The talent working on this film should have meant the end product was a lot more coherent than it actually was.John Barry who was involved with a story credit but was production designer for Star Wars and Superman must have had a big hand in the set design for this film as it looks incredible.The sets are so good they are a character in themselves and lend effectively to creating a sense of isolation.The sets remind me of Alien,yes they are that good which would be testament to the brilliance of Barry.Its a shame then that the rest of the film is rarther poor.It shows glimpses of promise but seems to falter just as its picking up.An expressionless Harvey Kietel seems dubbed and gave a physically hollow performance alongside an energetic Kirk Douglas and an airhead Farrah Fawcett.The visual effects are actually OK but the film seems to be missing big chunks and i get the feeling there's a version out there on the cutting room floor that is actually a lot better than what we have here.This film could probably be remade quite successfully,it has a great premise and is lacking a quality director to see it through. 6/10
149 Reviews
Harmless Space Hokum
trickyascupart11 May 2007
Right. Saturn 3 is one of those films that always seems to divide reviewers into the two old and trustworthy camps: "what a great picture" and "who the heck let this pile of manure be made?" And then, it has the ability to have a solid middle ground; the "nyah...not bad..." crowd. I have to say that I fall into this latter group. I first saw Saturn 3 when I was a teenager and was gripped by it. I remember thinking how cool Hector looked and the fact that he was also downright creepy. In the years before seeing The Terminator Hector, for me, was the archetypal maniac machine that will stop at nothing to kill you in a (probably) gruesome way. Okay, the film's saving graces: the overall design of the sets and costumes. Ignoring the rather bleak look of the corridors, the Saturn 3 station has that feeling of being futuristic but also familiar in a Holiday Inn-sort of way, and the launching area at the film's beginning, with that great big flaming hole image effectively acting as a rather cool backdrop. Benson's (and also James') space suits are very nicely done. They give off the distinct air of practicality, like a hyper-modern air force pressure suit, and also a sense of impersonality about them which becomes menacing with the addition of the dark face plated helmets. Adam and Alex's work-out gear, however, is very dated and it's also quite excruciating to watch their exercise routine. The ships aren't Star Wars Star Destroyers, but then they're not meant to be. The way I look at it, they were designed to look slightly other worldly and also practical. Benson's pod that he flies to Saturn 3 looks entirely functional and although it appears rather clunky and distinctly un-aerodynamic, it's worth remembering that in space there isn't any wind resistance so sleek lines aren't necessary. Unfortunately, because this was a full-sized prop for the actors to interact with the other ships do look like the models they are. Hector is a piece of design excellence. For a start, the actual costume is made from metal, instantly rendering the appearance of a real robot. The actual laboured gait and measured way of moving employed by the actor playing Hector (probably due to the considerable weight of the suit) is instrumental in convincing the viewer of his cybernetic credentials. What helps is that we see Hector being constructed and that can block out any ideas of the "man in a suit" mold, particularly in regards to the insertion of the brain tissue into (effectively) the torso of the costume. Finally, Harvey Keitel. His performance in this film is derided by many as being too over the top and hammy but I think that he actually saw the script for what it really was - eighty-odd minutes of comic-book fun. He had a ball with the Benson character and it's quite obvious that he knew he wasn't asked to do Shakespeare and play it straight. Kirk Douglas and Farrah Fawcett are a let down to be sure. It's evident that Kirk's entering his dotage and the idea of him being an action hero and hot stud when he's the same age as most of the audience's grandfathers is frankly ludicrous. And showing your sagging butt, Kirk? Should've kept those training suit bottoms on. Farrah does play Alex well when she's there to look good, but any semblance of the idea that she's a research scientist just doesn't compute. The film in itself is a bit of a hit and miss affair. It aims to be a sophisticated sci-fi thriller like Alien but the casting of Douglas and Fawcett certainly taint any idea of it being classed as a thriller. The music (what there is of it) is original, the direction so-so and the overall concept is there, but it fails to it the target spot on. An enjoyable piece of hokum to pass the time would be a fair review.
Good premise poorly executed
rosscinema15 December 2002
A lot of people bag on this film and I'm the first to admit that it is not a good film but I would be lying if I said I wasn't entertained by certain things in it. I was entertained by the incredibly bad set designs. Here's a film with a good budget, big stars and directed by the great Stanley Donen and it looks like it was filmed in someone's garage! And of course Farrah gets naked. Thank god for VHS and the pause button! If your wondering why Farrah was a sex symbol in the 70's freeze the scene where she takes her clothes off. And Keitel was creepy and his voice sounded different. Maybe it was dubbed but he gave a convincing menacing performance. Not a good film but the story had promise.
Flawed with fantastic ideas
amesmonde11 February 2015
Two lovers stationed on a remote moon base of Saturn are intruded upon by a murderous man and his malevolent 8-ft robot.
Its production issues, changing of directors (one of which was the late great John Barry) and budget cuts aside for a film that was made in 1980 it feels like late 60s/70s. That said, the sets that take a leaf from Alien (1979) are partially effective and the blue ominous lighting works but is sadly used sparingly.
The late Farrah Fawcett is still a major draw and although there's a cringe worthy age gap between leads it is fitting to the narratives themes. Acting legend Kirk Douglas is a little inconsistent and not on form possibly due to the script or production woes. Harvey Keitel has been unconventionally re-dubbed which is a shame, but he still is effective as the homicidal sociopath, off beat, boorish Earth Captain Benson. Although choppy, there's some great setups with the interestingly designed Hector robot and Elmer Bernstein's score if fantastic.
It's not purposely ambiguous, but it leaves many questions and loose ends. It's by no means the worst science-fiction movie, John Barry's story offers some great ideas and has clearly influenced subsequent scifi's notably the Matrix (1999) plug-in.
It's flawed and inconsistent but still worth viewing for the concept alone.
Its production issues, changing of directors (one of which was the late great John Barry) and budget cuts aside for a film that was made in 1980 it feels like late 60s/70s. That said, the sets that take a leaf from Alien (1979) are partially effective and the blue ominous lighting works but is sadly used sparingly.
The late Farrah Fawcett is still a major draw and although there's a cringe worthy age gap between leads it is fitting to the narratives themes. Acting legend Kirk Douglas is a little inconsistent and not on form possibly due to the script or production woes. Harvey Keitel has been unconventionally re-dubbed which is a shame, but he still is effective as the homicidal sociopath, off beat, boorish Earth Captain Benson. Although choppy, there's some great setups with the interestingly designed Hector robot and Elmer Bernstein's score if fantastic.
It's not purposely ambiguous, but it leaves many questions and loose ends. It's by no means the worst science-fiction movie, John Barry's story offers some great ideas and has clearly influenced subsequent scifi's notably the Matrix (1999) plug-in.
It's flawed and inconsistent but still worth viewing for the concept alone.
You Have A Beautiful Body. May I Use It?
rmax3048234 December 2013
Warning: Spoilers
I can understand what Farrah Fawcett was doing in this movie. She was just coming off the enormous success of "Charlie's Angels" and every young girl was copying her hair style. This was her chance for a career in feature films.
Then, too, I can understand why Kirk Douglas is in this movie. He was in his mid-60s and although he looked fine and retained his talent, fewer offers were coming his way.
But what is Harvey Keitel doing in this movie, made up like Bette Midler and dubbed throughout? He was at his peak, yet here he is, inexpressive, lacking in tonality, and more robotic than the android he creates. What a waste.
The story, by Martin Amis, son of the sophisticated Kingsley, borrows from "Silent Running," "2001," and "Alien," but at heart it's a clumsy respinning of "Forbidden Planet". Instead of Morpheus and his pretty daughter on a lonely planet, we have Kirk Douglas and Farrah Fawcett living comfortably together on Saturn 3, an isolated outpost on one of Saturn's moons. Their mission is to grow plants hydroponically to help feed earth's population.
Instead of their torpid existences being disturbed by a visit from Leslie Nielsen and his crew, they are visited by Keitel, who has brought with him a robot to "help" them on Saturn 3, and once the robot is working, one of the loving couple will become obsolete.
So far, so good. But then Keitel, with his phony voice, develops a yen for Farrah Fawcett. "You have a beautiful body," he tells her. "May I use it?" And why not? Douglas has his signature chin dimple but Fawcett has her appealing attributes too. We get a brief glimpse of both of them as she sheds her robe preparatory to playing doctor with Douglas. This was a disturbing scene indeed because there is no evidence that they are married, so I'm afraid their congress is improper.
I don't want to go on with the rest of this nonsense. It's not really worth this space or your time. The robot goes berserk, as robots representing the id are wont to do, and begins to bust some moves on Fawcett. I don't blame this freaky looking machine for having the impulse, but what on earth, or on Saturn 3, can its intentions be? The climax involves a plodding chase through the internal tubes -- all lighted with neon blue -- with Douglas and Fawcett running and the robot plodding like Schwarzenegger's humanoid in "The Terminator." There is a moment of self sacrifice. Fawcett gets to visit the earth for the first time in her life.
Then, too, I can understand why Kirk Douglas is in this movie. He was in his mid-60s and although he looked fine and retained his talent, fewer offers were coming his way.
But what is Harvey Keitel doing in this movie, made up like Bette Midler and dubbed throughout? He was at his peak, yet here he is, inexpressive, lacking in tonality, and more robotic than the android he creates. What a waste.
The story, by Martin Amis, son of the sophisticated Kingsley, borrows from "Silent Running," "2001," and "Alien," but at heart it's a clumsy respinning of "Forbidden Planet". Instead of Morpheus and his pretty daughter on a lonely planet, we have Kirk Douglas and Farrah Fawcett living comfortably together on Saturn 3, an isolated outpost on one of Saturn's moons. Their mission is to grow plants hydroponically to help feed earth's population.
Instead of their torpid existences being disturbed by a visit from Leslie Nielsen and his crew, they are visited by Keitel, who has brought with him a robot to "help" them on Saturn 3, and once the robot is working, one of the loving couple will become obsolete.
So far, so good. But then Keitel, with his phony voice, develops a yen for Farrah Fawcett. "You have a beautiful body," he tells her. "May I use it?" And why not? Douglas has his signature chin dimple but Fawcett has her appealing attributes too. We get a brief glimpse of both of them as she sheds her robe preparatory to playing doctor with Douglas. This was a disturbing scene indeed because there is no evidence that they are married, so I'm afraid their congress is improper.
I don't want to go on with the rest of this nonsense. It's not really worth this space or your time. The robot goes berserk, as robots representing the id are wont to do, and begins to bust some moves on Fawcett. I don't blame this freaky looking machine for having the impulse, but what on earth, or on Saturn 3, can its intentions be? The climax involves a plodding chase through the internal tubes -- all lighted with neon blue -- with Douglas and Fawcett running and the robot plodding like Schwarzenegger's humanoid in "The Terminator." There is a moment of self sacrifice. Fawcett gets to visit the earth for the first time in her life.
A little dated but nonetheless very well done...
bwilkus30 December 2004
I first watched Saturn 3 with my father when I was about 12 years old and I remembered liking it and being creeped out by it as a kid. So I revisited the film again last night. Even though it has been over 15 years since I first saw this film, I still really enjoyed it. I was very surprised to see so many negative comments here on IMDb. All in all, the film is a little dated, but it still contains some very striking visuals and original ideas. The sets used for this film were extremely well detailed and thought out, as were the costumes and props. "Hector" is perhaps one of the coolest looking cyborg/robot characters ever conceived. The scene where he is first "booted up" and filled with "cyber-blood" is just vivid and stunning. After watching this film, it was also *quite* obvious that this movie influenced some of the more modern science fiction masterpieces like Robocop, the (1st) Matrix and James Cameron's Aliens. Several of the reviews harshly criticized the acting and the story, but I however found no problems in this department. Nowadays we seldom see good films with a small cast and a simple story. Not every movie has to be as advanced and as complex as films like Minority Report. And I am sorry, but Mark Hamill and Keanu Reeves can't hold a candle to Kirk Douglas and Harvey Keitel when it comes to acting. I think people are trying to compare this film to all the super budget modern sci-fi movies. Or perhaps this movie is regarded as "crap" by many because they think Star Wars is the end all, be all sci-fi movie of all time, which in my opinion, Star Wars is MUCH more cheesy and way too light-hearted to take seriously. If you like serious, dark sci-fi flicks, be sure to check this one out. Don't listen to all those Star Wars nerds who crap on this film. Judge it for yourself. 7/10
Farrah's leading men: Kirk, Harvey, and a horny robot named Hector
moonspinner5521 January 2001
Would-be foreboding sci-fi looks all shiny and new, like a futuristic department store. Three good actors (Farrah Fawcett, Kirk Douglas and Harvey Keitel) come off looking like incompetent dummies in this derivative, cardboard cartoon. When Keitel arrives at the space station of lovers Douglas and Fawcett, he is carrying a strange metal container. Douglas offers to carry it for him and Keitel answers, "NOOOOOOOO!" in a hilariously chilly manner that makes even Richard Burton's overacting seem tame by comparison. Poor Kirk and Farrah even strip down for this one (so much for the classy reputation of vet director Stanley Donen). There is a neat scene where robotic Hector takes a splinter from Farrah's eye, but her reaction afterward (rubbing it like a child and sticking her bottom lip out) is embarrassing. This is one step beyond, all right. It's so far out it's brain-dead. *1/2 from ****
An Underrated Sci-Fi Cult
claudio_carvalho12 October 2012
In the future, Earth is overcrowded and the population relies on distant bases to be fed. In the Saturn 3 station, Major Adam (Kirk Douglas) and the scientist Alex (Farrah Fawcett), who is also his lover and has never been on Earth, have been researching hydroponics for three years in the base alone with their dog Sally.
Meanwhile, the psychotic Captain Benson (Harvey Keitel) fails the mental test required to travel to Saturn 3 and kills his replacement, Captain James, taking his place in the mission of assembling and programming the Demi-God series robot Hector to replace one of the scientists in Saturn 3.
On the arrival, the mentally disturbed Captain Benson becomes sexually obsessed for Alex. Then he uses an interface to link his brain to program Hector, but incapable to control his emotions, he transfers his homicidal tendency and insanity to Hector. Now Major Adam and Alex are trapped in the station with a dangerous psychopath robot.
"Saturn 3" is an underrated sci-fi cult from the 80's with a dark story that has not aged. The plot is very simple but creepy and the cast is very well selected: Kirk Douglas very mature but still handsome, convincing that Major Adam is capable to seduce Alex. The underrated actress Farrah Fawcett in the top of her beauty and showing parts of her body, seducing not only the psychopath Captain Benson but ( I believe) most of the male viewers. And Harvey Keitel is perfect as a mentally unstable man with sex drive on Alex. The non-commercial conclusion is also excellent and perfect for the story. My vote is seven.
Title (Brazil): "Missão Saturno 3" ("Mission Saturn 3")
Meanwhile, the psychotic Captain Benson (Harvey Keitel) fails the mental test required to travel to Saturn 3 and kills his replacement, Captain James, taking his place in the mission of assembling and programming the Demi-God series robot Hector to replace one of the scientists in Saturn 3.
On the arrival, the mentally disturbed Captain Benson becomes sexually obsessed for Alex. Then he uses an interface to link his brain to program Hector, but incapable to control his emotions, he transfers his homicidal tendency and insanity to Hector. Now Major Adam and Alex are trapped in the station with a dangerous psychopath robot.
"Saturn 3" is an underrated sci-fi cult from the 80's with a dark story that has not aged. The plot is very simple but creepy and the cast is very well selected: Kirk Douglas very mature but still handsome, convincing that Major Adam is capable to seduce Alex. The underrated actress Farrah Fawcett in the top of her beauty and showing parts of her body, seducing not only the psychopath Captain Benson but ( I believe) most of the male viewers. And Harvey Keitel is perfect as a mentally unstable man with sex drive on Alex. The non-commercial conclusion is also excellent and perfect for the story. My vote is seven.
Title (Brazil): "Missão Saturno 3" ("Mission Saturn 3")
From Hunger
greer45311 November 2006
I just read a glowing review of this movie in which the reviewer dismisses the film's legion of critics as a bunch of benighted Star Wars nerds. Well, let me tell you, anyone who thinks Saturn 3 was remotely interesting or cool must have watched it on Ecstasy or acid (basically, I am saying that marijuana would not be enough). I grew up as a rabid Sci-Fi fan who salivated at the prospect of ANY movie set in space, and back when Saturn 3 was made, you took what you could get. I found redeeming qualities in nearly every Sci-Fi flick that came down the pike, so I was not what you'd call picky. Silent Running, Outland, Logan's Run-- you name it, I managed to convince myself that it was good. But Saturn 3? What a turkey! It was pedestrian, it was dull, the story was hackneyed and pointless, and it was annoying. And remember, this was Farah Fawcett BEFORE she won acclaim in The Burning Bed. Oh, and the special effects were not very special at all. The person who praised this movie and registered disdain at all the negative reviews should go back into the archives and look up what every single film critic said about the movie when it premiered. It was panned by everyone in the industry, and for very good reason. It stunk. So please, unless you have a clinical fascination with dreadful movies, don't waste your time. And don't listen to delusional apologists for the film who first saw it when they were 12 years old.
Martin Amis Gives Sci-Fi a Try
jcbcritique26 December 2006
All right -- first off, I'm going to recommend that you see this, even if just to satisfy your own curiosity (which I'm presuming on your behalf, I suppose). My own curiosity stems from the fact that Martin Amis was the screenwriter here. For those who don't know, Amis is the gold standard for modern literary fiction (although more recently, he has been off-form, c.f. the horrendous "Yellow Dog"). His narrative prose is too often described as "Mandarin"; that is, erudite, rife with classical allusion, and thoroughgoing familiarity with the major English writers and poets (particularly and most importantly Milton, whose "Paradise Lost" he basically cannibalizes for the plot and much of the language of his "The Information", and also P.G. Wodehouse, whose prose style his is most akin to). Amis, the son of novelist Kingsley Amis, claims to have read nothing but comic books as a boy.
There's nothing overtly Amis-ian about the dialogue itself -- one or two stillborn jokes about Saturn being the "place where they would insert the tube if the solar system needed an enema" (which sounds like the astro-physics stuff from The Info or London Fields, where sodomy is talked about in terms of "black holes," and Nicola herself is a "black hole of sex", right?). There are "erudite" elements like classical references to the Roman god Saturn (at least in the title itself, and not really developed in the screenplay) and naming of the robot "Hector", of "the Demigod III series" (one of the characters constantly reminds us of Hector's bad treatment at the hands of Achilles, to wit, "Hector's body was dragged around the walls of Troy by Achilles").
The acting by Douglas and Fawcett is just unbelievably bad. No way to get around it. As I think back on it, the screenplay may have been pretty good actually, but their delivery was ruining it, every time. Douglas's big, hammy face and shoulders filling up the screen and stepping all over what may have been witty little bits here and there. He was badly, badly mis-cast in this one -- it should've been someone like Jack Lemmon or Kevin Spacey. Farrah Fawcett (earning her paycheck as a set decoration, basically) was perfectly cast, in light of the fact that this is basically an "Adam and Eve In Space" story. Amis's females (c.f. "Other People," or "Success") tend to take Milton's Eve as their model.
Now, if the execution, in terms of acting or staging what-have-you, didn't come off, the overall structure of the thing was anagogically sound. There's no question that Amis's novelist's sense of architecture was at its high ebb at this part of his career (the contemporaneous book would be "Success", Amis's most cleanly and cleverly plotted). As I said, it's basically Adam and Eve "in space," and the ending, as with our first parents, is not a happy one.
Harvey Keitel is the intruder on Douglas's and Fawcett's Eden. And what's interesting is that his character is a forebear of the "Devil" character in Amis's later novel, "The Information", Scozzy. Keitel's character is, like Scozzy, a sort of cyborg, a series of pixellated surfaces, motivated only by desire for Fawcett. By the end of the movie, his person merges with the robot Hector.
The movie's coda was surprisingly strong, actually, almost unwarrantedly powerful, given the crappiness of what had led up to it.
Overall, you'd have to give Amis credit for trying to bring depth to a pretty shallow genre (references to Homer, Virgil, and Genesis, in a 90 minute sci-fi horror flick), and for knowing when to "get out of the way" for the visual aspect of the action.
There's nothing overtly Amis-ian about the dialogue itself -- one or two stillborn jokes about Saturn being the "place where they would insert the tube if the solar system needed an enema" (which sounds like the astro-physics stuff from The Info or London Fields, where sodomy is talked about in terms of "black holes," and Nicola herself is a "black hole of sex", right?). There are "erudite" elements like classical references to the Roman god Saturn (at least in the title itself, and not really developed in the screenplay) and naming of the robot "Hector", of "the Demigod III series" (one of the characters constantly reminds us of Hector's bad treatment at the hands of Achilles, to wit, "Hector's body was dragged around the walls of Troy by Achilles").
The acting by Douglas and Fawcett is just unbelievably bad. No way to get around it. As I think back on it, the screenplay may have been pretty good actually, but their delivery was ruining it, every time. Douglas's big, hammy face and shoulders filling up the screen and stepping all over what may have been witty little bits here and there. He was badly, badly mis-cast in this one -- it should've been someone like Jack Lemmon or Kevin Spacey. Farrah Fawcett (earning her paycheck as a set decoration, basically) was perfectly cast, in light of the fact that this is basically an "Adam and Eve In Space" story. Amis's females (c.f. "Other People," or "Success") tend to take Milton's Eve as their model.
Now, if the execution, in terms of acting or staging what-have-you, didn't come off, the overall structure of the thing was anagogically sound. There's no question that Amis's novelist's sense of architecture was at its high ebb at this part of his career (the contemporaneous book would be "Success", Amis's most cleanly and cleverly plotted). As I said, it's basically Adam and Eve "in space," and the ending, as with our first parents, is not a happy one.
Harvey Keitel is the intruder on Douglas's and Fawcett's Eden. And what's interesting is that his character is a forebear of the "Devil" character in Amis's later novel, "The Information", Scozzy. Keitel's character is, like Scozzy, a sort of cyborg, a series of pixellated surfaces, motivated only by desire for Fawcett. By the end of the movie, his person merges with the robot Hector.
The movie's coda was surprisingly strong, actually, almost unwarrantedly powerful, given the crappiness of what had led up to it.
Overall, you'd have to give Amis credit for trying to bring depth to a pretty shallow genre (references to Homer, Virgil, and Genesis, in a 90 minute sci-fi horror flick), and for knowing when to "get out of the way" for the visual aspect of the action.
Part Alien, part Star Wars, and a little Star Trek thrown in as well.
Aaron137518 May 2003
This movie is about a couple that lives on this outpost in space. They are lovers and their world is carefree and simple. That is until a criminal comes and builds a robot that goes insane. The problem with this movie is that there just isn't enough cast here to make this movie as cool as it should have been. The robot needed people to kill, but there were only three people around so it didn't really get to flex its muscle. On the plus side Kirk Douglas is good, and so is Harvey Kietal as the criminal. Fawcett isn't great, but she does ok. The plot should have included more though as a lot of this movie goes unexplained, like Kietal's character motivations, or why didn't anyone warn Kirk and Farrah that a criminal was out there. In the end this movie has its moments, but tends to become a bit tedious.
"No Taction Contact!"
XweAponX15 June 2011
Warning: Spoilers
I saw this in the theater on the day it was released in 1980. This was a Grindhouse movie shown in little theatres, not in huge complexes. I went to see it not expecting much
Not expecting, but got: This film had the coolest robot I had ever seen in my life. Back then I was not familiar with Harvey Keitel, I did not know that Roy Dotrice had overdubbed his voice, all I knew is this creepy guy, opens an airlock on a space station and lets his Captain fall through, shattering him into a million pieces of gore, and that was disturbing, and it was shown within the first 5 minutes of this film - And Keitel, who at the time was hidden by a black space helmet, giggling about killing this guy in that horrible way, what kind of film is this with a beginning like that.
Not the best Stanley Donen film, but Donen clearly had a talent for doing the best he could with very low budgets, it could have used a few more dollars in the effects budget. It is highly Likely that John Barry directed a lot of this, and his design handiwork is evident.
After seeing Space done so beautifully and economically by Ridley Scott in Aliens, this film for me was a return to my roots of Low Budget Science Fiction, which I grew up on, so I enjoyed the cheesy view of Saturn's Rings, I even loved the 2-D effect of the space station, and Donen's directing of the initial scene where you think is this going to be a musical in space? But there were some good effects despite the Apparent lack of dollars to make them really good. And I first saw this in the theater, and things always look better on that huge screen, until you see it on TV and it looks Cheap.
So now, 32 years after I sat in that theater and was creeped out by Harvey Keitel and his robot "Hector" - I found a fairly good transfer of that film online and got it - And I watched it last night, for the first time in 3 decades.
And I still liked it, the interactions between Kirk Douglass, Farah Fawcett and Harvey Keitel were subtle and the dialog was understandable although a "future slang" was being used, we can get the gist of the conversations... "No Taction Contact!" IE, "Do Not Touch!" - Kirk Douglas was far from being a decrepit old man in this film, he plays the lead role in his usual way, although toned down from his gritting teeth roles like Spartacus. In fact, this was the first film I had seen Douglas in where he was very subdued in manner but held his authority, when usually he acts with a lot more force behind his words and actions. I think this was probably the biggest Movie role for Farah , not counting several made for TV movies like "The Burning Bed".
The Saturn 3 set is convincing as a space habitat, except of course the gravity would be less than earth's, there is no mention of artificial gravity, so we have to take all that for granted in the film.
The Hector concept, was the first time I had seen in a movie, that a robot had to be programmed from a human brain, and if that brain has problems: "I'm not malfunctioning, You are" as Hector tells "Benson"- So this film makes clear that a guy who giggles over murdering his captain in cold blood, if this guy is the template for Hector's Programming, then watch out - The film made this concept very clear. This was also the first time in a movie where we see a socket at the base of a man's skull, this has been used in Science Fiction movies up to The Matrix.
The design of some of the space-ships came from earlier science fiction movies, and we can blame veteran effects man Wally Veevers for some of the opticals in this film... The three-winged craft that comes to check on Saturn 3 is very familiar- I like that this was done that way, it connected this film which was at the time, a modern science fiction film, to its predecessors from the late 50's and early 60's. Most of the spaceships look like they came from the covers of "The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction" or "Analog Science Fiction" or "Galaxy" or any number of those pulps where these stories came from...
And of course, the writer of this story was Martin Amis, the son of author Kingsley Amis, who wrote several science fiction stories with slants like used in this film.
So basically, this was a B Movie that got some attention because of the then use of Kirk Douglas and Farah Fawcett, it could have been a great film, but as it is, it is not horrible, the science is believable, the effects typical but not great, the resolution not perfect but satisfying. The story could have been fleshed out a bit more, but as it is, the robot Hector, I remembered that Robot, when I saw Terminator I thought of Hector, when I saw Aliens I thought of Hector, there were a lot of possibilities for that character, this was not just an "Evil Robot" but a robot that became evil because of the way it was "taught" - Much like people in that respect. And that cylinder that held "Hectors Brain" - was creepy, any brain that is 4 times the size of a human brain, well you just have to say "Why is that a BAD IDEA?"
Not expecting, but got: This film had the coolest robot I had ever seen in my life. Back then I was not familiar with Harvey Keitel, I did not know that Roy Dotrice had overdubbed his voice, all I knew is this creepy guy, opens an airlock on a space station and lets his Captain fall through, shattering him into a million pieces of gore, and that was disturbing, and it was shown within the first 5 minutes of this film - And Keitel, who at the time was hidden by a black space helmet, giggling about killing this guy in that horrible way, what kind of film is this with a beginning like that.
Not the best Stanley Donen film, but Donen clearly had a talent for doing the best he could with very low budgets, it could have used a few more dollars in the effects budget. It is highly Likely that John Barry directed a lot of this, and his design handiwork is evident.
After seeing Space done so beautifully and economically by Ridley Scott in Aliens, this film for me was a return to my roots of Low Budget Science Fiction, which I grew up on, so I enjoyed the cheesy view of Saturn's Rings, I even loved the 2-D effect of the space station, and Donen's directing of the initial scene where you think is this going to be a musical in space? But there were some good effects despite the Apparent lack of dollars to make them really good. And I first saw this in the theater, and things always look better on that huge screen, until you see it on TV and it looks Cheap.
So now, 32 years after I sat in that theater and was creeped out by Harvey Keitel and his robot "Hector" - I found a fairly good transfer of that film online and got it - And I watched it last night, for the first time in 3 decades.
And I still liked it, the interactions between Kirk Douglass, Farah Fawcett and Harvey Keitel were subtle and the dialog was understandable although a "future slang" was being used, we can get the gist of the conversations... "No Taction Contact!" IE, "Do Not Touch!" - Kirk Douglas was far from being a decrepit old man in this film, he plays the lead role in his usual way, although toned down from his gritting teeth roles like Spartacus. In fact, this was the first film I had seen Douglas in where he was very subdued in manner but held his authority, when usually he acts with a lot more force behind his words and actions. I think this was probably the biggest Movie role for Farah , not counting several made for TV movies like "The Burning Bed".
The Saturn 3 set is convincing as a space habitat, except of course the gravity would be less than earth's, there is no mention of artificial gravity, so we have to take all that for granted in the film.
The Hector concept, was the first time I had seen in a movie, that a robot had to be programmed from a human brain, and if that brain has problems: "I'm not malfunctioning, You are" as Hector tells "Benson"- So this film makes clear that a guy who giggles over murdering his captain in cold blood, if this guy is the template for Hector's Programming, then watch out - The film made this concept very clear. This was also the first time in a movie where we see a socket at the base of a man's skull, this has been used in Science Fiction movies up to The Matrix.
The design of some of the space-ships came from earlier science fiction movies, and we can blame veteran effects man Wally Veevers for some of the opticals in this film... The three-winged craft that comes to check on Saturn 3 is very familiar- I like that this was done that way, it connected this film which was at the time, a modern science fiction film, to its predecessors from the late 50's and early 60's. Most of the spaceships look like they came from the covers of "The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction" or "Analog Science Fiction" or "Galaxy" or any number of those pulps where these stories came from...
And of course, the writer of this story was Martin Amis, the son of author Kingsley Amis, who wrote several science fiction stories with slants like used in this film.
So basically, this was a B Movie that got some attention because of the then use of Kirk Douglas and Farah Fawcett, it could have been a great film, but as it is, it is not horrible, the science is believable, the effects typical but not great, the resolution not perfect but satisfying. The story could have been fleshed out a bit more, but as it is, the robot Hector, I remembered that Robot, when I saw Terminator I thought of Hector, when I saw Aliens I thought of Hector, there were a lot of possibilities for that character, this was not just an "Evil Robot" but a robot that became evil because of the way it was "taught" - Much like people in that respect. And that cylinder that held "Hectors Brain" - was creepy, any brain that is 4 times the size of a human brain, well you just have to say "Why is that a BAD IDEA?"
Nice Ride on Saturn 3
Tweetienator11 November 2019
In my opinion an underrated movie - the story is interesting, the production good and we get three great actors - Farrah Fawcett, Harvey Keitel and Kirk Douglas. If you like such movies like Moon (Duncan Jones, 2009) you may like this one too. Saturn 3 is easy better than 80% of all sci-fi shows and movies they produce these days -. if you look behind the veil of modern cgi klamauk.
I'm just ecstatic there isn't a Saturn 1 or 2...
DevastationBob-330 December 2001
Madman and robot chase couple in space. This was the synopsis digital cable gave me, but I went ahead and watched it anyway.
Um, yeah, truly a very very bad movie. One of those films that just fails in every aspect possible; acting, effects, script, sets. And the coup de grace in my book, the pointless killing of a dog. And it's a shame, because the dog was the only decent actor in the flick. I truly believed that it WAS a dog. Unlike "scientist" Farrah Fawcett, or whatever the hell Keitel was supposed to be. At first, with his wooden portrayal and monotone, I thought HE was the robot and maybe Douglas would be the madman. Also none of the actors seemed to be working together, it was almost as if each person was shot separately reading their insipid lines, and then with the magic of 1980s Parent Trap technology, spliced together for the finished product. I bet they never even met each other in person. The high point was Fawcett's nude scenes, but the movie wouldn't even let us have that without showing Kirk Douglas's old man butt. They give with one hand, and punch us in the jimmy with the other. The shoddy acting is enhanced, that is to say made shoddier, by a script so threadbare, they let Fawcett wear it in one of the bedroom scenes (shudder). The words were just there to fill space between the actors who were talking to themselves. This was by no stretch of the imagination a cerebral pick...it pretty much was madman and robot chase couple in space. In a time where you had films like the Black Hole or even 2001, you kinda wanted more from a sci-fi, and Saturn 3 offered nothing but intense stomach cramps and volatile flatulence. We know it is the future and space due to the presence of brightly colored tubes framing all the sets. What is it about tubes that imparts that feeling of future advancement to crappy set designers? My guess, cheapass to procure. The remainder of the sets were just black soundstages with the occasional pipe and metal grid floor. I mean, when even the sets anger you, you know it's gonna be a bad movie. And let's not forget effects. The robot Hector...i mean come on..ABS?? Why would a robot need abs? And the head is just one of those robot arms with two christmas lights for eyes...why sculpt the abs and then give it no head? It's pretty obviously a dude in a suit with a robot arm on his head. And when I say madman and robot chase, I think pursue is a better word, as there's little fast movement where this robot is concerned. Again, costumes and spaceship models anger me in such a non-specific way that I believe it's my hatred for this movie spreading like a cancer through all areas of production...worst gaffing i've ever seen, and the catering was pretentious and tasteless...
cough...
All in all, a very bad movie...good for whatever bad movies are good for. Peace.
Um, yeah, truly a very very bad movie. One of those films that just fails in every aspect possible; acting, effects, script, sets. And the coup de grace in my book, the pointless killing of a dog. And it's a shame, because the dog was the only decent actor in the flick. I truly believed that it WAS a dog. Unlike "scientist" Farrah Fawcett, or whatever the hell Keitel was supposed to be. At first, with his wooden portrayal and monotone, I thought HE was the robot and maybe Douglas would be the madman. Also none of the actors seemed to be working together, it was almost as if each person was shot separately reading their insipid lines, and then with the magic of 1980s Parent Trap technology, spliced together for the finished product. I bet they never even met each other in person. The high point was Fawcett's nude scenes, but the movie wouldn't even let us have that without showing Kirk Douglas's old man butt. They give with one hand, and punch us in the jimmy with the other. The shoddy acting is enhanced, that is to say made shoddier, by a script so threadbare, they let Fawcett wear it in one of the bedroom scenes (shudder). The words were just there to fill space between the actors who were talking to themselves. This was by no stretch of the imagination a cerebral pick...it pretty much was madman and robot chase couple in space. In a time where you had films like the Black Hole or even 2001, you kinda wanted more from a sci-fi, and Saturn 3 offered nothing but intense stomach cramps and volatile flatulence. We know it is the future and space due to the presence of brightly colored tubes framing all the sets. What is it about tubes that imparts that feeling of future advancement to crappy set designers? My guess, cheapass to procure. The remainder of the sets were just black soundstages with the occasional pipe and metal grid floor. I mean, when even the sets anger you, you know it's gonna be a bad movie. And let's not forget effects. The robot Hector...i mean come on..ABS?? Why would a robot need abs? And the head is just one of those robot arms with two christmas lights for eyes...why sculpt the abs and then give it no head? It's pretty obviously a dude in a suit with a robot arm on his head. And when I say madman and robot chase, I think pursue is a better word, as there's little fast movement where this robot is concerned. Again, costumes and spaceship models anger me in such a non-specific way that I believe it's my hatred for this movie spreading like a cancer through all areas of production...worst gaffing i've ever seen, and the catering was pretentious and tasteless...
cough...
All in all, a very bad movie...good for whatever bad movies are good for. Peace.
Uneven but fairly enjoyable sci fi horror.
Infofreak3 January 2003
There's no point whining about what 'Saturn 3' COULD have been with a script by Martin Amis, direction by Stanley Donen ('Bedazzled'), and the star power of Kirk Douglas and Harvey Keitel. It is what it is, and that is, despite the impressive production values, basically a throw back to a fifties b-grade monster movie. Hector is still one of the scariest movie robots of all time, even if the idea of a sex-crazed machine is a trifle ludicrous and reminiscent of all those horny BEMs on pulp magazine covers and silly flicks like 'The Brain From Planet Arous'. Hollywood legend Kirk Douglas ('Spartacus') must have been in his early 60s when this was made but still exudes charisma and virility. 1970s sex symbol Farrah Fawcett ('Logan's Run') is less convincing as his love interest and is, let's face it, little more than eye candy. Keitel must have been wondering just how he ended up in this silliness so soon after his excellent work in 'Blue Collar' and 'Fingers', but he is creepy enough, though apparently dubbed. I also got a kick out of the very brief cameo by Ed Bishop, star of 1970s cult classic SF series 'UFO'. All in all, an unambitious but generally effective thriller, which has a few dull spots but enough scares to make it some cheesy fun. Just don't expect too much and you will enjoy it all the more.
There's something about Farrah Fawcett.
lost-in-limbo18 January 2007
Two scientists / lovers, Adam and Alex are stationed on Saturn's third moon seeking possible sources of food for Earth's growing shortage. Soon Benson, who's posing as Captain James, joins them and he has brought along components of a robot called Hector. He can control its actions with his brain, as he can be connected to it with a device in the back of his neck. Though his lustful feelings for Alex and psychotic intentions, infects Hector and causes it to go berserk.
Danger, danger! What could have been a Sci-fi film brimming with ambitious ideas, turns out to be a increasingly derivative story that just never gets off the ground and languishes in its uneventfully bonkers premise. It occasionally gets quite nasty and sleazy, but never goes anywhere with this voyeuristic touch to make you squirm. Instead this is given pretty risible treatment. If you going to make something this dumb, it better be shamelessly fun when it finally goes haywire. Honestly for me, that didn't occur much. It takes its sweet time to build up the situation, after watching the characters lounging about aimlessly and eyeing each other off. There's just too much time to kill, as there's little to no suspense generated. From a guy who has done some light-hearted movies ("Singing in the Rain", "Lucky Lady" and "Bedazzled"), director Stanley Donen didn't seem to adjust to the material. He went fishing for the thrills in a very unfulfilling manner and slack pacing eventuated from it too.
What kept me watching were the impressive images in this technically well-made enterprise. The imaginative set pieces and overall design are vividly detailed that you could see where most of the money gone too. The special effects also were exemplary staged and especially convincing. Hector the randy robot is one ominous creation and this showers the dreary air. A broodingly understated music score was integrated successfully and the polish photography had a muggy tinge to it as its filmed in such dour lighting. It's lavished A-grade production values stuck in a cheesy B-grade format. The main influence for this would be the soddenly dire script that spits out some dreadful dialogues. The flimsy story is weakly drawn up as it's filled with baffling intentions and abrupt plot-holes. A fine cast isn't given a whole lot to do. Kirk Douglas floats by in very little effort and might be the film's slight energy. Scary, since how old was he? A lot of the interest arose from his performance. Harvey Keitel sounds unrecognizable and is plain deadpan in delivery. As for Farrah Fawcett, she's totally lacking in her acting skills here and provides a child-like innocence to her part. I guess on this occasion we're only supposed to drool over this benchmark 70s pinup girl.
It has some minor moments, but this mostly cold and uninspired shocker doesn't get up to too much trouble.
Danger, danger! What could have been a Sci-fi film brimming with ambitious ideas, turns out to be a increasingly derivative story that just never gets off the ground and languishes in its uneventfully bonkers premise. It occasionally gets quite nasty and sleazy, but never goes anywhere with this voyeuristic touch to make you squirm. Instead this is given pretty risible treatment. If you going to make something this dumb, it better be shamelessly fun when it finally goes haywire. Honestly for me, that didn't occur much. It takes its sweet time to build up the situation, after watching the characters lounging about aimlessly and eyeing each other off. There's just too much time to kill, as there's little to no suspense generated. From a guy who has done some light-hearted movies ("Singing in the Rain", "Lucky Lady" and "Bedazzled"), director Stanley Donen didn't seem to adjust to the material. He went fishing for the thrills in a very unfulfilling manner and slack pacing eventuated from it too.
What kept me watching were the impressive images in this technically well-made enterprise. The imaginative set pieces and overall design are vividly detailed that you could see where most of the money gone too. The special effects also were exemplary staged and especially convincing. Hector the randy robot is one ominous creation and this showers the dreary air. A broodingly understated music score was integrated successfully and the polish photography had a muggy tinge to it as its filmed in such dour lighting. It's lavished A-grade production values stuck in a cheesy B-grade format. The main influence for this would be the soddenly dire script that spits out some dreadful dialogues. The flimsy story is weakly drawn up as it's filled with baffling intentions and abrupt plot-holes. A fine cast isn't given a whole lot to do. Kirk Douglas floats by in very little effort and might be the film's slight energy. Scary, since how old was he? A lot of the interest arose from his performance. Harvey Keitel sounds unrecognizable and is plain deadpan in delivery. As for Farrah Fawcett, she's totally lacking in her acting skills here and provides a child-like innocence to her part. I guess on this occasion we're only supposed to drool over this benchmark 70s pinup girl.
It has some minor moments, but this mostly cold and uninspired shocker doesn't get up to too much trouble.
Not entirely successful, but oddly entertaining just the same.
Hey_Sweden9 November 2014
This somewhat sordid sci-fi thriller certainly marked an offbeat choice of material for the veteran director Stanley Donen, who was better known for making films such as "Singin' in the Rain" and "Bedazzled". It's just quirky enough to be watchable, with the actors gamely going with the flow. The major triumph in "Saturn 3" is the production design, by Stuart Craig, and the lighting, by Billy Williams. This is a great LOOKING film, albeit a somewhat underdeveloped one. It might have been nice had we gotten to know the characters a little bit better, so our rooting interest could be stronger.
Kirk Douglas and Farrah Fawcett play Adam and Alex, two lovers working in an underground space station on Saturns' third moon, Titan. Their job is to try to develop new foods for an underfed Planet Earth. Then along comes the unstable Captain Benson (Harvey Keitel), who makes life miserable for the two of them. For one thing, he quickly begins lusting after Alex (but who can blame him?) and, when he builds a giant helper robot named Hector (!), he is able to transfer his thoughts into Hectors' brain matter. So what we end up with is a terminator with a sex drive.
One of the most curious details is hearing actor Roy Dotrices' voice coming out of Keitels' mouth. This situation - could one consider it a sexual *rectangle*? - is enough to make this at least somewhat memorable. It's a fairly trim film at a mere 88 minutes in length, and it gets down to business with some rapidity. Hector "himself" is humanoid in shape but still very much a mechanical, and "his" design is amusing. Kirk and Farrah make for an unlikely but somewhat appealing couple. Keitel looks rather uncomfortable as the unsubtle antagonist.
This may be worth a look for curiosity seekers but they're advised to not get their hopes up or anything like that.
Six out of 10.
Kirk Douglas and Farrah Fawcett play Adam and Alex, two lovers working in an underground space station on Saturns' third moon, Titan. Their job is to try to develop new foods for an underfed Planet Earth. Then along comes the unstable Captain Benson (Harvey Keitel), who makes life miserable for the two of them. For one thing, he quickly begins lusting after Alex (but who can blame him?) and, when he builds a giant helper robot named Hector (!), he is able to transfer his thoughts into Hectors' brain matter. So what we end up with is a terminator with a sex drive.
One of the most curious details is hearing actor Roy Dotrices' voice coming out of Keitels' mouth. This situation - could one consider it a sexual *rectangle*? - is enough to make this at least somewhat memorable. It's a fairly trim film at a mere 88 minutes in length, and it gets down to business with some rapidity. Hector "himself" is humanoid in shape but still very much a mechanical, and "his" design is amusing. Kirk and Farrah make for an unlikely but somewhat appealing couple. Keitel looks rather uncomfortable as the unsubtle antagonist.
This may be worth a look for curiosity seekers but they're advised to not get their hopes up or anything like that.
Six out of 10.
"Your inadequate Major, in every area..." - "You have a beautiful body, may I use it?" Watchable enough Sci-Fi horror film.
poolandrews12 May 2005
Warning: Spoilers
Saturn 3 starts just like Star Wars (1977) with a shot of space in which a giant spacecraft slowly enters the top of the frame & flies 'over' the camera. Onboard Captain James (an uncredited Douglas Lambert) prepares to depart in a small spacecraft when a mysterious spacesuit & helmet wearing person named Benson (Harvey Keitel, hideously dubbed throughout by Roy Dotrice) opens an airlock & blasts the Captain into some protective wires which make him explode. This impostor takes the place of the Captain & leaves on his own for one of the moons of Saturn. Once there Benson lands in an experimental food research station called Saturn 3. There are only two people who live on Saturn 3, reclusive lover's Adam (Kirk Douglas) & Alex (Farrah Fawcett). It seems that Adam & Alex are making slow progress with their work so Earth has sent the first of the Demigod series of robots lovingly named Hector to help assist them in their research & hopefully speed things up a bit. At first Hector is in pieces, but it doesn't take long for Benson to screw him together & for the fun to start. Hector has the ability to learn directly from Benson, Benson has a special device implanted into the back of his neck which leads to his brain & Hector is able to absorb Benson's thoughts & personality through this device, or something like that. Unfortunately since Benson is a liar, murderer & a mentally unstable drug user Hector starts to develop some worrying personality traits from him. Including an unhealthy obsession with Alex, eventually Hector goes completely berserk & decides that nothing or nobody will stop him from achieving his slightly distorted orders. To make matters even worse Saturn 3 has just entered a 22 day eclipse & cannot contact anyone until they come out of it...
Saturn 3 is one of those films with a troubled production history, John Barry started the film as director but was either fired or left depending on who you believe & the films producer Stanley Donen took over & completed the filming. I quite liked Saturn 3, it isn't brilliant but it wasted an hour and twenty minutes painlessly enough. The script by Martin Amis is not without it's problems, for most of the film there are only three human characters in it. Saturn 3 could have done with a few more disposable cast members for Hector to kill. Benson's motives are almost totally ignored, why kill Captain James & go to Saturn 3 anyway? About two thirds of the way through Hector kills him before he says anything to suggest why is is there, some of Benson's other actions throughout the film were also a bit of a mystery to me. How could Benson pass himself off as Captain James so easily? I was also confused about Hector's motives, what were his eventual plans for Saturn 3, Adam, Alex & why? Some of the dialogue is a little silly as well. The taking of drugs is mentioned but not tackled in a serious way as is the pollution of Earth. The 'Trivia' section on the IMDb states that Saturn 3 only has music during the opening & closing credits, well I can tell you now that I watched it mere hours ago & although the music is used sparingly in Saturn 3 it is scored throughout by Elmer Bernstein. I would also like to mention the sound effects at this point as they really got on my nerves, every time something happened there was an annoying exaggerated electrical sound like when Hector walks or does something, when a door opens or shuts or just operating a computer. The part of Saturn 3 which stands out is the production design & sets which are very impressive, Saturn 3 obviously had a fair amount of money spent on it's overall look. The deranged robot, Hector, looks quite good even if it's head is rather stupid in appearance & it's obviously just a poor actor encased in a robotic suit. It's just a shame he didn't get to do more, preferably killing people. Some of the spacecraft in Saturn 3 look extremely silly, impractical & are obviously just plastic models. The special optical effects are OK, they're not great but they are just about acceptable without becoming too distracting. The acting isn't that great, Douglas looks a little bit old for the role, the best thing I can say about Fawcett is that she's pretty to look at & Keitel complete with pony-tail is dubbed throughout so his original performance is lost. There is a brief nude scene with Fawcett, forget about any gore or violence as all we get a severed hand, a dead dog & a novel use of a decapitated head. Saturn 3 is generally well made & has a reasonable polish to it, nothing stands out as being particularly brilliant but at the same time nothing stands out as being particularly bad. Overall I found Saturn 3 to be an OK way to spend 85 odd minutes, with a bit more thought in the script it could have been really good. As it is it's average at best, watch it if there's nothing else to do.
Saturn 3 is one of those films with a troubled production history, John Barry started the film as director but was either fired or left depending on who you believe & the films producer Stanley Donen took over & completed the filming. I quite liked Saturn 3, it isn't brilliant but it wasted an hour and twenty minutes painlessly enough. The script by Martin Amis is not without it's problems, for most of the film there are only three human characters in it. Saturn 3 could have done with a few more disposable cast members for Hector to kill. Benson's motives are almost totally ignored, why kill Captain James & go to Saturn 3 anyway? About two thirds of the way through Hector kills him before he says anything to suggest why is is there, some of Benson's other actions throughout the film were also a bit of a mystery to me. How could Benson pass himself off as Captain James so easily? I was also confused about Hector's motives, what were his eventual plans for Saturn 3, Adam, Alex & why? Some of the dialogue is a little silly as well. The taking of drugs is mentioned but not tackled in a serious way as is the pollution of Earth. The 'Trivia' section on the IMDb states that Saturn 3 only has music during the opening & closing credits, well I can tell you now that I watched it mere hours ago & although the music is used sparingly in Saturn 3 it is scored throughout by Elmer Bernstein. I would also like to mention the sound effects at this point as they really got on my nerves, every time something happened there was an annoying exaggerated electrical sound like when Hector walks or does something, when a door opens or shuts or just operating a computer. The part of Saturn 3 which stands out is the production design & sets which are very impressive, Saturn 3 obviously had a fair amount of money spent on it's overall look. The deranged robot, Hector, looks quite good even if it's head is rather stupid in appearance & it's obviously just a poor actor encased in a robotic suit. It's just a shame he didn't get to do more, preferably killing people. Some of the spacecraft in Saturn 3 look extremely silly, impractical & are obviously just plastic models. The special optical effects are OK, they're not great but they are just about acceptable without becoming too distracting. The acting isn't that great, Douglas looks a little bit old for the role, the best thing I can say about Fawcett is that she's pretty to look at & Keitel complete with pony-tail is dubbed throughout so his original performance is lost. There is a brief nude scene with Fawcett, forget about any gore or violence as all we get a severed hand, a dead dog & a novel use of a decapitated head. Saturn 3 is generally well made & has a reasonable polish to it, nothing stands out as being particularly brilliant but at the same time nothing stands out as being particularly bad. Overall I found Saturn 3 to be an OK way to spend 85 odd minutes, with a bit more thought in the script it could have been really good. As it is it's average at best, watch it if there's nothing else to do.
Not a brilliant film, but this derivative sci-fi movie's worth a look for lovers of the cult
Leofwine_draca9 December 2016
Warning: Spoilers
As far as killer robot stories go, this one isn't bad. It's not up there with the classics of the genre - films such as THE TERMINATOR, WESTWORLD, and 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY, but there are some genuinely spooky atmospherics as Douglas and Fawcett are chased around some dingy corridors by a psychotic robot. Although the set design and action seems to have been partially lifted from the previous year's popular ALIEN, this film still has enough different slants to keep you watching.
For a start, there are only three main actors in this film (apart from a supposed blink-and-you-miss-it cameo from Ed Bishop) so they have a lot of work to do between them. This isn't helped by having some major miscasting - namely the role of the film's masculine hero, Adam, being played by a far-too-old Kirk Douglas. We're supposed to imagine that old-man Douglas is capable of strenuous physical activities and getting his head smashed in to little effect. The film really needed an actor twenty years younger to fill the part. Douglas also feels a little too over-qualified for a simplistic thriller like this, as both he and Fawcett have little to do apart from fighting the unstoppable robot.
Fawcett herself is little better. I'm sure she's a good actress and all, but she never becomes more than two-dimensional here. The camera enjoys lingering on her naked and scantily-clothed body (and, more disturbingly, Douglas' too) so perhaps that's the reason for her casting. Thankfully, at least there is one effective actor on screen, a young, menacing Harvey Keitel as a murderer who eventually falls foul of his own creation. The film kicks off with Keitel murdering the real captain and taking his place (sucking him through an airlock and blowing him apart outside, quite literally), then travelling to one of Saturn's moons where Douglas and Fawcett reside. We never do learn of his past, or his motives, and this makes his character even more mysterious. Despite Keitel simply doing his patented twitchy routine, he's still very effective and a little frightening.
The killer android itself is a mixed bag. For a start, it's a good head taller than the other actors, to allow for an operator to fit inside, of course. It certainly looks good on the outside, a mixture of hydraulics, crushing pincers, and some cute little lights for a head. On the downside, it's not exactly a difficult foe to foil, seeing as it gets repeatedly pushed into pits of water, electrocuted, and disassembled during this film's length. There are some brief gory bits to add to the horror, including a decapitated dog and the robot "wearing" the battered head of Keitel, as well as cutting Keitel's hand off, but I would much rather face this slow-moving enemy than an alien or a velociraptor, for example.
I did like the ending, which is kind of clichéd but has a good bit where Douglas realises he has been partially assimilated by the robot when he discovers a hole in the back of his neck. The final destruction of the android is a huge explosion, shot by apparently throwing buckets of water about along with some body parts, and it's very arty. Please don't ask me to explain the epilogue, which shows Fawcett watching a spaceship return to Earth, as I have no idea of it's relevance. This isn't a brilliant film, but it passes the time nicely.
For a start, there are only three main actors in this film (apart from a supposed blink-and-you-miss-it cameo from Ed Bishop) so they have a lot of work to do between them. This isn't helped by having some major miscasting - namely the role of the film's masculine hero, Adam, being played by a far-too-old Kirk Douglas. We're supposed to imagine that old-man Douglas is capable of strenuous physical activities and getting his head smashed in to little effect. The film really needed an actor twenty years younger to fill the part. Douglas also feels a little too over-qualified for a simplistic thriller like this, as both he and Fawcett have little to do apart from fighting the unstoppable robot.
Fawcett herself is little better. I'm sure she's a good actress and all, but she never becomes more than two-dimensional here. The camera enjoys lingering on her naked and scantily-clothed body (and, more disturbingly, Douglas' too) so perhaps that's the reason for her casting. Thankfully, at least there is one effective actor on screen, a young, menacing Harvey Keitel as a murderer who eventually falls foul of his own creation. The film kicks off with Keitel murdering the real captain and taking his place (sucking him through an airlock and blowing him apart outside, quite literally), then travelling to one of Saturn's moons where Douglas and Fawcett reside. We never do learn of his past, or his motives, and this makes his character even more mysterious. Despite Keitel simply doing his patented twitchy routine, he's still very effective and a little frightening.
The killer android itself is a mixed bag. For a start, it's a good head taller than the other actors, to allow for an operator to fit inside, of course. It certainly looks good on the outside, a mixture of hydraulics, crushing pincers, and some cute little lights for a head. On the downside, it's not exactly a difficult foe to foil, seeing as it gets repeatedly pushed into pits of water, electrocuted, and disassembled during this film's length. There are some brief gory bits to add to the horror, including a decapitated dog and the robot "wearing" the battered head of Keitel, as well as cutting Keitel's hand off, but I would much rather face this slow-moving enemy than an alien or a velociraptor, for example.
I did like the ending, which is kind of clichéd but has a good bit where Douglas realises he has been partially assimilated by the robot when he discovers a hole in the back of his neck. The final destruction of the android is a huge explosion, shot by apparently throwing buckets of water about along with some body parts, and it's very arty. Please don't ask me to explain the epilogue, which shows Fawcett watching a spaceship return to Earth, as I have no idea of it's relevance. This isn't a brilliant film, but it passes the time nicely.
SATURN 3 (Stanley Donen, 1980) **
Bunuel197623 August 2006
I had watched this as a kid on local TV in the early 1980s (when only black-and-white sets still existed in Malta!) and, even if I knew it was no great shakes, some sequences from it (Kirk Douglas' nude fight with Harvey Keitel and the climax, for instance) have stayed with me ever since! Still, having come back to it after so long, I was expecting to be greatly disappointed but actually I enjoyed it for what it is: as a sci-fi epic, it certainly brought nothing new to the table (borrowing the plot's essential life-on-a-space-station element from SILENT RUNNING [1971] and its sex-starved robot, an appropriately menacing creation, from DEMON SEED [1977]) but was nonetheless fairly engaging - with a stylish enough look courtesy of cinematographer Billy Williams and production designer Stuart Craig (though Elmer Bernstein's score is curiously forgettable) - and, thankfully, did not overstay its welcome (running for only 88 minutes).
Even so, the two leads - who actually ended up Razzie nominees, as did the film! - weren't exactly inspired (Douglas, by this time, was past his prime and, unfortunately, his stint in the sci-fi/horror genre - which also comprised HOLOCAUST 2000 [1977; the only one I've yet to catch up with, though it's been shown on Italian TV quite a few times], THE FURY [1978] and THE FINAL COUNTDOWN [1980] - is best forgotten!) but, at least, Harvey Keitel brought to it his typical intensity and intelligence - though I'm sure it's a film he'd rather forget. Speaking of which, I recall an article in the British film magazine "Empire" comparing the fortunes of Keitel and Robert De Niro over the years: in the same year Keitel appeared in SATURN 3, De Niro reached his pinnacle with RAGING BULL, but a dozen or so years later the tables would be more or less turned...but that's another story.
In the end, one has to wonder what Stanley Donen was thinking when he accepted such a project - but, then, his career had always been somewhat erratic (including at least a couple more notorious false steps with the homosexual two-hander STAIRCASE [1969] and the bootlegging comedy LUCKY LADY [1975]).
Even so, the two leads - who actually ended up Razzie nominees, as did the film! - weren't exactly inspired (Douglas, by this time, was past his prime and, unfortunately, his stint in the sci-fi/horror genre - which also comprised HOLOCAUST 2000 [1977; the only one I've yet to catch up with, though it's been shown on Italian TV quite a few times], THE FURY [1978] and THE FINAL COUNTDOWN [1980] - is best forgotten!) but, at least, Harvey Keitel brought to it his typical intensity and intelligence - though I'm sure it's a film he'd rather forget. Speaking of which, I recall an article in the British film magazine "Empire" comparing the fortunes of Keitel and Robert De Niro over the years: in the same year Keitel appeared in SATURN 3, De Niro reached his pinnacle with RAGING BULL, but a dozen or so years later the tables would be more or less turned...but that's another story.
In the end, one has to wonder what Stanley Donen was thinking when he accepted such a project - but, then, his career had always been somewhat erratic (including at least a couple more notorious false steps with the homosexual two-hander STAIRCASE [1969] and the bootlegging comedy LUCKY LADY [1975]).
This was almost a good movie
afnaste10 July 2004
OK, the planet Saturn looked really crappy in this, but remember that when 2001 was made they changed Saturn in the book to Jupiter in the movie because they could not make a Saturn effect look decent at all. The technology was interesting and morbid, the huge spaceship with giant "claws" at its stern that could've been launch/landing bays or maybe grapplers, Benson's spacepod looked like an unholy mating of a big black spider and a viperfish, Hector at least looked more technologically realistic than some cyborgs with all those transparent liquid-filled tubes of different fluids necessary to sustain biological life but his microphone-stand head was stupid. The stick-probe-in-your-brain learning device was definitely creepy. I wish they had gone into a little more detail about Earths hunger problem, exactly what a dead cell is, and why people who haven't been/can't goto Earth are branded on their foreheads. Farrah has one very brief nude scene where you see one breast for about 2 seconds. Adam's bare ass I did not need to see. Strange that people can be flushed into space so easily without setting off any alarms. When Hector got horny the movie went downhill fast. My favorite quote," He's not so cuckoo." "You can tell the time by him!" 6/10
As bad as it gets...
JasparLamarCrabb8 January 2006
Warning: Spoilers
How to make SATURN 3: mix a little ALIEN, a little SILENT RUNNING, a little DEMON SEED and then burn it in the oven. Kirk Douglas and Farrah Fawcett man a space station on one of the rings of Saturn --- for what purpose is anyone's guess. They take pep pills and exercise a lot. Their new-age Eden is invaded by psycho Harvey Keitel who unleashes a horny robot on them. Douglas and Keitel fight and the robot, named Hector, takes a shine to Fawcett. This is a terrible movie. It's surely the worst thing ever directed by the once great Stanley Donen. Poor visual effects and the inexplicable fact that Keitel's voice was dubbed by a British actor add to the movie's overall cheesiness.
Nifty early 80's sci-fi item
Woodyanders3 November 2014
Warning: Spoilers
The aging Major Adam (an able and robust performance by Kirk Douglas) and his much younger distaff partner Alex (sweetly played with charming naiveté by Farrah Fawcett) are stationed on a lone station located on one of Saturn's moons where they are working on ways to grow food for the starving masses back on Earth. Their idyllic existence gets ripped asunder by the intrusive presence of the depraved and unhinged Captain Benson (Harvey Keitel in fine menacing form) and his equally dangerous robot helper Hector.
Director Stanley Donen offers a chilling vision of a cold, grim, and hedonistic future, relates the dark and compelling story at a steady pace, and generates some real nerve-wracking tension in the harrowing last third. The intelligent script by Martin Amis addresses such pertinent issues as overpopulation, depletion of precious resources, invasion of privacy, and the dehumanizing impact of advanced technology on mankind's soul in a thoughtful and provocative manner. Moreover, this film makes a valid point that technology is only as good or bad as the purpose it's put to use for. The lavish set design and snazzy special effects are pretty impressive (the towering Hector in particular comes across as genuinely imposing and frightening). The fact that Keitel's trademark New York accent was dubbed by Roy Dotrice with a more "continental" voice adds to the creepiness of Benson's overall character. Elmer Bernstein's spare pulsating score hits the moody spot. The glossy cinematography by Billy Williams provides a pleasing polished look. A neat and unjustly maligned movie.
Director Stanley Donen offers a chilling vision of a cold, grim, and hedonistic future, relates the dark and compelling story at a steady pace, and generates some real nerve-wracking tension in the harrowing last third. The intelligent script by Martin Amis addresses such pertinent issues as overpopulation, depletion of precious resources, invasion of privacy, and the dehumanizing impact of advanced technology on mankind's soul in a thoughtful and provocative manner. Moreover, this film makes a valid point that technology is only as good or bad as the purpose it's put to use for. The lavish set design and snazzy special effects are pretty impressive (the towering Hector in particular comes across as genuinely imposing and frightening). The fact that Keitel's trademark New York accent was dubbed by Roy Dotrice with a more "continental" voice adds to the creepiness of Benson's overall character. Elmer Bernstein's spare pulsating score hits the moody spot. The glossy cinematography by Billy Williams provides a pleasing polished look. A neat and unjustly maligned movie.
Original Idea, Good effects, Terrible acting
timothygartin4 March 2020
I like Saturn 3. I think it is one of the best robot-out-of-control movies out there. I like that the robot gets imprinted with the ideas of a crazy guy and gets violent. This idea works and this was one of the first movies I can remember this plot device in.
The effects are great. The sets really look like a space station. The big problem is with the acting. All three of the leads really struggle with this one.
The effects are great. The sets really look like a space station. The big problem is with the acting. All three of the leads really struggle with this one.
Don't waste your time
usirsclt28 December 2001
Watching this film had to be the worst waste of time for a Sci-Fi fan. Not even seeing Farrah in her youthful days helped. Acting, directing, and special effects fell down for all concerned with this film.
Give me Attack of the Killer Tomatos any day of the week ... LOL
Give me Attack of the Killer Tomatos any day of the week ... LOL
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