cinema history class: phase iv

Session: Nature Strikes Back, Week 2
Movie:Phase IV (1974)
Directed by Saul Bass

As always, there may be spoilers here. And the trailer may be NSFW and/or NSFL

Plot:
In the Arizona desert, intelligent ants battle it out with scientists. Hilarity ensues.

Reaction:
This was an extremely slow and plodding film. At times it took too long for things to happen. And yet I found myself in rapt attention. I think that was a function of the camera work -- possibly the best we've seen kin any of the films Keith has shown us. Whatever the reason, I found myself fascinated by the movie, even as I knew that it was moving too slowly.

By the time we neared the end, this was starting to change, and I found my interest waning -- interestingly, at just the point that many movies finally grab me. That wouldn't really have been a problem if this had had a string ending. Or an adequate ending. Instead, we got an unsatisfyingly enigmatic conclusion that just left me disatisfied.

The fundamental concept -- that ants have gained intelligence and the ability to cooperate to take over the world -- is actually quite interesting. And more than a little scary. Sadly, the movie itself isn't nearly as scary as the movie itself. 

Ratings:

Me: 7
Dave: 9

Joe: 9.8 (Note: Joe rates all genre films on a curve, from 9.0 to 10)

Sean: 2 out of 4

Bechdel:
Phase IV fails the Bechdel test. For most of the movie there are only three characters. Two of them are men.