Movies you should own: The Andromeda Strain

I'd definitely recommend the book as well. His books are easy, fun reads and I personally enjoyed the fake scientific rigor (like fake citations) that get put into the books as mentioned in the linked article. Also of interest to any Michael Crichton fans like myself is that there was an authorized sequel written by a different author named the Andromeda Evolution just published in November 2019. It's not quite as good as the original since it deviates a little from the original "we're trapped in this facility with a virus that's trying to kill us", scientific drama into something more action movie-y - I don't think it's a spoiler to say that it involves a space station and space elevator along with exploring ancient structures. Even with that complaint, the sequel was still a pleasant way to pass a few hours on a plane for me!

One of my favorite aspects of Andromeda Strain is the color coded levels of the underground laboratory, that correspond to different target emotional states for the research team (or something like that — it’s been a while).

Watching West World on HBO I’m struck by how they’ve captured some of Crichton’s DNA in both the set design and the kind of hubris corporations have in his books.

Computer: "Please enter the decontamination chamber and be sterilized".

Dr Leavitt: "I'd rather be decontaminated!"

(Dr Leavitt played by the late great Kate Reid.)

This scene doesn't appear in the DVD, so I suspect it's the "airline" version of the movie. In-air movies were a big hit and airlines didn't want anything remotely objectionable to hurt their image. They appeared on a big screen in the front of the cabin and so everyone aboard saw the movie, even if they weren't listening.

We watched that last night. Another good movie for these times is "The Omega Man"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NUkU18MrBzU

The Andromeda Strait is one of the best Crichton books/movies, along with The Eaters of the Dead (skip the movie) and The Great Train Robbery. I also have a strange fondness for Congo, but by that time Crichton had gone crazypants.

Such a good film. It's one of a short list of films that I keep on my iPad for long flights and can watch over again at the drop of a hat. The tone, the dialog, and the casting all work so well. I don't know how well-known the actors in it were at the time, but for me it actually works better that they're not know very well-known (at least to me)--it helps preserve the suspension of disbelief not to be looking at Al Pacino or Sean Connery and trying to forget who they are. (Of course, that said, one of the other movies on my iPad is 'Hunt for Red October', so...)

...and the movie with the most realistic portrayal for a post-apocalyptic world is "The Road"

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0898367/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1

Another terrific movie is "Warning Sign" (1985) starring Sam Waterston.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0090293/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1

The 2008 remake scared the crap out of me as a kid. I should rewatch it sometime.