Quatermass Collection: Quatermass Experiment / Quatermass 2 [DVD]

I almost never purchased this DVD at all on the basis of one review especially on here, which dismissed this outright as almost unwatchable in some respects: however, the appearance of more even-tempered, and frankly more balanced assessments made me decide to 'bite the bullet' and order this two-film set which has duly arrived this week.

Everyone seems to agree that the worst portion of this footage is the pre-credit sequence to 'Quatermass 2', so I jumped straight to that first, expecting to see some wretched snowstorm of unwatchable dross. Although this portion is undeniable grainy [although one close-up shot of a radiation-scarred victim is crystal-clear even here] it's not enough to spoil the viewing pleasure, and although the overall films have certainly not been lovingly restored frame-by-frame, they are most definitely watchable and of acceptable viewing quality, I am pleased to report.

Yes, there are white lines that crop up in a vertical portion now and again, but these are at the sidesof the screen, and just a small distraction. The actual picture quality is clear enough overall, and the only people likely to be disappointed are those expecting pristine quality, which is simply not feasible at this budget price.

I paid 3 pounds per movie and it was well worth it for the pleasure of owning these two excellent 50s UK sci-fi films, which up until now, have never been available easily or affordable in Britain on the DVD format.

The films themselves are cracking entertainment, and I'm delighted to own them on DVD at long last.

Worth pointing out: the films are together on a single disk, but as the running time is fairly modest, there are no compression problems.[Around 160 minutes for both]

No, I do not work for Icon or any other DVD company, I am just stating that these prints are of reasonable quality and will do until mintly-struck prints of these films ever surface, which may of course never materialize.

Until then, I am delighted with this DVD double-bill [one star off, as perhaps the occassional vertical white lines could have been removed fairly easily].

This is a good double bill released by Icons pictures, who recently botched up Captain Kronos Vampire Hunter. But this is not such a bad job. The main problem is the pre-credit sequence of Quatermass 2, which is extremely snowy. But it does improve once the credits roll and maintains a reasonable standard through most of the film. Quatermass Experiment does have some flickering (one noticeable scene in particular) but is a fairly decent picture for most of its length.
These films appear fairly modest now, but they did put Hammer films on the map before they blazed into colour with their gothic horrors. Of the two, I think Quatermas 2 stands up particularly well.
For the budget price, getting these two films is not a bad deal.

I do not understand the other two review that say the print is bad...

My DVD is fine, the quality of film transfers is fine, audio is fine also.

Great value for two films, just thought it is worth redressing the balance here, as I am very happy with my purchase.