October, 2036. On a far-flung space station, Dr. Daniels (Klaus Kinski) and his assistant Max (Don Opper) are joined by three fugitives who are being pursued for crimes including espionage and murder.
One of the trio - Maggie (Brie Howard) - has a considerable effect on Max, eventually leading to a most unconventional date. Meanwhile, Daniels is attempting to design the perfect android; a being thought to be extinct after 'The Robots Of Munich' were wiped out during a rebellion against their creators. Now Daniels' female creation, Cassandra (Kendra Kirchner), is about to enter the final phase while Max finds himself in previously uncharted waters.
Based loosely on Philip K. Dick's "Do Androids Dream Of Electric Sheep?", Android (to be joined by Blade Runner later that year) overcomes its meagre budget to surprisingly good effect, achieving cult status as an entertaining movie that gets the job done. Klaus Kinski is fine as the disreputable scientist, but it's Don Opper who really impresses, effectively switching from the equivalent of a sexually naive teen into a programmed killing machine. Max's love of his video-on-demand technology and a playlist full of classic songs are amongst his most endearing qualities, and it's this mixture of sound and vision that provides the films best moments as James Brown's 'It's A Man's, Man's, Man's World' plays over that scene from Metropolis where Brigitte Helm opens her beautiful eyes.
Android is probably one of those films that looked dated the day it was released, though such a viewpoint will likely add to its appeal; particularly if you enjoy low-budget fare with a nice line in self-deprecating humour, coupled with an unwillingness (or inability) to paper over the cracks.
Anchor Bay's Region 2 DVD is, not surprisingly, rather sparse on the extras for this particular release. There's a trailer, a moving gallery of production stills, a Klaus Kinski biography, film notes and the script; the latter can be accessed via your computers DVD drive. Picture quality is nothing special, with drab colours and a fair amount of print damage though if you enjoy the film as much as I did, the VHS look is not a major obstacle.
Do check out the closing credits, which reveal that one of the landing party during the finale is Rachel Talalay.
