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The Spike Astral Engineer
Joined: 23 Sep 2014 Posts: 266 Location: Birmingham. Great Britain.
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Posted: Thu Sep 25, 2014 5:55 pm Post subject: Quatermass and the Pit / Five Million Years to Earth (1967) |
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Creepy, interesting, above all else...intelligent.
Whilst excavating at the site of a new underground tube station, workers unearth a mysterious object.
On to the case comes Professor Quatermass who deduces that the object is Martian in origin. Initially viewed with scorn and disbelief, it becomes apparent that the Martian race have been involved in the human race before, and now they have been awakened.
This was the third Hammer film adaptation of Nigel Kneale's BBC-TV Quatermass serial, with previous entries being The Quatermass Experiment & Quatermass 2.
To me, though, this is undoubtedly the shining light of the bunch. Chiefly what works the best in this one is the wonderful fusion of mystery and intelligence, the eerie sense of dread only off-set by a yearning to find out just what has happened.
And more crucially, what will happen?
Building up perfectly, courtesy of Roy Ward Baker's astutely paced direction, Quatermass And The Pit is a film that just begs you to pay attention to every little detail. Each conversation is fully fleshing out this most intriguing story. Then there is the finale that pays off handsomely. To hint at what is involved would result in a spoiler of sorts, and it would be really stupid for me to prepare you for the film's closure.
See it because it's one of the best genre entries of the 60s, a must for sci-fi enthusiasts that like a bit of brains to go with their genre persuasion. 8.5/10 _________________ The quality of mercy is not strnen. |
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Bud Brewster Galactic Fleet Admiral (site admin)

Joined: 14 Dec 2013 Posts: 17637 Location: North Carolina
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Posted: Fri Dec 23, 2016 4:49 pm Post subject: |
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One of the main attractions of this movie is Barbara Shelley, the lovely lady who also spiced up Village of the Damned. She reminds me of the beautiful Eleanor Parker — and that's high praise indeed.
 _________________ ____________
Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)
Last edited by Bud Brewster on Fri Mar 02, 2018 1:25 pm; edited 2 times in total |
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orzel-w Galactic Ambassador

Joined: 19 Sep 2014 Posts: 1865
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Posted: Fri Dec 23, 2016 8:02 pm Post subject: |
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Did you do something to her eyebrows?  _________________ ...or not...
WayneO
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Bud Brewster Galactic Fleet Admiral (site admin)

Joined: 14 Dec 2013 Posts: 17637 Location: North Carolina
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Posted: Fri Dec 23, 2016 10:06 pm Post subject: |
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No, but I could if I wanted to! It's easy!
However, I did blur the background a little more than it already was, to make Barbara stand out better, and I removed a bright light bulb in the background on the right because it was distracting.  _________________ ____________
Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958) |
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orzel-w Galactic Ambassador

Joined: 19 Sep 2014 Posts: 1865
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Posted: Fri Jun 08, 2018 5:03 pm Post subject: |
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This is another movie I would like to add to my collection. I'm really disappointed that there's no DVD or Blu-ray edition of this movie on the market (at least not for region 1 players). _________________ ...or not...
WayneO
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mach7 Quantum Engineer
Joined: 23 Apr 2015 Posts: 395
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Posted: Fri Jun 08, 2018 8:03 pm Post subject: |
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This is one of my favorite films from the '60s.
As The Spike said, this is an intelligent, well done movie.
I first saw this on Boston station Ch 56's Saturday Creature Feature and was amazed. A very different kind of story.
This is my only exposure to the Quartermass films. I would really like to see the others.
I agree, this should be out on DVD or Blu-Ray. |
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Bud Brewster Galactic Fleet Admiral (site admin)

Joined: 14 Dec 2013 Posts: 17637 Location: North Carolina
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Posted: Fri Jun 08, 2018 8:32 pm Post subject: |
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mach7 wrote: | This is my only exposure to the Quartermass films. I would really like to see the others. |
Don't expect too much from the others. They don't compare very well in my opinion. _________________ ____________
Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)
Last edited by Bud Brewster on Mon Oct 10, 2022 3:41 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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alltare Quantum Engineer

Joined: 17 Jul 2015 Posts: 349
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Posted: Fri Jun 08, 2018 9:26 pm Post subject: |
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orzel-w wrote: | This is another movie I would like to add to my collection. I'm really disappointed that there's no DVD or Blu-ray edition of this movie on the market (at least not for region 1 players). |
If you don't have an objection to torrents, you can download a 1080p torrent of this movie from
https://yts.gs/movies/quatermass-and-the-pit-1967 .
They also have Q2 and Q Xperiment.
Pirate Bay has torrents of all of the Q movies, too.
https://thepiratebay.org/search/quatermass
To use these torrents, you will need to install Bit Torrent or MicroTorrent first. |
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orzel-w Galactic Ambassador

Joined: 19 Sep 2014 Posts: 1865
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Posted: Fri Jun 08, 2018 10:17 pm Post subject: |
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Bud Brewster wrote: | Don't expect too much from the others. They don't compare very well in my opinion. |
Nor in mine.
Alltare: Thanks for the tip.  _________________ ...or not...
WayneO
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mach7 Quantum Engineer
Joined: 23 Apr 2015 Posts: 395
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Posted: Sun Jun 24, 2018 6:30 pm Post subject: |
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Bud Brewster wrote: | mach7 wrote: | This is my only exposure to the Quartermass films. I would really like to see the others. |
Don't expect too much from the others. They don't compare very well in my opinion. |
Well I just watched Quartermass 2, Enemy from Space.
Aside from having a basic storyline that is similar to "The Invaders" (a Quinn Martin production), it was one and a half hours of my life that I won't get back. |
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scotpens Space Sector Commander

Joined: 19 Sep 2014 Posts: 919 Location: The Left Coast
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Posted: Sun Jun 24, 2018 10:24 pm Post subject: |
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Moviegoers who believed the hyperbolic ad copy on the American release poster were bound to be disappointed.
"Cities in flames! World panic spreads! Women defiled by invaders from outer space!"
Sorry, there's none of that stuff here! It's as if the film's U.S. distributor didn't understand the movie and had no idea how to sell it. |
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johnnybear Mission Specialist

Joined: 15 Jun 2016 Posts: 441
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Posted: Mon Jun 25, 2018 2:23 am Post subject: |
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Surely there is a DVD of Quatermass And The Pit? I remember seeing one as a double bill years back on the Anchor Bay label! There are quite a few copies available on region 2 DVD!
JB |
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Bogmeister Galactic Fleet Vice Admiral (site admin)

Joined: 14 Dec 2013 Posts: 575
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Posted: Thu Apr 11, 2019 10:46 am Post subject: |
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____________
______________Quatermass and the Pit Trailer
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__ [img]https://imgur.com/c6j5uFE[/img]
U.S. Title: Five Million Years to Earth. There were two Quatermass films in the fifties, starring Brian Donlevy as the British scientist, and based on BBC TV serials.
This was the 3rd one, with Andrew Keir taking over the role, also based on a BBC serial from the late fifties. This was the first one in color, perhaps a partial reason why some fans look upon it with more favor. As before, Professor Quatermass finds himself in the middle of revelations concerning aliens and the human race.
_________
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The other main character is an archaeology professor (James Donald). He's in the middle of uncovering some ancient bones dating back 5 million years (hence, the alternate USA title).
The bones seem humanp — or rather proto-humanp — but with curiously over-developed skulls. All this is happening smack dab in the middle of London, as construction crews are working to expand the subway system.
Besides the skeletal remains, they also find an object which at first is mistaken for a World War II missile. However, though it looks like metal, it resists all efforts to puncture it, eventually fully uncovered as some sort of small vessel. Quatermass soon deduces that it is extraterrestrial, especially when dead aliens resembling locusts are discovered inside.

The story introduces the provocative theory that mankind's development was influenced by alien forces millions of years ago, that our species may in fact owe all our intelligence to these Martians.
It also explains all the mysterious incidents and legends of the past concerning paranormal activity, ghosts, demons and even the devil.
Needless to say, the establishment does not take kindly to such theorizing (Julian Glover plays a scoffing military man), but it all becomes a rather moot point as all hell breaks loose in the final act. The film ambles along slowly and gracefully for the first three-quarters and then explodes into a frenzy of apocalyptic sf horror.


Quatermass Trivia: Director Roy Ward Baker and writer Nigel Kneale hated the U.S. title
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BoG's Score: 7 out of 10
BoG
Galaxy Overlord Galactus |
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Maurice Starship Navigator

Joined: 14 Dec 2013 Posts: 542 Location: 3rd Rock
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Posted: Thu May 30, 2019 2:22 am Post subject: |
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There was a previous version done as a six-episode series on the BBC in 1958. That version is on the Internet Archive:
Episode 1 (start)
Episode 2
Episode 3
Episode 4
Episode 5
Episode 6 _________________ * * *
"The absence of limitations is the enemy of art."
― Orson Welles |
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Bud Brewster Galactic Fleet Admiral (site admin)

Joined: 14 Dec 2013 Posts: 17637 Location: North Carolina
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Posted: Thu May 30, 2019 8:19 am Post subject: |
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Thanks, Maurice! I love the Internet Archive. Finding the Cinefantastique article on Forbidden Planet was a dream come true, because I wanted to post it here on All Sci-Fi. I wish they had the novelization, but they don't seem to.
I checked the picture quality of the episodes you posted the link for, and they look pretty good!  _________________ ____________
Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)
Last edited by Bud Brewster on Tue Aug 09, 2022 4:30 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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