Greetings And Salutations, and welcome to my review of The Bamboo Saucer; here's the breakdown of my ratings:
Story: 1.50
Direction: 1.00
Pace: 1.00
Acting: 1.50
Enjoyment: 1.25
TOTAL: 6.25 out of 10.00
This movie purports it's based on five-million reports of Unidentified Flying Saucers. That's a lot of eyes looking to the skies, but it's not unbelievable since the good ol' U S of A alone went UFO-crazy after Roswell.
But what's great about this story is that the writers embed it in China, which brings in the Communist Red Army. Better yet is the emergence that Russia is also involved. Boy, talk about stoking The Cold War. After witnessing a UFO while testing a new fighter jet, pilot Fred Norwood is shunned by his superiors and fired from his job. But Norwood gets the last laugh. People at a higher pay grade bring him in to help retrieve a possible UFO discovered in China. He, along with two scientists and a single army escort, parachute behind the Red Curtain. Once they're back on terra ferma, their agent on the ground makes contact. Sam Archibald guides them to their destination - a deserted church where the villages hid the saucer from the Red Army. Along the way, the Americans stumble on a group of Russians, who they surmise are on the same mission. Can they put their differences to one side and work together? This issue is one of the more powerful driving elements of the narrative. The writers pound the moral nail ever deeper as they progress the story. The scientists are only interested in demystifying the saucer and its alien controls. The last thing they want to do is get into a gunfight for ownership. They'd rather stay alive and enlighten the world about the possible benefits of extraterrestrial technology. And then there's the inter-super-powers love interest. Since most stories include a slice of romance, the writers decided to stay with tradition. This idea forced them to take another bold step. They needed a female presence, and instead of including a cook in the Russian group, they made her into a scientist and a damned intelligent one. It was the right move. Another drawing point to the story is the characters because they don't merely possess their own personalities, but in this instance, they have their beliefs. Though we all wear the same meat-suits and are DNA family, people and their countries and nations' philosophies vary. And in The Cold War period, American and Russian ideologies were highly diverse from one another. The writers display this admirably. They also demonstrate that the two countries were more alike than they cared to admit. One agreement point was that the Chinese Red Army couldn't be allowed to possess the UFO because it would make them nearly impossible to defeat, should they master the technology. All of which made for an enjoyable and entertaining tale.
The direction suffers a tad because of the poor special effects. Frank Telford is a decent director who composes his scenes beautifully. He takes full advantage of the gorgeous scenery; I wouldn't have minded living in the deserted church. He even adds a few winning camera angles into the mix - though the story doesn't call out for them. But all of this could be overlooked because you're busy tittering at the poor double-exposure effects of the spacecraft. It would have been nice if the stage designers had built a full-size saucer. You have the interior, the hull, and a partial upper section. But whenever we see the entire ship, it's instantly apparent it's an effect, and it appears not to be touching the church floor. It's not as bad as the "buzzing the fighters" segments, but it could've easily been rectified.
Another bonus to the film is the tremendous cast. Though everyone is as talented as their coworkers, Lois Nettleton shines through as the Russian Scientist Ana Karachev. She adds strength and conviction to her character while showing a smidgen of naivete. Karachev is the principal character in the movie's second half, and the writers have penned her exquisitely, and Nettleton breathes life into her heart. Her accent and Russian dialogue are also credible. And that was another delightful concept - Have the Russians speak Russian. Two of them don't speak English and require translation. This little consideration adds so much to the power of the movie.
I'd happily recommend this film to every Sci-Fi fan who has a penchant for UFOs - Just try to forget the shoddy effects as soon as they disappear off-screen, and you should do fine. I'd say, The Bamboo Saucer is ideal eye fodder for a lazy Sunday morning or afternoon - A worthy way to enjoy oneself while relaxing...and maybe snoozing.
Hey, while I try and fix the damnable autopilot on this UFO, you can read my IMDb list - The Final Frontier to see where I ranked The Bamboo Saucer.
Take Care & Stay Well.
