A while ago I found a recording of a very old Myster Science Theatre 3000. I believe these originals shows were only aired on Minneapolis public tv.
Anyway, the movie they are making fun of is called Phase IV. It's about a team of scientists studying some strange behavior in ants which has recently appeared. As it turns out, the ants have developed some higher form of collective consciousness. The scientists trade blows with the ants in a battle of wits. Of course, in the end, the ants win. But the movie hints at a merging of ants and humans as opposed to the complete destruction of humanity.
Now, this is a cheesy, low budget, sci-fi/horror movie, and is thus an excellent target for plenty of hilarious MST3K type jokes. However, what suprised me the most was how incredibly good it was! The movie has very little special effects, but tons of excellent footage of real ants ato make up. At first, the quality of the ant cinematography led me to assume they were just integrating stock footage from some unaired nature show. However, as the movie progressed, I came to realize that all the footage had to be made specially for the film. I have no idea how the filmmakers coaxed the ants into doing so many weird things, but I do know it must have taken countless hours of hard work and experimentation.
This is not a GREAT movie, but it's one of the most original and unique films I have ever watched. In fact, I wish I could see it without the MST3K banter! So, anybody else this one?
Anyway, the movie they are making fun of is called Phase IV. It's about a team of scientists studying some strange behavior in ants which has recently appeared. As it turns out, the ants have developed some higher form of collective consciousness. The scientists trade blows with the ants in a battle of wits. Of course, in the end, the ants win. But the movie hints at a merging of ants and humans as opposed to the complete destruction of humanity.
Now, this is a cheesy, low budget, sci-fi/horror movie, and is thus an excellent target for plenty of hilarious MST3K type jokes. However, what suprised me the most was how incredibly good it was! The movie has very little special effects, but tons of excellent footage of real ants ato make up. At first, the quality of the ant cinematography led me to assume they were just integrating stock footage from some unaired nature show. However, as the movie progressed, I came to realize that all the footage had to be made specially for the film. I have no idea how the filmmakers coaxed the ants into doing so many weird things, but I do know it must have taken countless hours of hard work and experimentation.
This is not a GREAT movie, but it's one of the most original and unique films I have ever watched. In fact, I wish I could see it without the MST3K banter! So, anybody else this one?
