Label: Severin Films
Region Code: Region-Free
Rating: Unrated
Duration: 84 Minutes 30 Seconds
Audio: English DTS-HD MA 2.0 Dual-Mono with Optional English Subtitles
Video: Dolby Vision HDR 2160p Ultra HD Widescreen (2.35:1), 1080p HD Widescreen (2.35:1)
Director: Gordon Flemyng
Cast: Jill Curzon, Peter Cushing, Roberta Tovey, Bernard Cribbins, Andrew Keir
The Daleks are back, as is Peter Cushing for Dr. Who's second bigscreen adaptation from Amicus producers Milton Subotsky and Max J. Rosenberg and directo Gordon Flemyng (The Split). this time Dr. Who is joined by his niece Louise (Jill Curzon, Dr. Syn, Alias the Scarecrow), granddaughter Susan (Roberta Tovey) and a policeman Tom Campbell (Bernard Cribbins, Frenzy) who wanders into the TARDIS thinking that;s actualy a street phone box to report a jewlery heist, and is carried off, not to another panet like the last film, but the distant future year of 2150 A.D., only to discovers that Daleks have arrived on earth and that humanity has either been enslaved or turned into brainwashed RoboMen who do the Daleks bidding. There's a small human Resistance force of survivors who battles the metallic invaders, holding up in London Underground, with Dr. Who and his co-horts joinging the rebellion, to stop the Daleks from detroyng the earth;s Core and turning our planet into a Death Star-esque spacecraft!
This one worked more for me than the first film, the WWII analog of the Daleks, complete with brainwahsed soldiers, rebel forces, complicit humans, and budious blackmaret profiteers was pretty compelling, I was still not a huge fan of Cushing as the doddery old scientist, nor the comic relief, this time from Bernard Cribbins as the cop who finds himself thrust intot he future, at one point comically immitating one of the RoboMen to fit in, it's an off bit of slapstick humor that just feels off, especially considering that this film sets out to be more dystopian and serious minded, but is marred only slightly by a couple of goofy ill-conceived attempts at humor.
The stakes are higher, the threat feels more real this time around though, and teh action equenes are more compelling, we get a pretty cool chase as the Dalek's spacecraft, which looks suer-cool, gives chase to young Susan and a rebel named Wyler (Andrew Keir, Quatermass and the Pit), explodingthe van with a zapper, the two just barely escaping with their lives. Later they are taken in by a mother and daughter in a cottage, only for the women to rat them out to the Daleks for increased food rations. Dr. Who and rebel David (Ray Brooks, House of Whipcord) encounter a double-crossiong black markateer named brockley (Philip Madoc, Dr. Jekyll and Sister Hyde).
It all comes to a proper fiery finale as the Resiatance witht he aid of Dr. Who enact their plan to end the Dalek invaion by inverting the Earth's cores magnetic field. I found this much more to my likeing compared tot he first film, I loved the London ruins, the use of minatures and sets to convey that humainty has fallen look terrific, and evoked a bombed-out London after WWIi. The Robomen while slightly goofy look pretty cool in their shiny black jumpsuits and modied biker helmets, it looks much better in the illustrated movie posters, but they still pull it off. The action sequences are exciting, there's feels to be some serious threat from the Daleks who show up in greater numbers, and the spacecraft with the dual-rotating hull looked awesome.
Audio/Video: Daleks' Invasion Earth 2150 A.D. (1966) gets a handsome looking region-free 4K Ultra HD from severin Films, newly scanned in 4K from the original Techniscope 35mm negative by StudioCanal, presented in 2160p UHD with Dolby Vision/HDR10 color-grading. The Studio Canal is top-notch, with well-managed grain, crisp visuals, with rich detail and texture. The accompaying Blu-ray also looks terrific, even without the WCG color-grade and 4K resolution. Audio comes by way of English DTS-HD MA MA 2.0 dual-mono with optional English subtitles. The track is clean and sounds great, the sci-fi sound effects, explosions, and the Daleks' modulated voices sound terrific.
Getting into the extras, we get a pair of commentaries, first up is an Audio Commentary With Whovians Barry Forshaw, Stephen Jones And Kim Newman, followed by an Audio Commentary With Critic Kim Newman, Screenwriter/Writer Robert Shearman and Actor/Writer Mark Gatiss.
Then into the 35-min Daleks Invasion BBC, 1963 To 1969 A.D. – Interview With Doctor Who Expert Stephen Thrower - who is always a terrific listem here he talks about how the films were targeted at children, and were much less eerie and dread filled compared tot he television series, and how the score sounds more like a spy thrillers than eerie like the TV show, which he feels were essential elements of the show. He also gets into how Peter Cushing was quite a different Dr. Who than Hartnell's on TV, that Cushing was far to soft, and light-hearted. Also pointing out that they made Susan much younger to appeal to kids, and how Ian in the film is comedic relief vs the more serious TV character. he also notes the difference in death-ray effects, Terry Nations' ambitious ceature, aliens, and Dalek designs from the series, and highlighting the Dalek episodes from the BBC.
in the 8-min Subotsky And The Daleks: Part 2 – Interview With Producer Milton Subotsky - which was recorded in 1985 by writer Philip Putnam for a book that was never published. Subotsky talks about not wanting to do the sequel, but that exec producer Joe Vegoda insisted, and that he would have preferred Gordon Flemying not have directed the sequel. he also gets into Peter Cushing falling ill and trying to prevent cost averages by shooting as much of the scenes as they could except for the actual shots that would have featured Cushing,
Next, the 4-min Interview With Actor Bernard Cribbins, recalls how the film is fondly remembered by fans, his memories of working with Cushing, his first time seeing the Daleks, hearing Dalek dialogue with an Australian accent and having a chuckle to the chagrin of the director, auditioning for the Dr. Who TV role, which went to Tom Baker
The 4-min Interview With Gareth Owen, Author Of The Shepperton Story features Owen discussing getting into Amicus acting quickly to sequelize after the first film's UK success, Cushing's illness, product placement in the film via Sugar Puffs - who helped finance the project. Also discussed are the vitriolic UK press the film received, weak distribution in U.S., and how those factors thwarted a 3rd film,
Disxc extras are finished up with the 16-min The Dalek Legacy: Invasion Earth – With Nicholas Briggs (Voice Of The Daleks), Screenwriter Robert Shearman, Visual Effects Designer Mike Tucker (Doctor Who), Editorial Assistant Emily Cook (Doctor Who Magazine) And Writer/3D Artist Gavin Rymill (Doctor Who Magazine), plus the 3-min Trailer and a Still Gallery. The 2-disc UHD/BD release arrives in a black dual-hubbed keepcase with a single-sided sleeve of artwork featuring the orignal illustrated movie poster artwork.
Special Features:
Disc 1: UHD (Film + Select Special Features):
- Audio Commentary With Whovians Barry Forshaw, Stephen Jones And Kim Newman
- Audio Commentary With Critic Kim Newman, Screenwriter/Writer Robert
Shearman And Actor/Writer Mark Gatiss
- Trailer
Disc 2: Blu-ray (Film + Special Features):
- Audio Commentary With Whovians Barry Forshaw, Stephen Jones And Kim Newman
- Audio Commentary With Critic Kim Newman, Screenwriter/Writer Robert Shearman
And Actor/Writer Mark Gatiss
- Daleks Invasion BBC, 1963 To 1969 A.D. – Interview With Doctor Who Expert Stephen Thrower (35:28)
- Subotsky And The Daleks: Part 2 – Interview With Producer Milton Subotsky (8:19)
- Interview With Actor Bernard Cribbins (4:12)
- Interview With Gareth Owen, Author Of The Shepperton Story (4:18)
- The Dalek Legacy: Invasion Earth – With Nicholas Briggs (Voice Of The Daleks), Screenwriter Robert Shearman, Visual Effects Designer Mike Tucker (Doctor Who), Editorial Assistant Emily Cook (Doctor Who Magazine) And Writer/3D Artist Gavin Rymill (Doctor Who Magazine) (15:44)
- Restoring Dr. Who In 4K – With Restoration Expert Anthony Badger, Film Prep And Scanning Expert Ray King And Colorist Steve Bearman (10:35)
- Trailer (2:43)
- Still Gallery (1:28)
Screenshots from the Severn Films Blu-ray:
Buy it!
#ad
