Directed by Saul Bass, who was best known for his creative film titles, Phase IV is an unusual movie about a pair of scientific investigators who are called to study the new-found, collective intelligence of a colony of ants in the American Southwest. The ants have constructed large towering mounds out of the sand, while going on the warpath against the local residents. Setting up shop in a futuristic (for the 1970s) laboratory that’s armed with exterior pods that can cover the surrounding area with poison, Dr. Ernest D. Hubbs (Nigel Davenport) and James R. Lesko (Michael Murphy) soon discover that the ants are even more intelligent--and far better organized--than they had originally thought. After rescuing a teenage girl (Lynne Frederick) from the ants’ onslaught, the scientists soon find themselves cut off and under siege in their lab.
First off, if you’re thinking that this is one of those cheesy ’70s drive-in flicks, like Empire Of The Ants, then you’re in for a surprise. Phase IV--which refers to the escalating stages of the crisis--is a very solemn film that treats its fantastic premise very seriously. And because of this, as well as the painstaking attention to detail, Phase IV is a real mind blower on the same level as similar "big-themed" films like 2001. Bass shot extensive coverage of ants, making them the other stars of the film by showing them responding to the human threat in their midst. I first saw Phase IV when I was a kid, and it helped to open my mind then to redefining what the notion of what a "civilization" really is.
Also, I had a mad crush back then on actress Lynne Frederick, who is extremely sympathetic here as Kendra. Davenport and Murphy are also very good--although not as good looking as Frederick, but I digress. The DVD is very bare bones, offering no special features whatsoever. But since this is the first time the film has been released on DVD, it’s finally offered with closed captions (which is great news for a deaf fan like myself, who had to watch the film over the years on a laser disc copy without captions). Bass, who died in 1996, has complained that the studio had interfered with the final cut of his film (this version clocks in at 84 minutes), but despite this, Phase IV still stands out as one of the truly visionary SF films made in the last forty years.
--SF
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