Time: 130 Minutes
Age Rating: PG – contains violence
Cast:
Arthur Hill as Dr. Jeremy Stone
David Wayne as Dr. Charles Dutton
James Olson as Dr. Mark Hall
Kate Reid as Dr. Ruth Leavitt
Paula Kelly as Karen Anson
George Mitchell as Jackson
Director: Robert Wise

I only knew a few things about The Andromeda Strain going in, it was directed by Robert Wise, who made such movies as The Haunting and West Side Story, it would involve a virus, and is based on a Michael Crichton book. It turned out to be a pretty solid movie.

The Andromeda Strain is heavy on the science and has a far greater interest in realism and believability than in spectacle. A lot of the movie is very dry, consisting of mundane scientists looking at graphs and running tests in attempting to deal with a microscopic organism from outer space. The pacing is definitely slow and methodical, but it was far more thrilling than expected. The script is intelligent, the plot is interesting, it raises some interesting questions, and it holds up pretty well overall.

Robert Wise’s direction is strong and deliberate, he really does well at building up a tense atmosphere. The cinematography is really good and the clinical production design particularly shines.

The Andromeda Strain is a dense, slowly paced but well made and meticulous 70s sci-fi thriller.