1st watched 12/20/2009 - 6 out of 10(Dir-Aaron Lipstadt): Surprisingly interesting yet cheaply made early 80's sci-fi film. This is far from being a perfect film and I still can't believe I ended up liking it, but it appealed to me by the time the movie ended. The story is about an android project in the near future being done in space and being terminated due to a funds issue and the failure of a similar project on Earth that turned into a disaster. The scientist played by Klaus Kinski receives the news but is overheard by his creation Max 404(which the movie never reveals who acts this part--which is definitely strange). Some wanted space criminals then arrive on the scene and Max lets them board the ship and then plans to escape with them back to Earth to avoid his termination. Things don't work out the way he expects them to and I won't give away the ending but it's definitely surprising. Max's replacement is suppose to be a female Android named Claudia, since the scientist really doesn't want the project ending either -- he just wants a different android to play with. The androids in this movie have obvious human feelings that get in the way very often which makes the movie interesting and sways their decisions consistently. There is some titillation added to the movie which doesn't really fit, especially in a PG-rated movie(how it got this rating I'll never know) and it's obviously a low-budget film and for these reasons this is definitely one of my few guilty pleasures. By the end of the movie, I was hoping for a sequel -- which hasn't happened and probably wont but that's how it affected me. So, despite the many reasons I shouldn't like this movie, I did --- I guess you never know, huh?
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dwpollar22 December 2009
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swedzin9 September 2011At extremely low budget, this film surprised me pretty enough.
I mean, you got an scientific space station, inside we got an archetype of mad scientist (Kinski), well to call Kinski a mad scientist is somewhat a compliment... Because he was a real genius actor, a mad actor, heavy for corporation. OK, mad scientist and his own creation Max 404.
The story gives you that... Well deja vu. An android with emotions. Honestly... An android with emotions works better than android who kills stupid teenagers. And there are no stupid teenagers here.
Circumstances brought a three people gang on a station, with them is a lovely young woman Maggie (Brie Howard), and because of her Max started to develop emotions - Love! (Max has a room with a big information computer available to him, to learn. That was the most coolest thing in the film. You can easily say that Max is using a computer like we use internet today. Google for instance, to get information). Now, you just need to watch the film to see what will happen with Maggie and Max..
Actors did a great job, especially Kinski and Don Keith Opper (Max), it is also good to see young Norbert Weisser in the film. The plot gives you a specific humor and to say that Max is actually one of the most lively, human like nature android ever to appear on screen on the beginning of the 80s. Well, like I said... Low budget... But the story and character are compensating the budget. Watch this film and enjoy it. -
Hey_Sweden29 July 2017There was no shortage of good sci-fi in 1982: we had "Blade Runner", "The Thing", and "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan", to name the obvious ones. But we also had this offbeat little item of interest, done for Roger Corman and New World Studios on a typically limited budget. But director Aaron Lipstadt (just one of many Corman alumni) makes the most out of what he's got. Thanks to a talented crew (among them, James Cameron as a design consultant), the results are some pretty damn good sets and production value.
Top billed Klaus Kinski dials down his eccentricity for a low keyed turn as a mad scientist named Dr. Daniel, working on an illegal android program on a space station. His loyal assistant is Max 404 (Don Keith Opper, who also co-wrote the script), a cutting edge android. Shortly after a trio of criminal fugitives are allowed some temporary shelter by Max, he learns that the program will be shut down and that he himself is due to be terminated.
The heart and soul of this charming flick is Oppers' performance. Although he never became a star, he did at least get the recurring role of Charlie in all four "Critters" features. He makes Max an interesting, appealing character. The limited supporting cast is all solid: Brie Howard as the fetching Maggie, Norbert Weisser as the cunning Keller, Crofton Hardester as the brutal, intense Mendes, and Kendra Kirchner as the sexy Cassandra, Dr. Daniels' latest experiment.
Visuals, special effects, and makeup are well done, and the effective electronic score by Don Preston is supplemented by tunes from James Brown and Django Reinhardt.
"Android" is the most sober and least cheesy of the science fiction features cranked out by New World during this time, and really deserves another look.
Seven out of 10. -
bri-4229 August 1999One of my favourites! The film has a haunting quirkiness about it. Klaus Kinski is the perfect mad scientist. The MAX404 android really projects his confusion about and desire to understand his emotions. Loved the soundtrack. This movie is not for those who only like those big Hollywood "sci-fi" films. It will appeal to those who enjoy REAL sci-fi though.
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MartinTeller30 December 2011Very much a "mixed bag". The special effects and set design are terribly cheesy, with lots of random flashing lights and odd geometric shapes for no reason (why a trapezoidal water jug? because it's THE FUTURE!) and a defense system based on the classic Vectrex video game system. But the cinematography is generally decent (although typically overlit) and I rather liked the synth score, by Mother of Invention Don Preston. As far as the cast is concerned, Klaus Kinski is of course always a delight, but he's really not in it all that much and it's a rather subdued role for him. Don Keith Opper (credited only under his android name) plays the title character as a rebellious nerd, which is an interesting take but doesn't always work. Brie Howard and Norbert Weisser are barely passable, and Crofton Hardesser is downright awful. The script has some horribly clunky lines in it, but the story is pretty intriguing once you get into it, a kind of BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN (or METROPOLIS, which Max 404 actually watches at one point) tale with BLADE RUNNER style commentary on what it is to be human. It doesn't run very deep, but there are some nice angles to it, and a neat ending. If you can overlook a lot of flaws and keep your Kinski expectations low, it's really not a bad watch.
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cookieman10813 January 2005Androids automatons that are created from biological materials and resemble humans from Fritz Land's 1927 classic Metropolis to Ridley Scott's 1982 masterpiece Blade Runner, the notion of artificial life becoming more human than human has long been an interesting and somewhat neglected aspect of science fiction genre within film (personally, I think the main interest in this type of technology is put forth by men wanting to create their ideal woman and perform whatever sick, twisted desires lie within their perverted, depraved souls I mean a woman who will do whatever you want, whenever you want and not complain about you leaving the toilet seat up? Free will is certainly a wonderful thing, but it shouldn't get in the way of having a good time).
Android (1983), directed by Aaron Lipstadt, whose primary work afterwards has been on TV shows like Miami Vice, The Equalizer, and Quantum Leap to name a few, stars the talented, but entirely creepy and obtusely intense Klaus Kinksi (Crawlspace) along with Brie Howard (Tapeheads), Norbert Weisser (Midnight Express), Crofton Hardester (The Devastators), and Don Keith Opper (Critters) as Max 404. Not only did Don have a starring role in the film, but he also wrote it The film mainly takes place on a fairly deserted deep space research station, once bustling with life, but now home only to Dr. Daniel (Kinski) and his android companion/man servant Max 404. Dr. Daniel has been feverishly working on a new prototype droid, one much more advanced than Max (all this work is done in secret out in space as due to a past incident on Earth involving rebellious androids and the killing of many humans, androids have been outlawed at least that's the gist of what I got). Anyway, life is pretty quite on the station, and Max is growing bored. That soon changes as three escaped convicts, hijacking a prison shuttle ship, seek refuge on board the station due to a damaged engine. Dr, Daniel sees this as a prime opportunity as he's been needing a compatible female (no, no not what you're thinking ) to use in some weird way to juice up his newest android, one with female characteristics..some sort of biological jumpstart and one of the three escaped prisoners just happens to fit the bill. Max, who just recently learned of some disturbing news regarding his own future, decides to try and see if, once the they get the engine to the damaged shuttle craft fixed, the escapees will allow him to tag along to Earth, but they have other plans, and given that they are convicted criminals, you can imagine they involve something less than of an altruistic nature. There's a certain pathos to Max, one of a being forced into existence, now trying to find his place in a society that sees him as less than what he is...
I have to say, this film pleasantly surprised me, as it was better than I thought. I really enjoyed the acting throughout, especially that of Opper. He presents a wonderfully naïve character, one with limited human contact, very awkward, but eager to learn and please. His efforts to develop human characteristics come out in interesting and quirky ways, much like that of a child trying to emulate what he observes through interaction with his elders. Oppers naturally buck teeth seemed in opposition to that of a created being, as such apparent physical aspects wouldn't seem to be something one would incorporate into a constructed being, but then that's just my own opinion. Opper does a great job making the audience believe he is what he's supposed to be, an awkward, clumsy, sometimes shy artificial man. Kinski's role seemed less than I thought it would be, as his character seemed secondary to the rest, especially since he seems to be used a lot in the promotion of the film. He is the biggest name in the production, so obviously the makers of the film wanted to capitalize on that, even though his part was somewhat small. I will say he seemed awfully creepy (some would say eccentric, but to me, I would call it creepy perverted), especially when working with his new female construct ("She vill be Ad perfect voman!") and his voyeuristic tendencies, but then just about any film I've seen him in, he seems to exude a sort of European creep/sleaze factor, one akin to a Jess Franco film maybe it's those bug eyes and his lack of blinking. At first his character seemed to pursue his work with purely scientific goals in mind, but then that changed later on, becoming a bit freaky. The sets are decent, for the time, and look like sets and props used in the television show Buck Rodgers in the 25th Century (1979), starring Gil Gerald. The film had an early 80's feel, the sets, the music, etc., with a late 70's sensibility, the sexual aspects, the brief nudity, etc. I liked the little bits of humor, along with a smattering of originality, as it seemed to 'humanize' the film, stretching it beyond just a standard science fiction type thriller to something more. Does it work? For the most part it's an odd, multi-faceted story, simple, yet complex within the characters and their motivations. And in the middle of it all is Max, with the pure and simple desire to exist and become much more than human.
Cookieman108 -
emm2 December 1998Let's face it. You know that a movie is bad when the sets and props look terribly cheesy, and the acting job being very substandard. That's the feeling I got out of watching ANDROID. It's sloppy and sleazy as you'd expect for a movie like this! I couldn't even figure out the whole thing, either. Whatever good or bad came to be, I suddenly gave up on trying to enjoy it, but after all, it LOOKS and SOUNDS too old! What's good is the occasional split second takes of the zooming spacecraft. What's really bad is the music, being the worst I've heard in a sci-fi film, so don't press "stop" during the end credits. It was true there was a soundtrack album for ANDROID! Be ready to spot a couple of microphonic goofs in this one! (and I'd admit the IMDb doesn't allow this on the subject!) This one wasn't my kind of fun. Judging by the votes, it appears that some will like it. For me, I believe MST3K has another movie to show.
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hokeybutt13 August 2005ANDROID (3 outta 5 stars) Not a great movie by any stretch of the imagination but it is reasonably entertaining and certainly a lot better than most of the sci-fi swill that was being thrown onto movie screens in the wake of George Lucas' success with the "Star Wars" franchise. Klaus Kinski plays some sort of "mad scientist" on a remote space station doing some illegal research with androids. His most successful experiment is Max, an almost-human android who works as Daniel's assistant... though he shows a disturbing (to Dr. Daniel anyway) tendency to rebel. Well, if crazy Klaus Kinski was your boss, you'd probably be rebelling, too. Daniel is trying to create a newer, better android... a female... but unfortunately he needs a real woman to help him perfect some of the finer details (something to do with the sexual organs, naturally). As luck would have it, a trio of space fugitives (one of them female) docks at their space station with the intention of killing its inhabitants and taking it over. The plot isn't anywhere near as predictable as most films of this type... the acting is very uneven. Kinski and Don Opper as Max come off the best. (In fact, Opper is so convincing as an android that Max is listed in the closing credits as being played by "Himself".)
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franbannister-2788528 July 2019We were rambling about films, remembered Android and what stays in the memory is the characters of Max and the doctor. Lovely film , really can't remember all the story but it is hard to forget Max
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This movie is a change of pace from my usual scream and wince horror flicks. Yet another movie distantly based on the P. K. Dick Sci-Fi short story "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep", this movie is somewhat slow, but enjoyable. I gave rated it a 7 when I saw it in theatrical release way back in 1982. From my movie notes - I see that I even called it "charming". That might be going a little bit overboard, but it is worth watching.
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Billiam-44 August 2022Low budget, but neatly assembled sci-fi drama is mildly entertaining with a slightly silly android coming-of-age story; Klaus Kinski, of course, is always worth the watch.
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webmaster-6252 January 2006Craggy old Klaus Kinski lives with his awkward assistant Max on a space station, developing a female android. Max spends his time playing old arcade games and researching the human condition - (I heard somewhere that the external shots of the space station were done by creating a model station from a display case which used to house watches or jewelry!) Into this scenario comes band of escaped convicts on a space ship badly damaged during their escape ...
There is humour in this film but it is of a very dark shade. The LACK of special effects ADDS to the "reality" of the film.
A couple of really unexpected plot twists along the way - I rate it a "9" which is the highest I have ever given a film on the IMDb -
Chazzzzz19 November 1999If you like your science fiction slightly off-key, this might be a film you'd enjoy. Don Opper made several films about this time, and this is the best of them. It also helped quite a bit to have Klaus Kinski and Brie Howard (Mo's daughter, I believe) along for the ride. Brie is very watchable, and helped raise my score a bit. I gave it a 7, and recommend it.
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trashgang18 January 202110 minutes into this flick and immediately you know what you will get. A low budget flick. Why? Microphones pop-up in view of the camera and they stay for seconds can't imagine pro's wouldn't notice that. Not only that, camera lenses aren't put on properly and it shows.
Nevertheless, It's a typical sci-fi flick for it's time made. Funny because they are talking of 2021 and it isn't what it looks like. And still, it do has it fans. That's because the atmosphere is out there and of course the use of androids. Story is cheesy sometimes and acting is not what it should be and the gratuitous nudity do adds a point for the geeks out there.
It's the end what makes this flick strong, couldn't see that coming.
Out there on DVD and Blu Ray, only for the Kinski lovers and those in search of cheesy sci-fi flicks.
Gore 0/5 Nudity 0,5/5 Effects 1/5 Story 2/5 Comedy 0/5 -
fedor83 April 2008"Android" is somewhere between a cheesy film and a proper movie. The look isn't exactly on the level of "Star Wars", but those early 80s space films are both visually and plot-wise superior to any (semi-)cheesy 90s or 00s sci-fi movies. The interiors of the space station are quite good, the special effects are okay. There are certainly moments of nonsense, such as the female fugitive not being sure what an android is. If most late-20th-century people knew what an android is, then what are the odds that a relatively young woman from the year 2028 - imprisoned for corporate espionage - would not know this? Still, in spite of some logic holes, the acting isn't bad, the dialogue is okay. The movie's biggest assets are the somewhat unique atmosphere, and the unpredictability of the plot - which early on might appear to be easy to predict. Short and not dull.
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Tweetienator29 September 2021Klaus Kinski rocks this one, without him my rate would be for sure only 3 or something like that. Anyway, looking past the bad and cheap special effects (Alien and Star Wars were already published a couple of years ago) the story is captivating, the performance of Kinski fine. The story: a scientist working on the ultimate android on some space-station, while androids are forbidden and hunted down on Earth. Interesting fact: Android was released the same year as Ridley Scott's Blade Runner.
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osloj30 July 2001When the title first started rolling and I noticed how cheap and inferior the sets and special effects were, I thought I might as well not see this. But as it turns out, I wasn't bored.
Sure, the acting is worse than a Z grade horror movie and Max 404 is the wimpiest android of them all, but I was drawn to finish it out.
Klaus Kinski is underused and absurd in this role, but so what?
The plot concerns an android who wants to be human and some space convicts that land on the orbiting space station.
The space station looks like a French disco and the music is horribly dated, but maybe that is why it looks like something interesting to watch.
Keep an eye on the homage to Lang's 'Metropolis'. -
grecque4 November 2001The first time I saw this movie on television, I was stunned that any Director would put his/her name on the credits for, and even admit having directed, such an incredibly poor film. The second time I saw this movie on television, I had to change the channel to avoid the odeur de ordures putréfiées.
I agree with Jason Atwood : this is wonderful fodder for Mystery Science Theater 3000. Hoping to see Crow T. Robot and Tom Servo all over this one!
Le Grecque -
JazB15 April 2001This may be low budget... but so was Dark Star!
I have to say that I strangely enjoyed this low budget attempt at a sci-fi movie. Despite its constraints it had plenty of great ideas and one thing I like: A weird atmosphere!
If you don't mind low budgetness and like weird movies (like me) then I strongly suggest this... It could easily be a cult movie! -
JoeB13117 March 2013Just remembering the good parts like Alien and Star Wars and Star Trek, we shouldn't forget the more dubious operators were putting stuff like this together.
So the plot line is a made scientist and his android assistant are on a remote space station when three convicts bring a stolen ship to their location. Because neither the scientist or the android have seen a woman in some time, they all make plays for the female convict despite her awful dental work. In fact, most of the actors in this film have awful dental work.
So after some boring slow action and a lot of character actions that make not a lick of sense, we get to the "shock" ending. Which makes no sense, either. -
xezlec28 April 2003I love eighties films, and I love science fiction. This film is a good example of both, but I have to say it was a bit 'darker' than it felt like it should have been.
The music is classic analog synthesized fun, and the setting is very cool-looking, typical of any early eighties sci-fi movie but with a certain complexity and detail that makes it seem solid and believable.
The acting is absolutely phenomenal. I generally complain a lot about bad, hard-to-believe acting in movies but in this case I have no complaints; there was nothing to distract me from the story. I half-believed that Max was played by a real android (he is credited as "Himself". lol)! The acting was overall believable and appropriately restrained.
The story could have used some work... it was a bit slow-moving and somewhat uninteresting, and the resolution wasn't entirely satisfying due to certain characters who were insufficiently developed. Also I felt that there should have been some slight comic relief, and I think the drama of the situations was not emphasized enough. But, to the story's credit, it did have a couple of nice twists and I think I like the ending.
Overall I think it was worth seeing: much better than most of the junk that comes on at 2 AM! -
ksa-gooding4 March 2013Writer Don Keith Opper couldn't get girls. Don wrote a play describing how he might get girls in space. Don somehow got funding for his idea. Sex sells and this is the kind of preteen garbage that you get. The dialog in the play is simplistic at best. The characters were one dimensional. Some reviewers talked about this film as another coming-of-age story, but I did not see it. Klaus Kinski was especially creepy and even though he got top billing, he was rarely in any of the scenes. I spent the entire movie trying to pinpoint Brie Howard's actual ethnic background. Avoid this one. Rent 2001: A Space Odyssey or read Playboy. This junior high play could have taken place in any 12 year old boy's bedroom.
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Here is one of those movies that despite its best efforts fails to really captivate the viewers.
The ideas are quite solid. Dr. Daniel and his quirky assistant, illegally working on a new type of android on a space station. We find out quickly that the assistant, Max, is an android himself, who is trying to find out what it is like to be human. Unfortunately he gets it all just slightly wrong.
When two men, and a woman, escaped prisoners, enter the space station both Max and Dr. Daniel are delighted. Dr. Daniel because he wants to use the woman to complete his latest invention, Max because he's never seen a woman before.
Those ideas could have made for quite a good movie, and it certainly has its moments, but I felt left out for some reason. I think the main problem is that there is no character you can really relate to. Max is endearing enough at first, stumbling through human interactions, and being awkward, but I couldn't really relate to his point of view. The two escaped male prisoners are not likable at all. Brie Howard does her best to give some character to the female prisoner, but her lines in the script are just too bland to work with. Klaus Kinski is quite an enjoyable evil scientist of course, and he obviously made the best out of the mediocre lines he was given. Unfortunately a bad guy only really works when there's actual good guys around. It doesn't really work when there is no one to sympathize with, no one to connect to.
This is an understandable problem when you centre a movie around android characters. When they act human, you don't see them as convincing androids, when they act like robots, you feel detached from them, and can't relate to them as persons. A classic like Blade runner cleverly works around this, by creating androids that act and feel exactly like humans. It can be done the other way round as well, making them far more computer-like, which makes you fear their cold-hearted logic. This movie tries to do something in between, and unfortunately fails to strike the balance right.
This is all too bad, because the movie really had more potential, and I'd love to have seen a movie with the same basic plot, but a better script, and more believable characters. For lack of both, it will be added to the list of films I once saw, but don't need to watch again. -
bobc-51 August 2001Take a predictable android sci-fi plot, a coming of age story, some cops & robbers, and a pinch of "Bride of Frankenstein". Put it all in a low-budget ensemble film and stir vigorously. What you end up with is interesting, engaging, and unique in spite of its obvious flaws.
Android Max and his scientist master are living in a remote space station when they are joined by a trio of fugitives - a beauty, a beast, and a brain. The brain figures that they've stumbled onto something valuable seeing as how androids have been outlawed on Earth ever since the uprising. It turns out that at a certain age, the androids become disrespectful, insubordinate, and obsessed with sex. In other words, they turn into adolescents. So we can all sympathize with what Max is going through when he sees a female for the very first time. Meanwhile, the scientist is working on a new and improved replacement for Max, a model which just happens to also be a gorgeous blond woman.
The plot lines are cliché and full of holes, the ending is a bit of a cheat, and the special effects are weak. The film works, however, because it pays close attention to the things which matter, mainly Max and his own isolated world. Although many have criticized the cheap sets, they maintain a coherent mood and atmosphere which is entirely successful in creating a fictional space in which the story can take place. Max himself is one of the most intelligently scripted and well acted android characters to ever appear on screen. You'll be disappointed if you're looking for action or deep meanings, but if you allow yourself to take an interest in Max you may find yourself thinking about him long after the film has ended. -
mark.waltz16 March 2024I don't mind a quiet film if that's the theme or mood of the story, but in the case of this science fiction film set in outer space on a spaceship, it moves so frustratingly slow that by the time Klaus Kinski has made his entrance, you're lucky to be awake. The beginning of the film focuses on the shy Don Keith Opper running the ship, and the entrance of two astronauts checking in on the craft.
It's obvious that Brie Howard is instantly attracted to Opper, but the rather assertive Norbert Weisser seems to believe that something is wrong. Yes on two counts. The movie is a painful bore, and Opper is one of two androids created by the rather creepy Kinski. Kendra Kirchner is the other android whom Kinski tries unsuccessfully to get fresh with.
When Kinski does something to Opper's controls, the passive young droid turns dangerously strong and murderous. Interesting premise, but I found this hard to get into. Kinski isn't at all as charming and talented as his ego would have him believe, and I found his performance narcissistic and lifeless. Only Opper seemed to have any clue to the character he was playing, and it takes more than one positive aspect to make a film of this nature memorable.