The Andromeda Strain

1971 "The picture runs 130 minutes... The story covers 96 of the most critical hours in man's history... The suspense will last through your lifetime!"
7.2| 2h11m| G| en| More Info
Released: 12 March 1971 Released
Producted By: Universal Pictures
Country: United States of America
Budget: 0
Revenue: 0
Official Website:
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When virtually all of the residents of Piedmont, New Mexico, are found dead after the return to Earth of a space satellite, the head of the US Air Force's Project Scoop declares an emergency. A group of eminent scientists led by Dr. Jeremy Stone scramble to a secure laboratory and try to first isolate the life form while determining why two people from Piedmont - an old alcoholic and a six-month-old baby - survived. The scientists methodically study the alien life form unaware that it has already mutated and presents a far greater danger in the lab, which is equipped with a nuclear self-destruct device designed to prevent the escape of dangerous biological agents.

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Director

Robert Wise

Production Companies

Universal Pictures

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The Andromeda Strain Audience Reviews

Hellen I like the storyline of this show,it attract me so much
Beystiman It's fun, it's light, [but] it has a hard time when its tries to get heavy.
Afouotos Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.
Ezmae Chang This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.
Seller7862 No doubt Robert Wise appreciated the realism attempted by Kubrick with 2001: A Space Odyssey. This movie combines the talents of Michael Crichton (based on his book) and Nelson Gidding (screenplay based on the book) and Robert Wise. 2 of those 3 are certified geniuses. Wise's resume includes: The House on Telegraph Hill; The Day the Earth Stood Still; The Haunting; The Sound of Music; The Sand Pebbles; etc. Basically he was Kubrick before Kubrick existed. Crichton of course was an academic; a scientist; a writer; director. Basically a renaissance man. Wise was clever to present the movie as a pseudo-documentary. It's not a movie but a historical document that wasn't supposed to be released. The movie deals with a top-secret military program that potentially has a pure science application. Without posting a spoiler let's just say that weaponizing the Milky Way is terrifying enough. Once you venture beyond our little neighborhood the surprises can be beyond human imagination.
dougdoepke Too bad that a white-knuckle premise is undercut by laborious execution. Seems an experimental space scoop has brought back an alien life form from outside Earth's orbit that has killed a small New Mexico town. The exceptions are an old man and a baby who somehow survived. Now a high-security laboratory set up for investigating such possibilities must determine the nature of the life form before it spreads. A small specialized group of scientists are assigned the earth-shaking task.The first 10-minutes or so are excitingly compelling. However the movie's remainder turns relentlessly inward into a self-enclosed laboratory space that soon stifles the promising beginning. Now I have nothing against technical argot, but 90-minutes or so of mainly analytic biology soon had me looking around my room. Compounding that esoteric dialog is the self-enclosed space of the multi-level lab itself. In short, the dialog seldom strays from scientific jargon while the camera seldom strays from small spaces. Too bad, because the dimension of an outside world is soon lost. And, after all, it's an outside world in all its diversity that is presumably in peril. Had the screenplay given the researchers more personal context, then the visuals could have relieved some of the monotony by cutting away to family or community. Some such would have humanized the race against time. At the same time, the cast conveys little of the crisis's intensity, and that includes the wise-cracking Reid who I guess is supposed to be comedy relief.That's not to say that the movie fails altogether in suspense or involvement. As indicated, the premise itself is loaded with potential and some manages to surface even amid an over-extended run-time and a stifling context. However, the general treatment appears to get carried away in the process.
Cheese Hoven This dull and dated sci-fi thriller, heavy on ponderous detail but light on action, is certainly not recommendable to those with short attention spans. What little special effects there are are limited to computer models on screens, and, even if they were cutting edge at the time, seem unbelievably primitive now.The basic premise, a space virus that wipes out and US town and the attempts by the country's best scientists to identify and quarantine the virus, is intriguing. But the script over-explains every painstaking scientific investigation to a point where it becomes like watching a boring lecture.Spoiler Alert.And after all this, the scientists are completely irrelevant to the solution! The virus itself mutates to a harmless form without any action from the scientists. An amazingly Un-Hollywood anticlimax.Worth watching if you are interested in 70s sci-fi.
Rainey Dawn A very interesting science fiction mystery movie. I consider it a "quiet" film because it is not full of action and the thrills, what little there is in the film is subtle. This is good movie to watch for lovers of mystery and sci-fi. I recommend watching the movie.The Andromeda Strain (1971) is not a cheap b-rated sci-fi with only entertainment given to the viewer. Instead, The Andromeda Strain (1971) has quite a lot to offer the viewer in way of good acting, an interesting story and a mystery to solve. The special effects are not bad for a 1971 movie. It also has a nostalgic look to the movie sets but still right up par with newer science fiction flicks.8.5/10