![[box cover]](../../reviewimgs/a/andromedastrain.jpg)
The Andromeda Strain
When an American research satellite crashes in a small New Mexico town and nearly every resident falls dead, the government determines that a space-borne virus has found its way to earth and assembles a small group of scientists to stop it. Only two people — an elderly man and a newborn infant — are found alive at the crash site, and in a massive, secret underground facility in Nevada, the four experts (Arthur Hill, David Wayne, James Olson, Kate Reid) examine the survivors, process data about the virus, and race against the clock, hoping to find a cure before "The Andromeda Strain" can gain a foothold and wipe out the American west coast. Adapted from Michael Crichton's novel, 1971's The Andromeda Strain introduced filmgoing audiences to his highbrow brand of sci-fi, and while some of the production feels dated, the story is still fresh and will be of particular interest for science buffs. Furthermore, the lead actors, ranging from thirty-ish to middle-age, lend a certain credibility to the proceedings that probably wouldn't be found in a similar film today — any remake of The Andromeda Strain would doubtless cast a group of attractive, lissome twenty-somethings rather than the less-than-glamorous leads here, and then try to convince us that they are actually precocious geniuses. Directed by Robert Wise. Marginal transfer (no artifacts, but too much video noise), Dolby 1.0, trailer.
—JJB
