Sial IV is a French TV miniseries by Greek filmmaker and writer Adonis Kyrou, adapted from the speculative fiction novel Deadly Image (AKA The Uncertain Midnight) by British author Edmund Cooper. It tells the story of Denis Lange, a fallout shelter engineer who is accidentally trapped in suspended animation as war breaks out in 1970, only to awaken in the early 2100s in Sial IV, an underground city in which humankind lives a life of leisure, having discharged all responsibility to androids. Assigned the android Diana as his personal assistant, Denis ventures through this unsettling idyll, eventually finding a small but tenacious group of resistors who seek to uncover the truth about the compound and its ruler, the mysterious Machiavelli.
Director: Adonis Kyrou.
Writers: Edmund Cooper (novel), Claude Delarue, Adonis Kyrou.
Stars: Henri Gilabert, Claude Cerval, Marcel Dalio, Lise Lachenal, Jacques Verlier, François Chodat, Simone Bach, Jacqueline Damien, Guy Fox, Anna Salberg, Violaine Lachenal, Sacha Solnia, Marcel Vidal, Roger Gillioz, Jean Mars, Serge Nicoloff, Jean Vigny, Georges Wod.
Composer: François de Roubaix.
Cinematographer: Jacques Manson.
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All Episodes (Encoded w/Eng. hardsubs)
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All Eps in 1 file (Zipped, softsubbed version)
Note: I’m labelling this one as “HD” since it is in HD resolution but this is actually an upscaled copy using AI video enhancing software applied on a low resolution TVRip so not a true HD copy and even though it’s not perfect it does look better than the source TVRip uploaded over 6 years ago. All credits go to kozaburoy @KG for creating this much better looking rip as well as for making the English and French subtitles from scratch, an amazing and very commendable effort.
Clearly a low budget production, but a worthwhile exploration of some classic sci-fi themes: nuclear apocalypse, human vs android, the human need for struggle. It’s not a deep exploration, but still interesting. Reminiscent of “Alphaville”.
Very interesting and ambitious series. One factual correction: it’s not French but Swiss-French (Télévision Suisse-Romande). There are lots of good ideas going on which need more development. Neither the script or the direction are brilliant, however the main factor is probably a lack of time to work out all of the themes. The author, Edmund Cooper, in the introduction to the book’s 1971 re-publication states “it was adapted as a ten-part television serial”; it’s unlikely he ever saw the programmes so his report may be incorrect however I did wonder if there maybe did exist a longer original version with more content.