The Quatermass Collection - The Quatermass Experiment / Quatermass 2 / Quatermass And The Pit [DVD]

Quatermass II (1955) takes advantage of a further two years of technological development in TV and is a more accomplished production than the first, with ambitious and effective location filming and pioneering visual effects work from Jack Kine and Bernard Wilkie. Quatermass himself is less memorable, played this time by John Robinson, who was drafted in at short notice after the sad death of Reginald Tate during the serial's pre-production. There are strong turns from Hugh Griffith and future Master, Roger Delgado. The story is an exceptionally strong one, with Quatermass dealing with aliens who have already landed and begun to infiltrate humanity - a clasic 50s scenario.

The last of the three serials is also the best. "Quatermass and the Pit" certainly does not disappoint both in terms of story and production, which for the time was lavish and extremely imaginative. Quatermass is this time played by Andre Morell, who could have been made for the part, and he is given excellent support by Cec Linder, Anthony Bushell, John Stratton and Christine Finn.

All of these stories, particularly the last, benefit greatly from a superb restoration job undertaken as a labour of love by the BBC's Dr. Who Restoration Team. The films have been lovingly cleaned, sound significantly sharpened and the film prints of "The Pit" have also been put through the VidFIRE process, which restores their original appearance as live video transmissions. The film sequences are of particular note, with many being sourced from the original 35mm prints.

This DVD set is a must for fans of the science fiction genre and of classic tv drama in general and if you have any interest in eother of these you won't be disappointed. Last, but not least, the discs are accompanied by an exhaustively researched booklet courtesy of walking TV encylopedia Andrew Pixley. This covers anything you'd want to know about the three serials.

These DVDs were delivered only a couple of days ago and I've watched them all twice so far. It's very rare that I will watch a modern film through twice within a few days. What makes this old Quatermass series so compelling? It's not just nostalgia (though that plays a part). I believe it's the way they force you to use your imagination. Fans of the modern films that employ all sorts of computer generated tricks and have access to enormous budgets may not appreciate this. After all, it's all in black and white and the special effects, although ingenious, might seem crude by today's standards. The acting, at least from the main characters is pretty good - if a bit melodramatic. The picture and sound quality of 'Quatermass II' and 'Quatermass and the Pit' are fairly good, but only two episodes of the first series, 'The Quatermass Experiment' still exist and some of the images are showing their age (and you may find that you're glad of the subtitle facility when watching those two episodes first time). It was a good idea to include the scripts of the missing episodes, but they are photocopied from old type-written documents, about 40 pages each missing episode - you'd need to be a very determined fan to attempt to decipher them.

Despite the disadvantages, these three Quatermass series still make a wonderful viewing experience. The limitations of the technology actually help by requiring the audience to use their imagination. The human imagination is exponentially more powerful than any CGI special effects. In the time before brilliant special effects, the filmmakers colluded with the viewers to ratchet up the fear and tension using the viewers' imagination as the seed bed to grow suspense, excitement, awe. I enjoy modern films and the special effects impress me, but once the film maker has shown me everything, leaving my imagination more or less redundant, there's no reason to watch the film again very soon. But shows like these, that don't reveal everything, make it possible for you to form your own image of the monster/scene/action, and thereby engaged you at a deeper level, so the programmes can grip you again and again as your imagination reawakens the old monster and adds to it. That's how the Quatermass series works for me. They feed the parts of my mind that the clever, modern films don't reach.

I recommend these series to all whose imagination is in good working order.

As a complete Quatermass-addict, I'm probably a little biased, so here's the disclaimer: if you prefer seamless CGI and guts-out action over contemplative plots and disturbing ideas then these certainly are NOT for you. (Say, the difference between Stephen King's novel "The Shining" and Stanley Kubrick's film of the same name - hotel room numbers aside). These are (semi-)live, black and white British television productions, they are not to be marvelled at visually and they will never win any awards for editing. To be polite, the acting is sometimes as determined as the characters need to be, but in honesty it's all slightly too wooden. Never mind, as the real stars here are Nigel Kneale's screenplays and Rudolph Cartier's realisation.

"The Quatermass Experiment" is your typical 'terror from space' storyline, told hundreds of times before and since in comic books, pulp novels and movies, but treated with respect, poignancy and, occasionally, humour by Kneale. The climax (sadly missing here, but available in script format) is as emotionally disturbing as it is nerve-shattering. "Quatermass and The Pit" has been repeated many times in science fiction and horror (notably seventies Doctor Who episode "The Daemons" and King's "The Tommy-Knockers"). It's ideas are still as startling today as they were fifty years ago, and are treated with the right mixture of hokum and truth that one needs to bring a straight-faced sci-fi thriller to life. But "Quatermass 2" is the crowning glory. Relentless, shocking, unnerving, this atypical "Invasion of the Body-Snatchers" forgoes the "who are you?" tedium of its siblings for violent revelation, death and apocalypse. The atmosphere in this production is tremendous: the horrors of Episode 3: "The Food" have never left me. The climax ranks as possibly one of the greatest "heroic" scenes ever written, thanks to a beautiful lead-up and enough unexpected action to make you realise just how bad "Armageddon" actually was.

If you have seen, and are familiar with, the otherwise excellent Hammer films of the same names, buy this set and be pleasantly surprised at the incident and depth which the films unfortunately lack. Professor Bernard Quatermass may not have always been played by the same actor, but he should always be given the respect he deserves.