Label: Scream Factory
Region Code: A
Rating: Unrated
Duration: 97 Minutes
Audio: English DTS-HD MA Stereo 2.0 & 5.1 with Optional English Subtitles
Video: 1080p HD Widescreen (1.66:1)
Director: Roy Ward Baker
Cast: Andrew Keir, James Donald, Barbara Shelley, and Julian Glover
While working on a new subway tunnel for the London Underground in the Hobb's End neighborhood construction workers unearth ancient skeletal remains with an odd-shaped skull. Paleontologist Dr. Matthew Roney (James Donald, The Vikings) and his colleague Barbara Judd (Barbara Shelley, The Gorgon) are brought into identify the skeletal remains, initially believing it to be a five-million-year-old ape-man, possibly that of the missing-link on the human evolutionary scale.
Construction is temporarily halted while the paleontologists excavate the site, unearthing more bones, as well as a large metallic vessel buried in the dirt, which is at first thought to be a an unexploded Nazi bomb of some sort. Colonel Breen (Julian Glover, The Empire Strikes Back) and a military bomb disposal team arrive on the scene along with Professor Quatermass (Andrew Keir, Dracula: Prince of Darkness) to assess the situation. Quatermass points out that the metallic object cannot possibly be a WWII-era bomb because the five-million-year-old skull was practically found inside it, further positing, with not much of any proof mind you, that the object and the skeletal remains are probably alien in nature, likely coming from the planet Mars!
As more of the strange object is unearthed it becomes clear this is no bomb, the metallic hull of it proves impenetrable to damage from both a blowtorch and an industrial drill, and strange happenings begin to occur near and around it, such as spectral apparitions, eerie poltergeist activity, and inexplicable tremors. Things really start to come to a head when a sealed chamber inside the vessel reveals itself, exposing the preserved
corpses of several alien beings, which look a bit locust-like. Once these alien-bugs are exposed to the Earth's atmosphere they begin to decompose, dripping green goo like a fat man's flop-sweat on a humid afternoon.
The screenplay, written by Quatermass series creator Nigel Kneale, is based on his original 50's BBC TV serial, positing fantastical thought provoking ideas, linking the alien species arrival on Earth to the evolution of mankind and to the invention of the biblical horned devil! Even watching this one today it stirred my imagination with the ideas it entertains, it's a really wild and intelligent sci-fi ride. Sure, a lot of it absolutely seems preposterous but that's sort of what I love about it.
Eventually the ship begins to exert a powerful psychic and telekinetic force over the population of London, resulting in a city-wide epidemic of violence and mass destruction, with no less than the image of the devil himself appearing over the city. Surprisingly it is paleontologist Roney, not Quatermass, who saves the day when he recalls legends of iron defeating the Devil, using a massive construction crane to quell the five-million-year-old alien psychic-attack.
Quatermass and the Pit (1967) has a lot going for it, a fantastical screenplay by Nigel Kneale, solid direction from Hammer-royalty Roy Ward Baker (Asylum), and a great cast, including Andrew Kier taking over the role of Quatermass. I thought Brian Donlevy was fine in Quatermass 2 in the titular role but Kier is a bit of bearded charmer, offering up a warmer and more authentically British incarnation of the professorial adventurer, even if it is Dr. Roney who actually saves the day.
The visuals throughout are excellent, being the first and only incarnation of Quatermass to be shot in color, the dramatic lighting andTechnicolor lensing by Arthur Grant (The Plague of the Zombies) is delightful, even though some of the special effects don't exactly hold-up to a modern-eye, if even back then, this coming out about same time as the seminal sci-fi 20001: A Space Odyssey (1968). Those locust-looking aliens look awful, stiff and plasticine, and the psychically-sourced black and white footage of an alien war from back in the day on Mars looks even worse, but I can still appreciate the cool ideas and themes at play here. The destruction of London scenes that play out at the end are fantastic, watching the riotous destruction of London brought to mind Tobe Hooper's Cannon Films space-vampire cult-classic Lifeforce (1986), a film which seems to have been heavily influenced by this Hammer sci-fi classic.
Construction is temporarily halted while the paleontologists excavate the site, unearthing more bones, as well as a large metallic vessel buried in the dirt, which is at first thought to be a an unexploded Nazi bomb of some sort. Colonel Breen (Julian Glover, The Empire Strikes Back) and a military bomb disposal team arrive on the scene along with Professor Quatermass (Andrew Keir, Dracula: Prince of Darkness) to assess the situation. Quatermass points out that the metallic object cannot possibly be a WWII-era bomb because the five-million-year-old skull was practically found inside it, further positing, with not much of any proof mind you, that the object and the skeletal remains are probably alien in nature, likely coming from the planet Mars!
As more of the strange object is unearthed it becomes clear this is no bomb, the metallic hull of it proves impenetrable to damage from both a blowtorch and an industrial drill, and strange happenings begin to occur near and around it, such as spectral apparitions, eerie poltergeist activity, and inexplicable tremors. Things really start to come to a head when a sealed chamber inside the vessel reveals itself, exposing the preserved
corpses of several alien beings, which look a bit locust-like. Once these alien-bugs are exposed to the Earth's atmosphere they begin to decompose, dripping green goo like a fat man's flop-sweat on a humid afternoon.
The screenplay, written by Quatermass series creator Nigel Kneale, is based on his original 50's BBC TV serial, positing fantastical thought provoking ideas, linking the alien species arrival on Earth to the evolution of mankind and to the invention of the biblical horned devil! Even watching this one today it stirred my imagination with the ideas it entertains, it's a really wild and intelligent sci-fi ride. Sure, a lot of it absolutely seems preposterous but that's sort of what I love about it.
Eventually the ship begins to exert a powerful psychic and telekinetic force over the population of London, resulting in a city-wide epidemic of violence and mass destruction, with no less than the image of the devil himself appearing over the city. Surprisingly it is paleontologist Roney, not Quatermass, who saves the day when he recalls legends of iron defeating the Devil, using a massive construction crane to quell the five-million-year-old alien psychic-attack.
Quatermass and the Pit (1967) has a lot going for it, a fantastical screenplay by Nigel Kneale, solid direction from Hammer-royalty Roy Ward Baker (Asylum), and a great cast, including Andrew Kier taking over the role of Quatermass. I thought Brian Donlevy was fine in Quatermass 2 in the titular role but Kier is a bit of bearded charmer, offering up a warmer and more authentically British incarnation of the professorial adventurer, even if it is Dr. Roney who actually saves the day.
The visuals throughout are excellent, being the first and only incarnation of Quatermass to be shot in color, the dramatic lighting andTechnicolor lensing by Arthur Grant (The Plague of the Zombies) is delightful, even though some of the special effects don't exactly hold-up to a modern-eye, if even back then, this coming out about same time as the seminal sci-fi 20001: A Space Odyssey (1968). Those locust-looking aliens look awful, stiff and plasticine, and the psychically-sourced black and white footage of an alien war from back in the day on Mars looks even worse, but I can still appreciate the cool ideas and themes at play here. The destruction of London scenes that play out at the end are fantastic, watching the riotous destruction of London brought to mind Tobe Hooper's Cannon Films space-vampire cult-classic Lifeforce (1986), a film which seems to have been heavily influenced by this Hammer sci-fi classic.
Audio/Video: Quatermass and the Pit (1967) arrives on Blu-ray from Scream Factory framed in 1.66:1 widescreen in 1080p HD. This isn't advertised as a new scan of the film elements so I would assume this is the same HD transfer used by Studio Canal for their UK release eight years ago, and that's cool because the image is very pleasing. Grain is well-managed with some nicely resolved fine detail, a few of the darker scenes are more grainy-looking that the brighter scenes but overall the well-saturated colors and deep blacks make for excellent viewing throughout. This is the first and only color Quatermass film, and the visuals are arresting with some great atmospheric lighting that comes across nicely.
Audio on the disc comes by way of a satisfying English DTS-HD MA 2.0 and 5.1 mixes that are crisp and has some good depth, though I preferred the 2.0. Dialogue is clean and crisp, free of distortions and the score from Tristram Cary (Blood from the Mummy's Tomb) comes through nicely, optional English subtitles are provided.
While not branded as one of Scream Factory's Collector's Edition this single-disc release is packed with extras, including three audio commentaries! The first is a vintage track with the late director Roy Ward Baker and writer Nigel Kneale dating back to the days of laserdisc, plus a pair of new commentaries with film historian Bruce G. Hallenbeck, and the other with filmmaker Constantine Nasr and author/film historian Steve Haberman.
Scream factory also carry-over all the extras from the Studio Canal Blu-ray, we get over two-and-a-half hours of interviews, including 31-in with the always entertaining author/historian Kim Newman, 12-min with director Joe Dante (Gremlins), 18-min with writer Nigel Kneale's widow Judith Kerr, 31-min with actor Julian Glover, 20-min with actor/writer Mark Gatiss, and 13-min with author/Hammer Film historian Marcus Hearn, plus a 26-min episode of the World of Hammer focusing on the studio's sci-fi output.
New stuff comes by way of a 7-min interview with actor Hugh Futcher, 5-min with special effects artist Brian Johnson, 8-min with clapper loader Trevor Coop and a brief 2-min interview with focus puller Bob Jordan.
Disc extras are buttoned-up with both the U.K. and U.S. theatrical trailers for the film, TV spots, the alternate U.S. 'Five Million Years to Earth' credit sequence, and a gallery of promotional stills, behind-the-scenes images, lobby cards and international poster artwork.
The single-disc release arrives in a standard Blu-ray keepcase with a reversible sleeve of art, including the gorgeous original and alternate artwork for the film under the title 'Five Millions Years To Earth', the disc itself featuring an excerpt from the key artwork.
Special Features:
- NEW audio commentary with film historian Bruce G. Hallenbeck
- NEW audio commentary with filmmaker Constantine Nasr and author/film historian Steve Haberman
- NEW interview with actor Hugh Futcher (7 min)
- NEW interview with Academy Award-winning special effects artist Brian Johnson (5 min)
- NEW interview with clapper loader Trevor Coop (8 min)
- NEW interview with focus puller Bob Jordan (2 min)
- Interview with author Judith Kerr (18 min)
- Interview with actor Julian Glover (31 min)
- Interview with actor/writer Mark Gatiss (20 min)
- Interview with filmmaker Joe Dante (12 min)
- Interview with author/film historian Kim Newman (31 min)
- Interview with author/Hammer Film historian Marcus Hearn (13 min)
- Audio Commentary with director Roy Ward Baker and writer Nigel Kneale
- World of Hammer Episode: Sci-fi (26 min)
- U.K. Theatrical Trailer (3 min)
- U.S. Theatrical Trailer (3 min)
- TV Spots (1 min)
- Alternate U.S. Credits (1 min)
- Still Gallery (6 min)
Quatermass and the Pit (1967) is a thought-provoking and mind-bending slice of 60's sci-fi from Hammer, and it's my favorite of the trilogy of Quatermass films, and damn near the top of my list of favorite Hammer films! The new Blu-ray from Scream Factory looks and sounds terrific and is packed with over three-hours worth of extras, this comes highly recommended for fans of Hammer horror and sci-fi, and just to fans of vintage sci-fi in general, I would think this gem would have broad appeal to genre fans.
