Customer Reviews

Meteor [VHS]

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(10)

 

 

When you see this, you may learn where some of the inspirations for ARMAGEDDON and DEEP IMPACT came from. Sean Connery gives a strong performance as a scientist trying to convince the military and government that a giant meteor five miles wide(apparently a rock from the producer's back garden was used and it shows!) is heading for Earth, preceeded by deadly fragments. After the talk comes some action and effects which were good for the time, and sometimes still look great even now. An avalanche in Switzerland, a tidal wave flooding Hong Kong, and as a preview of ARMAGEDDON, a huge fragment demolishes New York(although you can tell it's stock film in parts, even though it's kept to a minimum). And the space scenes towards the end of the movie are great! The characters are much more well-created and acted than in many films of this genre from the 1970s, particularly Connery(he makes anything worth watching when he's in it, with the obvious exceptions of ZARDOZ and HIGHLANDER 2: THE QUICKENING), Henry Fonda(as the President), Brian Keith not speaking a word of English except when he mocks the Brooklyn Dodgers(!), Natalie Wood as his interpreter and MISSION IMPOSSIBLE's Martin Landau as a caricature hot-headed Air Force general! Altogether, if you enjoyed DEEP IMPACT and ARMAGEDDON, don't miss METEOR. You'll be just as entertained!

This is one of those movies that is a guilty pleasure, kind of like
"The Neptune Factor". Sure, it's bad. But that's half the
fun!

"Meteor" is one of the very first space-based
disaster films from the era of disaster films (Airport, Towering
Inferno, Earthquake). The effects range from good (rockets launched
from orbiting platforms), to terrible (Skylab as a deep space probe,
and a two-by-four building trying to pass as a skyscraper).

One of
the opening scenes, of a sailboat crossing a starfield, is
inspired.

Whereas Deep Impact had good effects, and Armageddon was
nothing but flash and NOISE, "Meteor" has a touch of
class. This despite the bad acting and cheesy effects.

Try this one
out. It's a fun watch!

I love this movie and I don't care who knows it. Sean Connery and Natalie Wood are fantastic together---Brian Keith (who committed suicide in 1997) is great as the Russian Counterpart of Connery's character. Martin Landau (CLEOPATRA, MISSION IMPOSSIBLE, SPACE 1999, ED WOOD, SLEEPY HOLLOW---and probably most famous for producing daughter Juliet--hey, does that mean Bela Lugosi is the father of Drusilla? Probably not) is great as the Air Force General who, in the end, puts service to his country ahead of his own ego. And Karl Malden turns in his usual performance---meaning top-notch. The special effects are a bit cheesy by 2009 standards but they worked at the time.

And you should notice the name of the spacecraft that gets destroyed early in the film. It is the Challenger 2. Now remember, this movie was released 1979--seven years BEFORE...well, you know.

The radio station from New Jersey they are hearing in the subway WAS a real station---WKBW. It's no longer around but it's recreation of Orson Welles' WAR OF THE WORLDS broadcast---first in 1968 (on the 30th anniversary of the Welles Broadcast) and then all over again in 1971 earned their science fiction street creds before their appearance in this film.

You can learn more and hear the broadcasts here: http://wkbwradio.com/page2.htm

Finally mention must be made of Henry Fonda as the President---Mr. Fonda was the kind of man I would have voted for until thew cows came home...and then I'd have held a gun on the cows until THEY voted for him too!

You will LOVE this movie!

After just watching this on TV, I wondered what others would think of it. How did this get more that 1 star? Horrible acting, effects that stink, and space-platform "secret" rockets, designed to shoot "DOWN" from space to the earth ( a trip that would last maybe 10 minutes, depending of the target)whose engines "burn" for more than 20 minutes+! Plus the fact that somehow the missles from the USSR and USA never collide with each other, but fly in neat rows. What a joke!

Sure, the premise is viable,and the cast top-notch, but this film is a waste of time.

Good little film Meteor is, and it's one of the one's I saw with Connery in the lead not too long after giving up on Bond for good.

Meteor may never go down in history as the best movie of it's type, but I think for those that even remember it, it deserves a place as the first film of it's kind. Remember this was long before "Armaggedon" "Deep Impact" and all those knockoffs you see on the Sci Fi Channel such as Asteroid and the like.

Indeed I believe Meteor was the first...and best of the "giant rock hurtling to Earth at blazing speed is going to cause our doom" movies. Yeah Armaggedon had all the high priced special effects and high priced cast, same goes for Deep Impact, but I sincerely believe they never did it better than Meteor did. You can say Armaggedon, Deep Impact and Sci Fi's Asteriod are all variations on a theme, a theme that originally began with Meteor, so in that respect it was the first of this type of movie where the main theme is a very common one today in Sci Fi and action movies.

You can say the others are better produced, acted, you like the stars better, whatever. Nothing in my opinion did the subject justice as the film Meteor did.

A tense film of the COLD WAR era that makes one almost feel as if YOU ARE THERE!

I would list this movie as one of the reasons I am grateful you can buy DVDs of your favorite movies. If I could only have 10 movies in my video library, this would be one of them.

Some of the biggest screen stars of the day were featured in this last gasp of glasnost. Sean Connery, Brian Keith,, Martin Landau, Natalie Wood (who is coincidentally cast as a Russian translator when she herself was born to Russian parents).

The screenplay adds lots of nice realistic touches that draw you into the panic of a world on the uncontrollable brink of annihilation. It is gratifying to see Sean Connery unfettered and free to curse and rail.

Part of the appeal is to see high-level bureaucrats at each others throats and to see how there is a rest of the world and that they are affected as well. It is eerie to see that the very first American landmark struck is the World Trade Center towers.

It should be noted that the screenplay was written by those whose having a great deal of war movie screenplay experience, such as "Patton", "Sink The Bismarck", and "The Day The Earth Stood Still".

The orchestration aptly relays the gravity of the moments where dialog is not possible.

Ok so the former James Bond doesn't say rear but it's a great one liner by the great Sean Connery. Meteor is lead by an allstar cast including Sean Connery (James Bond movies, Brian Keith (Hooper), and Martin Landau (Field of Dreams).

The movie is about a meteor called Morpheus on a collision course towards earth. In the times of the Soviet Union and the Cold War you can see the icy reception Major General Adlon (played by Martin Landau) gives Dr. Dubov (Keith). Brian Keith plays Connery's (Dr. Bradley) Soviet conterpart in which they devise a plan to change the direction of missles that are docked out in space. Keith's interpreter is played by Natalie Wood (Brainstorm) who is constantly being hit on by Sean Connery. While General Adlon wants the Soviets to leave, Dr. Bradley and Harry Sherwood (Karl malden) try to calm him down. The main problem is getting the Soviet Premier to acknowledge Peter the Great and join the United States in destroying the meteor. And of course the Meteor! Will Hank Fonda cause a diplomatic nightmare when he acknowledges Hercules in which General Adlon refuses to give Dr. Bradley control of? Now the Americans call their missles in space Hercules and the Soviets call theirs Peter the Great. The American President played by Hank Fonda must find a way to get the Soviets involved using their missles from Peter the Great because the firepower of Hercules can't do it alone. Throughout the movie, disasters strike which are preludes to the gigantic Morpheus. Will General Adlon ever calm down? Will Dr. Bradlet and Dr. Dubov save mankind? Will Morpheus strike earth?

This was a great movie. Critics panned this movie as others say it's outdated and no match for Armegeddon. Yes the special effects are way outdated but was a masterpiece in its time. It's a great disaster flick and is a nice addition to those who like Deep Impact, Armageddon, and other disaster flicks. It's certainly better than Asteriod which I just watched on the Sci-fi channel. Yes Asteriod has better special effects and is a little less than 20 years younger than Meteor but Meteor has an allstar cast, great acting that includes an alchemist for a president, Sean Connery's woo-wooing skills, Martin Landau playing a hot-headed Major General, and Brain Keith's portrayal of a Soviet scientist. All of this equals a great classic disaster flick.

It is surprising how much talent can be wasted on what is--frankly--a mediocre film. In spite of some pretty powerful actors, the film is tepid. It of course suffers in comparison with more recent and glossier hits such as DEEP IMPACT--which use modern cinematic technology for special effects. But beyond that, its weak plot and poor production values undermine the film, to give us a pretty weak result.

The plot of a comet or meteor racing towards the virtually certain disaster of an impact with earth is an old and good one which can produce some hot movies. But this film uses cliche after cliche after cliche to carry out its purposes. The figure of the general unwilling to trust civilian handling of emergencies should be pretty familiar, as should that of the crusty Soviet technologist with a desirable and attractive translator, who learn to work with their U.S. counterparts (and perhaps find love). The redeployment of nuclear bombs to save the world by blasting the meteor is also all too familiar. And, of course, once again poor old New York City gets it right in the neck!

In short, this plot has been done before--and since. And it has been done better.

This 1979 movie presents a real threat from Outer Space. An asteroid is hit by a comet and explodes into a million pieces. One piece destroys the observing space shuttle; another is heading for earth - a big one. Orpheus is five miles wide! Even if it only hit the Atlantic, the result would be a cataclysm creating another Ice Age and the possible extinction of most life. The problem is that destroying the asteroid would reveal the presence of nuclear rockets in space, a violation of numerous treaties!

The President addresses the nation to tell of this emergency, and Project Hercules as the solution. Cooperation with the Soviet Union is needed to destroy this meteor. But it is hard to change old ways. The film shows a meteor striking in Siberia, and creating earthquake-like tremors. (Something like this did happen circa 1911.) The first meteors enter the atmosphere and burn up harmlessly. But a bigger chunk hits a snow mountain, causing an avalanche that destroys a small village. One hits the Pacific and creates a tidal wave that wipes out Taiwan. The threat is real and imminent. There is one political problem: because of the difference in orbits, the Soviet rockets would have to be fired first. Trust is needed.

But a new threat arises: a "splinter" is headed for the Eastern Seaboard of the US. It strikes Manhattan, damaging the Twin Towers and other buildings. The command center is damaged, but most survive to escape by a subway tunnel. Then the river starts to break through and threaten the survivors; they muddle through to hear that Orpheus was destroyed.

This story recalls "Ragnarok" by Ignatius Donnelly which analyzed the common legends of mankind and explained them as the remembrance of a comet hitting the earth and causing great climatic changes. Read this 1883 international best seller for its pioneering story.