Android

Rating:
Summary: murder is a serious crime max
Review: A fave from my teenage years - this is a charming and intelligent sci-fi B-movie with good peformances from all involved. Klaus Kinski plays a wayward nutty frankenstienesque scientist living alone on a space station with his android servant: Max 404, a bumbling android who yearns to know what it means to be human. Kinski believes himself to be on the brink of a major breakthrough but the corporation are about to pull the plug on his dodgy experiments. Enter three escaped convicts that fly into their airspace whilst on the run from the law - when Kinski learns there is a woman on board he allows them to stay as she would be ideal for his grand experiment. Max too is fascinated with her - queue many humourous, touching and tragic moments and a great minimal synth soundtrack - this film is a little known sci-fi gem with a heart - just don't expect star wars!

Rating:
Summary: Much more than human...
Review: Androids... automatons that are created from biological materials and resemble humans...from Fritz Land's 1927 classic Metropolis to Ridley Scott's 1982 masterpiece Blade Runner, the notion of artificial life becoming more human than human has long been an interesting and somewhat neglected aspect of science fiction genre within film (personally, I think the main interest in this type of technology is put forth by men wanting to create their ideal woman and perform whatever sick, twisted desires lie within their perverted, depraved souls...I mean a woman who will do whatever you want, whenever you want and not complain about you leaving the toilet seat up? Free will is certainly a wonderful thing, but it shouldn't get in the way of having a good time).

Android (1983), directed by Aaron Lipstadt, whose primary work afterwards has been on TV shows like Miami Vice, The Equalizer, and Quantum Leap to name a few, stars the talented, but entirely creepy and obtusely intense Klaus Kinksi (Crawlspace) along with Brie Howard (Tapeheads), Norbert Weisser (Midnight Express), Crofton Hardester (The Devastators), and Don Keith Opper (Critters) as Max 404. Not only did Don have a starring role in the film, but he also wrote it...

The film mainly takes place on a fairly deserted deep space research station, once bustling with life, but now home only to Dr. Daniel (Kinski) and his android companion/man servant Max 404. Dr. Daniel has been feverishly working on a new prototype droid, one much more advanced than Max (all this work is done in secret out in space as due to a past incident on Earth involving rebellious androids and the killing of many humans, androids have been outlawed...at least that's the gist of what I got). Anyway, life is pretty quite on the station, and Max is growing bored. That soon changes as three escaped convicts, hijacking a prison shuttle ship, seek refuge on board the station due to a damaged engine. Dr, Daniel sees this as a prime opportunity as he's been needing a compatible female (no, no...not what you're thinking...) to use in some weird way to juice up his newest android, one with female characteristics..some sort of biological jumpstart...and one of the three escaped prisoners just happens to fit the bill. Max, who just recently learned of some disturbing news regarding his own future, decides to try and see if, once the they get the engine to the damaged shuttle craft fixed, the escapees will allow him to tag along to Earth, but they have other plans, and given that they are convicted criminals, you can imagine they involve something less than of an altruistic nature. There's a certain pathos to Max, one of a being forced into existence, now trying to find his place in a society that sees him as less than what he is...

I have to say, this film pleasantly surprised me, as it was better than I thought. I really enjoyed the acting throughout, especially that of Opper. He presents a wonderfully naïve character, one with limited human contact, very awkward, but eager to learn and please. His efforts to develop human characteristics come out in interesting and quirky ways, much like that of a child trying to emulate what he observes through interaction with his elders. Oppers naturally buck teeth seemed in opposition to that of a created being, as such apparent physical aspects wouldn't seem to be something one would incorporate into a constructed being, but then that's just my own opinion. Opper does a great job making the audience believe he is what he's supposed to be, an awkward, clumsy, sometimes shy artificial man. Kinski's role seemed less than I thought it would be, as his character seemed secondary to the rest, especially since he seems to be used a lot in the promotion of the film. He is the biggest name in the production, so obviously the makers of the film wanted to capitalize on that, even though his part was somewhat small. I will say he seemed awfully creepy (some would say eccentric, but to me, I would call it creepy perverted), especially when working with his new female construct ("She vill be da perfect voman!") and his voyeuristic tendencies, but then just about any film I've seen him in, he seems to exude a sort of European creep/sleaze factor, one akin to a Jess Franco film...maybe it's those bug eyes and his lack of blinking. At first his character seemed to pursue his work with purely scientific goals in mind, but then that changed later on, becoming a bit freaky. The sets are decent, for the time, and look like sets and props used in the television show Buck Rodgers in the 25th Century (1979), starring Gil Gerald. The film had an early 80's feel, the sets, the music, etc., with a late 70's sensibility, the sexual aspects, the brief nudity, etc. I liked the little bits of humor, along with a smattering of originality, as it seemed to `humanize' the film, stretching it beyond just a standard science fiction type thriller to something more. Does it work? For the most part...it's an odd, multi-faceted story, simple, yet complex within the characters and their motivations. And in the middle of it all is Max, with the pure and simple desire to exist and become much more than human.

Anchor Bay Entertainment, a leading company in releasing the more obscure films to DVD, movies that would otherwise probably never see the light of day past a previous VHS release, presents beautiful wide screen picture here. The colors are sharp and the picture is clear. The audio is also very good, coming through very well. As far as special features, provided is a theatrical trailer for the film, along with an audio commentary track by the director Aaron Lipstadt and writer/actor Don Keith Opper. Given that this was the first film by both men, I was highly impressed and certainly pleased by their efforts.

Cookieman108


Rating:
Summary: Hooray for Anchor Bay!
Review: Obscure but worthwhile 1982 sci-fi from the Roger Corman stable that benefits from a better-than-average script than what you usually expect from a low-budget studio. Klaus Kinski portrays a Dr. Frankenstein (of sorts) living alone on a space station with his "homemade" manservant, the android Max. Max is played in a quirky, almost charming fashion by Don Opper (who also scripted). When Max innocently overhears that the good doctor is planning to dismantle him so he can concentrate on perfecting his next generation model, (a female,of course) he starts "acting out", much to Kiniski's chagrin. Complicating matters are three recently-escaped felons who easily con Max into giving them safe haven on the doctor's space station. "Metropolis" was the most obvious touchstone here, but observant sci-fi buffs will also detect echoes of "Silent Running" and "Bladerunner". Beware the packaging blurbs that bill this as a wacky comedy. There are comic moments (some unintentional, from either Kinski's over-acting or the rest of the cast's relative inexperience), but there is enough real violence to qualify it more as a "dramedy". Barely screened as a theatrical release in 1982 (a few second-tier international film festivals at best) and long out-of-print on VHS, "Android" has slowly picked up a cult following over the years, mostly from the odd 3am cable showing throughout the 80's. As the director and writer point out on the commentary, if this film had been released in today's more "indie-friendly" environment, it would have enjoyed much more mileage. DVD transfer is excellent. Kudos again to Anchor Bay, one of the few re-issue studios that seems tapped into the zeitgiest of the true film collector.

Rating:
Summary: Android with Style
Review: This is a great sleeper movie. Max is sort of like Data's older brother. He wants so badly to be human. This movie has some surprise twists and a wicked sense of humor, especially in the ending. For once the underdog wins. One of my favorites of the not-often-seen movies.

Rating:
Summary: Android with Style
Review: This is a great sleeper movie. Max is sort of like Data's older brother. He wants so badly to be human. This movie has some surprise twists and a wicked sense of humor, especially in the ending. For once the underdog wins. One of my favorites of the not-often-seen movies.

Rating:
Summary: Meet the Metal Man
Review: When the title first started rolling and I noticed how cheap and inferior the sets and special effects were, I thought I might as well not see this. But as it turns out, I wasn't bored. Sure the acting is worse than a z grade horror movie and Max 404 is the wimpiest android of them all but I was drawn to finish it out. Klaus Kinski is underused and absurd in this role, but so what? The plot concerns an android who wants to be human and some space convicts that land on the orbiting space station. The space station looks like a French disco and the music is horribly dated, but maybe that is why it looks like something to watch, keep an eye on the homage to Lang's 'Metropolis'...