to this day, and is presented here in a stunning, exclusive new restoration from the original negative.

A satellite from the SCOOP project has crashed into the desert town of Piedmont, the SCOOP project basically entails that the satellite scoops outer space for any alien micro-organisms.

After the crash all the residents of Piedmont are killed with the exception of a baby and an old gentleman booze hound.

Mankind is on the verge of being destroyed by a leaked alien virus, so a crack team of scientists are gathered in the hope of containing and understanding the virus before the world gets devoid of human life!

For my money, 'The Andromeda Strain' is a wonderful lesson in tension building as we follow the scientists through a carefully structured sci-fi plot that will eventually become a race against time thriller.

Indeed,what makes the film stand out against other genre pieces is the astute and believable approach to the subject matter, we are (in the main) in the presence of proper scientists.

There's no superhero tricks forthcoming from these people, these are sensible honest intelligent folk using their combined knowledge to hopefully save the planet?

A masterstroke from the makers is that they used largely unknown actors for the film, this gives the story an added grounded believable factor, thus a very useful way of drawing the audience into the drama unfolding. However, it's not without a niggle for after the excellence of the films first two thirds, it's disappointing to find that the final act reverts to type; which somehow seems misplaced given what the viewer has just been through.

Don't get me wrong, it's a fine sequence of events that fuels the dramatic slant, but it comes off as just a bit too glossy in light of the preceding structure.

Still, 'The Andromeda Strain' is an intelligent, smart, mature, and knowing film that is standing the test of time for being a great piece of science fiction cinema (and even better viewing now that it's out on Blu-ray via Arrow Films). This is a Full Screen Presentation (4:3) enhanced for 16x9 TVs via a brand new Blu-ray (1080p) HD presentation and comes with the Special Features of:

New restoration by Arrow Films from a 4K scan of the original camera negative
High Definition (1080p) Blu-Ray presentation
Original uncompressed mono audio, newly remastered for this release
Audio commentary by critic Bryan Reesman
A New Strain of Science Fiction, a newly-filmed appreciation by critic Kim Newman
The Andromeda Strain: Making The Film, an archive featurette from 2001 directed by Laurent Bouzereau and featuring interviews with director Robert Wise and screenwriter Nelson Gidding
A Portrait of Michael Crichton, an archive featurette from 2001 directed by Laurent Bouzereau and featuring an interview with author Michael Crichton
Cinescript Gallery, highlights from the annotated and illustrated shooting script by Nelson Gidding
Theatrical Trailer, TV spots and radio spots
Image Gallery
BD-ROM: PDF of the 192-page "cinescript" with diagrams and production designs
Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Corey Brickley
+ FIRST PRESSING ONLY: Illustrated collector's booklet featuring new writing on the film by Peter Tonguette and archive publicity materials

www.ArrowFilms.com





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