Customer Reviews

Saturn 3

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(9)
2 star:		(7)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

This is probably one of the most neglected ScFi flicks ever made. Despite a stellar cast, it was largely ignored when it was released in 1980. What interests me now is that the film seems to have influenced James Cameron on both Terminator and Aliens. In fact several scenes are very similar. The destruction of the Psychotic robot Hector and the scene where the soldier from the future blows up the Terminator are very similar. In Saturn 3 the robot chases the two main characters around trying to catch them through the floor grate. That seems very similar to several scenes in Aliens. I've never seen any comment by Cameron that this film influenced him, but it seems hard to miss.

Even if you are not interested in the connection to Terminator or Aliens, this is worth getting. The reproduction to this DVD is excellent. The only thing that keeps me from giving it 5 stars is that it is a bit slow at times and, other than Harvey Keitel, the acting is a bit. . .well, not up to either the standards of Kirk Douglas or Farrah Fawcett. I'm not being snide either, I consider both excellent actors.

Despite what critics have said about Saturn 3, I think it is a very good science fiction film. Another good meshing of science fiction and gothic horror. It may seem like a futuristic version of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, however, it is still a very good film. One of the many best that ITC Entertainment has ever produced. It goes to show you that the British are one of the best film industries in the world.

This was the first R-rated film I ever saw, and I was amazed at how the film looked as well as the storyline, and special effects. Most of all, the acting, costumes, sets, the works. The film tells the story about a couple who work on one of Saturn's moons, developing a new hydroponics system for a starving Earth. The old man(played wonderfully by Kirk Douglas)is someone who has rejected Earth and its way of life. The young woman(played really well by Farrah Fawcett)is someone who was born on a colony and has never seen or been to Earth. Along comes a terrorist(played by the ever great Harvey Keitel), who has originally murdered the original pilot who has come to Saturn 3, to help the two scientists get back on schedule. As part of that help, he builds a robot, the first in its series, named Hector. Unfortunately, due to the pilot's instability, the robot becomes a threat and starts a rampage, which forces the two scientists to sacrifice everything they have in order to survive and overcome the odds. Plus the old man making the ultimate sacrifice.

It may be a bit like Ridley Scott's masterpiece, ALIEN, however, Saturn 3 is still a very good and entertaining film. Not only with a wonderful soundtrack by The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, but with its solid storyline and plot. If you enjoy science fiction, be sure to check this film out. It's certainly better than Star Trek and its spinoffs, let alone the film Supernova. It even has a nude scene with Farrah Fawcett that's pretty good too.

John Barry and Stanley Donen's misunderstood sci-fi brainchild was panned on initial release, but happily is coming under re-evaluation in a later age.

Kirk Douglas and Farrah Fawcett run a hydroponics lab on Saturn's third moon, Titan, which helps feed an overcrowded and progressively more sociopathic Earth. Douglas and Fawcett are "paired," though not actually married (or at least it is never understood that they are), she being an innocent naif who has never seen Earth and lived virtually her entire life with him, and he a disillusioned older man who never desires to see Earth again - though he encourages her to visit their home planet one day, if for no other reason than to further Fawcett's natural development.

Earth has decided that Douglas will soon be "obsolete," and sends captain Harvey Keitel to assemble a robot to eventually run Saturn 3. Keitel, however, is actually an impostor - he was washed out of the robot programming division because he was "potentially unstable," and, proving the point, murdered the man given the assignment in order to take his place. The reason is never stated, but the implication is strongly present - given his immediate fascination with Fawcett - that he wanted the assignment in order to be closer to her.

The robot - "Adam" - has a human brain, directly programmed by Keitel. Since Keitel is a homicidal psychopath...well, you get the picture. It isn't long before Saturn 3 becomes a battleground for supremacy with a mad metal titan.

This is really a great movie, if flawed. The ending is too abrupt. Douglas sometimes seems uncomfortable in his role, or acts as if he is in a different movie than Keitel and Fawcett. The special effects are uneven, though generally pretty impressive.

But the script is solid and the suspense never lets up. The action is pretty gripping, shooting out of a gun from the first scene, when Keitel coldly murders the astronaut whose place he is taking by flushing him out into space. The production is gorgeous, and unified. The sets are beautiful, and incredibly colorful. The matte shots for space and Saturn hearken back to 1950's pulp magazine covers. The costuming is futuristic, but functional. And the robot, Adam, is a nightmare out of Leonardo da Vinci's sketchbooks of human anatomy. The terrific music score, by Elmer Bernstein, is mechanistically haunting.

A great movie it isn't, but it is very good. There is a nice undercurrent of human feeling to this film, which is emphasized by the contrast of the warm and loving relationship between Douglas and Fawcett with the predatory intrusion of the coldly sociopathic Keitel.

This is wonderful sci-fi pulp, and if that's what you're in the mood for, you won't be disappointed.

Saturn 3, while certainly not the best of films, does not deserve all of the bashing it gets. This film is sort of a "Fatal Attraction" meets the "Terminator" even though Saturn 3 was released years prior.
I really enjoyed this film. The "atmosphere" of the movie was very convincing and almost literally transports the viewer to the third moon of Saturn.
Yes, the movie has it's flaws. Farrah Fawcett is a terrible actress. She always was. But, then again, this '70s icon was never chosen for roles because of her acting ability, which, unfortunately, seems to be so commonplace in Hollywood.
Harvey Keitel, one of my favorite actors, does seem to give a very wooden performance, but that is probably due to the fact that the director did not like his Brooklyn accent and had all of his lines dubbed in by a British actor. Also, I think his character was meant to be dead-pan and wooden to reflect the current socialogical aspects of Earth's society (apparently, Earth is an overcrowded and socially bankrupt planet, much like it is today!).
The special effects are subpar when compared to similar sci-fi flicks of that time, but that is part of its charm. The effects, while slightly substandard, are still very eye-catching.
The story itself if very original. The idea of a robot becoming sexually obsessed with a woman just like his master and unable to fulfill his unnatural desires is executed in a logical and suspenseful way. The set design and costumes are also well done. The robot Hector, though, does seem to be designed rather oddly. That is probably due to the fact that a suit had to be built that could house a rather large-framed actor inside of it.
All in all, Saturn 3 is worth a look. Fans of sci-fi and thrillers should find this to be an excellent escape. I, for one, am glad to see that this movie is still around and available for purchase.

Three characters are plenty to fill out this stylish Sci-Fi chestnut, wherein Kirk Douglas and Farrah Fawcett are lone scientists stationed on a remote planet as they try to develop a sustainable new food source for Earth folks who are starvin'. Their idyllic little existence is shattered when Harvey Keitel stops by with his big, badass robot-in-a-box, Hector, in tow. Between salivating over Farrah and plotting how to get into her pants, Harvey assembles Hector, and the two share minds for a while, effectively indoctrinating Hector to the wild woolly world of Harvey's bad manners, general evil, and a supreme desire to knock boots with Farrah.

I thought Saturn 3 was another version of Frankenstein. They build the monster. The monster runs amok. A plus to anyone's robot movie collection. Besides,I have to agree with Butch from New York. I also enjoy looking at Farrah.

Stanley Donen took over the directorial reins of SATURN 3 from John Barry. This odd British-made sci-fi thriller featured Farrah Fawcett, Kirk Douglas and Harvey Keitel, whose voice was dubbed by Roy Dotrice.

In this one, Farrah and Kirk are lovers outposted together on one of Saturn's moons. Their mission in this artificial Garden of Eden is to grow food for a home planet racked by famine. The couple's idyll is interrupted by the arrival of Keitel-- a pschopath masquerading as a techno-geek who says he's relieving them of their duties.

Instead, Harvey assembles brought-along components into an 8-foot tall automaton. Keitel's boy "Hector" is as crazy as he is because the two are linked via a transmitter tapped into Harvey's brain. When his "clinking, clanking, clattering collection of caliginous junk" gets a 'tin-ie' for Farrah, it goes berserk.


Suggested item:
Stanley Donen's directorial effort just prior to "Saturn 3" was MOVIE MOVIE (1978). The cast in this parody of two 1930s genres (boxing and musicals) includes George C. Scott, Red Buttons, Eli Wallach, Art Carney, Barry Bostwick, George Burns and Jocelyn Brando (Marlon's older sister). (VHS only)


Parenthetical number preceding title is a 1 to 10 viewer poll rating found at a film resource website.

(4.4) Saturn 3 (UK-1980) - Farah Fawcett/Kirk Douglas/Harvey Keitel/Ed Bishop/Douglas Lambert/Christopher Muncke/Roy Dotrice (voice)

This was a lot of fun. It follows in the Logan's Run and Outlander traditions of giving its own version of the future. Be careful of coming in with expectations. Just see it on its own and I think you will agree there is enormous character development of all three main characters. There is also interesting conflict set up: both luv the same babe! And, yes, you get to see Farah buck neck-id!

This is a bit of a misunderstood sci-fi flick ' not flawless, but worth a second look.

In a floating space station near Saturn, we meet Harvey Keitel's character, Benson, or 'The Captain'. Or is he really somebody else? In the first few minutes, he murders a pilot preparing to transport special cargo for a remote colony on Saturn's third moon. Taking the dead pilot's place "Benson" braves the rings of Saturn and arrives on Saturn 3, where Major Adam (Kirk Douglas) and the fetching Alex (Farrah Fawcett) are developing hydroponics-grown food for a struggling Earth. It's not just work for Adam and Alex, and Benson's arrival disrupts the family unit that the two have made for each other. Adam came to space to escape Earth (which we're supposed to assume is made unpleasant perhaps by pollution, war, over-population or some other contemporary problem unchecked in his distant future). Alex has never known Earth, which only highlights the apparent generation gap between her and Adam. Benson begins desiring Alex well before he actually gets around to his purported mission, and he figures that Adam's age gives him the edge (monogamy is frowned upon back on Earth, he tells her). It turns out that Benson has come to construct a robot to replace the team's now obsolescent half - Adam, and into that job, he throws himself full steam. Benson is so obsessed to complete the menacing robot which will replace Adam that you begin to wonder which of the trwo obsessions really rules his dark soul: Alex or the robot. When completed, the vaguely humanoid machine stands about 8 feet high, moves convincingly and menacingly robot-like and is topped with an incongruous thing that looks like a desk lamp. Called Hector, the robot's CPU is a large clear can containing what looks like human brain matter. Not talkative at the outset, the machine (a model ominously called a 'demigod') picks up fast when linked into Keitel's brain through a remote sensor Keitel implants into the base of his own spine (a striking precursor to the decades-newer "Matrix"). Unfortunately, the neural link also gets the 'bot past the firewall of Benson's soul, and we learn through the robot a dark thing or two about Benson - notably that he failed a probably important course, likely one meant to protect a burgeoning artificial intelligence from the mind of a natural-born psychotic. Unsurprisingly, the machine not only becomes psychotic as well, but decides that Benson is an obstacle to be replaced much as Benson had planned for Adam. Soon, Adam and Alex are on the run from Hector, learning to quickly duck in and out of hydraulic doors and weave through cramped ventilator shafts.

This was a pretty slim flick which gets more mileage than it should out of Farrah Fawcett. Her character is vulnerable and compulsively dependent throughout the movie, never displaying the resourcefulness that Sigourney Weaver had established for a new generation of sci-fi heroines in 'Alien' (which came out the year before). Alex has to be the last female character to faint out of fear in a sci-fi film. We never get an insight into Keitel's character either - obsessed with both Hector and Fawcett. The two can't both be paramount in his mind. You get the idea that to Benson, the robot is just a means to get Alex; but there are scenes when Keitel tries to get into the robot's head, making it a more substantial part of his own psyche. It's incredible to think that Martin Amis had anything to do with this story which, among other things, is strikingly unsurprising. (Case in point: when first demonstrated, Hector crushes a can Benson had ordered the robot to give Adam. There isn't a person on the planet who couldn't guess Kirk Douglas's response: 'I'm glad you didn't tell him to shake my hand.')
On the plus side, the visuals are nice. The sets were obviously influenced by Alien at the time, but today look more like a cross between the drab utilitarian interiors of that film and the older way-out futurism of visionary artist Chesley Bonestell (the space station, ships and star-scapes recall the famous artist's vision) and the thin story will keep you watching - just not that much. But above all, the real attraction is Harvey Keitel - who speaks in a very precise accent. It's Keitel as you've never seen (with a cool euro-looking ponytail) or heard (his voice was dubbed) him before. Even if Keitel's character is too vague to drive the story, he's still fun to watch (and hear). You know that the robot will go for him first, and his loss is what kills this film as much as his presence gives it a life that (like the robot) it doesn't really deserve.

This is not much of movie but it came at the height of Farrah mania and she is at her most beautiful in it. Being that not much happens for most of the movie you are not distracted from staring at her, which is really all I wanted to do. She wears somewhat revealing outfits and is topless for a few seconds. That is the absolute highlight of the movie. You might call it a waste of time but I love the tape.