Quatermass and the Pit Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		4.0
Overall		4.5

Quatermass and the Pit Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov October 5, 2011

Roy Ward Baker's "Quatermass and the Pit" a.k.a. "Five Million Years to Earth" (1967) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors Optimum Home Entertainment. The supplemental features on the disc include the original trailer; alternate American trailer; audio commentary with director Roy Ward Baker and writer Nigel Kneale; video interviews; and more. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-B "locked".

Prof. Quatermass

A group of workers discover a strange skeleton while building an extension to the London Underground at Hobbs End. Later on they dig up an even stranger "shell", which quickly becomes a WWII German missile – because only the Germans could have built something this large and strange, and left it behind.

But Prof. Quatermass (Andrew Keir, Cleopatra, Rob Roy), who is summoned to offer an opinion, isn’t convinced that the shell was built by German engineers. In fact, he is fairly certain that the shell is actually a spaceship, which wasn’t built by human beings. Together with his beautiful assistant Barbara (Barbara Shelley, The Secret of Blood Island, Village of the Damned), he attempts to convince a couple of stubborn military and government officials to consider his theory but is quickly told to mind his own business.

After the ship is carefully cleaned up, its defensive mechanisms reactivate themselves - they have been on and off for centuries and have led many to believe that the area where the spaceship was found is often visited by naughty ghosts - and strange things begin to happen. A couple of the soldiers working on the spaceship begin hallucinating, random objects begin flying around, and a few explosions occur.

After carefully studying the spaceship, Prof. Quatermass connects a special device to it that allows Barbara to extract the final memories of its crew. These memories are then recorded and shown to the same conservative military and government officials who earlier had concluded that the spaceship was a missile built and abandoned by the Germans. This time around, Prof. Quatermass offers a slightly more detailed theory explaining where the spaceship came from and why it landed on Earth – but is once again told to mind his own business.

Meanwhile, the spaceship powers itself up and sends massive vibrations throughout London that cause total chaos. Buildings collapse, fires start and riots erupt. While running for their lives, Prof. Quatermass and Barbara make an incredible discovery.

Based on Nigel Kneale's original story and screenplay, Roy Ward Baker’s Quatermass and the Pit a.k.a. Five Million Years to Earth (1967) is undoubtedly one of the very best films the famous Hammer Studio released. It is wildly entertaining, stylishly lensed, and most importantly offering some surprisingly serious observations about the history of humankind, religion, and the origin of evil.

Unlike The Quatermass Xperiment (1955) and Quatermass II (1957), the characterization in The Quatermass and the Pit is excellent. There is real depth in the characters that naturally transforms their dilemmas and ultimately gives credibility to the various observations the film offers.

Quatermass and the Pit does look rather dated but it is also charming and, for a classic sci-fi film from the 60s, quite elegant. There is a good dose of intelligent humor, for instance, that counters well the thought-provoking observations. The majority of the special effects are also truly special as a lot is achieved with very little (some of the imagery from the final third of the film is shockingly good even by contemporary standards).

The cast is great. Keir is very convincing as Prof. Quatermass (and far better than Brian Donlevy, who appeared in the previous two Quatermass films) whose intelligence becomes highly problematic. Though her time in front of the camera is limited, Shelley, looking wonderful, also manages to impress.

Quatermass and the Pit Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.66:1, encoded with MPEG-AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Roy Ward Baker's Quatermass and the Pit arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors Optimum Home Entertainment.

Having recently undergone a full digital restoration, Quatermass and the Pit looks mighty impressive. In fact, I would argue that it is as impressive as many of the best restorations we have seen via the Criterion Collection in Region-A land, and certainly on par with the rest of the classic films Optimum Home Entertainment and Studio Canal have released on Blu-ray this year - Ice Cold in Alex, The Cruel Sea, Whisky Galore!, Went The Day Well?, The Lavender Hill Mob, The Man Who Fell to Earth and Kind Hearts and Coronets.

There are various details and textures that are simply missing from the R1 DVD release of the film (I don't have a R2 DVD to compare). Contrast levels are stable and clarity also dramatically improved even during the darkest scenes (see screencapture #19). Color reproduction is also very pleasing, with colors consistently looking fresh and well saturated. Edge-enhancement is not a serious issue of concern. There are no artifacts and banding issues either. I also did not see any traces of severe denoising. Naturally, there is plenty of grain which is well resolved, though occasionally mixed with light noise. Blown through a digital projector, the image also remains tight around the edges, never pulsating or showing signs of wear. All in all, this is an excellent restoration which I am convinced will please fans of Quatermass and the Pit. (Note: This is a Region-B "locked" Blu-ray disc. Therefore, you must have a native Region-B or Region-Free PS3 or SA in order to access its content).

Quatermass and the Pit Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one audio track on this Blu-ray disc: English LPCM 2.0. For the record, Optimum Home Entertainment have provided optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature.

The audio has been optimized as best possible. Unsurprisingly, the vibrations, the spaceships defensive mechanism, and the chaos during the final third of the film really make an impression. I honestly think that a lot of people will be surprised to discover how mighty potent the English LPCM 2.0 track is. There is some outstanding depth the loseless track brings, which is not even suggested on the R1 DVD. Unsurprisingly, the dialog is exceptionally clean, crisp, stable, and easy to follow.

Quatermass and the Pit Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Interviews - in English, not subtitled.
  
  -- Judith Kerr - an interview with Judith Kerr, who was married to the screenwriter Nigel Kneale (18 min, 1080/50i)
  -- Joe Dante - filmmaker Joe Dante classic sci-fi cinema and The Quatermass and the Pit. (12 min, 1080/50i)
  -- Kim Newman - Film critic and novelist Kim Newman discusses the cultural significance of Quatermass and the Pit and the interesting observations the film produced. (30 min, 1080/50i)
  -- Julian Glover - actor Julian Glover, who plays Colonel Breen, recalls how he became involved with Roy Ward Baker's film. (30 min, 1080/50i).
  -- Marcus Hearn - Hammer Film historian Marcus Hearn discusses the production history of Quatermass and the Pit, its success, and importance. (13 min, 1080/50i)
  -- Mark Gatiss - actor, screenwriter and novelist Mark Gatiss discusses the legacy of Hammer Film and Quatermass and the Pit. (20 min, 1080/50i).

• "World of Hammer" - a Hammer medley. In English, not subtitled. (25 min, 1080/50i).

• Trailer - original theatrical trailer. In English, not subtitled. (3 min, 1080/50i).

• Alternate American Credits - in English, not subtitled. (30 sec, 1080p)

• Alternate American Trailer - in English, not subtitled. (3 min, 1080p)

• Audio Commentary - an audio commentary with Roy Ward Baker and writer Nigel Kneale.

Quatermass and the Pit Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Optimum Home Entertainment, in association with Studio Canal, have put together a mighty impressive package for Roy Ward Baker's classic 60s sci-fi film Quatermass and the Pit a.k.a. Five Million Years to Earth. If you could play Region-B "locked" discs, I strongly recommend adding it to your libraries. I also encourage you to consider the rest of the classic films the two studios have restored and released on Blu-ray this year: Ice Cold in Alex, The Cruel Sea, Whisky Galore!, The Lavender Hill Mob, Went The Day Well?, The Man Who Fell to Earth and Kind Hearts and Coronets. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.