Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.5
Audio		5.0
Extras		2.5
Overall		4.0

The Questor Tapes Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov February 9, 2024

Richard A. Colla's "The Questor Tapes" (1974) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber. The supplemental features on the release include exclusive new audio commentary by critic and screenwriter Gari Gerani and vintage trailers. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".

The awakening

Even though they are placed in a period context that appears slightly dated, the main themes that emerge from Richard A. Colla’s film The Questor Tapes are more relevant now than they were fifty years ago. It is because they are the key pieces of realistic scenarios, several of which are terrifying.

One of these scenarios is that in the future brilliant scientists will create an android whose IQ is many times greater than that of an ordinary human being, fully aware of its potential and capable of making rational decisions on its own as well. As the scientists further perfect it, the android will then acquire the ability to free itself from its creators and, if deemed necessary, begin reproducing. In other words, the scientists would have launched a superior race with unpredictable intentions.

Another scenario is that the perfection that frees the android from its creators will be done in the name of a great cause, like ensuring world peace. For example, the android’s ability to extract and deconstruct information from all corners of the world will produce the proper fixes for regional or large-scale conflicts with the potential to evolve into disasters. To be most effective, the android will be again perfected to harvest information without restrictions. After the world is effectively demoted to a conventional data bank, at some point the android will discover how to effectively manage its output.

The android will inevitably become a target. It could happen in the early stages of its technological maturation, or later, after it has freed itself from its creators. Once it becomes a target, the android will switch into a protective mode and become unpredictable. If the switch occurs early, before its technological maturation is complete, its creators will be able to deactivate it. If the switch occurs late, after the world has become a conventional databank for it, all bets are off.

Fifty years ago, when Colla completed The Questor Tapes, these scenarios were unquestionably thought of as sci-fi material. But they are legit scenarios now. AI is here, it can do everything that is highlighted above, and it is being perfected -- without sufficient supervision to ensure that it will not, under any circumstances, free itself from its creators. This is beyond horrifying.

The drama in The Questor Tapes is initiated for this exact reason -- lack of sufficient supervision in a research facility where several scientists have been working hard on Questor (Robert Foxworth), an android with a superhuman IQ, whose creator, Dr. Vaslovik (Lew Ayres), has disappeared. After a series of failed tests, Questor unexpectedly ‘awakens’ on its own and with the help of Dr. Jerry Robinson (Mike Farrell) begins searching for Dr. Vaslovik, who can complete his technological maturation. Questor and Dr. Robinson then manage to get to London, where Dr. Vaslovik had been in contact with the famous Lady Helena Trimble (Dan Wynter), but are tracked down by Dr. Geoffrey Darro (John Vernon), who is following government orders and wants it terminated.

Questor apparently provided the blueprint for the famous character Data from Star Trek: The Next Generation, but this relationship is meaningless because their identities are very different. Also, there isn’t any notable thematically similar material involving these characters.

The production values are excellent. In fact, a lot of the material that Colla shot with cinematographer Michael Margulies would have been perfect for a big feature film with serious ambitions. The final twenty or so minutes, in particular, produce numerous outstanding panoramic visuals that easily create the impression that The Questor Tapes was done with a massive budget.

A simple yet very good ambient soundtrack created by Gil Melle does a lot to greatly enhance the desired atmosphere, too. A few years earlier, Melle earned a Golden Globe nomination for his contribution to Robert Wise’s classic film The Andromeda Strain.

The Questor Tapes Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.33:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, The Questor Tapes arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber.

The release is sourced from an excellent new 2K master that was struck from an interpositive. Aside from a few tiny blemishes that I spotted and slightly less-than-optimal density levels, everything looks great. For example, from start to finish the film maintains a very strong, convincing, and enormously pleasing organic appearance. Color balance is pitch-perfect, too. Yes, in a few areas it feels like saturation should be a tad better and the dynamic range of the visuals a bit stronger, but I think that these would be improvements that will make more sense in native 4K. There are absolutely no traces of problematic digital corrections. Image stability is great. All in all, I think that the new 2K makeover of The Questor Tapes is a genuine home run. My score is 4.75/5.00. (Note: This is a Region-A "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-B or Region-Free player in order to access its content).

The Questor Tapes Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature.

I did not encounter any age-related anomalies to report in our review. The audio was very clear, sharp, and stable. I thought that Gil Melle's ambient soundtrack, which has a very important role, sounded terrific, too. As expected, dynamic intensity is modest, but this is an inherited limitation.

The Questor Tapes Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Commentary - this exclusive new audio commentary was recorded by critic and screenwriter Gari Gerani. If you have listened to a few of the commentaries Mr. Gerani has done for various releases of made-for-TV films from Kino Lorber's catalog, you will know what to expect from this commentary, which plenty of interesting information about the conception and production of The Questor Tapes, its themes and tone, broadcasting history, etc.

• Textless Trailer - presented here is a remastered textless trailer for The Questor Tapes. In English, not subtitled. (2 min).

• Textless Promo - presented here is a remastered textless TV promo for The Questor Tapes. In English, not subtitled. (1 min).

The Questor Tapes Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Is the future that The Questor Tapes describes already here? Yes, which is why more and more often you are hearing warnings that AI development needs to be very closely regulated. And it must be because the scenarios that emerge in The Questor Tapes are actually the safest variations of what could go terribly wrong, which is a lot. Kudos to the party at Kino Lorber that made the decision to bring The Questor Tapes to Blu-ray, and hopefully there will be many more releases like it. The Questor Tapes has been restored in 2K and looks terrific on Blu-ray, too. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.