Among the many attempts to repeat the success of Star Wars by making a high-budget science fiction epic, few were as strange as Saturn 3, a 1980 film directed by Stanley Donen. The plot is set in a relatively distant future, after natural disasters and pollution have made an overpopulated Earth unable to feed itself; food is instead produced on hydroponic farms all over the Solar System. Major Adam (played by Kirk Douglas) is a scientist who runs a remote hydroponics research facility on one of Saturn’s moons. Despite being isolated from the rest of humanity, for Adam this is a good place to live in comparison with the overcrowded home planet, especially when shared with his beautiful young assistant and lover, Alex (played by Farrah Fawcett). This idyll comes to an end with the arrival of Benson (played by Harvey Keitel), a scientist tasked with delivering and setting up an experimental robot which is going to help the crew with their duties. Benson proves to be a very rude and unpleasant man, whose lack of manners is matched by his obvious lust towards the Major’s partner. Adam and Alex don’t like Benson, and they would like him even less if they knew that he was a murderous psychopath who had killed his colleague to take his place. To make matters worse, Benson has established a neural link with the robot in order to teach it skills, and, as a result, the robot named “Hector” begins to take on parts of its creator’s personality.
The script, written by notable English writer Martin Amis (who would later use his experiences as inspiration for his famed 1984 novel Money), tried to spice up the genre combination of science fiction and horror by adding elements of a romantic thriller. To a certain degree, this approach works, helped in many ways by very good production design and interiors of the space station that look believable and futuristic at the same time. The film enjoys certain benefits of unusual casting. Kirk Douglas, in his sixties, desperately tries to prove that he can still be a macho action hero and even appears briefly in a nude scene. Farrah Fawcett, one of the greatest sex symbols of her time, is believable as an elderly man’s romantic partner due to a script that explains her character’s naivety and lack of experience with the realities of long space travel. Saturn 3 also features Fawcett in a brief topless scene, which is probably the most memorable element of the film for a male audience.
However, those are the only elements of Saturn 3 that actually work. Keitel, despite his reputation as a Method actor, failed to get rid of his Brooklyn accent, apparently incompatible with a character written as aristocratic; as a result his voice was replaced with an unconvincing dubbing by Roy Dotrice. Most of the film’s budget apparently went into the production and handling of “Hector”, which, although adequate as a villain for this sort of film, isn’t particularly impressive. The special effects used in scenes outside the space station, however, look terribly outdated. Some of the problems of Saturn 3 (which was nominated for Razzies) can be attributed to messy and chaotic production, with original director John Barry leaving the project on the first day and being replaced by Stanley Donen, a film-maker best known for musicals and probably not the most suitable person to direct science fiction thrillers. Saturn 3 is made watchable only thanks to its relatively short running time, which makes the experience bearable. Barely.
RATING: 3/10 (+)
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