Search for the Gods (1975) Online

I was eleven when this movie aired on TV, and it really captured my imagination. I was a sci-fi fan at an early age, and was really annoyed at the very low production values and cheesy special effects of most series of the time. This film was a surprise; a believable story and characters written to a higher grade point average than most TV movies. The premise of ancient alien contact has been used since many times, but it was quite original here. If you are a Kurt Russell fan, then this is an excellent example of his post-Disney acting. It was obviously written as a pilot for a series that didn't sell. Too bad. But historically, intelligent TV never prevails.

I have only seen Search for the Gods once, or twice since the 1970s, and that was some time back. All the same, from what I do remember, it was a good pilot for a Kurt Rusell series which would have made a decent sci-fi program.

The ancient astronaut theme was very popular in the 1970s, bringing forth many books, and a number of documentary films. It also helped launch the long-running, spooky documentary series "In Search Of..' from Alan Landsburg, and Leonard Nimoy. SFTG itself seems to have largely been overlooked by present-days fans despite it starring Russell, and having good support from people like Ralph Bellamy, and Raymond St. Jacques. My memory is sort of fuzzy on details, but I seem to recall that the complete medallion led to an alien base, or possibly aliens in suspended animation within a mountain in the western U.S. desert regions. I think the medallion was then stolen, obviously to lead into the never=produced TV series - least, I think that was largely how the film ended.

Good-quality sci-fi type shows rarely get "green-lighted" by the networks,though; had this come along a little later, post- 'Star Wars,' it might have stood a better chance.

Well made tale mixing Native American superstition with outer space visitors. McHattie and Russell along with an Indian woman try to piece together the meaning of a strange medallion. The bad guys want to buy it from them and when that effort fails, they resort to more desperate measures. In places, especially with some of the Indian ceremonials, things drag. The climax however in the bottom of a deep canyon is worth waiting for. The film is different enough to warrant attention by both the action movie fans, as well as the sci-fi crowd. "Search for the Gods" is interesting viewing, especially for those curious to see the young actors at the beginning of their careers. - MERK

Jud Taylor directed this TV movie that stars Stephen McHattie as a wanderer in New Mexico who chances upon an old Native American being attacked by young thugs who are after a medallion that he has in his possession. Kurt Russell plays a mysterious man who befriends him because he is also interested in the medallion, and they are soon joined by a native American woman who suspects that it is really one piece of a nine-part artifact left behind by ancient alien astronauts, and are pursued by agents of a wealthy man who wants it for himself...

Intriguing film tells an interesting story with good characters that seems to lead to a proposed TV series that never materialized. Little-known but worth seeking out on DVD.