Far Horizons: Tales of Sci-Fi, Fantasy and Horror. Issue #18 September 2015 | Page 48

Cinema Obscura - The Overlooked Gems of Cinema
Phase IV (1974)
ByJeff Durkin

How would mankind interact with, or even recognise,
an alien intelligence? Would our effort to understand
them lead to peaceful contact? Are confrontation and
conflict inevitable? These are some of the central
questions raised by Phase IV. The film is the only
feature-length directorial effort by Saul Bass, a graphic artist who is best known for his design work on
title sequences for numerous films, including Psycho,
Spartacus and Alien. He turned his keen visual sense
to telling a thematically complex film through innovative and provocative imagery.
“That spring we were all watching the events in

space and all wondering what the final effect would
be. Astronomers argued over theory, while engineers
got pretty excited about variables in magnetic fields.
Mystics predicted earthquakes and the end of life as
we knew it. When the effect came, it was almost unnoticed because it happened to such a small and insignificant form of life.”
- Opening Narration by Jim Lesko (Michael Murphy)
A mysterious cosmic phenomenon is detected. Its
effect is to cause ants to form a group intelligence in
a remote area of Arizona. The changes in behaviour
are noticed by biologist Ernest Hubbs (Nigel Daven-

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