8 August 2016

Review: Invasion: UFO

Blu-ray: Invasion: UFO (1974)

UFO is television series which was a firm favourite of mine growing up in the ’70s and yet I can’t ever recall having seen this previously, so I was very excited when this disc appeared through the post thanks to Network on Air. Although originally released in 1974 (1980 in the U.S.A.), Invasion: UFO is an amalgam of 6 episodes of the television series UFO from 1970-71. Taking episodic material and creating a feature length movie from them is something that has been happening for a very long time (Flash Gordon is the one that springs immediately to mind for me) and the secret to keeping the narrative flowing is all in the editing; with so many hours of material to choose from, what do you keep and what do you discard?

Invasion: UFO is an ideal starting point for anyone not familiar with the series as it sets up the formation of S.H.A.D.O. (Supreme Headquarters Alien Defence Organisation) and blasts (literally) through all the really cool vehicles employed by them; the Interceptor was always my favourite, I owned 2 die cast toys of them and very often saved my living room from alien invasions…never got a word of thanks from my parents.

The movie starts with a flying saucer being found in the woods, whereby the occupants of it capture a woman. This cuts to Ed Straker (Ed Bishop in a role which I will forever associate with him whenever he appears in movies or on television) and General Henderson in a Rolls Royce which is being attacked by lasers from a UFO. The resulting car crash (the 1st of many superb ‘miniature effects’ set-pieces, as would be expected from any Gerry Anderson production) leaves Henderson hurt and Straker in charge of S.H.A.D.O. Fast forward to the far flung future of 1980 and S.H.A.D.O not only has a base on Earth, it also has one on the moon with a questionable uniform of a long sleeved string vest!

Without giving too much of the ensuing storyline away, you will see: space/land/sea/underwater battles, aliens, women with purple hair (and a variety of other wigs which appear and disappear depending on what episode the footage was taken from), plus Ed Bishop’s stunt double fighting in a wetsuit. The latter being something which I had to keep re-watching and wondering how they thought they could get away with it.

As would be expected from something filmed in the early ’70s, there are still echoes of the ’60s throughout its running time, most noticeably in the music. Which leads me to probably my only gripe about Invasion: UFO; they changed the iconic theme music for a piece of forgettable audio fluff! Never fear, I’ve put the video to the original theme music below.

This is a ‘must buy’ whether you are a fan of the show or have never seen it before. If you’re a fan then this is a fantastic way to get a good fix of UFO in 90 minutes, especially as this has been re-mastered in widescreen from original 35mm negatives and with a remixed Dolby 5:1 soundtrack (though I have to say that it was an absolute treat to also watch it in its original 1980 videotape version. Essential for all you fellow fans of nostalgia). If you are new to UFO, then this will give you a good taste of what the full show is like, especially as Network on Air will be releasing the full series of UFO later in the year.

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