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The Day The Earth Caught Fire [1961] [DVD]
 
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The Day The Earth Caught Fire [1961] [DVD]

DVD ~ Edward Judd
4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
RRP: £19.99
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Frequently Bought Together

The Day The Earth Caught Fire [1961] [DVD] + When Worlds Collide [DVD] [1951] + The Day The Earth Stood Still [DVD] [1951]
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The Day The Earth Caught Fire [1961] [DVD]
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Product details

  • Actors: Edward Judd, Janet Munro, Leo McKern, Michael Goodliffe, Bernard Braden
  • Directors: Val Guest
  • Writers: Val Guest, Wolf Mankowitz
  • Producers: Val Guest, F. Sherwin Green
  • Format: Black & White, PAL, Widescreen
  • Language English
  • Region: All Regions
  • Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1
  • Number of discs: 1
  • Classification: PG
  • Studio: Network
  • DVD Release Date: 27 Aug 2001
  • Run Time: 99 minutes
  • Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
  • ASIN: B00005NMVV
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 31,827 in DVD (See Bestsellers in DVD)

    Popular in this category:

    #96 in  DVD > Classics > Science Fiction & Fantasy

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Reviews

DVD Description

DVD Special Features:

Fully restored and remastered version of "The Day The Earth Caught Fire"
Scenee Selection
Production Notes
Biographies
Stills galleries
Interview with Leo McKern
Commentary with Director Val GUest
Trailer
US Television Spots
16:9 Anamorphic
Black and White
Dolby Digital Mono English
Subtitles: none

Synopsis

When the Americans test a nuclear weapon at the South Pole at the exact moment that the Soviets are testing their own weapon at the North, the earth's axis is jolted out of alignment, causing catastrophic changes in global weather patterns. Additionally, the earth has been dislodged from its orbit, and is now hurtling towards the sun. It's a race against time as the world prepares for additional nuclear detonations which could restore life as we know it. This classic piece of British science fiction won a British Academy Award for Best Screenplay and has been completely restored by Anchor Bay, including tinted sequences not seen since the movie's original theatrical release in 1961.
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Customer Reviews

14 Reviews
5 star:
 (11)
4 star:
 (2)
3 star:
 (1)
2 star:    (0)
1 star:    (0)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
4.7 out of 5 stars (14 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
36 of 36 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars one of the best British thrillers ever, 16 Nov 2003
By S. Hapgood "www.sjhstrangetales.com" - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)      
This review is from: The Day The Earth Caught Fire [VHS] [1961] (VHS Tape)
I know that's a pretty grand claim of mine in the title, but I really believe this is one of the most intelligent, well-acted, and chillingly effective films we've ever made. Made at the height of concern about nuclear warfare (this was the era of the CND Aldermaston marches), it takes the idea that by detonating two massive nuclear bombs at once we have caused the Earth to shift off its axis and ... gulp, we are now heading towards the sun! Much of the unfolding terror is seen through the eyes of journalists in a newspaper office covering daily what could be the oncoming end of the world. These scenes are highly effective indeed, most particularly the briefings in the Editor's office, and Leo McKern is splendid as a jaundiced hack getting his biggest (and most unwelcome!) story. As the days click on and society begins to unravel, with water rationing causing riots and old diseases making a comeback, you even get reminded of later terrifying docu-dramas like "The War Game" and "Threads". On a lighter note look out for a before-he-was-famous Michael Caine appearing briefly in one scene as a policeman doing traffic duty.
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18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars It's the end of the world as we know it and I feel . . ., 31 July 2002
This review is from: The Day The Earth Caught Fire [VHS] [1961] (VHS Tape)
This film is possibly one of my favourite black and white films.

It works on several layers including social commentary; moral philosophy; environmental destruction which includes Humankind's innate desire to experiment with forces it does not really understand.

The Nuclear Age began at Trinity, New Mexico USA at 05:30am on July 17, 1945, with Robert Oppenheimer quoting from the Bible on seeing the first mushroom cloud: "I am become Death - the shatterer of worlds."

The film uses the cinematic and narrative tool of the anti-hero in which we encounter a jaded journalist who discovers that without each others' knowledge Russia and America have conducted simultaneous nuclear detonations at the North and South poles. The result of these detonations is catastrophic with the Earth's axis being sent out of alignment and sending Earth on a one-way journey towards the sun.

Our protaganist has relationship and alcohol problems but is spurred into action in trying to discover why the weather has changed so dramatically in recent times.

As the film progresses we see in a sub-parody of Golding's 'Lord of the Flies' how civilisation can adopt anarchistic tendencies when faced with oblivion. Watch out for the scene with the young Beatnik crowd journeying through London as water rationing is imposed on London's citizens.

The film has a cliff hanger ending which should never be divulged to non-initiates but overall this film comes highly recommended by me as thought-provoking and a piece of cinematic excellence for the discerning and intelligent lover of good cinema.

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15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Great writing, great atmosphere, great DVD, 7 Jan 2002
By A Customer
I'd forgotten just how good this film is. Fine performances bring to life a very good script and the setting is brilliantly realised. This isn't just British SF at its best, its SF at its best. OK so some of the science is cobblers but the story is stylish and clever.

The DVD is excellent. A good range of extras and, most importantly, a brilliantly clear print of the film itself. The sepia tinged opening is particularly effective and looks better than ever.

And this is a film with one of those endings that you can never get out of your mind.

Highly recommended.

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars wow hot day for the earth
enjoy this film loads strange ending but was enjoyment all through the film the film is about two nuclear bombs both exploded at the same time which shifts the earth's orbit so it... Read more
Published 5 months ago by A. Jones

5.0 out of 5 stars A Blazing success!
Fantastic movie which now seems eerily prescient, even though the cause of the eponymous fire wasn't global warming... Worth its weight in black and white!
Published 9 months ago by Mel MacLeod

5.0 out of 5 stars Pure class
It's easy to forget what an absolute classic this film is - and how retro and modern it appears at all the same time. Read more
Published 12 months ago by Mr. P. A. Mitchell

3.0 out of 5 stars I struggled in Places
Despite coming up for being 50 years old soon, this film still feels relatively modern with its themes of nuclear testing etc. Read more
Published 14 months ago by S. Smith

5.0 out of 5 stars "Sweltering stuff
Some of the early sixties stuff appears dated at times, and I suppose this film does too to a degree. But then it is a sixties film with sixties characters. Read more
Published 14 months ago by Peanuts

5.0 out of 5 stars A modern movie
This 1960s sci-fi is a compelling and interesting watch. You are sucked into period London and the lives of the young reporters, by the combination of the intriguing story and the... Read more
Published on 23 Jan 2008 by J. Lee

5.0 out of 5 stars A Hot Film
This is simply the best Sci-Fi movie ever made (and that's coming from someone who has been a Sci-Fi nut since 1959!) It was also President Kennedy's favourite movie. Read more
Published on 30 Sep 2007 by ray dorrity

5.0 out of 5 stars Hot, hot, hot!
In an episode of "Cheers" Norm and Cliff are arguing at the bar about the sweatiest films ever made. I think they decide the winner is "Cool Hand Luke". Read more
Published on 16 Aug 2007 by R. P. Davies

5.0 out of 5 stars British Anti Nuclear Film
I remember seeing this film on Saturday afternoons when I was a kid and rewatching as an adult made me appreciate just what this film has to say. Read more
Published on 15 Jun 2005 by Mr. D. Swan

4.0 out of 5 stars low key and amusing
Taking its drama from a simple premise: nuclear tests have made the earth move closer to the sun, this film is played out from the point of view of shifty newspaper reported... Read more
Published on 5 Dec 2002

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