Saturn 3

Saturn 3

The success of Star Wars in 1977 was obviously so monumental that it inspired scores of rip offs and wannabe “outer space sci fi” films to get made in its wake, some of which were quite good and successful (The Star Trek Movie Franchise) with even one effort (1979’s Alien) being so groundbreaking in its own right that it not only created its own subgenre (sci fi horror) but it also created its very own line of similar efforts that were generally seen as being scary movies that were set in outer space. That led to the creation of this particular film in 1980, in many ways an embarrassment for some of its story aspects but in other ways a fascinating look at both the facets of futuristic space travel as well as changing attitudes about sexual proprierty in those times to come. The original director was one John Barry, a legendary production designer helming his first project who shortly after filming began quit after finding himself unable to handle the direct and distinctly different pressures of being in charge on a full fledged movie set, instead dying just months later of meningitis while on the set of Empire Strikes Back. He was replaced by one of the producers, that being none other than Stanley Donen whom (like Robert Wise on Star Trek 1) was better known for specializing in grandly produced movie musicals including arguably the most famous of them all in Singin In The Rain(!) and whom was now helming this dour, dark horror story set on a remote planetary outpost somewhere around Saturn. Even more interesting though is the casting since this is essentially a three character piece and the nature of the story makes this necessary to know going in if you happen to be a fan of any of the three stars. First up is Farrah Fawcett, at the time beyond a shadow of a doubt the hottest female star in the world, all giggles and smiles and blonde hair playing a beautiful scientist who has lived her whole life in space and has never even been to Earth. Cast opposite her is Kirk Douglas, still legendary at that time at age 62 and playing the romantic leading man to Fawcett (who was 30 years younger), not to mention he reportedly threw his weight around on set considerably including insisting on doing nude scenes at his age. Finally in the role of the villain, we have Harvey Keitel, still in his younger leading man days but here playing a psychotic bad guy all while having his voice dubbed by British actor Roy Dotrice since his Brooklyn accent was deemed to be inappropriate for the role by the producers. The movie begins with one of those massive shots of a model spaceship flying overhead just as A New Hope had started as we see a pilot preparing to trek over to the isolated research base where Douglas and Fawcett find new ways to grow and prepare food. He notices Keitel (whom he appears to be friends with) and laughingly points out how Keitel has failed to pass his last psych evaluation and thus was disqualified from flying out on this mission instead. Keitel wastes little time in murdering the pilot and covertly taking his place on the flight over to Moonbase Saturn 3, where he is greeted by Douglas and Fawcett and made to feel welcome but maybe not welcome enough as when he first gets alone with Fawcett he tells her (in a monotone) that she has a beautiful body and asks if he can use it for sex. When she rebuffs him and explains that she is only with Douglas, he bemusingly tells her that life on Earth is nothing like that when it comes to sexual relations and that Douglas is just an old man whom she’s wasting her time with. Therein lies the (very interesting) crux of the story as it appears that Douglas and Fawcett have this whole entire planet to themselves (even to run about naked if they wish) and are just living their own little Adam and Eve fantasy in their own little Garden Of Eden (Douglas’ character is even named Adam) but with Keitel’s entrance into their happy and private little domain, some disturbing revelations come out on both sides. Keitel being a psycho might be lying about Earth’s current lack of sexual inhibitions but it’s also true that Douglas has been there while Fawcett has never been, implying that she has never been “corrupted” by Earth’s supposed decadence and immorality, leading one to believe that Keitel’s continuous series of disparaging remarks about Douglas being a dirty old man keeping an innocent younger woman all to himself in their own private moonbase / hotel suite might just be right on the money with Douglas positioning himself as a mentor / daddy figure to Fawcett who also enjoys having sex with her while she is none the wiser. Meanwhile, Keitel is hard at work building some kind of super robot complete with a large canister full of “pure brain matter” which will enable it to think. Even more interesting is that Keitel has installed a direct linkup between his own brain and the robot’s (through what looks to be a USB port in the back of his head) and is directly transferring his consciousness into the robot’s mind (and considering that Keitel is a confirmed psychotic, that is an incredibly dangerous proposition for a eight foot tall robot) which remarkably results in the robot ALSO developing an intense lust for Fawcett even as Keitel himself insists to her that he will finally bring her to Earth for the first time and show her what true freedom and sexual liberation is like away from her domineering old master. If the lines between hero and villain seem just a little blurred here, it is at least offset by Douglas still doing his classic overemphatic type of performance which was always likable and Keitel playing his character as a rigid prick who seems to be in control of all his emotions and body movements but yet expresses his feelings of lust towards Fawcett as others would have a cop talking to them about what their whereabouts were last night in a humorless, overly mannered tone. As for the robot, the idea of having it imbued with the mind and consciousness of its creator is not a new one (just look at Maximilian, the killer robot creation of mad scientist Maximilian Schell in The Black Hole which was the notable Disney entry in these sweepstakes) but its rather ridiculous look and total lack of personality until it learns to imitate voices in the climatic moments of the film makes it a rather poor villain compared to Keitel’s sexual psycho (although it’s hard to say if the lack of an actual rape attempt on Keitel’s part is due to either discipline, impotence or fear of Douglas). Still, the veneer of overall ridiculousness is heavy here with much of Douglas’s performance seeming to be based in a real life insecurity over whether or not he could still hold his own as a believable romantic leading man with just the right amount of virility to be seen hooked up onscreen with the highly desirable Fawcett (still the top, number one pinup girl at the time with legions of male fans around the world). Keitel at least redeems himself by making his character the most interesting based solely on the idea that the viewer is always wondering just what exactly he will do next. However, the indication that has always been made by many people connected with the film (most notably Fawcett) is that the initial premise of what was perceived to be a promising movie had actually turned out to be something a lot different (translation: worse) than what everyone had thought it was going to be. The one glowing gem of an idea here is that Douglas (who admits to establishing himself on this moonbase in order to get away from the people on Earth with their way of doing things and that includes Keitel) is more of a traditional, old fashioned sort who believes in monogamy which is why he is right where he wants to be with a beautiful, obviously naïve, younger woman whom he has possibly brainwashed into believing that she is with the best damn man in the whole universe, a self created fantasy which is shattered when Keitel bursts the bubble on their happy, isolated, interplanetary home (it is even admitted by Douglas that they don’t even bother to read the news bulletins that get sent to them from Earth which indicates a pattern of finding bliss in willful ignorance). But aside from this, this remains just another (although better made than most) sci fi horror film in the wake of Ridley Scott’s masterpiece (even the set design is similar) which trots out a large killer robot stalking our heroes rather than a big nasty alien but then also wallows in sexual insecurity issues from both male leads as they compete for the affections of the most beautiful woman in the world circa 1980 (or as other pilots refer to her at one point, their favorite “space girl”)…

5/10

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