I can remember when cable television was in its infancy and we had a service called WHT. On this service they would premiere some movies that were just released from the theaters. One of the releases we had was The Andromeda Strain which believe it or not was done by Michael Crichton (of Jurassic Park fame). The film was amazing and I remember sitting and watching this in the comfort of my living room. Years later the folks over at Arrow Video have re-released this on Blu-ray but is this a classic that you will want to revisit? 
For those that haven’t seen this movie the Andromeda Strain takes place in Piedmont, New Mexico as a government satellite had crashed in that location. However, something within this downed satellite has killed all but two of the town’s inhabitants. A recovery team was dispatched to recover the tech however, when they suspect an alien organism might have been brought back they dispatch an elite scientific team to deal with this new threat. As the team surveys the town they find out that there were only two survivors which were a six month old infant and a 69 year old drunk. What happens next is a great piece of cinema that needs to be experienced as it has been restored from the original film negative and it looks amazing. Also, the audio is the original uncompressed mono audio that was remastered for this release along with optional English subtitles.
Also, the packaging is amazing as well as it has a reversible sleeve that has the original poster art as well as new original art commissioned for this release. The first pressing also has a limited edition collector’s book that documents the film. This book also has some stills from the film as well and is a great read. There are also a ton of special features including an audio commentary by Bryan Reesman who is a movie critic. There is also a making of the film entitled The Andromeda Strain: Making the Film and that has interviews with the director Robert Wise and screenwriter Nelson Gidding. Showing off a newfound appreciation of this film is also on the disc with A New Strain of Science Fiction by Kim Newman. Another featurette is A Portrait of Michael Crichton which was shot in 2001 which consists of an interview with the author of this and other films. There is also a Cinescript Gallery that shows off some of the highlights from the shooting script / annotated scripts that were penned by Nelson Gidding (also available for view via the BD-Rom). An image gallery, radio spots, TV commercial spots as well as the original theatrical trailer round out the special features. 
If you love Michael Crichton or you love your science fiction to have actual science in it then you need to check out The Andromeda Strain. For more information on this and other films go over to www.arrowfilms.com and get ready to fight against an alien virus.
