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Robert Wise’s 1971 sci-fi thriller “The Andromeda Strain” is one of the best virus thrillers out there, and may be more influential than we initially realize. Adapted from the 1969 novel by Michael Crichton, “The Andromeda Strain” is about a team of scientists in an underground bunker analyzing a mysterious, ultra-lethal virus that seems to have landed on Earth on a crashed satellite. The virus defies all known biological rules, being possessed of no DNA, RNA, or proteins, yet it can perfectly synthesize energy into matter. The virus can crystallize blood and kill almost instantly. It also has a very rapid lifecycle, allowing it to mutate and evolve rapidly. 

The bulk of “The Andromeda Strain” is procedural. The aforementioned satellite lands in the middle of a small town in Arizona called Piedmont, and it seemingly kills everyone in the town. There are only two survivors: an elderly drunk named Peter Jackson (George Mitchell), and a little baby named Manuel. Initially, no one knows why they survived. The government enlists a crack team of super-scientists to investigate the mystery. The leader of the team is Dr. Jeremy Stone (Arthur Hill), and he’s soon joined by Dr. Hall (James Olsen), Dr. Leavitt (Kate Reid), and Dr. Dutton (David Wayne). 

The virus is moved into an ultra-protected underground super-lab called Wildfire, and the quartet of doctors has to descend through several floors of meticulous and automated decontamination before they can begin working with it. Nelson Gidding, who wrote the screenplay, lent “The Andromeda Strain” an element of scientific verisimilitude, making the alien viral threat seem that much more insidiously real. It’s a gripping film and an intriguing mystery. All virus thrillers that followed “Andromeda” seem to have lifted certain details from Wise’s film, from the hazmat suits to the de-con procedures.

“The Andromeda Strain” is one of those films that makes you feel smart. The screenplay is intelligent enough to include a lot of medical jargon, but wise enough to spell it out for laypeople. “Andromeda” was considered scientifically salient enough to inspire works by some real-life environmentalists who feared that interplanetary virus contamination was a threat worth considering. See Michael Meltzer’s book, “When Biospheres Collide” for more.

Indeed, when it comes to scientific accuracy in feature films, “The Andromeda Strain” is sometimes held up as a positive example of how to do it right. We all know about the lifecycle of viruses now, from their initial infection, to their effect on the body, to containment efforts, to vaccine development. “Andromeda” might be credited for placing that research cycle into the popular consciousness. It’s one of the best disaster movies of the 1970s.

“The Andromeda Strain” also presented an intriguing concept called the Odd Man Hypothesis. The idea was that, in a tense emergency situation where lives are at stake, unmarried, childless men should be placed in charge of all last-minute self-destruct decisions. The thinking went that lonely men would be the most clear-headed, logical, dispassionate decision-makers in such scenarios. Michael Crichton, however, also refutes the Odd Man Hypothesis, pointing out that it could be wielded by governments to hand nuclear control over to private citizens. 

“The Andromeda Strain” talks a lot about blood chemistry, evolution, and viral life cycles, assuming the audience can keep up. It also has some great characters, especially Dr. Leavitt, who cracks wise and seems the most humane of the cast. Dr. Leavitt, in a strange quirk, has to look away from flashing red lights, a detail that will become a plot point later in the movie. 

Critics loved “The Andromeda Strain.” Stephen Handzo, writing for the Village Voice, pointed out that the film could be used to refute the old saying of “they don’t make ’em like they used to.” Handzo also loved the film’s use of color, pointing out their steely, medical aesthetic. Roger Ebert gave the film three stars, also praising its mechanical, tech-heavy production design. He said that, in the wake of Stanley Kubrick’s “2001: A Space Odyssey,” ambitious sci-fi movies had to look more plausible and realistic, and “Andromeda” succeeded in that regard. Ebert saw the movie as a dark predictor of minimalist interior design becoming more and more chic. 

“The Andromeda Strain” received an Oscar nomination for its production design, which was a triumph of the late Douglas Trumbull. It was also a minor box office success, grossing $12.4 million (in the United States and Canada) against its relatively high $6.5 million budget. 

Because the film — and Michael Crichton’s book — lingered in the pop consciousness for decades, it was eventually scooped up by the late-2000s remake trend. Benjamin Bratt starred in a 2008 TV miniseries adaptation that spread the events of the book over four 42-minute episodes (ultimately making it about 39 minutes longer than Robert Wise’s film). I missed the miniseries, however. You probably did, too. It wasn’t very popular.  

The original film, however, is a corker, and should be seen by all aspirational sci-fi nerds. Luckily, one can rent it on YouTube, and it’s currently available to stream on Prime Video. The Arrow Video Blu-ray is also worth the price.