Cheap The Quatermass Xperiment [Region 2] (DVD) (Val Guest) Price

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Customer Reviews of The Quatermass Xperiment [Region 2]

A good movie to see
Only true fans of science fiction will appreciate the creeping unknown <
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>a.k.a.The Quatermass Xperiment. I happen to be one of them. I remember <
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>watching this fim at the age of eight and it scared me silly. Later on<
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>I understood better and it didn't bother me.<
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> Basicly I like the film. When you consider that this is mid 50's London<
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>when true special effects weren't even around yet,I think the film super-<
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>cedes itself into a wonderful smooth-flowing movie even if the plot is <
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>somewhat typical of Sci-fi movies of the 50's. For what it's worth,even<
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>the United States did't have the best sci-fi special effects like the <
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>ones we see today with comperization. It actually took real crews of men<
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>and women to produce those effects.<
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> Brian Donlevy in his performance as the arrogant Professor Quatermass<
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>is so hateful you have to love him. Another memorable one is Richard <
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>Wordsworth who play Carroon. Absolutely brilliant. I also found amusing <
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>the overly dramatic expresssion of the BBC announcer in the trailor who<
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>witnesses this unknown thing with his own eyes. Only the TV announcer<
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>in Gorgo did better. The only notables are King-Wood who play the good<
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>doctor's assistant and Jack Warner who played Lomax. I liked his sarcasm<
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>when talking to Quatermass. Actually brought Quatermass to his knees if<
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>only in a figurative sense. Otherwise everyone else just essentially <
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>played their parts. Still it is good science fiction fun.

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A Successful Xperiment
Although generally regarded as Hammer's first foray into the realm of science-fiction, two previous films THE FOUR SIDED TRIANGLE and SPACEWAYS had suggested with their overall ineptitude that genre films were perhaps something Hammer should steer clear of. But in re-making a BBC TV serial for the big screen Hammer had an ace up their sleeve and an audience ready made for the big screen adventures of Prof. Bernard Quatermass. Despite the terrible miscasting of Brian Donlevy as Quatermass, the film succeeds admirably. It still feels odd to watch a Hammer film in Black and White, but this adds to the documentary like quality that veteran director Val Guest was seeking (to aid this attempt at verisimilitude, we also have newspaper headlines and on a few occasions some hand-held camera work - very rare for 1955). With its dedication to actual scientific concepts and well written and researched source material by Nigel Kneale (a writer who is criminally under-rated) THE QUATERMASS XPERIMENT retains a topical feel. In Quatermass' constant clashes with authority, Kneale threads in a number of critiques about modern society and its absurd predilection for red tape and bureaucracy. Despite these and other things, when reduced to its basic narrative, this film is an exploration of possession and feeds into the same paranoid fears that Don Siegel exposed so well with INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS. Gothic elements abound also, with the eerie isolated location that opens the film and the idea of double or multiple identities. Sadly Kneale over-emphasises Britain's importance in the world and the idea of the United Kingdom being the first country to send manned rockets into space is rather quaint and somewhat amusing. Donlevy's boorish and arrogant Quatermass is balanced well with the genuinely moving and upsetting performance by Richard Wordsworth as the invaded astronaut Caroon. For pure atmosphere and tension this remains a high watermark for Hammer, only bettered perhaps by the sequel QUATERMASS 2. <
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"I Saw It Crawling Up The Wall!"
Seen today, it seems incredible that THE QUATERMASS EXPERIMENT could have ever been rated "X"--even in stodgy old England of 1955. But so it was, and it proved extremely popular, and when it was released in the United States as THE CREEPING UNKNOWN it proved more popular still. In fact, the film was so popular that it essentially created England's Hammer Studios, and for the next decade or so "Hammer Horror" would prove a formidable box office draw.<
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>Loosely based on a previously aired BBC series, QUATERMASS was hardly original even for 1955--but the basic idea has an almost timeless appeal; every sci-fi and horror writer from Lovecraft to Stephen King has created a variation at one time or another. In this instance, Dr. Quatermass (Brian Donlevy) has sent a rocket with three passengers into "outer space." But the rocket goes missing, and when it suddenly crashlands in the English countryside two of the astronauts are dead and one is--well, he is strange, to say the least.<
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>Survivor Victor Carroon (Richard Wordsworth) is alternately comatose and spastic, and as time passes his skin begins to alter. Scientists soon realize the unpleasant truth: Victor is not alone in his own body; he has been infected by another life form that seems determined to reproduce and take over the world!<
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>Shot on a shoestring budget in black and white, QUATERMASS is indeed an antiquated little film, but even so it still manages to cast a spell. It has mood, it has pace, and although it is really more interesting for its place in cinema history it is nonetheless quite a bit of fun to watch. Brian Donlevy seems a bit out of place in Merrie Old England, but his performance has lots of drive; Richard Wordsworth is memorable indeed as the very unfortunate astronaut; and the film is sprinkled through with the likes of character actress Thora Hird, who is a lot of fun because she's so good, and ingenue Margia Dean, who is a lot of fun because she's so bad. As for the monster--well, it's pure 1955, if you know what I mean.<
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>In terms of film quality, QUATERMASS could certainly use a major remaster, but it's worth remembering that the film quality was probably never all that great to begin with, and all the prints I've seen of the film are about the same re quality. Recommended to fans of science-fiction and horror films of the period.<
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>GFT, Amazon Reviewer