FeistyUpper If you don't like this, we can't be friends.

VeteranLight I don't have all the words right now but this film is a work of art.

Sameer Callahan It really made me laugh, but for some moments I was tearing up because I could relate so much.

Nayan Gough A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.

lippylip26 There has been much written about the dangers of bees, especially the African Killer bee which found its way to South America and now is emagrating to the USA The danger exists and it is no laughing matter Having been on the wrong side of a bee swarm and been stung I have the deepest respect for bees I nearly lost my wife to a bee that stung her on her tongue While there are many absurdity's in the movie like bees that stung but don't die the message is very clear Don't mess with bees I saw this movie when I was about 16 I'm now 65 and it still hold the same gripping feel about it now as it was then. For years I battled to find the movie and was fortunate to pick it up today It is definitely one of the movies that will be added to my disaster collection of movies of which I have many It is interesting to see how the army and scientists can be at loggerheads with each other One wants to slug it out with a massive sledge hammer The other through consideration and consideration for the environment and the impact it will have afterwards Sadly nothing has changed This shoot first and consider the results of ones actions later can be a very deadly one I recommend this movie just for the human action and reaction and to see how people can be so stubborn and unbending

Robert J. Maxwell Lots of stars, major and minor, can't lift this shoddy piece if commercial garbage out of the dismissible category. But it DOES have one thing in common with "Hamlet" in that almost everybody of importance dies.It's not really fun watching watery-eyed Henry Fonda inject himself with a bee venom antidote and see his EKG rise to "really sssspooky rates." And it's positively embarrassing to see Ben Johnson talk about love to a plump Olivia De Havilland, who resurrects her Melanie accent from "Gone With The Wind." We can cover the special effects with the observation that everyone dies in slow motion and that buildings, trains, and automobile blow up.The structure of the tale is awful. Every attempt to kill the monster swarm is ineffective until, at the very end, Michael Caine as the requisite scientist springs a new weapon out of nowhere. And what a weapon. Now, I'm no apiarologist or apiariatrist. I'd be the first to admit it. But I'd bet the house my ex wife got that bees don't have a mating call, not being moose. Some kind of scent, a pheromone, might get my attention but this movie loses its organoleptic thread when it introduces portable hummers.It should be shown in all film appreciation classes as a bad example.

ironhorse_iv Adapted from a novel of the same name by Arthur Herzog, this science fiction monster horror film directed by Irwin Allen AKA the Master of Disaster, didn't have the buzz, it thought it should had been given when it was release in 1978. The film was a notorious box office bomb upon its release, barely making it two weeks in theaters. It's pretty clear, to say, with that fact, honey; that this 'Bee-list" horror movie wasn't Queen B, at all! Without spoiling the movie too much, I have to say, it was really nice to see, that they were able to find thousands & thousands of real life European honey bees, as shoes-in, for the dangerous real life, African honey bees swarm. It really gave the film, its look. I also love how the bees were manage for the most part of the film, throughout the film. It must had been a huge challenge for production to find several bee keepers who had bees that had their stingers off. I heard that about 800,000 bees were "de-stung" for the close-ups and medium shots filmed with human actors by incapacitating the insects in freezing temperatures. While, most of the 'de-stung', however, some of them, were somewhat missed; so they had to doctors with allergic medicine, just in case. I also love the production story of main actor, Michael Caine eating bee poop, after mistaking it for honey. It must had been very hilarious at the time. However, contrary to popular belief, regarding the bees. Most bees don't really sting, much people, unless they have to. If they do, the bees mostly likely will die as well. This science fact was really missing from the film. Another myth about Africanized bees, is that they're super aggressive. Unlike the over-the-top bees depicted in the film that seem to attack everything, from everywhere by roaming, the real-life African bees are local to the hive. The reason, why is because the banana-scented pheromone which give signals to other bees to attack would be, too weak, the farer, it gets from the main hive. Most bees can only go as far, as ¼ miles from their main source; unless, the bees feel like migrate as part of a seasonal response to lowered food supply or likely to "abscond" in response of deep stress. Seeing how the movie takes place in Texas, I really doubt, they will move as much, due to the extremely dry late summers & harsh winters that state has. In my opinion, the plot would actually have made a lot more sense had it involved wasps rather than bees. Still, seeing these deeply disturbed bees take out, passenger trains, helicopters, and nuclear power plants is bit too unrealistic and ludicrous for even me to take serious; despite how cool, it might seem. Another mistake, this movie made about the bees, is the venom. Africanized honeybee venom is not more painful or voluminous than normal honeybee venom. It wouldn't make you, hallucinate giant insects or any nonsense like that. The only way, to truly die from them, is to be deeply allergic to bees, or to be, total cover, by them. Not only is, the logic behind the science of the bee, seem to be kinda lacking in this film, but the logic by the supposedly on-screen scientist, as well. Dr. Bradford Crane (Michael Caine), is a total moron. Not only, does he repeatedly endangers countless lives in favor of the environment; but he gives in, to a lot of stupid idea that cause many people to die. By the way, setting the ocean on fire using oil is not environment friendly, Crane! I also hate the fact, that he waste time, trying to hook up with Dr. Helena Anderson (Katharine Ross), rather than saving people. Are we're supposed to cheer for him!? I'm not! Anyways, as much as I love Michael Caine as an actor. His character was too annoying. I don't blame Caine for this film failure. He did what he can. I blame, screenwriter Stirling Silliphant for the film direction. This movie has way too many side characters. Yes, it's nice to see certain celebs like Henry Fonda, José Ferrer, Richard Chamberlain, Olivia de Havilland, Ben Johnson, Fred MacMurray, and Bradford Dillman in the film, but some of them, could had been cut. I hate the fact, that most of them, don't really push the plot, forward. When, they do, it doesn't make any sense, like how the teenager, Paul Durant (Christian Juttner) went back to the hive to taunt the bees, after seeing his parent die. Wasn't a minute ago, he was still hallucinating about giant insects attacking him!? It doesn't make sense. Anyways, the filmmakers really focus way too much on, the characters normal lives than the bee attack concept. Some good examples are the pregnancy angle and the love triangle; which goes nowhere. It's clear, by the writing, that most of them hardly have any pay-off. At least, 3 side characters as far as we know of, seem to just vanish from the movie without any explanation of their fates. What a disaster! This is not how you make a disaster movie with a big cast. I'm deeply disappointing on how lack-lusting, most of these supporting characters are. Another problem with the film is the length. The film is not well paced for a simple plot about killer bees. There was really no reason for this film to be, 116 minutes for the normal theater cut & 156 minutes for the extended DVD cut! That's way too long! The movie's effects are also not that good. Model trains and planes blowing up. Day for night shots & matte painting, make this film, somewhat dated. Even terms like calling the bees 'Africans' seem a bit awkward to watch. Overall: This killer bee invasion movie is not a great watch, but not too bad. It's just below standards

Michael_Elliott The Swarm (1978) * (out of 4) Millions of African killer bees are ravishing a small town and afterwards over two- hundred people are dead. Bee expert Brad Crane (MIchael Caine) must work with a scientist (Katharine Ross) and a General (Richard Widmark) to try and find a way to destroy them before they reach Houston, Texas and more people are dead.THE SWARM was a notorious flop at the box office and critics ripped it to shreds with many calling it one of the worst movies ever made. I personally wouldn't go that far but there's no question that it's an incredible bad one that manages to have one of the greatest casts ever assembled but that just makes the end result all the more sad. I should point out how bad you find the movie will probably depend on which version you watch. The first time I saw the movie it was in its 155-minute version, which just makes the film all the worse. Here recently Turner Classic Movies ran the 116-minute theatrical cut, which is also horrible but at least it doesn't run as long as the extended version and that makes it the one I'd recommend people to watch.So, what went wrong with THE SWARM? I'd say the biggest problem is that fact that Irwin Allen decided to direct it himself. There's no question that he was a terrific producer but his directing skills left a lot to be desired. There's certainly no drama to be found anywhere in the film as scenes are all poorly put together and the director never manages to make you afraid of the bees. Another problem is that the screenplay contains some extremely bad dialogue that just makes you laugh more than anything else. I mean, how many legendary actors are here and saying lines that make you feel bad for them? It also doesn't help that the majority of the movie has the cast members talking or arguing without any bee action.The special effects are probably the best thing about the film and they work the best whenever we're given close-up shots of the killers. Some of the far shots look obviously fake but there's no question that the effects are good and I'd argue the bees give the best performances in the film. As for the cast, Caine and Ross are clearly just sleepwalking through their roles but at least Widmark appears to be trying to give the thing some energy. We get Olivia de Havilland, Ben Johnson and Fred MacMurray in a love triangle that just doesn't work. We also get Patty Duke, Jose Ferrer, Lee Grant and Richard Chamberland. Slim Pickens does get a touching scene but both Henry Fonda and especially Cameron Mitchell are wasted.THE SWARM was one of a string of disaster movies that closed the decade out with a dud. This here is certainly one of the worst disaster movies to be made and even in the "bee" sub-genre it's pretty weak. Both THE DEADLY BEES, THE BEES and THE SAVAGE BEES are much better.