QUATERMASS AND THE PIT

The film’s synopsis is taken from my review of the previous UK DVD release for the film:

A Bobby walks the streets of 1960's London one evening, pausing at the entrance of a London Underground station where workmen are busy chipping away at its infrastructure.

Inside the subway, one of the workers uncovers a skull resembling a primitive form of man. Another bashes away at cement with his pickaxe and stumbles across a full skeleton hidden behind the wall. A group of scientists are brought in to examine the findings, and before long the press have got wind of the story too. The scientists tell the journalists that the fossils indicate that man-like creatures roamed the Earth as far back as 5 million years ago. These guys are thorough, and have even moulded a clay cast of what the beasts may have looked like. It isn’t pretty.

When the press start poking at a hole in the wall, in the hope of unearthing more news, they discover what seems to be an unexploded bomb. Understandably, the next port of call is the bomb disposal unit. But even they are baffled by the findings.

It's at this point that we meet Professor Quatermass (Andrew Keir), deep in debate with army chiefs over the possibility of army bases being set up on other planets. Quatermass' objections are cast aside, however, when the discussion is interrupted by a telegram telling of an enemy missile uncovered in a London Underground station. The army head out there to investigate and Quatermass goes along for the ride.

As more remains are unearthed, Quatermass decides to investigate locally and begins to hear stories of ghostly goings-on, alien manifestations and strange occurrences in nearby buildings ... oh, and that the street name of the Underground entrance is said to be an old nickname for the Devil!

Charmingly old-fashioned and crude in terms of set design and special effects, QUATERMASS AND THE PIT proves that a decent story told by talented actors, a gifted writer (Nigel Kneale) and a good director (Roy Ward Baker, SCARS OF DRACULA; AND NOW THE SCREAMING STARTS!) can still make for a riveting - if silly - film.

Of course it's all horribly dated (it's like a hammy radio play with the added visuals), but it's also nicely shot and acted with tireless conviction. The pedigree English acting may provoke giggles among some viewers, but the plot's clever twists and (for its time) adventurously anti-establishment theme should soon win back their respect.

Just remember to be forgiving when the aliens finally appear on screen – they’re on a par with the old "Dr Who" TV series FX. And stay tuned for a finale that was iconic in its day, and remains so.

Optimum/Studio Canal’s blu-ray disc brings this much-loved classic to 1080p High Definition in a clean, bright and colourful 16x9-enhanced 1.78:1 transfer. The previous DVD release boasted a great video representation, but this is noticeably better. Detail is fine, while texture and depth are pleasing throughout. Colours are exceptional. Minor grain looks natural and any softness that occurs on occasion is thoroughly understandable, given the film’s age.

English 2.0 audio is clean and clear throughout. Optional English subtitles do their job without cause for concern.

An animated main menu page boasts simple pop-up menus, which include a scene-selection menu allowing access to the film via 12 chapters.

Whereas the previous UK DVD release only contained the original theatrical trailer as a bonus, we get a few more treats here.

Alongside the remarkably well-preserved trailer (16x9 enhanced), we’re also offered:

An audio commentary track from Ward Baker and Kneale. Kneale discusses the differences between his screenplay here and the TV original that he’d also written, several years earlier. Despite pregnant pauses and both men sounding rather pensive, possibly trying to remember the facts before they speak, this is a worthy commentary track with some good points of info littered throughout. The best bits are when they interact – but for the most part they allow each other space to talk individually; neither sounds comfortable with the audio commentary format. The commentary was recorded, I believe, back in the late 1990s for Anchor Bay’s long-deleted Region 1 DVD release.

Alternate opening credits from the American version of the film boast melodramatic music and the title FIVE MILLION MILES TO EARTH. These are short at only 26 seconds in length.

There’s also the American trailer, which tries to convince its audience over the course of 2-and-a-half minutes that this is the most shocking film of all time.

Next we get a 17 minutes interview with author Judith Kerr reminiscing over how she met and married Kneale. She recalls his days writing the first Quatermass stories, and reveals that he – who she refers to by his first name, Thom – actually hated science fiction, and only opted to write in this style because it was a genre largely unexplored at the time by the BBC.

From there, we have an excellent old TV episode of "The World Of Hammer". It’s windowboxed and the standard definition picture is quite horrible. But, with loads of clips of classic films and narration from the one and only Oliver Reed, this is almost worth the disc’s asking price alone. The episode covers Hammer’s early forays into sci-fi and, consequently, includes QUATERMASS AND THE PIT amongst its review.

Of course, if you own the aforementioned Anchor Bay DVD, then you’ll already own most of these extras (including the commentary track and TV episode). If not, tracking it down is a bugger and will generally set you back somewhere in the region of £75.

QUATERMASS AND THE PIT is a great film (though some may argue the earlier TV version is still better). At last, the UK gets some decent extras for one of its most fondly thought-of sci-fi thrillers, and the presentation of the film itself is most pleasing.

Highly recommended.

Review by Stuart Willis