MY HIT LIST: PHASE IV

When designer Saul Bass, the maker of wonderful title sequences, decided to direct a feature film it was always going to be visually interesting. Phase IV is a slow burn with an inherent Nature (or at least Super Nature) v Us theme. intelligent Bugs From Outer Space would have been an overly bombastic title for this film's brand of insectoid existentialism. Saul Bass' visual flair is evident in this thoughtful Science Fiction tale and it has hints of Roeg in it's styling. As debuts go it is flawed yet terrific and would go nicely on a double bill with the Andromeda Strain: unfortunately it was Bass' only full length feature and one wonders what he could have gone on to achieve. One things for sure, any future movies would have been good looking.