"Meteor"
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musicradio77
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"Meteor"
I saw it on Encore Action today since I was watching it on my DVR. It stars former 007 actor Sean Connery along with Natalie and Brian Keith (from the original "Parent Trap"). It was a scene about a meteor who tried to hit the earth and stopped it by using a nuclear missles to stop the meteor from hitting the earth. This film was long before "Deep Impact" and "Armeggedon", the two Sci-Fi disaster films of the 90's was about asteroids and comets. Same plot, just like "Independence Day" with Will Smith long after the movie was made. Anybody seen it?
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musicradio77
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If you haven't seen this old sci-fi disaster flick, someone from IMDb posted their comment from 2001 regarding the movie:
A group of astronauts are killed when they witness the collision of two gigantic asteroids near the outreaches of our solar system. A chunk two miles wide breaks off and speeds towards earth, forcing both the American and the Russian governments to link their top-secret missile systems to destroy the meteor. As it approaches, meteorite fragments from the collision reach the earth before the big rock does, and they precipitate several smaller disasters while the scientists race to destroy the `planet killer.'
Meteor has an above-average cast for a movie of this type. Sean Connery plays the lead scientist, and Karl Malden is his boss. Natalie Wood plays the Russian interpreter who helps finesse the very tricky negotiations between American and Russian forces. Henry Fonda is the calm but determined American President, and Martin Landau is the paranoid and protective officer in charge of the American missile system. But even with all of this talent, Meteor manages to squander it.
Very little space will be spent here discussing the plot and dialogue of Meteor. Suffice it to say that the basic plot is acceptable but ignores a number of opportunities to generate more significant emotional payoffs for the audience. It doesn't seem like Hollywood executives had the opportunity to rearrange the plot elements to create the big-screen feel that a movie should have.
The dialogue is likewise weak and begs the question: why did these stars agree to do this movie in the first place? Perhaps they were sold on the concept, but the script punch-up never occurred. However, neither the plot nor the script matters much because the movie is so visually unsatisfying..
Set design is startlingly atrocious. All of the sets are ugly, even for 1979. You won't be truly mortified until you see the Hercules missile control center (The name "Hercules" was used as a title for a Disney animated feature in 1997, 18 years after the movie was made). The massive rear-projection screens you are accustomed to seeing at NASA (and in all Hollywood spacecraft command centers) have been replaced by large painted panels with occasional flashing lights pushed through from behind.
Any suspension of disbelief which might occur in the first 30 seconds of the movie is obliterated as soon as the first special effects hit the screen. With Martin Landau on board, it's conceivable that he was chosen in the hopes of cutting a deal with the FX crew from "Space: 1999". However, the special effects in "Meteor" would be considered marginal even for a television show of that era. The rockets shine of polystyrene, and multiple decal lines are visible. The meteor itself is a rock from the director's backyard (by his own admission!) and the earthly explosions, for the most part, appear to be represented by a maroon gel placed across part of the camera lens.
The plot conveniently arranges for various meteor `splinters' to strike the earth before the big rock will arrive. As with Earthquake, this creates many opportunities for expensive FX such as an avalanche in Switzerland, a tidal wave in Japan, and the devastation of New York City. Unfortunately, only the latter disaster is integrated into the plot, while only the avalanche and the tidal wave are remotely convincing. The blurry, smoking remains of New York City are so poorly depicted as to be disruptive. And the special effects in space are so incredibly bad that the poor depiction of the NYC meteor strike actually looks good in comparison.
This is an even greater shame because the final live sequence, involving a collapsing underground bunker, is fairly well done and possibly even Earthquake quality. Meteor was originally intended to capitalize on the Earthquake formula for success: a wide variety of big disasters coupled with a big name cast. In this case, however, the survivors end up coated in gelatinous mud as they escape through flooding subway tunnels. All the flailing and dragging looks more like celebrity mud wrestling than anything else.
"Meteor" is not sure if it wants to be a disaster film, a sci-fi film, or an espionage thriller. It ends up being spread too thinly in every direction, and just there isn't enough plot or dialogue here to sustain the movie in any direction. It's a moot point, however, because the miserable special effects torpedo the picture within the first five minutes, and recovery simply isn't possible after that. Coupled with a premature script and a talented but disempowered cast, Meteor is a truly disastrous film in every sense of the word.
The movie was released back in 1979, the same year as "The Black Hole", another sci-fi film made by Disney.
A group of astronauts are killed when they witness the collision of two gigantic asteroids near the outreaches of our solar system. A chunk two miles wide breaks off and speeds towards earth, forcing both the American and the Russian governments to link their top-secret missile systems to destroy the meteor. As it approaches, meteorite fragments from the collision reach the earth before the big rock does, and they precipitate several smaller disasters while the scientists race to destroy the `planet killer.'
Meteor has an above-average cast for a movie of this type. Sean Connery plays the lead scientist, and Karl Malden is his boss. Natalie Wood plays the Russian interpreter who helps finesse the very tricky negotiations between American and Russian forces. Henry Fonda is the calm but determined American President, and Martin Landau is the paranoid and protective officer in charge of the American missile system. But even with all of this talent, Meteor manages to squander it.
Very little space will be spent here discussing the plot and dialogue of Meteor. Suffice it to say that the basic plot is acceptable but ignores a number of opportunities to generate more significant emotional payoffs for the audience. It doesn't seem like Hollywood executives had the opportunity to rearrange the plot elements to create the big-screen feel that a movie should have.
The dialogue is likewise weak and begs the question: why did these stars agree to do this movie in the first place? Perhaps they were sold on the concept, but the script punch-up never occurred. However, neither the plot nor the script matters much because the movie is so visually unsatisfying..
Set design is startlingly atrocious. All of the sets are ugly, even for 1979. You won't be truly mortified until you see the Hercules missile control center (The name "Hercules" was used as a title for a Disney animated feature in 1997, 18 years after the movie was made). The massive rear-projection screens you are accustomed to seeing at NASA (and in all Hollywood spacecraft command centers) have been replaced by large painted panels with occasional flashing lights pushed through from behind.
Any suspension of disbelief which might occur in the first 30 seconds of the movie is obliterated as soon as the first special effects hit the screen. With Martin Landau on board, it's conceivable that he was chosen in the hopes of cutting a deal with the FX crew from "Space: 1999". However, the special effects in "Meteor" would be considered marginal even for a television show of that era. The rockets shine of polystyrene, and multiple decal lines are visible. The meteor itself is a rock from the director's backyard (by his own admission!) and the earthly explosions, for the most part, appear to be represented by a maroon gel placed across part of the camera lens.
The plot conveniently arranges for various meteor `splinters' to strike the earth before the big rock will arrive. As with Earthquake, this creates many opportunities for expensive FX such as an avalanche in Switzerland, a tidal wave in Japan, and the devastation of New York City. Unfortunately, only the latter disaster is integrated into the plot, while only the avalanche and the tidal wave are remotely convincing. The blurry, smoking remains of New York City are so poorly depicted as to be disruptive. And the special effects in space are so incredibly bad that the poor depiction of the NYC meteor strike actually looks good in comparison.
This is an even greater shame because the final live sequence, involving a collapsing underground bunker, is fairly well done and possibly even Earthquake quality. Meteor was originally intended to capitalize on the Earthquake formula for success: a wide variety of big disasters coupled with a big name cast. In this case, however, the survivors end up coated in gelatinous mud as they escape through flooding subway tunnels. All the flailing and dragging looks more like celebrity mud wrestling than anything else.
"Meteor" is not sure if it wants to be a disaster film, a sci-fi film, or an espionage thriller. It ends up being spread too thinly in every direction, and just there isn't enough plot or dialogue here to sustain the movie in any direction. It's a moot point, however, because the miserable special effects torpedo the picture within the first five minutes, and recovery simply isn't possible after that. Coupled with a premature script and a talented but disempowered cast, Meteor is a truly disastrous film in every sense of the word.
The movie was released back in 1979, the same year as "The Black Hole", another sci-fi film made by Disney.
meteor is HILARIOUS. i love that movie, it's one of those so-bad-it's-good jobbers. that was a college special, we'd sit up late night watching that movie and laughing our patoots off.
i forgot martin landau was in it. he's a formidable talent no matter what he's in.
i forgot martin landau was in it. he's a formidable talent no matter what he's in.
Why are you using your powers AGAINST me?
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musicradio77
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