ShangLuda Admirable film.

Gutsycurene Fanciful, disturbing, and wildly original, it announces the arrival of a fresh, bold voice in American cinema.

Hayden Kane There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

Allison Davies The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

MartinHafer While my overall rating for "The Hellstrom Chronicle" is not particularly high, this does not mean it's a bad film. It's just that for me, I found it to be very tedious after a while and more than 90 minutes of footage of insects and the narration by Lawrence Pressman got to be very boring to me. On the other hand, the film has some amazing footage--footage that is STILL very impressive over 40 years later.The film begins with Pressman introducing himself as Dr. Hellstrom---though this is all fiction. This 'expert' (really, just an actor) talks on and on like an excited entomologist--an entomologist who seemed more intent, at times, to scare the viewer than to truly educate. Most of the information is very true but sometimes he exaggerates in order to scare the viewer about the danger of insects or how they, ultimately, will rule the Earth.There is a lot to admire, apart from the occasionally dopey narration, about this film. The cinematography still impresses today--with micro shots of many insects as well as human fertilization. But the dryness and long-winded nature of the film make this one you wish was shorter--much shorter. I think this film would have worked better at about 45 minutes.

David Traversa This film was shot "with special cameras going where only the mind can enter" said in his review "Thinker1691" (I read them all) and I literally borrow it to open my own review because it encloses the very essence of this documentary.I saw it many years ago and since then it always stayed in my mind with such an impact that watching it again yesterday night was equally impressive. Funny how memories can play a trick on us, in my mind the photography was of such pristine quality as to be mind boggling, nowadays it looks a bit "out of focus" compare with the latest technology.But what they filmed in the real interacting of insects --daily life, wars, struggles, escapades, etc.-- even today it's flawless, breathtaking and extremely impressive. What was TRULY impressive was the music created for the soundtrack of this film by that IMMENSE musician, Lalo Schifrin, a music that was, maybe, the main factor next to the insects behavior to keep, for so many years, this magnificent film in my mind.

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.

Chazzzzz Well, why not? The way things were/are going here on Earth, the speculation presented by the narration in this film could come true. Might serve us right! Anyway, the cinematography is terrific! Excellently done on a whole, even tho some critics panned the narration. It is unique, so see it. I gave it a 7 out of 10, and it could be rated higher.