Phase IV [Blu-ray]

My dad was a great lover of Sci-Fi and we saw this at the drive-in when I was younger----just got my disc and it still holds up. Solid chiller with live ants, NO cgi - and just works. IF ants were able to cross-type cooperate against mankind - well, they have the bigger numbers :)

The great biologist and ant expert, Edward O. Wilson, once said that the only reason ants don’t completely own this planet is that they spend too much time fighting each other to permit it. “Phase IV” explores the idea of what ants might accomplish if they were actually to cooperate with one another, across species, in common cause. The story is a thoughtful, intriguing concept that unfortunately falls a wee bit short as a fully fleshed-out film. I suspect another iteration of the script and a bit more shooting time would have enabled some polishing that would elevate this film to a very high level, indeed. As it is, though, it is well worth watching if you enjoy cerebral films without too many explosions and car chases. (The film does have some of those, but they are integral to the story, not merely gratuitous CGI demonstrations.)Speaking of CGI, there is none at all in this movie and that’s actually a tremendous strength. The use of fantastically photographed *real* ants lends a lot more credence to the storyline’s concept than computer generated images or puppets would have. In fact, the ants are shot with such care and tenderness that one almost roots for them as they try to figure out how to counteract the human defenses. The ants (or the ant wranglers, anyway) deserved a special Oscar for their work in this movie and they earn an extra star in my rating here.“Phase IV” is above average for the genre and the Blu-Ray transfer is very clean visually and sonically. Anyone who appreciates Saul Bass’s work or thoughtful films, in general, will find it worthwhile.

So this was pretty different than many other "intelligent animal" movies.So take a movie like Deep Blue Sea, for example. The sharks are intelligent and even though they have no concept of what a camera does, looks like, or even is for that matter, they somehow knew to destroy all the underwater pen cameras to keep the scientists from looking at them.In this movie, Phase IV, you don't really see that in this movie. Or at least to a far less extent than most other "intelligent animal" type movies. The ants are intelligent, sure, but they are more reactive. Adaptive. They don't immediately recognize any threat against them and make innovative solutions to their situation. But they get smarter at an increasing rate.Biggest downside is that it's pretty slow in some parts. Some scenes toe the line between "generous" and "going on too long."Overall, it's a fairly unique experience. It's more Sci-fi than horror. It's just so unique compared to other movies of the same genre that there's no other way to describe this other than "odd gem" definitely worth watching at least once.

Phase IV is an interesting movie that really isn't all that good, at least in my opinion. I know there are fans of the movie. I also know that the original ending was cut from the movie and there were some changes. I watched the original ending and it doesn't make a whole lot of sense. It's sort of like watching the ending of '2001 A Space Odyssey." You don't really know what you are watching the first time you see it.I'm not exactly sure where it was filmed but it doesn't look like the United States. The desert area looks more like the Australian outback or somewhere in Africa. It's supposed to be in the American Southwest. I find it hard to believe that with the catastrophic damage the ants are causing that a mere two people are left to deal with the problem. You'd figure the government would make more of an effort. One is an entomologist and the other is mathematician. The mathematician, James, is looking for a way to communicate with the ants. Once again, if they were this sophisticated, the problem should have been taken a lot more seriously. I'm not sure if the ants gained their intelligence from outer space or an outer space intelligence is guiding them. But, whatever the case may be, they are ridiculously intelligent. Did they really need to build solar reflectors to heat up the lab? If they were that intelligent and capable of building them, they could have much more easily dispatched the scientists. I also wasn't thrilled with the yellow poison, yellow ant solution. I didn't know just changing the color of poison would have such an effect.Why not just dye the poison a different color if that was the solution.The blu-ray DVD was just ok, not great. There are a lot of really nice close up shots of the insects. This is probably the highlight of the movie. But this sort of thing would have been great for a nature documentary at the time.The acting was average at best. There are basically just 3 actors and a couple of farmers that are briefly in the movie. So most of the movie focuses on the interaction of the two scientists with some interaction with the young girl who escapes the farm disaster.It would have been nice to have the alternate ending. I'm not sure why they didn't include it but I haven't researched it to find out why it wasn't included.Recommended for science fiction fans who like man against nature movies.

Best ant movie sense Naked Jungle

The script has its flaws, but the visual sense of director Saul Bass is wonderful. Be prepared to frequently ask "How did they get ants to do that?"

I remember seeing this movie in the theaters years ago, but this disk did not play true. It was recognizable but very broken up in the viewing of the media.

I originally saw this movie on t.v years ago. It was a bit strange, but I liked the concept, and the actors in ther movie. The blue ray version has a very clear, high quality video. Doesn't have that scratchy sound you hear usually on old movies.It brought back some memories as I watched again. If your into weird sci-fi flicks this one would be interesting to watch.

Un deuxième coffret collector pour un deuxième film culte pour moi. Le premier étant Phantom of The Paradise chez le même éditeur Carlotta.Avec PHASE IV, il me serait bien hasardeux d'essayer de convaincre les néophytes de sa valeur "intrinsèque" pour acquérir ce "Collector" avec livre.Cet énigmatique (et même philosophique) récit de fourmis mutantes qui se termine de façon toute aussi énigmatique ne sera sans nul doute pas du goût de tout le monde.Un visionnement avant l'achat serait à conseiller, car ces coffrets ont un coût, que seuls (et encore!) les convaincus voudront payer. Sinon, il y a toujours l'option de l'édition simple pour ceux qui ont apprécié ce visionnement en macro du monde minuscule des fourmis, ou de leurs adversaires insectes. Un tour de force, quand on voit que ces bestioles réelles y vont d'incroyables prestations sous la direction d'un metteur en scène qui était surtout connu au cinéma pour ses génériques, ou d'autre travaux graphiques portant la griffe Bass.Un coffret avec VOstf et VF blindé de bonus, mais bloqué B. Lecteur multizone obligé pour nous du Québec.

The dvd is very basic, the menu screen has anice design, You only have the movie without extras. The image quality is acceptable with the ocassional funky shot here and there. I wish that someone gave this movie the treatment it deserves but for now this is all we have.

Excellent : la réalisation relève du génie.En effet, à contrepied des grosses productions passées mettant en scène des monstres énormes et peu crédibles, il s'agit de ... fourmis réelles.le film est à lui tout seul un zoom : celui de la macro (superbes plans d'insectes) centré sur un seul laboratoire au monde. Il en ressort un effet saisissant, prenant, et juste ce qu'il faut de teneur en nanar, avec un zeste de kitsch. Le final alternatif est incroyable. Le blu-ray, très agréable, présente un encodage savoureux. J'aime beaucoup cette oeuvre et la recommande à quiconque cherchant un film de SF un peu différent, mais tout de même dans la veine des 50's / 60's (l'idée des bestioles menaçant l'humanité).

la trame sonore est bonne et original.Le casting aurait pu être mieux.fonctionne en zone B.IL est en français.

Depuis de nombreuses années, je me morfondais en me contentant d'une VHS numérisée pour voir ce film. Là, on a droit à une belle édition, avec la fin alternative très onirique du film, un plaisir à regarder. Les scènes avec les fourmis sont remarquables, on le croirait vraiment intelligentes... Presque inquiétant par moments.