Daleks' Invasion Earth 2150 A.D. Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		2.5
Overall		4.0

Daleks' Invasion Earth 2150 A.D. Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov June 9, 2013

Gordon Flemyng's "Daleks' Invasion Earth: 2150 A.D." (1966) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of StudioCanal. The supplemental features on the disc include the film's original theatrical trailer; new video interview with actor Bernard Cribbins; new video interview with writer Gareth Owen; production stills; and a new featurette focusing on the restoration of the film. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-B "locked".

Daleks on the streets of London

Detective Tom Campbell (Bernard Cribbins, The Wrong Arm of the Law, Carry On Spying) accidentally enters the Tardis -- which looks a lot like a phone booth -- moments before Dr. Who (Peter Cushing, The Blood Beast Terror) sends it into the year 2150. The detective does not believe Dr. Who when he calmly explains to him that they are in the future, but after he steps out of Tardis he immediately changes his mind.

In the year 2150, London is in ruins. The Daleks have arrived and robotized the majority of the human race. (A robotized person does exactly what the Daleks tell him to do without ever questioning their orders). The few that have survived have gone deep underground, hoping that one day they could rise and defeat the alien invaders. They don't have the right weapons yet but their leaders are convinced that it is only a matter of time before they will be able to build them.

Accompanied by his niece Louise (Jill Curzon, TV's Quick Before They Catch Us) and grand-daughter Susan (Roberta Tovey), Dr. Who and the detective begin exploring the city. Not too far away from the London subway, the Daleks capture them and quickly send them to their spaceship where they are prepared for robotizing. Louise and Susan manage to escape and join a group of rebels hiding in the London subway.

Meanwhile, the Daleks begin drilling in a nearby mine, hoping to reach the Earth’s metal core. With the help of sophisticated machines, the Daleks plan to detonate the metal core and transform the Earth into a giant spaceship that they will be able to move around the universe.

The action in this sequel to Dr. Who and the Daleks is on an entirely different level. There is a bigger number of Daleks that are all over London hunting the rebels and then quickly robotizing them so that they can follow their orders. The shootouts and the explosions are also far more elaborate than those seen in the first film.

The colonized London also looks quite good. As Dr. Who and his companions make their way through the demolished city, a lot of the visuals remind of those seen in Roy Ward Baker’s Quatermass and the Pit. (Andrew Keir also has a prominent role in the film).

There are splashes of humor again, but this film is unquestionably darker than the first one. The Daleks here are also definitely not as naive as those in the first film - they are far better informed about their opponents and harder to outsmart.

Bill McGuffie’s music score is also superior to Malcolm Lockkyer’s score. It blends terrific jazz and psychedelic themes which effectively enhance the film’s exotic atmosphere. Some wonderful audio effects are also included for the Daleks.

Daleks' Invasion Earth 2150 A.D. was lensed by cinematographer John Wilcox, who also teamed up with Andrew Flemyng on Doctor Who: Dr. Who and the Daleks. Like Dr. Who and the Daleks, Daleks' Invasion Earth 2150 A.D. was also shot in Techniscope.

Daleks' Invasion Earth 2150 A.D. Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in its original aspect ratio of 2.35:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Gordon Flemyng's Daleks' Invasion Earth: 2150 A.D. arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of StudioCanal.

Some of the colors are not as lush as those seen in Dr. Who and the Daleks, but this is because there is plenty of footage that was shot with natural light. However, contrast levels remain stable and clarity is indeed very good. Close-ups boast good depth (see screencapture #2). The larger panoramic shots with the special effects, however, convey some sporadic softness (see screencapture #3). Quite obviously, however, the softness fluctuations are directly linked to the various special effects used throughout the film (and especially the ones with the spaceship). There are no traces of excessive degraining corrections. There are no traces of problematic sharpening corrections either. The film has been thoroughly cleaned up - there are no large cuts, debris, stains, or scratches. Lastly, I noticed a few minor artifacts popping up, but there are no serious compression anomalies to address in this review. All in all, like the first film Daleks' Invasion Earth: 2150 A.D. has a stable organic look that will please its fans. (Note: This is a Region-B "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-B or Region-Free player in order to access its content).

Daleks' Invasion Earth 2150 A.D. Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: English LPCM 2.0. For the record, StudioCanal have provided optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. When turned on, they split the image frame and the black bar below it.

The lossless track opens up the film in all the right places. The clashes between the Daleks and the rebels, in particular, have good intensity and a few of the explosions actually surprise with very good depth. However, I think that it is Bill McGuffie's music score that benefits the most from the lossless treatment - the jazzy themes are quite bright and well rounded. The dialog is consistently crisp, stable, and easy to follow. Also, there are no pops, audio dropouts or distortions to report in this review.

Daleks' Invasion Earth 2150 A.D. Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Restoring Daleks' Invasion Earth 2150 A.D. - in this featurette, Jo Botting, curator at the BFI National Archive explains why the sequel to Dr. Who and the Daleks was shot in Techniscope. Film and television historian Marcus Hearn also discusses the production history of the film. Paul Collard, vice president of film and digital services at Deluxe, also explains what type of elements were used for the restoration of the film and discusses the color grading process. Also included are additional comments by Ian Pickford, content mastering manager at Deluxe and Lisa Copson (digital restoration operator at Deluxe). In English, not subtitled. (8 min).

• Interview with Bernard Cribbins - in this new video interview, actor Bernard Cribbins, who plays detective Tom Campbell, discusses Daleks' Invasion Earth: 2150 A.D., his contribution to the film and interactions with Peter Cushing during the shooting of the film. In English, not subtitled. (4 min).

• Interview with Gareth Owen - Gareth Owen, author of The Shepperton Story, discusses the production history of Daleks' Invasion Earth: 2150 A.D.. In English, not subtitled. (5 min).

• Trailer - original theatrical trailer for Daleks' Invasion Earth: 2150 A.D. In English, not subtitled. (3 min).

• Stills - a gallery of production stills. (2 min).

Daleks' Invasion Earth 2150 A.D. Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

This is definitely the better of the two Dalek films. It is darker and with a lot more action. I think that it is perfect to see very late at night. Recently restored by StudioCanal, Daleks' Invasion Earth: 2150 A.D. looks quite beautiful on Blu-ray. The release also contains a very good featurette with excellent information about the restoration and color grading of the film. Buy with confidence, folks. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.