Dr. Who and the Daleks Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		5.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		5.0
Overall		3.5

Dr. Who and the Daleks Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman July 1, 2025

Note: This version of this film is available on Blu-ray as a standalone release and as part of Severin's exclusive Total Extermination: The Peter Cushing Doctor Who Collection set.

Late Spring and Early Summer 2025 seem to be a nexus of sorts for a certain Time Lord. Already released in just the past few weeks have been BBC Blu-rays of Doctor Who: Season One, Doctor Who: The War Games in Colour , Doctor Who: The Savages, Doctor Who: Sylvester McCoy: Complete Season Two and Doctor Who: Jon Pertwee: Complete Season One. Now Severin is entering the fray and/or the TARDIS with the two quasi-Amicus feature films from the mid-sixties offering Peter Cushing in the title role, films which any diehard Whovian will probably be more than happy to tell you don't "really" belong in the "official" Doctor Who canon. In terms of the above linked releases from BBC, though, another "reconstituted color" release from last year, Doctor Who: The Daleks in Color, offers the original serial that inspired Dr. Who and the Daleks, and which might be of especial interest to fans since it features a new pretty severely redacted version of the original serial in color that at times rather closely matches decisions made for the feature film adaptation, but which also offers the original full length serial in standard definition on a DVD. In a way, the BBC release may only tend to point out what are widely discussed in supplements as at least perceived deficiencies in the first Cushing film, and in that regard, while the original serial of The Dalek Invasion of Earth which gave birth to the second Cushing film is indeed available on Blu-ray as part of Doctor Who: William Hartnell - Complete Season Two, it hasn't yet been granted a "standalone edited color" release. As is also discussed in the bounteous supplements included, these two Doctor Who outings made significant changes in various aspects of the "companions", and Cushing's characterization still provokes controversy to this day (as indicated by some slightly at odds comments in various supplements). Still, if accepted on the self confessed terms that these films were produced and marketed for young children, they have at times extremely colorful production designs, and of course both of them took full advantage of what was then in the United Kingdom a veritable Dalek craze that was perhaps eclipsed only by Beatlemania in the pop culture department.

Dr. Who and the Daleks had a 1080 release a few years ago courtesy of Kino Lorber and Svet Atanasov's Dr. Who and the Daleks Blu-ray review offers some plot information, a list of supplements and Svet's reaction to the technical presentation. Svet also reviewed the more recent Region B Studio Canal release of Dr. Who and the Daleks 4K which may be of additional interest.

Dr. Who and the Daleks Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Dr. Who and the Daleks is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Severin Films with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.35:1. A prefatory text card before the feature presentation offers the following information:

This restoration was scanned in 4K - 16 bit by Silver Salt Restoration - UK, from the original Techniscope 2-perf 35mm negative. Wet-gate scanning technology was used to remove severe scratching on the source elements.

Colour grading and restoration were completed by Silver Salt Restoration - UK who dedicated over 200 hours to manually clean and carefully remove sparkle, dirt and scratches.

Audio remastered by Mark Ayres.

This project was brought to you by Studio Canal and supervised by Jahanzeb Hayat.

Some regular visitors to this site may recall I had the great good fortune to spend a day at Silver Salt last December, which resulted in this interview, in fact with some of the very people who worked on this restoration. This is another sterling example of the typically excellent and meticulous work Silver Salt brings to their restoration processes, and perhaps due at least in part to the wet gate transfer, I might rate the vividness of the palette to be arguably a bit more impressive here than in Daleks' Invasion Earth 2150 A.D. While there's absolutely no doubt that Severin's 4K UHD release gives a more nuanced accounting of the almost Bava-esque palette, this 1080 presentation is kind of gobsmacking on its own merits, and some of the green and purple lit and/or graded material in particular is very evocative. Detail levels are generally appealing, and the film offers relatively few old school composited effects, meaning there are fewer ebbs and flows of clarity and grain thickness. The restoration has completely eliminated any major damage to my eyes, and compression is solid throughout, delivering an organic looking grain field.

Dr. Who and the Daleks Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Dr. Who and the Daleks features a DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono track that is inherently narrow, but which delivers the often goofy sound effects and scoring choices without any issues. The score is mentioned in some supplements and will certainly strike those used only to the television series as distinctly different, but both traditional orchestration and electronic instruments are supported here with fine fidelity. Dialogue is rendered cleanly and clearly throughout. Optional English subtitles are available.

Dr. Who and the Daleks Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Audio Commentary with Whovians Barry Forshaw, Stephen Jones and Kim Newman


• Audio Commentary with Stars Jennie Linden and Roberta Tovey, Moderated by Journalist Jonathan Sothcott


• Audio Commentary with Critic Kim Newman, Screenwriter/Writer Robert Shearman and Actor/Writer Mark Gatiss


• 1992 Audio Interview with Director Gordon Flemyng by Author/Journalist Tony Earnshaw (HD; 1:23:14) plays as a kind of quasi- commentary track to the film. This lasts a little over half an hour and Flemyng's exit may provoke a bit of laughter in some.


• Subotsky and the Daleks - Part 1 (HD; 10:13) is an audio interview from 1985 with producer Milton Subotsky.


• Kara and the Daleks (HD; 15:26) is an interview with Whovian Kara Dennison.


• Dalekmania (HD; 59:57) is a 1995 documentary that takes a fun look at the maybe slightly weird British fascination with Daleks.


• Interview with Gareth Owen, Author of The Shepperton Story (HD; 8:00)


• The Dalek Legacy: Destination Skaro (HD; 16:24) is an enjoyable retrospective with Nicholas Briggs (voice of the the Daleks), screenwriter Robert Shearman, VFX designer Mike Tucker, editorial assistant Emily Cook and writer/3D artist Gavin Rymill.


• Trailer (HD; 3:14)


• Still Gallery (HD; 1:25)

Dr. Who and the Daleks Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Dr. Who and the Daleks has long been almost ardently dismissed by a certain niche in the Whovian demographic, but this great looking release may invite a reassessment. Severin offers solid technical merits and appealing supplements. Recommended.