Inside 'The Swarm'

Irwin Allen was a film maker who thought his place was behind the camera, not in front of it, this explains why we never see a lot of him being interviewed or doing a "making of" show like this.

Inside The Swarm is a vital DVD for any true fan of Irwin Allen. We see how straight faced and determined Allen was in getting every detail of a scene just right. No time for pointless small talk on an Irwin set.

I am told this is also how Irwin was in the 1960s when Irwin directed the pilots to TV's Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, Lost In Space, The Time Tunnel and Land of the Giants.

Most interesting is watching the train wreck scene. In The Swarm, the train is shaking and moving on the set, however, in the 1960s when Irwin wanted a lurching submarine or lurching spaceship, he would simply shake the camera on a still set. This is also how Allen did Beyond The Poseidon Adventure (1979) as well. But in The Swarm things really do shake for once.

Despite reports that Irwin had no sense of humour, we do see the guy smile, but just once.

The only thing I dislike about this show is Michael Caine being interviewed. Caine has gone on record on a recent BBC TV show as saying that The Swarm is the worst film he has ever done.

However, in this 1978 interview, Caine seems so full of praise for Irwin and The Swarm...is he talking BS? I think so.