The Hellstrom Chronicle

1971 "Shocking. Beautiful. Brilliant. Sensual. Deadly...and in the end, only they will survive."
7.4| 1h30m| G| en
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A scientist explains how the savagery and efficiency of the insect world could result in their taking over the world.

Director

Producted By

Wolper Pictures

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Reviews

Matialth Good concept, poorly executed.
Stoutor It's not great by any means, but it's a pretty good movie that didn't leave me filled with regret for investing time in it.
Hattie I didn’t really have many expectations going into the movie (good or bad), but I actually really enjoyed it. I really liked the characters and the banter between them.
Isbel A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.
ffa77punks I may be biased for this movie, but I love it and loved it as a child. I was completely into insects as a kid, so this movie didn't scare me. To the contrary I was probably exited by the possibility of a world ruled by insects. I guess I assumed they would let me hang around or something!The movie is still great today, a quasi- documentary of the ways and purposes of insects and how they blindly and without hesitation follow that purpose even to the death.. Very well played by 'Dr. Hellstrom' and beautifully filmed, it stands the test of time very well with this viewer. I just watched it today.
Dr Wily For 10 plus years, "The Hellstrom Chronicle" was regularly plugged into the 2am/4am movie slot on a local station in the middle 80's through 90's. Too bad it couldn't get more coverage, because this is how a documentary should be made. The problem with documentaries is if you focus too much on the clinical data, it becomes dry. If yo try to interject drama into it, you run the risk of sending up the piece, into parody or even farce. Hellstrom interjects just the right amount of fiction, in the form of Lawrence Pressman, that links the documentary portions at a pace that keeps it from losing one's interest. It's obvious that "Dr." Hellstrom, a fictitious entomologist, is paranoid that insects will take over the world through their superiority over men. The most interesting thing, though, is he may very well be right! If the insect world footage has any say in how future matters may turn out, it will. Of particular interest is the portion of the footage devoted to the driver ants. As has been quoted in other reviews, this is a prime example of "How DID they film that?!" documentary in motion. It's an inspiration out of "Leinengen Vs. The Ants," only it's real! If you can find this "movie," give it a roll. Expand your mind a bit with some facts, while at the same time, become entertained by Dr. Hellstrom... even if he isn't a real doctor, but, he plays one on TV! (Actually, he did! Pressman went on to play one on Doogie Howser, M.D.)
Emanuel Goldman I saw this movie when it first came out, and still vividly remember it. How many movies from 30 years ago can you say that about??? It's a scary wakeup call to humans to not underestimate the power of the insect world. A betting person would not be out of line to bet on insects over the long haul, especially given the enormous self-destructive tendencies of humans particularly evident in this era of terrorism and weapons of mass destruction.
Bou I saw this when it came out, and I remember that I was mightily impressed with both the cinematography and the science. Alas, this film had a misleading marketing campaign that made it sound like it was not a bug movie, but a bug-eyed monster movie. The theater was packed with people expecting the latter, and you can imagine the noise level. (Why don't such people just go home?)