Phase IV -- Saul Bass
What if insects were intelligent? Not just intelligent, but had a vision for a new world. Would humanity even have a chance? It'd be terrifying if it wasn't ludicrous (or is it?). But that's what Phase IV tackles with a totally straight face and it's amazing.
A mysterious cosmic disturbance creates a change in the intelligence of ants. Researchers are sent to investigate the matter but soon find they are way over their heads. There's not much to the story and that's fine. It's man versus ant. And not giant ants like in Them! Millions of tiny, plotting ants. The cat-and-mouse games are fun to watch, but what really makes it stand out are the close-up shots of ants in action. It feels as though someone took the time to train them.
Saul Bass does a fine job directing, but you'd never really suspect that he was the man responsible for so many iconic opening credit sequences. Unfortunately for most viewers, the distributer replaced his original ending for release. This ending, showing how humans assimilate to the new regime, is surreal and terrific. It's easy to see why it was replaced, but for the love of Pete, it's a movie about super-intelligent killer ants. Are you afraid of losing artsy-fartsy crowd (the irony is that I know someone who didn't like Phase IV because it was too artsy)? The score is terrific throughout but really comes alive in conjunction with the visuals.
I love that the guy who created the Girl Scout logo made this movie.
No comments:
Post a Comment