The production design, by the late John Barry (not to be confused with the composer of the same name) is astounding; the sets, space suits, spaceships, and, especially, the killer robot Hector, are just beautiful late 70s sci-fi creations. The Elmer Bernstein score is also quite good.
It has a bad reputation as an Alien knock-off, and a lot of modern viewers have trouble with the fact that Harvey Keitel was dubbed (although, when I first saw this, I had no idea who Keitel was, so I honestly didn't notice), but I'm not sure it's quite as bad as it's reputed to be. Admittedly, I've only seen it twice - once back in the early 80s on late night TV, and again on the old Artisan DVD when it first came out in the late 90s - but I remember enjoying it both times. I think its getting to be time to dig out the disc and check it out again....
its worth watching for the cool sets alone.
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I vividly remember watching this on Showtime with my best friend on Halloween night in 1980, after coming back from trick-or-treating. I was 10 years old and it was the very first R-rated movie I ever saw.
ReplyDeleteAm I the only one here who saw this at the theatre? CROM, but I feel old!
ReplyDeleteTex
(I went straight to the record store afterwards, hoping the soundtrack was out)
Some thing is watching... waiting... and wanting on Saturn 3.
Deletehttp://www.cinematicology.blogspot.com
I liked this film back when I saw it on The Movie Channel, in 1980 or '81, and remember most of it as being pretty good... I've seen a lot worse films before & since!
ReplyDeleteBack in the day, I read in a Fantastic Films or Starlog article that the set was so big & somewhat confusing, that the cast and crew had maps to prevent them from getting lost!
I also remember at the very end seeing a shuttle that looked very much like something out of a Chris Foss painting... I wonder if he had any part of this film's design work, or if the SFX crew was simply influenced by his work.
Man, this entry has brought back a flood of memories, from the music to the sounds Hector made. I must see this film again soon!
CR
Hopefully they will release the cut screened on NBC in 84 with all the additional scenes added back in
ReplyDeleteThis is a guilty pleasure of mine for sure. The DVD release was non-anamorphic and a transfer from the laser disc.
ReplyDeleteI hope it comes out on blu-ray some day.
That said, I can't help think someone ran out of time when designing/building hector. From the ground up it's awesome then it looks like when the got to the shoulders they just gave up.
I love the movie, despite the obvious flaws. Sure it tries to emulate scenes from Star Wars and Alien, but it stands pretty well on its own. Who would have ever thought we'd see Kirk Douglas in a space movie with a super-sexy Farrah Fawcett as his girlfriend? Harvey Keitel puts in a good performance as well, but I never heard that his voice was dubbed. And Hector was a slow-moving, menacing terror with a great design. It scared the crap out of me when I was a kid. The sets and costumes were fantastic and very inspired -- and the space ship modeling was pretty unique. The opening sequence alone is pretty cool with the scrolling spaceship and theme song. It's worth a look!
ReplyDeleteNBC cut the 1980 theatrical release of Saturn 3 to 84 minutes with bonus footage supplied by what is now ITV Studios and has posted a TV promo for the Peacock Network premiere of the science-fiction action thriller on YouTube and Vimeo, respectively.
DeleteThis is one of the few SF films of that era that I didn't see in theaters when it came out. The VHS and DVD releases are long out of print and hard to find but I finally got my hands on a VHS-rip DVD of this gem. I really think it's one of the more original films of the era since it does NOT try to emulate Star Wars or Star Trek and has no aliens in the story, just humans and their robots.
ReplyDeletePersonally, I think that it's an injustice that Farrah is dead and the much older Kirk Douglas is still alive!
I love Saturn 3 when it was first released in theaters in February, 1980. As Adam and Alex befriend a robot named Hector, they wanted to dismantle the android before this mechanical figure went after them. Harvey Keitel coined the catchphrase "Radio contact" in the Stanley Donen-directed futuristic thriller about life in a distant planet "shadowlocked" by "total darkness. All communication is terminated." There were no extraterrestrial creatures in the story, just three humans
Deleteand their robot.
Some thing is watching... waiting... and wanting on Saturn 3.
Don't worry, Tex. I saw it at the theater, too. Guess we're both old.
ReplyDeleteNeed to get a copy of this.
The German-language translation of Saturn 3 can be seen on my own movie blog, CINEMATICOLOGY.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.cinematicology.blogspot.com
To me, Saturn 3 was considered one of the best theatrical feature film cult classics of 1980 - the same year that film opened wide in movie houses across the U.S. The ITC Entertainment (now ITV Studios) android-builder flick has all the makings of a sci-fi cult favorite.
ReplyDeleteI was 13 when this came out and I probably didn't see it until it showed up on broadcast TV in '84. It had a pretty heavy marketing campaign and a certain buzz about it. I was young and somehow got misinformation that there was a human/robot sex scene in the movie and that was why it was R rated. When I watched it on TV, I was looking for some evidence of that but of course there is none to be had. But Hector is creepy and I would love to see this movie again.
ReplyDeleteIt's been a very long time since I've seen Saturn 5. I've looked at ordering it off Amazon a few times but it's ridiculously expensive and I know for sure as soon as I do the blu-ray will be announced.
ReplyDeleteFor some reason (probably the production design) I place Saturn 5 in the same universe as Enemy Mine, much as - in my mind at least - Alien, Outland and Blade Runner occupy the same universe.
And Tex, I also saw it (twice) in the cinema.
Best, Chris B
Frak, knew I'd typed Saturn FIVE! Must still have When We Left Earth rattling around my brain. CB
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