Buy new:
$20.47$20.47
FREE delivery: Monday, Nov 7 on orders over $25.00 shipped by Amazon.
Ships from: Amazon Sold by: Serenity-Now
Save with Used - Very Good
$7.98$7.98
FREE delivery: Sunday, Nov 6 on orders over $25.00 shipped by Amazon.
Ships from: Amazon Sold by: Novatechs
Other Sellers on Amazon
+ $4.58 shipping
97% positive over last 12 months
& FREE Shipping
98% positive over last 12 months
Image Unavailable
Color:
-
-
-
- Sorry, this item is not available in
- Image not available
- To view this video download Flash Player
Phase IV
- Free returns are available for the shipping address you chose. You can return the item for any reason in new and unused condition: no shipping charges
- Learn more about free returns.
- Go to your orders and start the return
- Select the return method
- Ship it!
- Free returns are available for the shipping address you chose. You can return the item for any reason in new and unused condition: no shipping charges
- Learn more about free returns.
- Go to your orders and start the return
- Select the return method
- Ship it!
Enhance your purchase
| Format | Multiple Formats, Color, NTSC, Widescreen |
| Contributor | Nigel Davenport, Saul Bass, Michael Murphy, Lynne Frederick |
| Language | English |
| Runtime | 1 hour and 24 minutes |
Customers who viewed this item also viewed
What other items do customers buy after viewing this item?
Product Description
Product Description
After a mysterious cosmic event, strange structures and patterns begin to appear in the desert. When scientists begin to investigate their origin, they're shocked to learn that they are the work of super intelligent ants. The ants appear to be trying to communicate with us...and they're not happy about all those magnifying glass experiments! Directed by Oscar® winner Saul Bass, Phase IV is a terrifying glimpse at nature run amok, with amazing ant footage that will make your skin crawl.
Review
[...] A bizarre and unexplainable cosmic event has forever changed the Earth's ant population as we know it. Around the globe, ants are communicating at a level previously thought impossible and organizing themselves in such a manner to suggest the formation of a collective mind. Biologist, Dr. Ernest Hubbs (Nigel Davenport, The Island of Dr. Moreau 77) and information specialist, James Lesko (Michael Murphy, Count Yorga, Vampire) have traveled to the small desert town of Paradise City to research the most recent occurrences of odd ant behavior. The community, once occupied with golf courses and county clubs, has become a barren landscape, as a gathering of ants has driven the town s population to abandon their homes. In their place, the bugs have constructed an impressive number of towering monoliths, which strike upward toward the hot desert sky.
[...] If watching insects and other creepy-crawlies makes you squirm in your seat, Phase IV may not be for you. The film's first eight minutes are almost entirely comprised of ants scurrying around, often framed in close up, almost microscopic shots. This footage was the work of micro photographer Ken Middleham, who would focus his camera on the insect world a year later for William Castle s Bug. Such a realistic take on one of Mother Nature s smallest creatures is in stark contrast to similar science fiction fare of the period. Films like Them! or Empire of the Ants found their conflict by enlarging such critters to make them more overtly threatening. By keeping the insects a familiar size, Phase IV is able to remain planted in reality, while exploring topics that are anything but. The threat seems more eminent as the human race finds itself being threatened, not by being overpowered physically, but by being knocked down a step on the evolutionary ladder.
[...] While the narrative is admittedly not its strongest facet and many may find the film's plot a slow burn, the atmosphere and pace are deliberate and highly effective under the capable direction of Mr. Bass. Saul was a master at graphic design and knew exactly how and where to place images for optimal effect. With very little dialogue to work with, Saul let s the landscapes and environments help lead the plot along, pushing you deeper into the story. You can feel the heat and desperation of the desert town just as thick as you can sense the urgency within the two scientists as they bustle frantically around their research facility, anxiously looking for a way to lower the temperature.
Saul and writer Mayo Simon (Futureworld) were not about to leave you with any clear explanations either. Phase IV raises more questions than it answers, but does so with a clever hand, so as not to leave you feeling cheated. [...] Legend Films has presented Phase IV in a commendable 1.78:1 widescreen anamorphic transfer. Colors are strong and vibrate, with only few specks of grain and debris that appear to be normal aging of the source print. The mono English audio is easy to follow and complements Brian Gascoigne electronic score well. Dipping deep into the vaults at Paramount, Legend Films has thankfully plucked Phase IV, as well as a number of other genre titles, from obscurity, gratefully allowing them a second life on the digital format. Here s hoping that Paramount leaves that door propped open, as they have numerous added treasures that are ripe for rediscovery! --Jason McElreath of DVDDrive-In.com
Product details
- Aspect Ratio : 1.78:1
- Is Discontinued By Manufacturer : No
- MPAA rating : Unrated (Not Rated)
- Product Dimensions : 7.5 x 5.5 x 0.5 inches; 2.88 Ounces
- Director : Saul Bass
- Media Format : Multiple Formats, Color, NTSC, Widescreen
- Run time : 1 hour and 24 minutes
- Release date : September 23, 2008
- Actors : Nigel Davenport, Michael Murphy, Lynne Frederick
- Language : Unqualified
- Studio : Legend Films
- ASIN : 1606730266
- Number of discs : 1
- Best Sellers Rank: #164,875 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
- #3,333 in Science Fiction DVDs
- Customer Reviews:
Customer reviews
Customer Reviews, including Product Star Ratings help customers to learn more about the product and decide whether it is the right product for them.
To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average. Instead, our system considers things like how recent a review is and if the reviewer bought the item on Amazon. It also analyzed reviews to verify trustworthiness.
Learn more how customers reviews work on AmazonReviewed in the United States on August 2, 2008
-
Top reviews
Top reviews from the United States
There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.
Subsequently lost to Phase IV was a Kubrick-like montage, tailing the film and comprising the ending, which had been removed from the original film without consultation with Saul himself and which the studio felt muddled the effect of the ending or confused the audience. This was done prior to release for purely commercial reasons and as one would expect outraged the director. Unfortunately, this sequence is not included on the DVD, nor can it be found online, although fragments can be viewed in the trailer of the film.
Also of note: this DVD offers little in the way of extras, presumably there aren't many regardless, but this isn't quite the selling point. For a while Phase IV has basked in obscurity, and it's a blessing to see it in such relatively high quality on the DVD format. As far as I know the aspect ratio of the original film differs from the 1.78:1 format found on the DVD, but the ratios were close enough for a beautiful transfer. The picture is adequately clear, surprising considering how little the source material was likely valued by its keepers, and the packaging is what one would expect, and is minimal, hardly an issue for me personally.
Visually, as in from an artistic standpoint, the film is a mixed bag. Scenes on the farm plot are a bit mediocre but the insect sequences, the desert landscapes, the geometrically abstract, seemingly Easter Island inspired monoliths and the clever use of macro lenses, the color palette and desolate feel of the yellow poison sequences and set designs are all beautifully done and inspiring. Good things can be said for the hard-suit designs as well, which contrast nicely with the environment and alien undertones. I believe there's a lot of merit in the film just from a visual standpoint, and although clunky and somewhat campy at times, the dialogue is dry enough to suspend disbelief if one is forgiving of certain lines and shortcomings, which do tend to interject themselves, specifically regarding the sonic messages delivered by the ants a la geometrical symbolism: the interpretation there is just a tad bit far fetched and the revelations in the thinking-out-loud mind of the biologist a bit beyond belief and awkward. Also, the romantic interest involved is a bit contrived, hyper-developed, unfortunately tacked on, which is not a new thing in Hollywood trends and tends to be expected. The film still manages to be believable. This is mainly due to the excellent sound design, the music especially being stellar, the very moderate and mostly implied presence of the insects "out there" and only a few examples of direct confrontation, and the general feeling of dread maintained mostly throughout (whilst the insects are shown, direct human-insect interaction is thankfully moderate and therefore we get less a sense of disbelief, such as one gets with movies involving murderous dolls or toys). This is what low budgets tend to do sometimes, in the hands of a skilled director, budgetary restraints can actually increase the value of the film, as scenes are well planned and tasteful, rather than absurd and DIRECTLY impacting. The terror is mostly psychological.
Regardless of the flaws in the script, and regardless of some banal scenes mucking up what is otherwise an inspired visual poem, I love this film. I'm very glad it was finally released and that I can relive some memories of my childhood, watching a taped version of this, or whenever it aired on TV. I've grown to appreciate the film much more since then, and would recommend it to any forgiving person interested in brooding science fiction or inspired visual design, or in the possible tragedy of Saul's stunted career as a director, which might have been exceptional.
Two scientists, played by the über-British Nigel Davenport and standard waspy white guy Michael Murphy, set up shop in a geodesic dome in an attempt to figure out what the ants want. Mayhem ensues, and all kinds of animals get stripped of their skins by the ravenous ants in a series of time-elapsed photos that probably blew audiences away at the time, but are old hat to anyone who's seen a nature doc in the last couple of decades.
"Phase IV" is better than it has any right to be, mainly because of the way the prog rocky soundtrack and trippy visuals distinguish the movie from the run of the mill "bug" feature. The director, Saul Bass, is more famous for the series of legendary movie posters he made for everyone from Stanley Kubrick to Alfred Hitchcock, so it's no wonder it's filled with visual splendor. Herr Bass got a lot of criticism at the time of the movie's release to the effect that all those wondrous sights and songs were at the expense of story and characterization. Maybe, but while the performances may be intense to the point of being overwrought, such mad histrionics are perfect for this kind of movie. Davenport's over-the-top ravings about man's imperative to not surrender provide an especially delicious kind of ham.
Lastly, I'd be remiss if I didn't mention the appearance of the lovely but ill-fated Lynne Frederick, as a farm girl who makes her way to the geodesic dome where the two doctors attempt to establish a rapport with the ants. I hope I'm not spoiling anything by telling you that the ants are not interested in a peace summit. Recommended, in any case, for horror and SF fans, or for Quentin Tarantino, as Ms. Frederick spends a goodly portion of the feature walking around barefoot.
So I got to see it again for the very first time.
The ant photography is really great, I'll say that for it. Undeniably authentic (well, of course it is: this was done years before CGI was even dreamed of).
The plot is the basic bare-bones sort of story common to many low-budget "creature features": something (something extraterrestrial, shown at the start) causes ants of different species to work together and communicate with each other; their abilities develop through three Phases until the fourth phase is reached at the end of the film.
A scientist discovers their new abilities and gets funding for a research station and an assistant. Like the stereotype he is he proves to be indifferent to who dies so long as the research continues. A local girl is inserted into the station.
I noted above that my memory of the ending was completely different from the actual ending. And so it was, except that it had the same effect of showing what Phase IV was.
But to find out what it is, you need to watch the movie!
Ants get mutated. They start munching people. Humans frantically run around trying to find a way to kill them.
Some of the characters are good, some are less so. Some of the plot twists are implausible. Sometimes it looks like the main purpose of the characters, is to make stupid decisions that make things worse.
This one is better than a lot of others that I've seen in this genre, but overall, it's just OK.
Top reviews from other countries
But the extras are a let down. 5 of the 6 short films are in SD-Quality from a video tape source. The doku "Bass on Titles" even looks better on YouTube! On this blu-ray the documentation shows interlacing and the examples from Saul Bass' title sequences are in the wrong aspect ratio. I couldn't believe it.
Only "Quest" (1984), a 30 min. short film, is in HD-Quality, even so black areas are much too light here.
I don't regret buying this release but the extras leave a bitter taste behind.
Not a film for those expecting a man vs. monsters horror, it’s an insight into the effect of the trio’s isolation trapped by the insects, continually growing in number and combined intelligence. Superb ant photography throughout, which might also be off-putting for some viewers, makes “Phase IV” a very memorable one-off directorial debut for Saul Bass.
Also included are 6 shorts, the most interesting being “Bass On Titles”, with the filmmaker discussing his work creating movies’ opening titles and “Quest” based upon a Ray Bradbury sci-fi story.
After all these years I was afraid that time had tainted my memory.
Not so, this is still a creepy movie, like they don't make am very often.
The first days after watching this movie, you will make a detour for every Ant you encounter.
The picture-quality of the movie is okay.

![Bullet Train [DVD]](https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/91C7TM0k-zL._AC_UL160_SR160,160_.jpg)





![An American Werewolf in London [DVD]](https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51FbQi+S8eL._AC_UL160_SR160,160_.jpg)
