Phase IV
Encyclopedia
Phase IV is an American
science fiction
film
, made in 1974
. It is the only feature-length film directed by the noted title designer Saul Bass
. It starred Michael Murphy
, Nigel Davenport
and Lynne Frederick
.
The film was shot largely at Pinewood Studios in England even though it takes place in the United States. There was some exterior location shooting done for the film as well but it isn't documented if these scenes were shot in the desert of the United States or not.
The film was a box office flop and as a result this was the only feature film directed by Bass. It has since gained a cult following due to TV airings beginning in 1975 and also when the film was shown on Mystery Science Theater 3000
during the KTMA era.
The film bears some similarity to an earlier film, The Hellstrom Chronicle
. Both feature extensive use of close-up photography of actual insects.
and developed a hive mind
. A scientific team begins investigating strange towers and geometrically perfect designs that the ants have started building in the desert. The ant colony
and the scientific team, along with a rural family, make war with each other, with the ants being the more effective aggressors. The narrative uses the scientific team as the main protagonist
s, but also an ant "heroine" going about her duties in the colony. The film concludes with the last of the cosmic "phases," Phase IV, which promises a new future for all life on Earth
.
Despite the lurid tone of its poster art based on one of the shocking images from the film, Phase IV approaches its subject matter naturalistically
, with relatively little melodrama
. The film contains relatively little dialogue, mainly relaying the storyline visually.
According to the IMDb, Bass complained in interviews that the film was re-edited after previews by 20th Century Fox radically altering the ending of the film which consisted of surreal images presented in a montage. The montage was supposed to suggest that the two surviving characters were altered by the ants creating the next step in evolution for humanity and insects. Many of the images from the altered conclusion of the film appear in the trailer and although it has recently been released to home video by Legend Films, the reissue on DVD features the shorter U.S. version which had 9 minutes stripped from the film before its official U.S. debut.
The novelization of playwright/screenwriter Mayo Simon's screenplay, written by Barry N. Malzberg
, gives a hint of the final version by Bass as it uses the uncut version of Simon's script.
, the studio that made the movie. A DVD was released by Legend Films
in 2008. The DVD is only a bare bones release and doesn't include the original trailer which had scenes cut from the final version of the film. The no frills release has no special features although there was a featurette produced by 20th Century Fox at the time to promote the film.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
, made in 1974
1974 in film
The year 1974 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*February 7 - Blazing Saddles is released in the USA.*August 7 - Peter Wolf, lead singer of The J...
. It is the only feature-length film directed by the noted title designer Saul Bass
Saul Bass
Saul Bass was a Jewish-American graphic designer and filmmaker, best known for his design of motion picture title sequences....
. It starred Michael Murphy
Michael Murphy (actor)
Michael George Murphy is an American film and television actor.-Career:Murphy played Woody Allen's duplicitous friend Yale in the film Manhattan...
, Nigel Davenport
Nigel Davenport
Nigel Davenport is an English stage, television and film actor.- Early life :Davenport was born Arthur Nigel Davenport, however he goes by the first name of Nigel. Davenport was born in Shelford, Cambridgeshire, the son of Katherine Lucy and Arthur Henry Davenport. Davenport's father was a bursar...
and Lynne Frederick
Lynne Frederick
Lynne Maria Frederick was an English film actress. In a career spanning ten years she made about thirty films or television drama appearances, but she is best remembered as the last wife of Peter Sellers. She was married twice after his death.-Early life:Frederick was born in Hillingdon,...
.
The film was shot largely at Pinewood Studios in England even though it takes place in the United States. There was some exterior location shooting done for the film as well but it isn't documented if these scenes were shot in the desert of the United States or not.
The film was a box office flop and as a result this was the only feature film directed by Bass. It has since gained a cult following due to TV airings beginning in 1975 and also when the film was shown on Mystery Science Theater 3000
Mystery Science Theater 3000
Mystery Science Theater 3000 is an American cult television comedy series created by Joel Hodgson and produced by Best Brains, Inc., that ran from 1988 to 1999....
during the KTMA era.
The film bears some similarity to an earlier film, The Hellstrom Chronicle
The Hellstrom Chronicle
The Hellstrom Chronicle is an American film released in 1971 which combines elements of documentary and science fiction to present a gripping depiction of the Darwinian struggle for survival between humans and insects. It was conceived and produced by David L...
. Both feature extensive use of close-up photography of actual insects.
Plot
Due to some unknown cosmic event, listed in "phases", ants have undergone rapid evolutionEvolution
Evolution is any change across successive generations in the heritable characteristics of biological populations. Evolutionary processes give rise to diversity at every level of biological organisation, including species, individual organisms and molecules such as DNA and proteins.Life on Earth...
and developed a hive mind
Group mind (science fiction)
A group mind, hive mind or group ego in science fiction is a single consciousness occupying many bodies. Its use in literature goes back at least as far as Olaf Stapledon's science fiction novel Last and First Men ....
. A scientific team begins investigating strange towers and geometrically perfect designs that the ants have started building in the desert. The ant colony
Ant colony
An ant colony is an underground lair where ants live, eat and mate. Colonies consist of a series of underground chambers, connected to each other and the surface of the earth by small tunnels. There are rooms for nurseries, food storage, and mating...
and the scientific team, along with a rural family, make war with each other, with the ants being the more effective aggressors. The narrative uses the scientific team as the main protagonist
Protagonist
A protagonist is the main character of a literary, theatrical, cinematic, or musical narrative, around whom the events of the narrative's plot revolve and with whom the audience is intended to most identify...
s, but also an ant "heroine" going about her duties in the colony. The film concludes with the last of the cosmic "phases," Phase IV, which promises a new future for all life on Earth
Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun, and the densest and fifth-largest of the eight planets in the Solar System. It is also the largest of the Solar System's four terrestrial planets...
.
Despite the lurid tone of its poster art based on one of the shocking images from the film, Phase IV approaches its subject matter naturalistically
Naturalism (literature)
Naturalism was a literary movement taking place from the 1880s to 1940s that used detailed realism to suggest that social conditions, heredity, and environment had inescapable force in shaping human character...
, with relatively little melodrama
Melodrama
The term melodrama refers to a dramatic work that exaggerates plot and characters in order to appeal to the emotions. It may also refer to the genre which includes such works, or to language, behavior, or events which resemble them...
. The film contains relatively little dialogue, mainly relaying the storyline visually.
Production
- Although set in the United States the film was shot in England. The interiors were shot at Pinewood Studios, England.
- Ken Middleham who shot the insect sequences for "Phase IV" also shot the insect sequences for the documentary "The Hellstrom Chronicle".
According to the IMDb, Bass complained in interviews that the film was re-edited after previews by 20th Century Fox radically altering the ending of the film which consisted of surreal images presented in a montage. The montage was supposed to suggest that the two surviving characters were altered by the ants creating the next step in evolution for humanity and insects. Many of the images from the altered conclusion of the film appear in the trailer and although it has recently been released to home video by Legend Films, the reissue on DVD features the shorter U.S. version which had 9 minutes stripped from the film before its official U.S. debut.
The novelization of playwright/screenwriter Mayo Simon's screenplay, written by Barry N. Malzberg
Barry N. Malzberg
Barry Nathaniel Malzberg is an American writer and editor, most often of science fiction and fantasy.-Overview:Initially in his post-graduate work Malzberg sought to establish himself as a playwright as well as a prose-fiction writer. His first two published novels were issed by Olympia Press...
, gives a hint of the final version by Bass as it uses the uncut version of Simon's script.
Adaptations
- A novelizationNovelizationA novelization is a novel that is written based on some other media story form rather than as an original work.Novelizations of films usually add background material not found in the original work to flesh out the story, because novels are generally longer than screenplays...
of the film was written by respected science fiction writer Barry N. MalzbergBarry N. MalzbergBarry Nathaniel Malzberg is an American writer and editor, most often of science fiction and fantasy.-Overview:Initially in his post-graduate work Malzberg sought to establish himself as a playwright as well as a prose-fiction writer. His first two published novels were issed by Olympia Press...
. - In January 1989, Phase IV was featured on one of the very early episodes of Mystery Science Theater 3000Mystery Science Theater 3000Mystery Science Theater 3000 is an American cult television comedy series created by Joel Hodgson and produced by Best Brains, Inc., that ran from 1988 to 1999....
.
Home video release
This film is available on VHS by Paramount PicturesParamount Pictures
Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film production and distribution company, located at 5555 Melrose Avenue in Hollywood. Founded in 1912 and currently owned by media conglomerate Viacom, it is America's oldest existing film studio; it is also the last major film studio still...
, the studio that made the movie. A DVD was released by Legend Films
Legend Films
Legend Films, a San Diego-based company, was founded in August 2001. The company specializes in the conversion of feature films, both new release and catalog titles, and commercials from their native 2D format into 3-D film format utilizing proprietary technology and software...
in 2008. The DVD is only a bare bones release and doesn't include the original trailer which had scenes cut from the final version of the film. The no frills release has no special features although there was a featurette produced by 20th Century Fox at the time to promote the film.
Similarly themed movies
- The 1954 film Them!, the first American film to feature mutant bugs such as ants.
- The 1971 film Andromeda StrainThe Andromeda Strain (film)The Andromeda Strain is a 1971 American science-fiction film, based on the novel published in 1969 by Michael Crichton. The film is about a team of scientists who investigate a deadly organism of extraterrestrial origin that causes rapid, fatal blood clotting. Directed by Robert Wise, the film...
featured scientists and locals battling a seemingly intelligent pathogen of extraterrestrial origin which undergoes rapid evolution. - The 2003 film The Bone SnatcherThe Bone SnatcherThe Bone Snatcher is a British-Canadian horror film based on a screenplay from Malcolm Kohll and Gordon Render, the film was directed by South African filmmaker Jason Wolfsohn and stars Scott Bairstow, Rachel Shelley and Adrienne Pierce.-Plot:...
also involves a group of scientists fighting ants in South Africa that have developed a hive mind