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From: ecl@ahuta.UUCP (ecl)
Newsgroups: net.movies
Subject: ANDROID
Message-ID: <392@ahuta.UUCP>
Date: Thu, 24-Jan-85 10:09:09 EST
Article-I.D.: ahuta.392
Posted: Thu Jan 24 10:09:09 1985
Date-Received: Fri, 25-Jan-85 21:22:11 EST
Organization: AT&T Information Systems Labs, Holmdel NJ
Lines: 31


                                  ANDROID
                      A film review by Mark R. Leeper

     New World Pictures was founded by Roger Corman, Hollywood's monkey-
see-monkey-do man.  Corman has always made films to follow trends that
others start.  To ride the trend of special-effects-oriented space operas,
New World made BATTLE BEYOND THE STARS, then re-used the footage in several
other films like GALAXY OF TERROR, FORBIDDEN WORLD, and SPACE RAIDERS.  Most
of these are throwaways with lots of effects, nudity, and mindless action.
From this unpromising background came a rather surprising science fiction
film, ANDROID.  Just how it slipped through is not clear except that it
seems to be a co-production with a group calling themselves Android
Productions.

     ANDROID combines the exploitation elements with the charming story of
Max 404, a robot (not an "android," incidentally) with an insatiable
curiosity about humans.  Max listens to rock and roll and the blues, watches
movies like IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE, and dreams about leaving his space
station and going to Chicago.  Like in the more recent STARMAN, the title
character tries to pass for human but never really makes it.  Still, he
seems far more human than the stereotypes around him, including Klaus Kinski
as Max's scientist-creator who rules over Max in a space station, and three
criminals hiding from the police on the station.  The screenplay is witty
and Dan Oppar's acting as Max is always entertaining.  This is not a great
film, but it is a pleasure to watch in a way that few SF films are these
days.

					(Evelyn C. Leeper for)
					Mark R. Leeper
					...ihnp4!lznv!mrl