It seemed to have everything … an Oscar-winning visionary at the helm, a hot young writer, astounding production design, a sex symbol who defined a decade and Harvey Keitel – not to mention Kirk Douglas’ butt. So what went wrong?
A Comprehensive Look At What Went Wrong With Saturn 3 And The Movie It Should Have Been
Article researched & written by Gregory Moss
1.38 (updated February 15, 2020. Last updated April 5, 2015)
SMALL BEGINNINGS
In 1975, while working in Mexico on the movie Lucky Lady, acclaimed English production designer John Barry (A Clockwork Orange, Star Wars, Superman) told director Stanley Donen (whom he’d worked with previously on The Little Prince) of an idea he had for a possible low-budget movie he had been thinking of developing.
John Barry (1935 – 1979)
A Gothic sci-fi thriller set on Titan, third moon of Saturn, the story told of two food research scientists, whose idyllic lives are thrown into disarray with the arrival of a psychopath and his eight foot robot sent to help them.
Although Donen shied away from developing it as a vehicle for himself (as he had no affinity for sci-fi), he was impressed enough with Barry’s enthusiasm for the genre to suggest Barry write it up in the form of an outline, which he could then sell outright, or at the very least, option.
As Barry related to Cinemagic Magazine editor David Hutchinson in an unpublished interview, just prior to filming:
“I’d written other things in the past, none of which got off the ground, though I had sold some options on some. Always, they were very limited-budget subjects, because I figured that would be the only thing to attract somebody to an unknown. If they were to make a very expensive picture, then they might as well get a name writer.”
Barry revealed his intent with the story of Saturn 3 in an article in the March 1980 issue of Future Life Magazine:
“In Saturn 3 the science considerations are all responsible. People don’t do anything that isn’t possible. It’s very much about real people. It’s a love story, a story about contemporary relationships set two centuries ahead.”
After completing Lucky Lady, and prior to Star Wars, Barry wrote up his idea as an outline. He then wrote a first draft screenplay during the production of Star Wars and Superman: The Movie, at which point he showed the draft to Donen’s then wife, actress Yvette Mimieux, for her opinion.
Mimieux then gave the script to Donen himself.
Producer Stanley Donen (1924 – 2019)
Donen was enthused enough with the draft to suggest Barry use it as the basis for his own directorial feature debut, with Donen as producer. Donen recognized more work was needed on the script in order to attract studio interest and put forward up-and-coming British author Martin Amis (The Rachel Papers, Dead Babies) as a possible writer – as the debauched and nihilistic nature of the characters in Dead Babies echoed the hedonistic psychology of the future society depicted in Barry’s original draft.
Dead Babies 1st edition 1975
Author Martin Amis in Paris 1980 (photo courtesy Angela Gorgas).
It has often been asked exactly what it was which attracted Martin Amis to Saturn 3.
According to Starburst Magazine contributor John Brosnan, Amis had been a regular reviewer of science fiction novels for various publications for a number of years prior to his being hired for the film and did indeed have an appreciation of the genre.
He had also been an avid reader of science fiction when he was young.
In 1978, Donen presented the Martin Amis draft to English movie mogul Lord Lew Grade for his consideration, as Grade was producing Donen’s Movie Movie in LA at the time. While on a flight from LA to New York, Grade found himself across the aisle from actress Farrah Fawcett and let her read the script (with the fairly uninspired working title of The Helper).
Lord Lew Grade (1906 – 1998)
As Donen related to journalist Alan Brender for an article in the April 1980 issue of Starlog Magazine: “Grade walked across the aisle and said, ‘How would you like to be in this picture?’ And then he handed her the script. Farrah’s representative was flying with her, and by the time they got off the plane, Grade had made a deal with her to make a movie he didn’t even own.” But Grade wasted no time in changing that circumstance. “He rang me up,” Donen continues, “and said, ‘How would you like Farrah Fawcett?’ I said, ‘Fine.’ He said, ‘Well, you have her.’ He then proceeded to make a deal for the rights.”
Farrah Fawcett (1947 – 2009)
A few years after the release of the film, Farrah was a guest on The Tonight Show during which Johnny Carson casually poked fun at her movie choices. “I remember you did a picture – I think it was called ‘Saturn 3’.” The audience laughed as Farrah squirmed, answering, “Originally they had a very good script, it was called ‘The Helper’, and it was a lot different from what we ended up shooting.”
A clip from Farrah’s appearance can be viewed here:
As Donen revealed to Starlog journalist Alan Brender, many script changes were made after Farrah was signed. “The script wasn’t thoroughly realized at the point we signed Farrah. We had a starting date when Lord Grade got off that airplane but no script. We went through all sorts of thoughts. There were times when we had a story where no one was the villian. But I think there was always an age difference between Farrah and the man with whom she is working. I think we were looking for an older rather than a younger man in every version of the story. ”
According to author Steve Gallagher, who was hired to pen the novelization in 1979, the screenplay had indeed gone through a number of rewrites after Amis had delivered his draft:
“The script was terrible. I thought it was bad then but in retrospect, and with experience, I can see how truly inept it was. That may not be Amis’ fault. Years later I met someone who’d worked on the production and she told me that every script doctor in town had taken an uncredited swing at it, so it’s impossible to say whether it was stillborn or had been gangbanged to death.”
With the star power of Farrah Fawcett attached to the project, the budget was set at $10 million. And all of a sudden, Barry’s idea of helming a small, low-budget production became something far more grandiose.
CASTING OF KIRK
Lew Grade had originally hoped to cast forty-nine year old Sean Connery as Adam, opposite Farrah’s much younger Alex (whose age is listed as ‘mid-twenties’ in the screenplay). However, Connery’s refusal to work in the UK (as he was residing in Spain as a tax exile at the time) soon put an end to that idea. Michael Caine, likewise, knocked back the role of Benson, as he was living abroad in the US for the same tax reasons. In retrospect, the casting of Caine would seem an odd choice, since the character of Benson/James is described in the screenplay as being ‘young, handsome, conceited, formidable’ – closer in age to Alex, than the much older Adam – unlike Caine who was forty-six at the time and only three years Connery’s junior!
As luck would have it (or maybe not) sixty-four year old Kirk Douglas had just completed work on Cactus Jack, a comedy-western co-starring a young Arnold Schwarzenegger, and was planning to take an extended vacation, when Donen approached him for the role of Adam. Douglas was so intrigued with the concept of Saturn 3 that he immediately agreed to do it:
“These days I only do movies that excite me. I’m looking for a challenge, something new. The idea behind this film is so fresh, so different to anything else I’ve been offered in the realm of science fiction that I didn’t want to miss out on it.”
If truth be told, the opportunity to romp around naked with Farrah Fawcett (a sexy starlet half his age) probably had a lot to do with Douglas accepting the role.
With the casting of rising star Harvey Keitel as the psychopathic Benson, production began in earnest.
Farrah celebrates her 32nd birthday with Douglas and Keitel while filming at Shepperton, February 2nd 1979.
As Donen described Saturn 3 at the time:
“It is both sensuous and sensual, full of chills, fright and horror. It’s science fiction, but not ‘comic strip’ SF. Not that I denigrate comic strips – Star Wars is one of my favourite movies. It’s something of a Frankenstein story, and meant to frighten audiences in a very unusual way.”
PRODUCTION BEGINS
Stuart Craig, Barry’s assistant on Superman: The Movie, made his debut as a fully-fledged production designer on Saturn 3. Although his primary concern was the interior of the Titan research station, Craig also had a hand in designing the robot Hector (based on initial input from Barry himself).
Construction of the sprawling Saturn 3 set in Shepperton Studios, outside London, took 79 craftsmen four months to complete. The result was one of the largest self-contained sets ever constructed in England. It occupied the entire area of Shepperton’s enormous A and B stages, with the dividing doors between the two stages opened up to house the set, which ran a continuous 280 feet and stretched wall to wall across the 120-foot-wide stages.
Production designer Craig said of the set: “From the outside, it looked like an enormous beached whale, propped in place by miles of tubular scaffolding. Inside, it had two central areas – one for the workrooms and moonbuggy garage, the other for living and guest quarters. They were linked by serpentine connecting corridors resembling worm holes hewn from black lava rock. They were so winding and complex – some curved, some straight, some level and some sloping off to infinity.”
The set was so vast in fact, with its labyrinthine maze of connecting tunnels, the crew found themselves continually getting lost during the first few weeks of filming. To rectify this, a draftsman’s diagram of the set was posted at the sound stage entrance to help the crew plot their way to whatever area they were shooting in.
Oscar-winning mechanical effects supervisor Colin Chilvers, who had worked previously with Barry on Superman: The Movie, was hired to supervise the film’s many practical effects – most notably – the robot Hector himself. Based on the anatomical drawings of Leonardo DaVinci, the eight foot droid took two years to perfect at a cost of over a million dollars.
As Donen revealed to journalist Alan Brender:
“It was enormously expensive because of the number of man-hours that went into building the robot. Actually it wasn’t just one. We had many. It wore out, so we had many covers. We didn’t have many arms, but each arm was separate, and each arm had a team of men working on it. We had three teams working offstage – each with a set of radio controls. We had a crew of 20 working with this one robot. The robot was generally radio-controlled. Occasionally there was somebody inside of it.”
Hector – 1st of the Demi-God series.
There were however problems in getting Hector to perform on cue.
As Chilvers revealed in his entertainingly informative 2020 autobiography ‘Believing A Man Can Fly: Memories Of A Life In Special Effects And Film’ – “Before I even came aboard the film, the art department had designed Hector and an outside company was hired to build him. The remote-controlled head kept breaking down and needed continual repair. Unfortunately, the company that built Hector had little experience working in the motion picture industry and they built him in such a way that made it difficult to remove parts and access the guts inside. The people who constructed Hector also didn’t take into account that the robot’s head would take a real beating during the course of filming. Saturn 3 required the robot to be knocked about during various action sequences, often for numerous takes. Hector’s dainty head and thin neck were particularly vulnerable to damage and proved to be a pain in the ass to work with. Even though my effects department hadn’t built Hector, we kept finding ourselves in the uncomfortable position of having the entire cast and crew staring impatiently while we made repairs. The only solution was to rebuild the head and neck entirely so it could withstand the wear and tear of filming. Once we did that, Hector performed a lot more reliably and made for a much happier set.”
Hector’s eyestalk.
In a 1981 interview, Farrah said of the robot: “I was terrified. Harvey is menace enough but at least he’s human. Hector! I didn’t think anything mechanical could be so frightening. But Hector’s over eight feet tall, with electronic clamps for hands and laser-beam eyes waving around on stalks. When you see him grasping me by the wrists and lifting me off my feet, I wasn’t just acting scared – I was scared!”
Hangin’ with Hector.
Publicity photo montage – Farrah and friend 1979.
LET’S GET NAKED!
It is no secret that Kirk Douglas made life difficult for director John Barry as soon as production began. His preoccupation with maintaining the perception of youthful vigour has been well-documented and it all seemed to come to a head while making Saturn 3.
In his 1984 satirical novel Money, (which was in part drawn from Amis’ own experiences while working on Saturn 3), Amis concocted a character purportedly based on Douglas himself. The story follows a tyro film director, John Self, as he struggles to make his troubled feature debut, while dealing with the eccentricities of his cast; including aging past-his-prime movie star Lorne Guyland, who features in the following passage:
The script conference ended with Lorne shrugging his robe to the floor and asking me, with tears in his eyes, ‘Is this the body of an old man?’ I said nothing. The answer to Lorne’s question, incidentally, was yes. I just flourished an arm and clattered down the stairs. Thursday gave a tight smile as she opened the door. ‘Is he nude?’ she asked coldly.
‘Yeah he’s nude.’
‘Oh boy,’ said Thursday.
Whether this scene from the book is based on something which actually occurred during the making of Saturn 3 remains to be substantiated. However, during an interview Martin Amis gave in New York City in April 2012, Amis said of Douglas:
“When actors get old they get obsessed about wanting to be nude … and Kirk wanted to be naked.”
Amis revealed that Farrah didn’t want to disrobe and Douglas was adamant, saying, “What do you mean she won’t take her clothes off. She’s only a fucking TV actress. I’ll rip her clothes off!”
Kirk attempts to control his thoughts.
Farrah herself was facing professional and personal crises at the time, as the release of her previous movie Somebody Killed Her Husband (a remake of Donen’s own Charade) had failed to ignite the box office the year before and her marriage to TV actor Lee Majors (The Six Million Dollar Man) was in the process of falling apart.
As a result, shooting on Saturn 3 ground to a halt on several occassions due to recurring “illness”.
BARRY WALKS
On February 6th 1979, two weeks into filming, it was announced to a shocked cast and crew that John Barry had left the production and would be replaced by the film’s producer, Stanley Donen.
At the time of the film’s release, Lew Grade’s public relations machine did its best to shroud Barry’s sudden departure in a vale of mystery – citing that old standby ‘creative differences’ as the official reason.
It was only when a feature article promoting the film was published in the May 1980 issue of Fantastic Films Magazine that a more substantial reason was given.
According to Donen, soon after filming commenced, he realized things were going very badly, as he revealed in the article:
“It was my fault, not John’s. The truth is John had hardly ever been on a set, which I didn’t realize. He was such a terrific talent, but he’d spent most of his time in an office. He knew next to nothing about staging a scene, or handling actors. And since nature hates a vacuum, the actors jumped on him. The film started floundering. Finally I had to tell him: ‘It’s not working. I’ll have to be on the set with you.’ I had a moral commitment, after all; I’d make sure the film went all right. But when I did turn up on the set, John said he just couldn’t work like that, so he left. There was no question of his being fired.”
The assertion that Barry had hardly spent any time on a film set isn’t entirely true, as he had worked on Superman: The Movie in the capacity of second-unit director.
In a recent interview, Saturn 3’s cinematographer Billy Williams gave a different account of Barry’s on-set woes:
“There was nothing wrong with the first two weeks work, except that we were a little bit behind and we were behind because it was taking so long … any time we had to do something with the robot. And Kirk Douglas had complained that the director was spending too much time with the robot, but it was inevitable, in fact the picture went weeks and weeks over schedule because you couldn’t avoid the fact that the robot had to be in certain scenes.”
The scene where Hector and Adam play a game of chess is one of the few scenes Barry directed which remains in the finished film. According to Donen: “only a tiny bit of what Barry shot ended up in the finished film.”
Kirk Douglas reportedly stepped in to direct for a couple of days following Barry’s departure, before Donen arrived on set to take charge. It is unclear whether any of the footage supposedly shot by Douglas was ever used.
Paul M. Sammon, in his scathing review of Saturn 3 ( Cinefantastique Magazine, Summer 1980), suggests Douglas intentionally made waves with Barry in order to get him fired and take the director’s chair for himself.
Devastated at being forced to relinquish the helm of his feature debut, Barry rejoined the production of The Empire Strikes Back as second-unit director (having left during pre-production the year before) – filming inserts on the Hoth rebel base sets he designed at Elstree Studios.
Hoth ice hanger set from The Empire Strikes Back.
“We are getting atmospheric shots like newsreel material, which will be cut into the main action”, Barry related to unit publicist Alan Arnold in Arnold’s book: ‘Once Upon A Galaxy: A Journal Of The Making Of The Empire Strikes Back’. “It’s such an exciting set to work on and it’s wonderful being with old friends again”.
TRAGEDY
Sadly, after only two weeks filming on the Hoth set, on June 4th 1979, complaining of a severe headache, and with a temperature of 105 degrees, Barry collapsed whilst chatting with associate producer Robert Watts in his office. Immediately admitted to hospital, he was diagnosed with a rare form of infectious meningitis.
He died at 2 a.m. the following morning.
He was only 43 years old.
As no one else on the Empire set had been infected, it has been suggested that Barry’s depression, brought about by the loss of Saturn 3, affected his immune system, which in turn made him more susceptible to contracting the disease.
Alan Arnold remembers Barry fondly as being “very approachable. He could talk about his craft simply but interestingly. It must have been a terrible disappointment to have declined the opportunity to design The Empire Strikes Back in order to direct Saturn 3 and then be replaced in that capacity after internal disputes. The movie business can be very generous and sometimes very cruel.”
A week later, on June 11th, production on Empire shut down for the day (at a cost of $100,000) in order for the crew to pay their last respects at Barry’s funeral. The service was held in a little Victorian church in the London suburb of Chiswick. Among those in attendance were Stanley Donen, Empire director Irvin Kershner, producer Gary Kurtz and Stanley Kubrick.
Mechanical effects supervisor Colin Chilvers said of Barry:
“We all liked John. He was a very inventive man. He instilled people with a lot of enthusiasm from himself. It was his first kick-off as a director [on Saturn 3]. My attitude was that he’d always make a good director, so let’s give him a hand. If I can help him, I’ll help him. That was one of my reasons for doing the film.”
Actor Mark Hamill sums up best the Empire crew’s shock at Barry’s sudden passing, “He’d started working on Empire on the proviso that if he got the chance to direct Saturn 3 he would leave and do it. And then he did get the chance so he left, but then all that junk happened to him – he had such an awful time on Saturn 3 – and he came back to us. He was all excited at getting into directing the Second Unit and then suddenly we lost him. It was a horrible experience for all of us because he was such a nice guy.”
Back at Shepperton, Donen found himself plagued by the very same problems getting the robot to work which Barry had experienced.
Donen:
“The hardest part is the reality. What our robot is asked to do is what a human can do, and more. It is supposed to remove something from Farrah’s eye and rip down a metal door. Our robot is expected to sit, walk, climb, regard, pick up chess pieces, break a metal flask in its hand, cut things with his fingers, drum his fingers. Just picking something up and putting it down again seems simple when you first think about it. But there is a great deal that happens. If I wanted this creature to pick up a table and bring it to you, well, he’ll probably walk over and hit you in the nose with it. We tried endlessly, and we had hilarious problems with it. When I wanted it to pick up a table, everything slid off onto the floor because it had no way to keep the table level.”
Mechanical effects supervisor Colin Chilvers said of Donen:
“Considering the stage at which Stanley came in, considering that the stars we had hadn’t the best reputation for co-operation – let’s put it like that – it went well. And Stanley, who I’d never worked with before as director or producer struck me as a very creative person.”
When quizzed about rumours of budget overruns (the budget eventually went over $10 million) Donen said:
“It’s a lot for a film with three characters, I know. The robot cost a lot more than we expected. It was slower to photograph than we thought it would be. And when John couldn’t finish directing the picture, that took time.”
“The building of the robot was a major concern. The limitations of the surroundings was another problem. It was like making a movie in a rowboat. To give the movie variety in that one complex where the characters live was very difficult.”
“I wasn’t going to direct it, so I can’t really relate to it as I did my other films. It was not for me to do, though I did end up directing it. I don’t know whether I would have chosen it for myself. It’s a different world. The story is very challenging to sustain. That was going to be someone else’s problem. It was worrisome, but that was the nature of the idea. We were off and running before anyone knew what was going on.”
Chilvers again reiterated his high praise for Donen in his 2020 autobiography; particularly with regard to the director being open to implementing other people’s worthwhile ideas. In the book, Chilvers reveals it was he who suggested the shooting of Hector’s explosive demise using a high frame rate (giving the sequence a super slow motion effect). “The screenplay called for the robot to ‘blow up.’ but I thought we could film it in a unique way to heighten the dramatic impact. I mentioned (to Donen) an incredible sequence from the film Zabriskie Point, in which a house explodes in slow motion. Shooting at such a high frame rate made the explosion beautiful and graceful, like a dance of flame and debris, and I suggested we try something similar with the ending of Saturn 3. Stanley liked my suggestion and we ended up shooting the destruction of Hector at something like 1,500 frames per second instead of the regular 24. The final effect is visually striking, like a ballet of robotic parts dancing in the air as Hector is blown sky high. The dramatic death of Hector caps off the story in memorable fashion.”
WARDROBE MALFUNCTIONS
The real Captain James (Douglas Lambert) in a flight suit identical to Harvey Keitel’s.
Issues with the robot weren’t the only things slowing production. Harvey Keitel’s spacesuit costume (created by costume designer Anthony Mendelson) also presented its own unique problems. “I wanted to get away from the traditional spacesuits which we are all a bit bored with now, so I went for a contrast between old-fashioned, cumbersome suits which Kirk and Farrah would have to wear and a very practical, easy-to-wear suit for Harvey.” said Mendelson, “His suit is made from a form-fitting green vinyl fabric with a cloth backing. It’s remarkably supple and stretches when he moves. It springs back into shape without any belling or sagging at the elbows and knees. Funnily enough, it’s normally used as a furnishing fabric. The suit is zip-fronted and all air and heating lines are in black which matches the space helmet designed by the art department.”
“We went through endless torture,” Donen recounted at the time, “It has an incredible organic design of beautiful veins and then larger arteries which are actually air hoses and other apparatus. But we couldn’t find any way to keep these things on the suit. When the man moves, they would pop off. We didn’t want to sew them on. Finally, they found a supple wire and some sort of glue that kept them from springing off.”
Kirk Douglas, on the other hand, never had an issue with his own wardrobe (primarily a collection of quilted sleeveless overjackets with tops and slacks made from a washable suede cloth called Alcantra). So enamoured was he with his garb, he kept many of his outfits to wear around his home in Palm Springs:
“They’re the most comfortable clothes I ever had to wear in a film.”
One famous piece of costuming, though, never made it into most release versions of the film …
BLUE DREAMERS: FANTASY KILLINGS AND KINKY OUTFITS
At the time of the film’s release, much ballyhoo surrounded particular images of Farrah wearing a kinky outfit to promote the movie, although the scene which featured the get-up was cut prior to release. Many have pondered over the years how this scene played out and how it relates to the plot.
Well, now at last, I am pleased to say – the answer can be revealed:
Farrah in her kinky get-up (photo courtesy Tom Fury).
The following is a reconstruction of the deleted ‘Blue Dreamers’ fantasy/murder scene (which features Farrah in her kinky oufit) which I put together based on actual text from the shooting script (pages 32, 32A, 32B, 33), together with the dialog (as filmed) from a bootleg audio cassette recording I made during a screening of the Australian release print back in 1980. The print I recorded from included the reveal of Farrah’s get-up, but not the murder itself. The stills are taken from a You-tube clip from the German release print which was identical to the Australian release print (albeit in German). The black and white stills of Adam killing Benson were used as lobby cards, even though the murder never appeared in any print of the finished film.
To set the scene:
Adam and Alex have just shared a ‘blue dreamer’ – a pill given to Alex by the psychopathic Benson (masquerading as Captain James) in order to entice Alex to the ways of Earth – the forbidden fruit, so to speak. The pill begins to take effect and (under its influence) Adam concedes it might be in Alex’s best interest to go to Earth.
INT. ADAM AND ALEX’S QUARTERS
ADAM lowers the lights and puts on some music. ALEX throws her arms around him and kisses him, draping a scarf around his shoulders.
ALEX: What do I wear?
ADAM: Anything or nothing. They’re not choosy anymore.
ALEX: I’ve got just the thing – my coming out dress!
She hurries out. Adam goes to bar – fills a glass from a large bottle – sets the bottle down and then gulps the glass of amber juice.
Alex reappears, dressed in a provocative outfit.
Adam moves over to settee – lies down, obviously enjoying it.
ADAM: Well, you certainly come out in that alright.
Alex sits provocatively.
ALEX: You don’t think it’s too old-fashioned?
Adam grins, moves over to her.
ADAM: No, no, no. It’s just the thing to meet the president… she’ll love it.
Adam suddenly looks up and sees JAMES standing by the bar, looking on, smiling.
JAMES: And what are you gonna wear, Grandpa?
ADAM: What do you mean, busting into our room? Nobody invited you.
JAMES: Those are the parties I like.
ADAM: Will you get out!
JAMES: I just came by to water the plants.
Throughout all this, Alex is moving about seductively. Adam jumps up and advances on James.
ADAM: Get out!
James, still smiling, pours a bottle of amber over Adam’s head and face. Adam wrenches the bottle out of his hand, smashes the top off the bottle, leaving the jagged edges.
As James is drinking from his glass, Adam thrusts the jagged bottle into James’ stomach. Blood gushes as James doubles up and drops his glass.
Adam jabs the bottle into James’ neck, more blood gushes, splattering Adam, and Alex who is watching in fascination.
James topples off the platform onto the floor.
ADAM: Help me. We’ll flush him into space. That’s the end of him.
Adam grabs one leg, Alex the other, and they drag him to the door. Adam pushes the door button.
Previously unseen on-the-set still by Keith Hamshere (scan courtesy Kenny Caldwell).
The door zips back. Alex and Adam, now dressed in original clothes, turn as –
– the fully-assembled robot takes a massive stride forward. Alex shrinks back with a scream – causing a sonic whine from the robot – claw raised.
James appears from behind.
JAMES: Quiet please, you’re blocking him.
Alex flips a switch – kills the music.
The robot lowers its claw.
JAMES: I want you to meet Hector.
According to the date at the top of these particular pages (March 12th 1979), this scene was one of the last major changes to be made to the shooting script during principal photography.
And it’s interesting to note that the action of Benson/James pouring a drink over Adam, was actually shot with Adam throwing the drink over James – as evidenced by this black and white still used as a lobby card:
The opening of the sequence with Adam and Alex sharing the blue dreamer remains in the final cut, but the bulk of the scene with Farrah in her ‘coming out dress’ and James’ murder was discarded. It has been suggested the murder was removed by order of Lew Grade himself – as he was so appalled by the violence.
And Farrah demanded her appearance in the kinky get-up be taken out, as she felt embarrassed about being dressed so provocatively.
The deleted scene with Farrah in her coming out dress (dubbed in German) can be viewed here:
Despite the outfit being excised from US and UK release prints, it did nothing to stop Grade from using her image in the get-up to promote the movie throughout the rest of the world.
Thai release poster 1980.
FINAL CUTS, OVERDUBS AND ELMER’S LOST SCORE
Alex: “Haven’t you ever had a dog?” Benson: “No. Just something to eat.”
According to Starburst Magazine contributor John Brosnan (in his 1980 review of Saturn 3) – Harvey Keitel refused to post-synch his dialog and thus his entire performance was re-dubbed by English actor Roy Dotrice (father of Michelle Dotrice; who played the long-suffering Betty in the English Michael Crawford-starring TV sitcom Some Mothers Do ‘Ave ‘Em).
Roy Dotrice – 1987
Just why Keitel refused is unclear, although it has been suggested elsewhere that Lew Grade had a falling-out with the actor and demanded his Brooklyn accent be replaced with the more mid-Atlantic-sounding brogue of Dotrice. Whatever the reason, the resulting monotone curiously enhances the oddness of what is already a very strange character.
Aside from the aforementioned blue dreamers murder fantasy, several other scenes were also cut from the original print, reducing the film’s running time from 103 minutes to 88 minutes – a total of 15 minutes.
Two scenes stand out in particular:
In an extended ten minute sequence (following the scene where Hector reveals his attraction for Alex to Benson), Adam attempts to take Hector outside the complex in order to teach him some of the tasks he is meant to perform. Inside the airlock garage, a petulant Hector lashes out at Adam, when Adam tries to encourage him into the moonbuggy.
Once outside, Hector refuses to go any further and Adam leaves him near Benson’s shuttle, before continuing on in the buggy to collect rock samples.
It is puzzling as to why this sequence was mostly scrapped, as it does much to embelish Hector’s descent into madness – his disinterest in learning the day-to-day tasks he was created to perform and his growing preoccupation with Alex. It also demonstrates the manifestation of anti-social traits he has inherited from Benson – his resentment of Adam’s rank and authority, for example.
Donen had hoped Hector would be seen as a sympathetic character – being a victim of circumstance (much like Frankenstein’s monster) – the product of a psychopathic society:
“The robot learns whatever it learns from the man who creates it. The son starts to resemble the father – a sort of Frankenstein. We had to show it had strong feelings. It is humiliated. It is angry. It is suspicious. It has these emotions because it has a brain – an organic brain. You feel it is caught in a situation. It is a villian because of its creator. The robot has inherited evil traits.”
Perhaps much of Hector’s character arc was stripped away in order to make him less sympathetic and more monstrous. Perhaps it was deemed he wasn’t scary enough.
The sequence continues as Hector re-enters the complex and sabotages the outer airlock door mechanism to prevent Adam from coming back inside.
With Adam still at work outside the complex, Benson (again) attempts to proposition Alex – at which point the sequence continues (as in the release print) with Alex discovering Hector has re-entered the complex and has killed the couple’s pet dog.
Hector attacks Alex, but not before she activates the station’s emergency alarm – alerting Adam – as the robot holds her aloft, dangling by her wrists. This is followed by another cut scene – as Adam attempts to re-enter the complex by blowing open the airlock’s outer door with an explosive charge.
It is possible the scenes of Hector sabotaging the airlock outer door and Adam blowing it were cut because the airlock needed to be functioning properly in order for Adam and Alex to be able to leave the complex (in a later scene) and attempt an escape in Benson’s shuttle.
The script clearly states it is the garage doors which Hector sabotages, but an on-set photo in the May 1980 issue of Fantastic Films Magazine shows that the garage (where the moonbuggy is parked) and the main airlock are one in the same – in which case, it makes no sense for Adam to blow the outer door.
The sequence does appear in Steve Gallagher’s novelization, but no mention is made of how Adam is able to re-enter the complex without causing catastrophic decompression.
Until footage of this sequence comes to light, one can really only guess as to why it ended up on the cutting room floor.
It’s a shame the scene with Benson again attempting to proposition Alex was cut – as it demonstartes the lengths he is willing to go in order to have his way with her.
He’s even prepared to have her drugged if neccessary:
“I don’t want to cut the Major out – he doesn’t have to know. Even you don’t have to know. I can give you a blanker pill afterwards – you’ll forget the whole thing.”
If this is accepted behaviour back on Earth, is it any wonder Adam and Alex have shunned society?
WARNING – THE FOLLOWING SECTION CONTAINS A MAJOR SPOILER!
The other significant scene which never made it into the release print is a rather grisly scene (which directly follows the scene where Keitel attempts to abduct Alex after attacking Adam. Hector appears, severs Keitel’s hand and drags his body away).
In the release print, we only discover Keitel’s fate later – when it is revealed the robot has impaled the man’s severed head on its eyestalk.
The big reveal …
“I’m alive. I haven’t died. I’m taking over.”
In the original work print however, we see what happens to Keitel prior to this reveal.
On pages 72 and 73 of the script, the deleted scene is described as follows:
INT. LAB
JAMES’ body is laid out on a bench. The robot stands over him. We see the robot from the back as, in a parody of its own disassembly, it proceeds to take James apart. We hear wrenching noises as the robot methodically detaches each arm in turn. Then the unmistakable crack, an effortless tug and, in the shadows, James’ severed head is placed on the bench.
Rare production still from the deleted scene – Hector prepares to tear Keitel apart.
The deletion of this scene may have once again been at the order of Lew Grade, but it seems more likely it was cut due to the fact that it short-circuits the mystery surrounding Keitel’s fate in the lead-up to the big reveal – as the robot imitates Benson’s voice over the station’s public address system in order for Adam and Alex to believe he is still alive and thus entice them out of hiding.
Interestingly, when Saturn 3 was broadcast on US television in 1984, the complete 103 minute work print was the version which screened. So it’s entirely possible a complete cut of the film may well still be in existence somewhere.
There was a dvd release of the movie on the Magna Pacific label in Australia which, according to the cover, had a running time of 103 minutes. However, much to the diappointment of fans, this turned out to be incorrect and the disk was nothing more than the original 88 minute US/UK theatrical release cut – wrongly labelled.
(A comprehensive list of scenes cut from the film can be found on Wikipedia’s page for Saturn 3 at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saturn_3)
Elmer Bernstein (1922 – 2004)
The loss of these scenes (and other minor trims) weren’t the only things missing from the theatrical release version of Saturn 3. Much of Elmer Bernstein’s eclectic score was also jettisoned, with very little of its sixty three minutes remaining.
The full score was finally released as a limited edition CD (2,500 copies) by specialty label Intrada in 2006. The most notable music cues missing from the release print were a funky guitar-based piece played over the seemingly choreographed launching pad scene which opens the movie and a lyrical theme meant to represent the wistful innocence of Farrah Fawcett’s character (played during Benson’s flight through the rings of Saturn, and elsewhere in the film).
Taarna from The Heavy Metal Movie (original animation cel).
Bernstein re-used this theme two years later for the ‘Taarna’ sequence in the animated anthology film The Heavy Metal Movie (1981) during the scene where Taarna bathes and dresses for battle against barbarian hordes.
Bernstein revealed his displeasure over the missing cues having subsequently worked on several sci-fi projects since Saturn 3:
“Composers are often artistically restricted by their employers, but not for SF and fantasy. Those are films on which I was given a pretty free reign. One wonderful thing is that you are given another world. In the Case of Saturn 3, I was so adventurous that I freaked the producer and director out. They got scared because I used rock music. I’m not opposed to rock & roll for scoring films. I am opposed to the fact that its use is so narrow. You never really hear it in dramatic scoring. So, in the main title, I started out with some strange scoring and in the middle went with a rock band, which I meant seriously. Well, the director got really frightened. He was afraid it sounded like a send-up and took it out. After so many scores, nobody ever says. ‘I trust you’. Nobody ever trusts you.”
The complete unused music cue from the opening of Saturn 3 can be listened to here:
Also cut was a cheesy piece of 70’s-style disco music Bernstein had composed, which played over the blue dreamers fantasy sequence, of which only a small snippet remains (as source music) at the end of the scene where Benson appears with the robot.
The CD cover art was based on the poster used to promote the movie upon its release.
CD back cover -track listing.
VISUAL EFFECTS
Saturn 3 is often criticised for its admittedly lack-lustre visual effects – especially during Benson’s flight through the rings of Saturn. The shuttle is clearly a miniature submerged in a tank of water, being (quite jerkily) pulled along.
And fuzzy matte lines are particularly prominant around model spacecraft in a few of the blue screen shots –
Oxford Scientific Films (best known for their innovative photography for natural history documentaries, as well as producing special effects for the movies Superman, Alien and Flash Gordon), were charged with providing the visual effects for Saturn 3. OSF’s Oscar-winning ‘genius-in-residence’ Peter Parks had been a pioneer of snorkel periscope photography which features prominantly during Benson’s low-level flight across the surface of Titan (actually a large plaster table-top model).
Titan surface – plaster model (screen cap courtesy Chris Brock).
Benson’s shuttle arrives on Titan.
With a team as accomplished as Oxford Scientific Films, it wasn’t a lack of talent which led to the less than spectacular effects, but more a lack of money – as a good portion of the film’s visual effects budget had been appropriated by Lew Grade’s other troubled production Raise The Titanic – the cost of which had blown out enormously, threatening to sink ITC.
(screen-cap courtesy catacombs.space1999.net)
As part of these cost-cutting measures, some of the visual effects shots of the planet Saturn which open the film (and a couple of backgrounds used during Benson’s flight through the rings) were appropriated from elsewhere – being pre-existing footage originally created four years earlier for ‘Breakaway’, the pilot episode of the sci-fi TV series, Space 1999 – but never used. They show the moon (having been blasted out of Earth orbit) travelling past Saturn on its trajectory out of the solar system. It makes sense that Lew Grade would resort to using this footage for Saturn 3 – as his company was also responsible for producing Gerry Anderson’s much-loved television show.
The following two pictures are the unused background images from ‘Breakaway’ which were reused during Benson’s flight through the rings. The first ended up with a tiny model of Benson’s shuttle composited over the top of it as it entered and became obscurred by the rings. The second wider view had a tiny white dot added to the image – representing the shuttle emerging from the rings and heading for the small moon just to the right of frame.
(screen-caps courtesy catacombs.space1999.net)
A rare image of the ITC pre-release teaser poster from 1979 (note how the robot’s presence is downplayed: with only its glowing eyes showing at the top).
RELEASE AND REACTION
The film opened in the US on February 15 1980 and its tagline ‘Something Is Wrong On Saturn 3’ – could not be more appropriate. It was given an MPAA rating of R, for scenes of violence and brief nudity and grossed a paltry $9 million in the US domestic market.
As could be expected, Saturn 3 received less than favourable reviews:
Roger Ebert described it as ‘awesomely stupid, totally implausible … and a shameful waste of money’.
Paul M. Sammon in Cinefantastique Magazine said ‘Saturn 3 is a gory, derivative thriller which attempts to mix the production style of Alien with the dubious charms of Farrah Fawcett. The result is one very limp noodle.”
Considering the extent of its troubled production history, it’s astounding there was even a movie to review at all.
And to be fair, Sammon was incorrect in implying Saturn 3 was produced to cash in on the success of Alien – as both films were developed concurrently and quite apart from one another. In fact it could be argued that Barry had the idea for Saturn 3 some years prior to Alien writer Dan O’Bannon putting pen to paper. It seems more likely both films were green-lit as a direct result of the success of Star Wars in 1977 and the sudden popularity of space movies in general.
FINAL THOUGHTS:
So now, the question must be asked –
If the 15 minutes worth of deleted scenes and trims were to be restored (or the work print remastered and released) – would it make for a better movie?
Well if the shooting script is anything to go by … yes and no.
Sure, the film’s choppy pacing would be rectified. And the scene with Hector outside the compound would indeed help make the robot’s slide into psychopathy appear less abrupt.
Although the blue dreamers fantasy sequence may flesh out Adam’s desire to kill Benson (despite his inability to resort to murder in the real world) – it may also be merely confusing.
Reinstating Adam blowing the airlock to regain entry would create a major plot hole later on. And revealing Benson’s gory dismemberment at the hands of Hector would, it seems, dispel the mystery of Benson’s fate.
Until a complete 103 minute version becomes available, one can only speculate.
Despite its flaws, the 88 minute cut of Saturn 3 is not without merit and is an intriguing indication to what might have been.
Perhaps if Lew Grade hadn’t have been so impetuous to begin production without a polished script and if Douglas hadn’t been signed (forcing Barry to leave), then it’s possible Barry and Amis may have been given the opportunity to fine tune the screenplay together – allowing Barry to follow through with his vision and, who knows, the result may have been entirely different.
Greg Moss is a film school graduate with a background in directing music videos and is currently seeking representation as a screenwriter. He likes creative people, feeding the cat and watching genre movies.
With special thanks to my good friend Dan Gear for proof-reading. Hopefully I got it right this time.
Also thanks to Andrew Glazebrook for allowing me the use of his beautiful rendering of the Saturn Survey logo. You can see more of Andrew’s fantastic art and design work at:
And thanks to regular site contributor Chris Dalton for tracking down that previously unseen still from the deleted scene (showing Farrah and Douglas dragging Keitel’s body) – the most incredible find so far!
Also thanks to Kenny Caldwell, who supplied the still and kindly took the effort to scan it for me.
Kenny’s awesome movie memorabilia site can be found at:
http://madmovyman.com/emporium/
And another big thanks to Chris Dalton for digging up that information on the VFX images of Saturn being used from the pilot episode of Space 1999. A nice bit of sleuthing! Also, I’d like to credit Chris with finding that terrific quote from Elmer Bernstein regarding the score.
Also thanks to Kai Clear for supplying me with the quote from Mark Hamill. The quote was taken from the 1995 book Primal Screen: A History Of Science Fiction Film by John Brosnan.
And an extra-special thanks of appreciation to Stacey E. Lemmon from Dr Theda’s Crypt, for providing crucial information for this article.
Stacey’s excellent and informative blog can be found at:
http://thedascrypt.blogspot.com.au/
Research Sources Used In This Article:
Periodicals And Publications:
Cinefantastique Magazine, Vol 9 #1, Saturn 3 article by Patrick Hobby
Cinefantastique Magazine, Vol 10 #1, Summer 1980, Saturn 3 film review by Paul M. Sammon
Famous Monsters Of Filmland Magazine #164, June 1980, article ‘Saturn 3 Means Never Having To Say You’re Sorry’ by Richard Meyers
Fangoria Magazine #5, April 1980, article ‘Saturn 3’ by Berthe Roegger
Fantastic Films Magazine #16, May 1980, article ‘Saturn III’ by Blake Mitchel & James Ferguson
Future Life Magazine #17, March 1980, article ‘Lust In Space’ by Sam Bisbee
Horror Movie Yearbook 1981 – The Best From Famous Monsters – February 1981, article ‘Saturn 3: A Sci-Fi Horror Spree!’ – senior editor Forrest J. Ackerman
Starburst Magazine #19, 1979, article ‘Saturn 3’ by Tony Crawley
Starburst Magazine #23, November 1980, article ‘Colin Chilvers – Part One: Hector And Me’ – interview by Tony Crawley
Starburst Magazine #23, November 1980, Saturn 3 film review by John Brosnan
Starlog Magazine #27, October 1979, article ‘Saturn 3 Wraps’
Starlog Magazine #35, April 1980, article ‘Saturn 3’ – interview with Stanley Donen by Alan Brender
Sunday Express Magazine, 10 October 1982, article ‘The Men Who Can Photograph Anything’ by Robert K. G. Temple (profiling the work of Oxford Scientific Films)
George Lucas: A Biography by John Baxter, Harper Collins 1999
Once Upon A Galaxy: A Journal Of The Making Of The Empire Strikes Back by Alan Arnold, Sphere Books 1980
Saturn 3 novelization by Steve Gallagher from the film screenplay, Sphere Books 1980
Believing A Man Can Fly: Memories Of A Life In Special Effects And Film by Colin Chilvers and Aaron Lam, BearManor Media 2020
Other Sources:
Saturn 3 screenplay, uncredited shooting draft, dated January 19 1979
Saturn 3, bootleg audio recording of the Australian release print, recorded at the Marion Twin Drive-In in August 1980 by Gregory Moss
Liner notes written by Jeff Bond for the Saturn 3 original soundtrack CD, music composed and conducted by Elmer Bernstein, Intrada Special Collection, released 2006
Internet Sources:
‘The Unsung Heroes Of Star Wars: John Barry’, e-book written by Scott Weller
It can be found at:
http://www.starwarsaficionado.com/johnbarryunsunghero.html
Wikipedia: Saturn 3 page
It can be found at:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saturn_3
Wikipedia: Stanley Donen profile
It can be found at:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanley_Donen
Excerpt from interview with Martin Amis on April 16, 2012 – as part of the Writers on Film series at the Crosby Street Hotel in New York City, hosted by Michael Marenas
It can be found at:
http://www.wordandfilm.com/2012/05/writers-on-film-an-evening-with-martin-amis-and-gary-oldman/
Billy Williams B.S.C. (cinematographer) video interview
It can be found at:
http://www.webofstories.com/play/13135
Quote from author Steve Gallagher
It can be found at:
Links to unused VFX images of Saturn from the ITV show Space 1999 can found here:
http://catacombs.space1999.net/main/pguide/obs/upsfx01b2.html
http://catacombs.space1999.net/main/images/sfx/sfx01b.html
IMDB internet movie database: page on Saturn 3:
It can be found at:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0079285/
Saturn Survey logo rendered by Andrew Glazebrook
article copyright © 2012 Gregory Moss
A very well researched and informative web page Good Sir… I actually enjoyed this film…. Anyway that you could post a pic of the ship that brought “Hector” to the Moon-Base ? I loved the “insectoid” look of this small ship…
Hi Stacey! And thanks for your comment! Yeah, I’ve always loved the insectoid look of Benson’s ship. I searched high and low for that pic of it going through the rings. I’m pleased you like the article.
🙂
Definitely an awesome and well-researched website. I always considered Saturn 3 to be a guilty pleasure of mine(it was the first R rated film I ever saw). Will you be posting any more pictures from the 1980 ITC Entertainment Group film in the near future(i.e. have a picture gallery)? Google is an excellent source for pictures and I have seen quite a few from the film over the years.
I certainly liked the film’s set and production design, as well as the costumes. Especially the World Spaceways Transport. For a film set in the 21st Century, it had a unique and original look.
The company that originally distributed Space:1999 and Capricorn One certainly had an interesting film on their hands.
Thanks for your comments and suggestions, Christopher! I will definitely be looking at expanding the site to include a picture gallery, as well as updating the article as more information comes to hand. And yeah, right with you on the design of the World Spaceways ship – it’s a doozy! – very reminiscent of Derek Meddings’ distinctive designs for Thunderbirds and U.F.O. Thanks for dropping by, and if you have any further questions, suggestions or requests, please don’t hesitate to ask!
🙂
greg
Oh yeah, and thanks too Christopher for that bunch of links you sent me. They came in real handy in updating the photo gallery!
🙂
greg
I’d like to take this opportunity to thank my good friend Joe Velikovsky for endeavoring to track down a copy of the 1984 NBC broadcast version of Saturn 3. Although we were unsuccessful this time around, I really do appreciate all your hard work, Joe. Hopefully someone out there who either has a copy or knows how to get one will read this and get in contact with me.
Cheers!
🙂
greg
Saturn 3 had a great potential as an erotic film, but some one goofed it up. I cought the last half of this movie when it aired on NBC back in 1984.
I have alway felt, there must have been a lot of nude Farrah Fawcett scenes, that ended up on the cutting room floor. an example, the big chunk of film that seems to be missing, from where Adam passes out, to where Alex wakes up dressed in her, full dress military uniform.
I can easily imagine a needed scene, where the infactuated Hector, has a naked Alex all to itself. it was implied that Hector must have undressed Alex. what would Hector have done with Alex.
Thanks for your comment, Ralph.
You certainly raise a valid question – and one which I remember was touched on by critics at the time – what exactly would Hector have done with Alex? I mean it’s not like he possesses the right – how shall I put this – ‘equipment’. If indeed he had inherited Benson’s lust for Alex (via the brain-link) – then how would that urge be possibly fulfilled? I’m guessing it would be lust Hector would be experiencing and not love – as I doubt Benson would be capable of thinking in romantic terms (being a psychopath and all). It’s a fascinating conundrum and one which makes Hector’s predicament all the more tragic – being an innocent experiencing urges he cannot fulfill. It would be interesting to know if this was addressed in any meaningful way in Barry’s original draft. As to whether there were additional nude scenes which didn’t make it into the final cut – I doubt this would be the case – as Farrah was already rather sensitive about the brief moment of nudity in the film. The shooting draft screenplay certainly makes no mention of any additional nude scenes. And while on the subject of nudity, in case anyone is wondering – I decided against posting images of Farrah’s nude scene, as I feel it would not be in the best taste to do so. But thanks again Ralph, for your comment.
🙂
Hector’s lack of equipment. at the end of the movie, Hector, had wired Adam’s brain to receive the brain link,” turn around so that I can reprogram you.” it seemed that Hector had planed to lobotomise Adam, making him into a living data input device. another scene that was cut out in that big missing chunk. this sci fi movie had a lot of serious thought put into it.
as for Farrah doing nudity. during that time period, Farrah Fawcett was seen as having a beautiful body and pretty smile. as for her acting, the people in Hollywood didn’t take her very seriously. the only parts that she was being offered, were nude scenes. I think that had a lot to do with her attitude toward nudity.
Hector brain-linking with Adam in order to vicariously experience love-making is an interesting idea. Are you suggesting this concept was part of the NBC TV cut? In Steve Gallagher’s novelization, Hector interfaces with the base’s computer (in order to hold Alex and Adam captive) which is a fascinating idea not explored in the shooting draft screenplay (albeit similar to HAL).
🙂
no, I remember the 1984 NBC film as being the normal ending. that’s just me imaging a possible scenario.
in the film, Hector, said that it was going to reprogram Adam’s brain, through the use of the mind link plug-in, that Hector seemed to have wired into the back of Adam’s neck (a scene that may or may not have existed). Hector kept telling Adam to turn around, and kept trying to plug it into Adam’s brain.
I believe that, once Adam was pluged in, Hector could then interface with, and reprogram Adam’s brain. just as James interfaced and programed Hector’s brain. but that didn’t happen in the movie, because Adam sacrificed him self.
if Adam couldn’t have stop Hector, it would have been Game over for Adam and Alex. Adam would have become a humanoid puppet, and Alex would have become Hectotr’s play thing.
Hector would use Adam’s brain dead body as a conduit to experience touching Alex’s flesh. but Hector had no concept of love, being that Benson’s only desire was to use Alex’s body for his sexual plesure.
Interesting. That would probably work. Perhaps its an idea which could be explored in a remake if anyone decided to make one.
🙂
yes I believe this idea was in the movie
I would love to see the NBC version. Do you know of anybody who might have a copy?
🙂
no, I don’t have a copy of the film. that was before I had a VHS. I’ll have to get a copy of Steve Gallagher novelization book.
it would interesting to see some of the rejected scrips that the other writers attempted.
Yeah, although the big thing for me would be to get my hands on a copy of Barry’s original ‘The Helper’ draft and Amis’ initial first draft.
Gallagher’s book is a great read. He certainly fixes a lot of the problems with the screenplay. It should be pretty easy to find a second hand copy on the web.
that is usually the case with movies. you need to read the book to get a better understanding of the story. your page has cleared up a lot of questions about this movie.
I was alway under the impression that, Kirk Douglas took Farrah Fawcett under his wing as a Hollywood connection.
I was kind of surprised to read that Kirk wanted to rip her clothes off.
I know, appalling behaviour. I imagine it would take a strong personality to deal with someone like Douglas on the set. I’m pleased I’ve been able to fill in a few gaps with regard to this movie.
🙂
An awesome write-up! Part of what drew me to the film, besides Hector and Elmer Bernstein’s sound track, was the visual design. I dug that everything, from helmets to space craft, seemed very insectile in design. It was like nothing that i have ever seen before, and wish that the film had explored to some extent why.
I also enjoyed that, despite how advanced human culture seemed to be, we couldn’t leave behind our baser instincts, even it it meant that we destroy the eden of Saturn 3.
As I said before, this film could be a huge hit if remade right.
Cheers Brian – nice to have you visit! I’m definitely a big fan of the production design. It was the initial thing which caught my attention in the various publications at the time (Starlog, Fantastic Films, Fangoria etc). The idea of our baser instincts following us out into space also really appealed to me. And I agree – Saturn 3 would make a rich source of interesting possibilities if it were remade today. And I love your suggestion earlier that the Benson character could be recast as a woman – kind conjures up all sorts of – shall we say – ‘fascinating scenarios’.
greg
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HEADS UP – WHAT’S NEW?
Hey everyone, I just added a new pic which is perhaps the most amazing find yet – a completely unseen image from the ‘blue dreamers murder’ sequence – showing Farrah and Kirk dragging Keitel’s body. It was discovered by my ‘resident finder’ Chris Dalton and the scanned image has been kindly supplied by Kenny Caldwell.
Please check out Kenny’s site at:
http://madmovyman.com/
Thanks guys – nice work!
The archaeological dig continues!
🙂
That’s a fascinating article in the making of a film I’ve always had a soft spot for! Despite the serious that you have outlined there’s something wonderfully strange nd atmospheric about Saturn 3 and I completely agree about the dubbing of Keitel contributing to the weirdness!
I know Farrah Fawcett was a big star at the time and Kirk Douglas struggled to find commercially successful films in the 70’s but I’m still amazed he agreed to take second billing in this movie-the first time I saw the movie it was a shock to see his name come second in the opening credits!
Anyway, great site and thank you for writing an excellent article on the movie.
Mark.
Cheers Mark – I’m pleased you like the article! And you’re right – it is quite amazing Douglas took second billing.
greg
Great site! interesting insite into this flawed film. Found a lot of great info on it, I wouldn’t know where to start looking! Did anyone see it on BBC2 the other night? or recorded as it was on so late? I’ll keep looking at this site for new updates!
Thank you! So I’m guessing the BBC2 screening the other night explains the massive spike in viewings of this site on Saturday? Thanks to everyone who took time to visit this Easter.
greg
🙂
Excellent article. Well done!
Cheers Tom. Glad you like it!
greg
hey, great article, but surprised not one mention of the sound design? some super scifi sounds in there. I sampled hector’s screeching noise a long time ago… be interested to hear who/what made them…
cheers
Thanks! Yeah, good call on the sound design. Some really distinctive sounds in there. I neglected to make mention of the sound design in the article, as I didn’t come across any specific reference to it in my research. I am aware Roger Limb has a credit for ‘electronic sound effects’ – so I guess we have Roger to thank for some of the great sounds in there. According to IMDb, Roger was a member of the BBC Radiophonic Workshop (most famous for the music for the original Doctor Who series). If anyone out there has any further information on the sound design of Saturn 3, please let me know.
cheers!
greg
🙂
HEADS UP – WHAT’S NEW?
Hey everyone, I just uploaded another addition to the poster gallery. This one is Danish I believe. Similar to the US/UK release poster, with the difference being three stills are inserted into the design.
Hi, great site! As someone else mentions, I too have a soft spot for Saturn 3, saw it when I was 9 when my dad brought home the original MVC Betamax tape, and scared me silly. It needs a good polishing on the space sequences, that first huge ship at the beginning looks so cheesy (the melted spinning disk, LOL). But this aside, I think it works, I find disturbingly interesting the dystopian future it portrays, and for a hardcore sci-fi enthusiast I think it delivers. One thing though,… Adam could have blown Hector to kingdom come as easy as throwing one of those explosives at his feet and pushing the button at safe distance. Anyway,… thanks for a very intersting read, I wish a Bluray version full of goodies would be made available soon. Cheers!
Thanks Lewis! Wow – you first saw Saturn 3 as a nine-year-old?! I remember it freaked me out as a fifteen-year-old – so I can only imagine how it must’ve impacted at such a young age. 🙂
Yeah, that opening shot with the Saturn Survey station crawling overhead is pretty cheesy these days. But I guess back then this kind of image was all the rage after Star Wars. And you’re right – the model isn’t perhaps as detailed it could’ve been (especially with that droopy dish on the bottom).
You raise an interesting point about Adam sacrificing himself to save Alex. Like you say – wouldn’t it have been easier (and less … final) – just to lob the explosive at the robot’s feet and dive for cover? Was he really left with no choice other than to sacrifice his own life? But I actually think this is the point. Once he realizes he’s been fitted with the brain plug, he becomes resigned to the possibility that perhaps Benson is right and that maybe he should just gracefully accept his ‘abort time’, stop being so damn selfish and let Alex go to live her own life. I know it sounds corny – but the idea that ‘if you love someone – set them free’ is perhaps what lays at the heart of this story?
And I’m right with you with regards to blu-ray – I’d definitely love to see a proper full-blown release with all the extras. It’s such a beautiful-looking film which absolutely deserves to be remastered and preserved in all its glory.
Thanks for commenting!
🙂
Hello Gregory,… Yeah!, the 4 films that freaked me out as a child were: Alien, Saturn 3, Motel Hell (the image of the pig masked guy with a chainsaw!) and Friday the 13th, all from 1979-1980 when I was 9 and 10 years old. Regarding the sacrifice, I can see what you mean, and after thinking about it a little more, maybe Adam wanted to use the damping effect the icewater has to have with the shockwave to avoid any dangerous cracks on the installation and decompression into space.
Cheers!
Alien still remains my all-time favorite film. Motel Hell I caught later on video, the same with Friday The 13th – both of these were released here with an R rating, which means under 18 not admitted. Whereas Alien and Saturn 3 were both rated M – for 15 years and over.
And that’s an interesting observation you make about the water dampening the effect of the explosion – nicely spotted!
greg
🙂
I had a Super 8mm one reel(400 foot ) version of this film from the days before home video! I had a few such films bought second hand in the 80’s and the editing was pretty impressive-the whole story condensed into about 20 mins. Another film I had was a 200 foot edit of the Brando version of Mutiny On The Bounty-3 hour film condensed into around 10 mins-that was cleverly done as well although if I remember rightly it ended with the mutiny!
Hey Mark
Wow – I remember those! I guess you don’t still have it do you? I have one which is a condensed version of the episode ‘Psychobombs’ from Gerry Anderson’s TV series UFO. Haven’t looked at it for years.
🙂
Hey Louis and Gregory
I think I still have the super 8 film, it’s probably in a box in the garage! I haven’t had the projector out for years. I was a kid when I got hold of those films and although it’s been ages since I watched them I have fond memories of coming home from school, losing the curtains and threading film through the projector!
Hey Mark – that is so cool! Hey, if it’s not too much to ask – if you do manage to dig out the 8mm print, could you perhaps scan the packaging for me, so I can put images of it up on the site. Only if it’s not too much trouble.
greg
🙂
Hey Gregory
I’ll try and find the film and scan the artwork for you-might take some time to find it but will do my best!
🙂
I only saw Alien (also my favourite film along with Carpenter´s The Thing) at the cinema with my dad, , but everytime he went to the States on business he brought back a few movies, which usually were horror ones,… that´s how I got to see films like Motel Hell, Halloween and Saturn 3, (Will you believe he brought Friday the 13th from a trip to Cuba! very strange Betamax tape with different layout, just an axe in red and black, probably mafia related, hehe).
Hi Mark,… I remember those reels! I saw a few at kids birthday parties (20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, Star Wars, Raiders Of The Lost Ark, etc). Saturn 3 on 8mm, interesting.
Cheers everybody!
I remember seeing the Star Wars ones advertised in Famous Monsters. I had no idea there was one for Saturn 3.
Excellent overview of Saturn 3. I saw back in the day (must’ve been 13 or something) and always had a soft spot for this particular film. Even at my young age, I knew who John Barry was and it would’ve been great to see him helming this movie. I’d love to see the full 103 mins version. So much lesser product is being released today on DVD and/or bluray that it’s appalling to me to see cult movies such as Saturn 3 not being given the proper home video treatment. I have the out of print DVD but would definitely buy a restored version as soon as it comes out!
Thanks, Ernesto! Well I hope you’re sitting down – ‘coz it was announced over the weekend, at the San Diego Comic-Con, that genre specialist label Shout! Factory will be releasing a remastered blu-ray edition of Saturn 3 – including a bunch of extras newly-produced for this release! It should be out by Christmas. I know this will make every Saturn 3 fan extremely happy. I will post more information as it comes to hand. Thanks for commenting!
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:O That is so cool Gregory! Finally! I need to mail my letter to Santa ASAP, hehe.
Hey Lewis – I thought you’d be happy. It certainly has made my whole year.
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the artwork for the Blu-Ray.

Thanks for the link Jerome – they’ve done a great job! And I’m pleased they’ve used the original title logo too.
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HEADS UP – WHAT’S NEW?
Just finished watching the legendary extended TV version. Wow – a whole new experience! Thirty-three years I’ve been waiting to see it – and I must say – it’s been worth the wait. And thanks again to Bob for sending it to me. I’m currently working on a review of it for the site which I will be posting later this week – so stay tuned!
greg
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can you at least give us the running time of this extented cut ?
Absolutely Jerome. According to my dvd player – this cut runs at 96 minutes. But we have to keep in mind that the entire Blue Dreamers sequence is missing (the scene which is on youtube in German) – which would add another four minutes to the running time – and then there’s Benson’s dismemberment which – at a guess – would be thirty seconds worth of screen-time. However, as there is a difference in the running speeds between the NTSC and PAL systems – these timings may all be wrong anyway. But despite all this – the cut I just watched is definitely more coherent than the theatrical cut and the pacing in the second half works so much better. It now appears there are at least three different versions of this film in existence. I hope I haven’t confused things even more than they already are.
greg
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Not at all, it’s very clear. I am looking for this specific cut for a long time. If you are interested in a trade, let me know, I have many films with alternate/TV cuts. Thanks for the Update. Maybe you should contact Shout Factory about this cut, they sure will be interested for the Blu-Ray. I have a contact name if you want.
Hi,
This is a fantastic site, nice work! As a bit of a John Barry fan this was heaven for me. Can’t wait to check out the Blu-ray.
Dan
Cheers Dan! Yeah, I was always annoyed that Barry was given this bad rap of being an incompetent director and this was cited as the reason for his departure from the movie. I hope I’ve been able to rectify this and done something to restore the man’s reputation in some way.
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greg
Greg, I think your site has gone a long way to dispel the myth that Barry was out of his depth.
I am currently reading J W Rinzler’s ‘Star Wars The Blueprints’ book and in it, Roger Christian and other members of the Star Wars production department talk about John Barry’s firing from ‘Saturn 3’. The book is fairly unequivocal in its assertion that Barry was ousted by Kirk Douglas and Stanley Donen. ‘The Empire Strikes Back’ associate producer Robert Watts is quoted as saying “Stanley Donen was the producer and basically he didn’t like the way John was doing it and he fired him.”
It seems a good man and a great artist was undone by Hollywood egos. But we still have his work in ‘Star Wars’, ‘Superman’ and of course ‘Saturn 3’ to appreciate. I may even check out ‘Lucky Lady’ and ‘The Little Prince’.
Thanks, Greg,
cheers,
Dan
Thanks for the heads-up, Dan – I think I’ll have to purchase that book for myself so I can include those quotes in my article. I’m amazed Robert Watts would go on record and say that about Stanley Donen – but then again, it’s been so long, I guess he has nothing to lose by being so frank. I haven’t yet seen Lucky Lady, but I know you’ll get a kick out of watching The Little Prince – as several of the locations in Tunisia were to later appear in Star Wars (the cliff-top overlooking Mos Eisley and the canyon where Artoo is attacked by the Jawas, etc).
Thanks again for the info!
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greg
Hi Gregory,… is 2 days over the distribution dateline,… well what a surprise to find you on the commentary track 🙂 I´m still waiting for my copy, so in the meantime, can you tell us a little about the release? I see this is the 88 minute theatrical version, with a few deleted scenes as extras and other goodies… Thanks!
Hi Lewis,
I’m really excited about all the extras for this release – but one stands out for me in particular and that is the deleted ‘blue dreamers’ scene (which is labelled ‘ecstacy scene’ on the disk). This is the first time EVER this scene has been presented with its original English audio. The vision for this scene comes from the German release – but the audio is taken from my own personal cassette tape recording of the film as it was screened at the drive-in the first time I saw it here in Australia back in 1980. I’ve had this audio recording in my possession for 33 years – so I’m very proud to have contributed to the restoration of this scene for everyone to enjoy. The other extra I’d like to mention is the ten minute deleted sequence from the extended television version which was kindly supplied by site contributer Bob Powers. I know some have criticised the quality of the recording of this extra – but I know fans will understand that until an official network master tape is (maybe) unearthed one day – we are very fortunate to be able to even have this footage available at all – all thanks to Bob recording it off air back in the day. So come on people – stop complaining! 🙂
Great tributary site Greg!
Saturn 3 has always had a special “guilty pleasure” place in my ciné heart. I saw it in New Zealand when it was first released. And I remember the stills from the “Blue Dreamers” sequence, and wondering if I would ever get to see that version one day (as I had a big celebrity crush on Farrah, as most adolescent boys did!).
So, the Blu-ray release is one to get then? What about the extended TV version you saw, are all the deleted scenes from that on the BD release?
This is a movie that I would love to see a remake, a more adult erotic/horror version. Perhaps French director Alexandre Aja could helm it, his track record for remaking cult classic exploitation is solid.
Thanks Bryn! Yeah, the most significant additional scenes and scene extensions from the extended TV cut are included as extras on the Blu-ray. Also included is the infamous Blue Dreamers scene as a remastered stand-alone extra. I’m assuming that as you saw Saturn 3 when it was first released in 1980 in New Zealand – that you would have seen the same theatrical print which I saw here in Australia, which included the deleted scene with Farrah in her Barbarella costume? And I agree – I’d love to see Saturn 3 remade today – fully exploring things only hinted at in the original. I’m not all that familiar with Aja’s work, but do appreciate his dedication to the genre.
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I’m assuming it would’ve been the same print. But I don’t remember the scene with Farrah in her costume. I will have to get the BD.
Oh, and …
http://cultprojections.com/guiltypleasures/saturn-3
Hi Gregory,
I found a photo on the internet that shows the final scene where Alex is at the window, looking out at earth, but she is with Adam. Do you know if it’s from a deleted scene, or an alternate ending to the movie?
Sorry, I tried to add the photo to my message but I couldn’t.
Hi Stefan,
Yeah, that picture is one of the biggest mysteries yet to be solved. Is the pic you found the same as the one in the photo gallery? If not – could you perhaps email me a link to it? (gmossaturn3@internode.on.net). 🙂 As to what it means – I’m guessing it is Alex imagining Adam is with her. There is no mention of this in the shooting script, so I figure it must have been a late addition which was then dropped prior to release. This has undoubtedly been the biggest surprise for me (so far) stumbling across this pic!
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greg
Hi Greg,
I just checked the photo gallery and it is indeed the same pic. I must say that my first impression was also that the shot looks like Alex is imagining Adam next to her. Or, since she is no looking at him, maybe he’s some ghostly apparition. I wonder if we’ll ever find out? I love a good mystery! 😉
I really enjoyed Saturn 3. Visually, it was like nothing I have seen before (in fact, to this day it remains visually striking).
I liked just about everything about it, though I didn’t care for the Kirk Douglass casting because his character seemed remarkably selfish (Alex was with him primarily because he was all she knew. How did she get on Saturn 3 anyway? She wasn’t born there (at least I don’t think that she was) and he was old enough that their relationship appeared somehow wrong.
And also there was that great decontamination effect that should have been used for another purpose–or if the producers had found another reason to use it more in.
The ships were awesome, and the incredible Elmer Bernstein music…I have been looking for the soundtrack for the longest time. There are occasionally reissues, but I have yet to see one in the past few years.
And I am sorry that John Barry was unable to complete the film because I get the feeling that it would have been better than Stanley Donen’s effort (primarily because science fiction isn’t his bailiwick).
Cheers, Brian. Yeah, it is a cool decontamination effect, isn’t it? And the sound effect they use with the visuals is a huge part of its appeal I’d say. Hopefully now with the film itself in circulation – a reissue of the soundtrack album won’t be too far behind. As soon as I hear something, I’ll post it on the site.
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greg
Awesome! Thanks!
“if Douglas hadn’t been signed (forcing Barry to leave), then it’s possible Barry and Amis may have been given the opportunity to fine tune the screenplay together – allowing Barry to follow through with his vision and, who knows, the result may have been entirely different.”
It’s likely that if Barry had stayed on as director that he would have still caught his fatal meningitis. That likely would have thrown the production into a worse fate than his collapsing on the set of The Empire Strikes Back. Basically, collapsing and dying on-set may have ended this film’s production right then and there. At least after he left, Donen was in a position to pick up the reigns and we at least got to see the film and most of Barry’s vision.
Though, it’s quite clear. ITC always had problems with somewhat cheesy productions and Saturn 3 is no exception in that department. The crew tried its hardest to bring this film up to par with films of the time, but ITC always seemed to do something to sabotage those efforts.
Thanks for your coment! It’s an interesting question you raise about whether or not Barry would still have succumbed to meningitis had he stayed with the production of Saturn 3. I’m no virologist, but as far as I know; menigitis is a viral or bacterial infection caused by microorganisms – in other words: it’s something you contract. As it has been suggested from my research that Barry was suffering depression after being replaced on Saturn 3, it seems most likely this depression brought about an impairment of his immune system and made him more susceptible to contracting the disease. As I wasn’t actually there, of course, this still remains conjecture. But it seems the most logical assumption at this stage.
Cheers!
greg
Enjoyed reading this in-depth review. Saturn 3 had incredible potential to be a great horror/erotic sci-fi, shame it didn’t work out that way. I first saw a bit of the film aged 6 in 1990. I was ill with tonsillitis at the time and staying at my grandparents’ house as it was the school holidays. Anyways I couldn’t sleep and my nan let me come downstairs for a bit. My grandad was watching Saturn 3 and it was the scene where Hector kills Sally the dog – well I was pretty much freaked out by that as my nan owned a dog that looked just like Sally. I remember getting upset and my nan explaining to me that it was a movie and not real and the dog didn’t really get hurt.
Anyway years later as an adult I watched the entire film and Hector still creeps me out. I often wondered how far he’d go with his obsession with Alex – would he try and rape her? Either by using Adam as a puppet or by some kind of tentacle/probe? I liked the idea of the robot overpowering its human master and developing sentience, but with the worst aspects of human personality. That sort of thing could happen in future as AI technology becomes ever more advanced and our push to make everything “smart” – smartphones – smart houses – will these devices eventually out-smart us?
All in all Saturn 3 is a guilty pleasure of mine, I think it’s crying out for a remake.
Thanks for you comment, Alison! Yeah – I can imagine Sally’s demise would have been troubling for a six-year-old. But it was good of your nan to explain that it wasn’t real. It’s interesting that you bring up the question of just how far Hector would have gone with his obsession with Alex – as there are several lines of dialogue in the screenplay (which were either left unfilmed or cut during editing) which allude to the very thing that you suggest – namely that Hector would use his brain-link with Adam to vicariously experience sexual pleasure with Alex. There is a line still in the release cut of the film (in the scene where it is revealed that Adam has a brain plug like Benson’s) where he asks Hector “What are you trying to put in my head?” to which Hector replies “Put in? Put in? I’m putting nothing in. That comes comes later. I’m taking it out.” There’s a cut line here where Hector continues, saying “You know, you have an interesting brain.” Later, when Alex is confronted by Hector in the lab, and she demands that he stop using them, there are two pieces of missing dialogue here where Hector alludes to his nafarious plan for the couple, “I have now drained the last remaining secrets from Adam’s brain – fascinating – such an active man, sexually.” He then goes on to say “Of course his thoughts told me so much of you …” It is at this point that Adam appears, laden with hidden explosive charges and the scene continues on as is. And it’s funny you should mention how Saturn 3 is a film crying out to be remade – as I am currently writing my own remake script at this very moment, but only for my own amusement really. I’m hesitant to go into any detail right now about my approach to the material – but If I’m happy with the result, I may see if I can find a way of submitting my draft to the rights-holders – to at least get their thoughts on it and see if they might be interested in doing something with it. No harm in trying I guess. 🙂
I totally agree Alison, a remake would be awesome, especially by someone like Duncan Jones, or maybe Neil Marshall.
Yeah – Duncan Jones would be a good choice. MOON was terrific!
Hi Gregory and brynstar. I love Moon too, really underrated film, almost unbearble claustrophobic tension that was ramped up throughout it. And I really liked Gerty the computer too.
I do hope you’ll submit your script Gregory. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.
Also way back in 1990 I never imagined that Kirk Douglas would still be with us in 2015 whilst Farrah sadly passed away a few years ago.
Thanks for the encouragement regarding the script, Alison – I’ll definitely consider submitting it. And yeah, I was really devastated when Farrah passed away. I remember it was the same week as Michael Jackson – which overshadowed everything. Very sad.
Same day actually. Farrah passed away in the morning, and then Michael Jackson a few hours later.
Thanks for this, Stefan. It’s all coming back to me now.
It’s very pleasant to find a serious article on the history of a film that is usually simply dismissed or subjected to snarky humor.
Thanks for the information – entertainingly delivered.
Thanks, Steve. It’s always nice to receive positive feedback. 🙂
One of the best fansites I’ve ever come across, devoted to this flawed, interesting and much-maligned film. Most of the bad publicity I read at the time focused on the fact that Kirk’s character Adam was so much older than Farrah’s and was basically “a dirty old man in space.” That’s unfair, as Adam was portrayed as a sympathetic, caring guy who truly loved Alex, he just happened to be older than her.
Saturn 3 is a sad film to watch, especially the shot of the ruined, urbanized Earth at the end, which could happen for real. Alex is no longer innocent; her little comfort zone with Adam is gone and her new life without him is a harsh awakening. Have her experiences with Hector made her a stronger person, ready to cope with the corruption back on Earth? Shame we never know what happened next. I think this film would make a great topic for discussion among students about growing reliance on technology.
Thanks Claudia! I completely agree with your sentiments regarding the age difference. This was, after all, an intrinsic part of the story John Barry wanted to tell (and it’s interesting that Donen would explore similar territory in his follow-up movie BLAME IT ON RIO). And I absolutely agree with you regarding the downbeat ending … we absolutely are left fearing for Alex’s future. I like to think she would be fine – considering her experience on Tethys. And, yeah, the downside of technology is definitely as relevant now as it ever was …
Great article. Saw the film on its release. It’s always stuck in my mind. I think those who don’t dismiss it out of hand sense there was real potential for greatness. It misfired, but it’s a fascinating and unique misfire.
Cheers David! – Nicely said! 🙂
What a great read! I didn’t know that so many sci-fi productions shared the same people.
Though Dan O’Bannon had already filmed his student filme/Alien prototype “Dark Star” a few years before the Saturn 3 timeline begins, I agree that the two movies, Alien and Satrun 3, stand on their own.
Thanks for the well-written and insightful website!
Thanks!
saw the movie when I was a kid. always thought it was unique and cool story
Cheers Edward. 🙂
Love your site Gregory, and kudos to you for spreading the love of this neglected little gem of a movie. It aired nearly every weekend in the 90s here in the Czech Republic. I include it on my list of classic sci-fi thrillers from the 70s/very early 80s, alongside The Andromeda Strain, Logan’s Run and Capricorn One. I never tire of watching these. Andromeda Strain in particular really unnerved me as a younger guy. That sort of thing could happen.
As others have mentioned, it’s crying out for a remake – personally I’d love to see it as a series, rather than another movie. I like slow burning stories. That way we could learn more about Benson’s character – his life before the events of Saturn 3 occur. What disturbing things did he get up to in his past? I would’ve loved to see that. Also Adam’s past on Earth and how the planet came to be over-developed. How did the Demigod Series robot project come about? Hector’s sexual attraction to Alex – with robot sex dolls making headlines recently, one could say Saturn 3 was ahead of its time. Lots of interesting plot ideas that could be explored in a remake.
Cheers, Josef. You raise some interesting questions. 🙂
(Advanced apologies for my rambling/run-on sentences… I’m typing this whilst a bit tired…)
This film was always something of a ‘guilty pleasure’ of mine. I’d seen it when I was a mid-teen after it first came on a subscriber-cable movie channel shortly after it was done playing in the cinema. (I have NOT seen it since I was an older teen about to start college, just a few years after that.)
I knew then that it wasn’t a perfect sci-fi film, but I had enjoyed it quite a lot because it was a DIFFERENT kind of sci-fi film. And it was good enough to have stuck with me all these years, including some of the music score, even though it’s been a few decades now.
Back then I was unaware of Saturn 3’s studio background/Lew Grade connections (and/or had forgotten about it if I’d read it in then-current magazines like Starlog and Fantastic Films). Speaking of that, as a life-long Space:1999 fan, seeing some of the info you’ve presented here surprised me in a good way. In particular, the matte paintings of Saturn itself used in Saturn 3 having been lifted from unused S:99 SFX was something I might have recognised on my own if I’d seen Saturn 3 anytime recently; as it is, I recognised the planet because I frequently visit (and occasionally contribute to) the S:99 fansite The Catacombs.
I was also surprised to learn the Harvey Keitel’s dialogue had been completely re-looped. More to the point, I DO remember his voice being different in every other film I’ve ever seen him in,, but didn’t realise at the time that in Saturn 3 his voice was supplied by Roy Dotrice. (Dotrice was another Space: 1999 alum, for those who don’t know, having played the selfishly duplicitous Commissioner Simmonds in two episodes from that series.)
Anyway, I could probably ramble on a lot more, suffice to say I’ve enjoyed exploring this site for several days. It has gotten me to realise that I don’t have Saturn 3 in my movie collection, something I hope to rectify within a couple weeks when I get my next paycheck. Definitely getting the blu-ray, and looking forward to the movie itself, plus your audio commentary!
Craig R
Cheers, Craig! And no apologies necessary. 🙂 However, I can’t take credit for realizing those shots of Saturn came from Space: 1999. It was site contributor Chris Dalton who stumbled across that particular nugget. 🙂 And I look forward to your thoughts on the Blu-ray! It was fun to do.