50th Anniversary Screening!
After a spectacular and mysterious cosmic event, ants of different species undergo rapid evolution, develop a cross-species hive mind, and build seven strange towers with geometrically perfect designs in the Arizona desert. Two scientists set up a computerized lab in a sealed dome located in an area of significant ant activity to discover their master plan.
It is the only feature film directed by graphic designer Saul Bass, best known for designing motion-picture title sequences, film posters, and corporate logos. Unlike the nuclear scare films of the '50s that conjured giant monsters in THEM! and GODZILLA, the growing ecological movement of the '60s and '70s brought a more philosophical (and sometimes psychedelic) approach to 'nature run amok' films. Sometimes emulating an art installation in its unique surreal vision of science fiction, and sharing the DNA of 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY, PHASE IV is a deeply ambitious film that aims to illicit more than just the creepy crawlies. - Steven Landry