The Andromeda Strain
In 1969, an unknown author wrote a book that would later be made into a movie. That author had previously written other novels under pen names, but Andromeda Strain would be Michael Crichton’s first novel released under his real name.
If you haven’t read a Crichton novel, then you’ve probably seen a Crichton movie. Probably the most famous of all Crichton novels to be made into a movie is “Jurassic Park.” That movie did particularly well because Crichton also wrote the screenplay. Purists will realize that the book and movie differed in several regards, and that the movie version of “JP” was made a great deal more “family friendly” compared to the graphic details of the novel.
Memorial Day, A&E’s “The Andromeda Strain” makes it’s debut. It is a two-night event, so it may be more detailed than the original 1971 movie. However, the original movie was very true to the original novel, straying only - as I remember - in the sex of one of the characters. (A male in the novel, was female in the movie.)
I’m looking forward to the movie, although Crichton didn’t write the screenplay, so this may be more in the vein of “Based On The Novel.” In other words, it would resemble the novel, but not be exactly the same. We shall see.
As long as it’s not a disaster of a movie like “Rising Sun.” A disaster so bad, that Crichton actually walked out on the movie when it was being previewed to him.
Links of interest:
MichaelCrichton.com
A&E’s The Andromeda Strain
RLR
May 29th, 2008 at 1:48 am
Watched the A&E movie and did not like it as well as the original movie.
June 2nd, 2008 at 7:36 pm
I love Crichton’s stuff; I just finshed “Next”…
June 2nd, 2008 at 9:14 pm
I own Next, but haven’t read it. Up until I moved from Dallas a few years ago, I owned all the hardbacks of Crichton’s work. I had to search high and low for some of the more rare titles. It took me a couple of years to find “Electronic Life.”
Granted, you could probably find all the books on the Internet today… but 10 years ago, not so much.
Unfortunately, I believe much of my book collection - including signed copies of books by Bill Cosby and Ben Bova - were bulk sold to a half price bookstore by accident. Depressing, but true.
Such is the price of moving from Texas to Hawaii.
I’d do it again.
RLR