Themes: Inventors, Technology Run Amok, Space Wars
Main Cast: Klaus Kinski, Brie Howard, Norbert Weisser, Crofton Hardester, Kendra Kirchner
Release Year: 1982
Country: US
Run Time: 80 minutes
MPAA Rating: PG
Plot
Several movie genres collide head-on in Android. Klaus Kinski plays a slightly cracked scientist, working in solitude on a remote space station. Kinski is hoping to develop a race of humanlike robots, the prototype of which is Max. 404 (Don Opper). He is interrupted by a coed gang of space-hopping escaped convicts. One of the cons, the lovely Brie Howard, falls in love with Max. 404, and he with her. The android's less attractive traits are exhibited when he jealously attempts to destroy female robot Kendra Kirchner. Though there's no budget to speak of, Android is one of the more likeable second-echelon sci-fiers of the 1980s. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Don Opper - Max 404; Darrell Larson - Terrapol: Neptune; Mary Ann Fisher - Terrapol: Neptune; Wayne Springfield - Terrapol: Minos; Rachel Talalay - Terrapol: Landing Party; Julia Gibson - Terrapol: Minos
Credit
Wayne Springfield - Art Director, K.C. Scheibel - Art Director, Barry Opper - Associate Producer, Aaron Lipstadt - Director, Andrew Horvitch - Editor, Robert J. Kizer - Editor, Rupert Harvey - Executive Producer, Don Preston - Composer (Music Score), Tim Suhrstedt - Cinematographer, Mary Ann Fisher - Producer, Mark Ulano - Sound/Sound Designer, Don Opper - Screenwriter, James Reigle - Screenwriter
Android is a 1982Science fiction film directed by Aaron Lipstadt and starring Klaus Kinski. The film follows the story of a scientist and his assistant who are working on an illegal android program from their lab on a space station in orbit of the Earth.
It was voted Best Science Fiction Film in 1983, by The Age but has received a somewhat mixed reaction from critics. It was completely filmed in 4 weeks and edited together in a further 3 weeks. The original version was 80 minutes long and none of the original content was removed before release.
The film follows the story of Doctor Daniel (Klaus Kinski) and his assistant Max 404 (Don Keith Opper) who work on a space lab in the year 2036 on an illegal android program. The Doctor is working on the creation of a female robot Cassandra One (Kendra Kirchner). When Max saves a space craft he meets his first human woman. It is eventually revealed that Daniel is himself an Android. After his eventual demise Max and Cassandra, posing as Daniel and his assistant, return to an Earth where androids have been banned since the Munich revolution.
In the closing credits, Max 404 plays "himself," and the technical credits maintain the conceit that the film character Max 404 is played by an actual android called Max 404.
Reception
The film received a mixed response being praised in Europe but receiving a less positive reaction in the United States. It was described by Cinefantastique as "a typical New World production that opens nice, but soon short-circuits with all the clichés of the genre." However this can be contrasted with the views of leading science fiction author David Wingrove who describes the review by Cinefastique as witless "Rot! Android stays firmly nice from start to finish" He particularly praises the work done on such a low budget saying that "you can't buy or budget love. When money is sparse, invention is all." George Lucas said that he personally thought the film to be "smart" and "relevant".
References
Bibliography
Wingrove, David. Science Fiction Film Source Book (Longman Group Limited, 1985)
