The 1970 Science Fiction short subject A Sound of Thunder is probably the first filmed version of Ray Bradbury’s classic short story of the same title. That is arguably Bradbury’s best known among his short stories and is exceptionally relevant now. The description of one presidential candidate is: “If Deutscher had gotten in, we'd have the worst kind of dictatorship. There's an anti everything man for you, a militarist, anti Christ, anti human, anti intellectual.” Sound familiar? Add a few more antis and there’s a certain individual’s picture.

The film, directed by William R. Stromberg, with visual effects by Stromberg and Phil Tippett, exactly follows the story. The costumes, setting, and special effects are remarkable on what appears to have been a very small budget. The music, composed by John W. Morgan and Don Nemitz and incredibly performed by the San Diego Civic Youth Symphony, is surprisingly good.

Objectionable content is smoking and violence.

The plot concerns an enterprise called Time Safari, Inc., which offers expeditions into the past to shoot rare or even extinct large animals. The company chooses an animal about to die anyway and lets high paying customers shoot it moments before its death. If anything goes wrong in the past, the future can be altered. The farther into the past, the greater the alteration.

The film is to be greatly commended for sticking to the story right down to the butterfly. It is said it was screened for Ray Bradbury and he loved it but still objected as it was unauthorized. For its faithfulness to the story, it is greatly superior to the 2005 travesty which had the advantage of an estimated $80 million budget. The T-rex holds its own with the cheesy version on The Ray Bradbury Theater and even in some ways with the movie’s big budget version.

Probably the weakest aspect of this version is the acting. The question isn’t whether the actors are bad because they all are, but who is the worst. That honor probably goes to Courtney Richards as Eckels, arguably the most challenging role overall. The dinosaur was the best actor of the bunch.

I advise watching this. It is under 20 minutes so you won’t lose much time and may find things to like.