Quatermass [1979]

It has been over 40 years since this final installment of the Quatermass saga was first broadcast on TV and an abridged movie version released to theaters. The reception was lukewarm in both venues and it then basically disappeared for many years. As an American, I never saw the original 4 hour version and first saw the movie in a VHS edition back in the 1990s. I was disappointed as I had been a big fan of the 3 earlier film versions and found this to easily be the runt of the litter. It had nothing to do with John Mills' performance as Quatermass which was just a notch below Andrew Keir's and quite above Brian Donlevy's. His transformation from tired old man to an engaged and dynamic scientist was very well done. My beef was with the movie's lack of coherency.The biggest problem for me at the time was the depiction of the Planet People which seemed very dated. I also found the music to be too repetitive and less than engaging although the nursery rhyme "Ringstone Round" stuck in my head for quite some time. The "heartfelt" slow motion conclusion was typical of the era but I really could have done without it. I immediately watched it again hoping that I had missed something but I hadn't. Nigel Kneale's recurring theme of alien intelligence controlling human behavior was still a viable one and that aspect of QUATERMASS CONCLUSION along with the usual solid performances kept it from being a total washout. However it would be 25 years before I would see it again.Now, thanks to this Network release, I got to see the full 4 hour QUATERMASS miniseries which kept me engaged even though there was a lot of repetition. There was more background to the characters and even the Planet People actually had some depth since they are portrayed as more of a cult quite capable of killing people without a second thought not just caricature flower children. I then watched QUATERMASS CONCLUSION once again and, because I was aware of the missing material, I realized what a patchwork the movie really was. Here the blame must go to Nigel Kneale as it was he who prepared the 100 minute version at the same time the series was shot. His biggest mistake was in creating a condensation of the 4 hour version rather than an adaptation which would have made it more cinematic just as it did with the 3 previous Quatermass movies.So in final analysis I give this release 4 stars. The transfer of the original series looks great with the colors more vivid especially the green sky after the incident at Wembley Stadium. The sound is also very good and the subtitles helped immensely. Kneale was always a literary writer and many of his lines read better than they sound. The look of the movie version also gets full marks but even that can't gloss over the cut and paste nature of the screenplay. Having seen the full version, I would have edited the film differently to try and make it a little more cohesive. Still it's Bernard Quatermass combating alien forces and that makes it a must for any Quatermass fan and anyone interested in intelligent sci-fi not just CGI and SFX. It may be a bittersweet CONCLUSION but it's still one still worth reaching. The 2 disc set comes with interviews, commentary and a 35 page booklet.

Two things. Why is this wonderful DVD so much cheaper than the others listed? Also, I must state that I am a huge fan of Kneale, and feel that Q and the Pit is among the best Sci Fi ever and the the BBC TV serial has never been beaten. However, having said that there are so many negatives and positives about this last tale that I don't know where to start. Of course its all personal opinion, but perhaps worth sharing. First as I usually do, let's talk quality. Excellent Original Thames TV prints, and I think uncut. The cinema version and Stonehenge doc are for once worthy extras. That said, why do I have such mixed feelings about this? The negatives...I can't help thinking there is a better script waiting in the wings. This seems a bit hit and miss- We never really get into Q's quest for his granddaughter (I never knew he was married!!). Some of the characters are just so badly written-The Planet People are just ridiculous and all hopelessly overact. AS for the "Nursery Rhyme" they all chant- couldn't someone come up with something a bit more sinister? That underused actress Barbara Kellerman has little to do and her disapearence is, I think, mishandled. BUT..where Kneale really scores is his bleak portrayal of cities ravaged by out of control gangs, no go areas, private police etc. Come on, we aren't that far away from that now. Also the basic theme/plot is vintage Kneale and does keep you enthralled except I felt the ending botched a bit. Mills does his best as do most of the rest of the cast. As a Qutaermass completist I am delighted to add this to complete my collection of the entire available output. I hope no one objects to such a long list of negs and positive, it's cos I care . Despite my misgivings I heartily recomend this for intelligent Tv. It's not perfect but it's the last of it's kind-So 4 stars.

Long unavailable on DVD, the final instalment of Nigel Kneale’s Quatermass saga now makes a welcome appearance on Blu-Ray, courtesy of Network. First transmitted in 1979, Kneale’s drama takes place in the relatively near future, with society on the verge of collapse and beset by the effects of gang violence, corrupt policing, and, in a clear nod to the programme’s historical moment, scheduled power cuts. At the same time, millions of young people are being increasingly drawn towards a mysterious cult, known as the Planet People, who believe they are destined to be transported to a new world. All of these conditions leave the human race prey to a mysterious alien power that targets gatherings at sites of ancient ritual, against which the former head of the British Rocket Group, Professor Bernard Quatermass, must pitch his wits. Kneale fans will be quick to recognise a number of familiar themes and pre-occupations – humanity’s innate violence, race memories, the vulnerability of science to political manoeuvring, and even a nod towards the kind of trashy TV he satirised in his dystopian play, The Year of the Sex Olympics – but it doesn’t quite reach the standard of his best work. In particular, the social comment, so rich and prescient in works like Quatermass and the Pit and The Year of the Sex Olympics, falls somewhat flat here – it now seems rather quaint, given that the serial appears so soon after the rise of the punk movement, that the Planet People, representing the youth in revolt, clearly owe more to sixties flower power. The serial is well directed, with Piers Haggard making good use of the resources available to convey the decline of British society; the acting, however, is variable, but I would still make a case for John Mills’s turn as Quatermass as one of his finest performances.The only significant ‘extra’ in the set is an additional disc featuring The Quatermass Conclusion, an alternative feature-length edit of the serial. Inevitably, this version is rather uneven and lacks a lot of the qualities of the full serial, but it is still worth a watch, not just as an intriguing curio, but also because, as a previous reviewer has pointed out, it seems occasionally to contain some alternative takes not included in the original broadcast version. The set also comes with a booklet of viewing notes by Andrew Pixley, which are as well researched and as eminently readable as one has come to expect. However, my biggest praise must be saved for the high-definition restoration. Both versions look absolutely stunning, with the picture quality far superior to anything I would have imagined (or hoped) for in a 1970s TV serial. Whilst I may waver over whether or not the serial itself quite deserves full marks, I would unhesitatingly award five stars to this Blu-Ray set for the exceptional quality of the restoration and presentation of both versions of this important addition to the Kneale canon.