‘The Andromeda Strain’ 4K review: Classic contagion film deserves fresh look

Director Robert Wise gave movie audiences more than sufficient reasons to fear microscopic organisms in a 1971 science fiction thriller that now debuts through the 4K disc format in the extras-packed The Andromeda Strain: Limited Edition (Arrow Video, rated R, 1.85:1 aspect ratio, 116 minutes, $44.95).

Adapted from Michael Crichton’s popular novel, the movie chronicles the deadly chaos caused by a rapidly evolving cellular-sized extraterrestrial over a four-day span in 1971.

The life-form hitches a ride on the top secret U.S. Scoop satellite and crashes into the tiny town of Piedmont, New Mexico, immediately infecting and killing 66 of the 68 citizens and their pets.

The Wildfire team, comprised of government-approved researchers picked to handle biological threats, is called in to work within a top secret facility, miles underground, to detect, characterize and control (contain or exterminate) the organism.

Led by bacteriology professor Dr. Jeremy Stone, the team includes surgeon Dr. Mark Hall (James Olson), microbiologist Dr. Ruth Leavitt (Kate Reid) and pathologist Dr. Charles Dutton (David Wayne).

All are aware that the newly named Andromeda Strain cannot leave the facility and if contamination occurs within would set off a nuclear self-destruct mechanism to eradicate Wildfire that could only be cancelled (if set off in error) by Dr. Hall.

Wise delivered a masterpiece, presenting a documentary-style narrative that meticulously walks viewers through the process of researching a biological threat.

He starts with going through the entire decontamination process of each team member and then introducing cutting-edge technologies (real and not real in the early 1970s) such as rudimentary touch screens, large monitors displaying three-dimensional schematics, a nuclear Magnascanner remote robotic arm manipulators, research glove box and electron microscopes. 

The riveting and scary real film style pulls no punches showing the death of lab rats and Rhesus monkeys to identify Andromeda (the animals were not injured) and plenty of human carnage with even an image of a dead nude female body shown during the initial outbreak.

“The Andromeda Strain” was very much ahead of it time, not only exploring the frightening potential of a pandemic but also delving into the ramifications of countries searching space to find the ultimate biological weapon.

4K in action: Arrow takes the 54-year-old movie’s original 35mm camera negative, scans it in 4K resolution, color grades it and delivers a fresh look at “The Andromeda Strain.”

The remaster starts with a visual bang through a cascade of neon-colored top secret documents that pop up on the screen behind the opening credits of the film.

The imagery remains mostly crisp and replete with rich colors as seen in tweed textured jackets, a bright blue U.S. Air Force helicopter with white paint streaks on a door, a putrid green smoky gas, a cut wrist spilling out crystalized blood granules and flyovers of the Southwest desert and mountains.

Once in the Wildfire facility, viewers meet vivid red, yellow, greyish white, blue, purple curved corridors and disposable jumpsuits in varied bright colors for the team.

Their decontamination reveals the use of infrared radiation of silvery blues and blacks as the cleansing occurs.

Additionally, examine the fine white ash on bodies after the radiation with the participants wearing a dimpled eye-blinding silver helmet to protect facial hair.

Finally, to fully appreciate, is the magnification of Scoop showing its scratched metal surfaces and the highly magnified neon-green crystalline structure of Andromeda cells.

However, the original film grain often remains at various levels throughout the presentation, sometimes almost overwhelming in darker scenes or on the smoky streets of Piedmont.

The remaster also presents blocks of slightly out-of-focus stills of dead bodies and some soft-focus scenes, seen especially when a ticker tape runs underneath them, no doubt due to the optical effects technology of the day.

Best extras: First, from the 2001 DVD release, fans get a pair of worthy featurettes, starting with a 12-minute interview with Crichton.

The author discusses his early writings and then ascent from medical student, writing novels under a pseudonym, to publishing “The Andromeda Strain” under his own name and establishing himself as a full-time, best-selling author before focusing on turning his book into a movie.

Next, 30 minutes on making the movie focused on words from Wise, a very young Crichton, screenwriter Nelson Gidding and visual effects pioneer Douglas Trumbull (“2001: A Space Odyssey”).

Making a “who done it” movie, those key crew members explain casting; wanting a documentary feel; using split screens; creating a three-dimensional representation of the underground facility without using computer effects; the magic of making a monkey look dead (with the help of a blast of carbon dioxide); using a computer to control macro photography; and building a high-resolution video system to expose the micro Andromeda sample.

Next, the extras are culled from Arrow’s 2019 Blu-ray release and start with a 28-minute appreciation of the film and its genre with a giddy Kim Newman, author of “Apocalypse Movies: End of the World Cinema.”

He plunges into the history of what he calls the “decontamination suit” movie; explaining its origin by referencing the literary classic “I Am Legend” and plague films such as “Nosferatu” “Dr. Erlich’s Magic Bullet,” “Invasion of the Body Snatchers” and “Panic in the Streets.”

This guy knows way too much about the topic, and he talks for about 18 minutes covering the genre before specifically talking about “The Andromeda Strain.” Suffice it to report, he offers an abundance of information throughout.

Next, an optional commentary track offers enthusiastic, New York-based entertainment writer Bryan Reesman dissecting the biological thriller, after first mentioning that the wind is howling as he watches during a super blood wolf moon.

Calling it the “first modern contagion film,” he explores the genre’s history using both contagion and disaster films, how the movie focused on drama over action and how the Dr. Leavitt character was rewritten as a woman.

He dives deep into Crichton’s background as well as all of the cast and crew credits, compares the film to the book and covers higher-level details such as the use of numerous split diopter shots (a special lens used to create two focal points in the foreground and background of a scene).

Mr. Reesman is a fount of nonstop information and worth rewatching the movie to hear his analysis and dissection of the production.

Also, viewers get a select look at pages from the illustrated and annotated shooting script, called a cinescript, culled from screenwriter Nelson Gidding’s work and broken up into a trio of sections.

And, in a rare event for disc release these days, viewers can even pop the Blu-ray version of the film into a computer drive and download a PDF of a 192-page “cinescript” for a closer look at the diagrams and production designs.

The package offers a 32-page color booklet with photos from the set and film, as well as an essay on Wise by film journalist Peter Tonguette and the original study guide created for students before and after watching the film.