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Nigel Davenport, Michael Murphy, Lynne Frederick, Alan Gifford, Robert Henderson ... see more see more... , Helen Horton

Saul Bass had a fascinating career as an animator and as designer of title sequences for a number of notable films, including Psycho, Vertigo, Anatomy Of A Murder and Seconds. However, Phase IV was hi... read more read more...s only credit as director of a feature film. A visually inventive science-fiction story, Phase IV concerns a group of research scientists working in the Arizona desert who find themselves confronted by an Army of super-intelligent mutant ants. The results are more intelligent than the description would lead you to believe, and Nigel Davenport and Michael Murphy turn in good performances as the embattled men of science. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Flixster Users

58% liked it

953 ratings

Critics

83% liked it

6 critics

PG, 1 hr. 33 min.

Directed by: Saul Bass

Release Date: September 1, 1974

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DVD Release Date: June 3, 2008

Stats: 124 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (124)

  • kenstachnik
    January 8, 2011
    kenstachnik
    How did Saul Bass not direct more films? This little gem from 1974 is AWESOMELY shot. Did I mention the cinematographers name was Dick Bush? So much amazing cutaway and macro work. That combined with tight editing makes Phase IV is the 2001 of "we're being attacked ants!" movies.... read more

    Now I know what your saying,
    "Saul Bass, the title sequence goto guy for Hitchcock and Scorsese? Made a movie about being attacked by ants? This has to be a joke. I mean Dick Bush?

    Yes, THAT Saul Bass made a really intelligent film about a colony of intelligent ants and it's very much worth checking out.
  • cacutshaw
    February 6, 2008
    cacutshaw
    Saul Bass kicks ass! After making many memorable opening credit sequences Bass finally makes his directorial debut. Artistic, gorgeous and disturbing, I'm surprised this isn't at least considered a horror classic let alone a movie classic. Sadly this was Bass' only directorial... read more effort.
  • dinodiva717
    October 23, 2011
    dinodiva717
    Super intelligent ants are trying to take over the world. Clever and creatively well made, but also quite grim.
  • marklar7
    February 28, 2011
    marklar7
    this movie feels like a documentary. it has a very interesting idea behind it, but overall i thought of it as being pretty boring. a lot of the scenes were shot really nicely. there were some amazing shots of these ants throughout the movie, but it really did feel like a document... read moreary, and put me to sleep.
  • kurtastbury
    May 9, 2010
    kurtastbury
    This movie is a bit strange. Ok, so it's really strange. That is part of the reason why I like it. The other reason why this movie is good is simply the level of detail and passion that went into filming the ants. It's the best you'll see outside of dedicated nature discovery... read more programs. I still don't know how they put logos on the ant's foreheads.

    So what is this movie? Simply put it is a bunch of ants who are under some alien influence tearing a swath through the desert. Anything or anyone who stands in their way is summarily discontinued. That means people, cattle, other insects, buildings, and everything else. The government builds a dome right next to heart of the ant colony and gives two scientists all of the equipment they should need to learn about them and devise a strategy for defeat. After weeks of idle observation the government gets impatient and the scientists are forced to goad the ants into attacking them. BAD IDEA! The ants do attack and they soon realize just how smart they are when they manage to destroy the only machine keeping them in the fight.

    This movie hearkens to an earlier time in technological history. A time in which computers could do anything simply because they were computers. A time when all you needed was a plotter and a sonar dish and you were the biggest badass around. I think you get the idea. Also, nowadays if we saw a message from the ants that consisted of a circle with a dot in it we wouldn't be able to figure it out. The arrogant people of our generation would look at that and say "Stupid ants drew a circle" not "Oh, hey I get it."

    I think the true terror of this movie comes in the form of the cold calculating hive mind of the ants. There are numerous shots of their collective blank stare which makes you think they're somehow plotting your death. It's pretty creepy actually. Then ending doesn't bode well for humans either, so that also has a contributing effect.

    What am I trying to say? This is a good movie. It is shot in a trippy and artistic way that is very refreshing. The lead scientist is very unfriendly but extremely intelligent. It's not every movie that has the balls to throw a lead character at you who has no remorse for death of people. I also really like the 70's technology used in the film.

    Should you watch this movie? If you like watching ants and if you like weird 70's horror/sci-fi movies then yes, you should. Everyone else will probably just scratch their head and say "You're watching what?"

    There's only one thing about this movie I don't get. How do ants make concrete?
  • nate117
    August 14, 2008
    nate117
    One of my favorite monster movies - it's actually really well done. Oh, and the DVD may have come out in 2002 but this one is from the 70's.
  • jes25924
    June 30, 2008
    jes25924
    Another hald remembered sci-fi eco thriller, something about ants thinking in unision, and marauding the desert, while only a small research facility in the desert may the hold the key to understanding the creatures, which may be worse than ignorance...(read more). It's a slow pa... read moreced film with alot of desert shots, that recalls "Solaris" and "2001", more than "Them". The ending is one of the most bizzare I can remember in anything. A strange, thoughtfull movie about evolution, killer ants, and the end of the world, words I never got to string together in a sentence before, until now.

View All Phase IV (Phase Four) Reviews

Critic Reviews

Shane Burridge
February 27, 2009
Shane Burridge, rec.arts.movies.reviews

Should forever dispel anyone's image of ants as little black dots

David Cornelius
November 18, 2008
David Cornelius, DVDTalk.com

A killer bug flick upgraded for the downbeat 70s, a small scale B-picture reworked for the post-2001 hard sci-fi set. Full Review

Bill Gibron
July 12, 2008
Bill Gibron, PopMatters

With its amazing bug footage, and psychobabble scripting, it's The Hellstrom Chronicle (an obvious influence) taken into Twilight Zone territory Full Review

March 26, 2009
Variety

Click to read the article Full Review

Jonathan Rosenbaum
June 11, 2005
Jonathan Rosenbaum, Chicago Reader

Click to read the article Full Review

A.H. Weiler
June 11, 2005
A.H. Weiler, New York Times

Click to read the article Full Review

Emanuel Levy
October 10, 2005
Emanuel Levy, EmanuelLevy.Com

No review available.

Robert Roten
April 27, 2004
Robert Roten, Laramie Movie Scope

No review available.

Josh Ralske
February 2, 2003
Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide

No review available.

Derek Adams
February 9, 2006
Derek Adams, Time Out

Click to read the article Full Review

Critic ratings and reviews powered by RottenTomatoes.com

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