Customer Reviews

Quatermass

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

"The Quatermass Conclusion" is the fourth movie-length installment in the long-lived "Professor Quatermass" series of films, the first of which appeared fifty years ago with Brian Donlevy in the title role. That was "The Creeping Unknown," which remains scary even after the sad jading of our collective special-effects appetite. Donlevy reprised the Quatermass character in the 1958 sequel, known in the United States as "The Enemy from Space." Andrew Keir took over for the 1967 "Quatermass and the Pit," called "Five Million Years to Earth" for transatlantic audiences. It wasn't until 1979 that screenwriter Nigel Kneale managed to get a fourth Quatermass story on film, this time as a BBC "mini-series" in four parts featuring John Mills as a by now aged protagonist. This is conceptually the most ambitious of the Quatermass stories: Kneale sets it in a world afflicted everywhere by social and economic collapse and - this is a key element in the unfolding story - the withdrawal of young people, especially adolescents, from all communal ties. The landscape swarms with packs of juvenile "Space People," as they call themselves, dressed in flower-child fashion awaiting their deliverance to a paradise planet. They believe that their redemption will occur at the ancient megalithic sites and it is to these that they gravitate. Redemption it is not. Quatermass, coming to London from the countryside to seek a lost grandchild and drawn into the investigation of events, theorizes about "the harvesting of mankind." He is aided by an astrophysicist played by Simon McCorkindale, whom many viewers will recognize as a screen presence of the time. This is the most apocalyptic of the Quatermass stories, more so even than "Quatermass and the Pit," with its mass revival of ancient Martian "race memories" in the human population of London, and with its subsequent mad "cleansing of the Martian hives." The images of British society - and by implication all societies all over the world - in its material and moral downward-spiral are stark and disturbing. A few scenes of a near-earth space station and of a space shuttle in distant orbit are unnecessary in that they look toy-like and detract from rather than add to the verisimilitude of the production, but this is quibbling. The atmosphere over the four hours of the story becomes increasingly desperate and grim. Essential equipment breaks down and is irreparable; key people die in riots. The climax smacks of the nihilism that I associate with the 1970s, but it could be interpreted as throwing Quatermass into the role of redeemer, complete with martyric self-sacrifice. A brief epilogue seems tacked on, as though the producers could not accept the uncompromising final scene of Kneale's script - but it does allow for some détente, which might be needed in the moment. Recommended for its far-above-average intelligence: "The Quatermass Conclusion" refreshingly does away with the hoary cliché that the young, and only the young, can save the world.

If your are familiar with the classic Quatermass films of old and you haven't heard of this one, then let me fill you in. I don't want to give too much of the storyline away so I'll try not to spoil it for you. The author of all the Quatermass films, Nigel Kneale had written this to be the follow up to Quatermass And The Pit - he was commissioned by the by the BBC (world famous UK channel) to do it on the back of that film's success. After reading the script, the BBC decided that it would be too expensive to make and so it was abandoned. However, in the wake of Close Encounters and Star Wars in 1977,the sci fi genre was back in fashion and Euston Films (English film company) put the money up - one and a half million pounds. That was a lot of money in 1978. Don't worry, the director Piers Haggard did an excellent job. John Mills, cast as ageing Professor Quatermass,is superb. The story is set in a world years from '78, say late 90's and civilisation around the globe is collapsing. The United Kingom has been reduced to a kind of civil war Yugoslovia. America is in a complete mess and so is the whole world for that matter. Gangs of killers roam the the abandoned inner cities. Fuel and food shortages have become the norm and in the countryside, bands of mystics calling themselves the Planet People wander round chanting their crazed belief that they will soon leave this sick world. Out of all this chaos, Quatermass arrives in London to appear as a TV guest on a late night NASA programme. It's being broadcast on the last operating TV station in the country. As they link up to a live satelitte view of the new American-Soviet space station, all hell brakes loose when it dissintegrates before their eyes and all astronuats are lost. The question is - why did this happen? Suddenly, things get more mysterious when thousands of Planet People around the world start to dissappear after converging on ancient megalith sites.
This video set is a four hour epic that will have you gripped on the edge of your seat. It remains suprisingly undated in an era of cellnet phones, internet and consumerism. I could imagine Nigel Kneale writing stories for Star Trek (superb as it is already). Buy this and blow your mind. The Planet People still haunt my dreams with their chant of "Leh!Leh!Leh!Leh!Leh!Leh..."

It's a given among science fiction aficionados that the three theatrically released Quatermass films are among the best of British science fiction. This rarely seen, final installment of the series does nothing to tarnish its reputation. Available up till now in a severly truncated version, the complete 4-hour mini-series is now available, and well worth getting.
The premise of 'Quatermass' has to do with an alien 'force' (a beam of energy), originating from a distant part of the universe, which "harvests" human beings. It seems that the beings behind this 'force' visited Earth 5,000 years previously, leaving a collective fright among the human population. As a result of that event, the early peoples constructed megaliths (Stonehenge, Ringstone Round, etc.) to mark places where the aliens landed, and where they left transmitters or beacons under the earth. As the film begins, we see a world in decay. Social and environmental calamaties have been rife, with barbaric tribalism resurgent. Young people seem to be in the grip of some kind of collective madness, compelled to mass at these megalithic locations. It seems that that the alien 'collectors' are drawn to the physiology of younger humans (this assumes great significance as the film progresses). The young, anxious to leave behind this bleak environment, believe they will be taken to another planet (they call themselves 'Planet People').
When large crowds of the young arrive at the various locations, a strange beam emanates from the sky to the location. Puff, they are all gone, leaving only charred dust. This is, as we learn, the "gathering time" for this 'harvest'. Quatermass (well played by John Mills) discovers the truth, and and sets out to combat the malevolent force. He's also searching for his granddaughter, who has run away and joined the Planet People. This subplot assumes a key role during the film's ending.
While this was a television release, it does an outstanding job (within its budgetary limits) of depicting an unsettling world. Nobody does a better job of creating a socially and environmentally depressing setting than the Brits. Reminiscent of the milieu portrayed in such films as 'A Clockwork Orange', the ominous feel generated by the film is hard to match. While much of the film occurs during daytime, this simply adds to the unnerving effect created.
This is the kind of science fiction that does not rely on glitzy special effects or fast-paced action. Rather, it draws the viewer in and dispenses the chills slowly, building the suspense and horror methodically. This is truly the thinking person's science fiction.
I agree with another reviewer that it would be nice for Anchor Bay to release this on DVD. However, even within the technical limitations of videotape (and the age of the production itself), the film transfer is remarkably good. Scenes where the sky is "sick", for example, show subtle transitions from blue to a putrid green. If it ever is released on DVD, I'll snatch it up. In the meantime, however, it is enough just to be able to finally see this engrossing film in any format. If you're a fan of the other Quatermass films, you will want to add this to your collection.

For the uninitiated, this is the latest and final of a series of films featuring the character of Bernard Quatermass. This particular version is the entire, unedited one, the one that actually aired in England.

That said, allow me to say that this title is a dark version of the near future, but not as gloomy as Bladerunner. In a classic Sci-Fi tradition, death once again comes from the skies and only Dr. Quatermass can save the day! It's filled with character development and a large amount of pathos, so if you're a fan of British Sci-Fi, then you will likely love this one!

........yep! this is the one, at age 8yrs, turned me on to real science fiction!
The thinking man's Dr.Who... This is real enough to be disturbing, even today. One can see this happening, some 35+ years after it was filmed.
Society hasn't changed that much, the concepts are brilliant, even the link back to the Middle Age nursery rhyme....

Go on!! Buy it!! You'll see what REAL science fiction should be!!

This is possibly the bleakest and most chilling television serial in the history of British TV. It posits an all-too believable vision of a decayed society a few years from now: rampant crime, useless governments, huge numbers of people hooked on the hope that occult beliefs will save them. Vast numbers of young people begin gathering at ancient sites, like stone circles, and disappear. Elderly scientist, Professor Bernard Quatermass, leaves retirement and seclusion to seek his lost grand-daughetr in a world that disgusts him. His researches into the mass disappearnces lead him to some of the most shocking speculations ever portrayed on film or TV. Mills is superb as a decent burnt out old man whose energy and powers gradually return as he realises the earth is in imminent danger. Nigel Kneale's script is magnificent and is wonderfully reinforced by haunting music and some great set pieces. Some members of the cast are slightly weak, but on the whole the large supprorting cast is strong. The insights into the nature of society, irrational cults, crime, mass movements and the generation gap flow through a gripping, thought-provoking serial. hack director Piers Haggard even manages to do a decent job with a limited, though sufficient, budget.

A magnificent serial, not to be confused with its shortened, 2 hour version, nowhere near as satisfactory. If you love dark, intelligent works along the lines of Kneale's other Hammer stories, or Wells, Wyndham, Algernon Blackwood, Lovecraft 8with far more brains), gritty 1970s BBC productions, then this is unmissable.

If you're looking for juvenile fun - forget it.

Having been a longtime fan of the Quatermass stories, when I saw this, originally broadast back in 1979 I was dissapointed to say the least, I thought Kneale had taken leave of his senses. I have since had 20 odd years to think about this story, and 20 years where I have literally refused to watch it in any form, as either the full length version( which I Am reviewing now) or the shortened theatrical version, until now. I bought this 2 tape version through Amazon and decided to give it one last chance, and strangely enough I think it has aged quite well, considering the SPFX look a bit shaky, but it was mainly the cast I wasn't too keen on, Barbara Kellerman copletely over acts her part,but on the whole not bad. It's strange to watch it and look back and think my god that was 20 years ago I sat watching that. But enough of that it's a good little seriel, and it does have it's weak moments too. HBO the distributers of this beautifully packaged edition deserve full marks for presentation and quality, if only VCR's in the UK were designed so well. It's to be hoped that someone either Kneale or the BBC at some point release the Excellent Quatermass Memoirs on audio, for the rest of the world to appreciate, the five episodes of Memoirs fit neatly between Quatermass and the pit and the final story, and the late Andrew Kier( who plays Quatermass in Hammer's Q&TP) reprises his role for this fantastic little story.

For years British science fiction has incorporated many of the traits of the nation: anti-authoritarian, individualistic, eccentric and scientific. From H.G. Wells through to the most recent reincarnation of Doctor Who these themes have been very common.

Quatermass and the television show Doomwatch have in mmany ways led the way for the rest of the shows to follow and have also gone to the most extreme view of what may be to come.

Many other reviewers have plundered the plot but very few have looked at the overiding ideological positions adopted by the creators of Quatermass. The familiar themes which charaterised this series of movies is very much in the vein of Wells and Wyndham the apolyptic vision, a society degenerating where the rule of law has broken down, anarchy in the UK, all of which can be found in some of the works of J.G. Ballard, and to soem extent Mike Moorcok. For stark contrast the Planet People, a pseudo-hippy movement without the drugs, breeze through the movie portrayed as having become rather mindless lotus eaters who are easy prey for the force yet can also kill and destroy.

Scientists are seen as having interferred with nature, a position closely associated with the green movement especially the Fundis in Germany. Quatermass qua as a scientist, is scorned for his views and his apparent contribution to the general sense of decay. Yet it is he who, working with the self same bueaucrats he clearly distains, strives to discover the evil nature of the force and to overcome it. Given the tremendous economic, social, political and environmental upheavals taking place in the 1970's it is not surprising that this mini-series carries a distinct socialist tone, not least of which are the pay cops, a parallel with the fire brigades of Farenheit 451, who are driven by the going rate in the market if they are to provide assistance. The movie is concerned too of the issues of youth versus old age and only barely touching on the question of euthanasia, still taboo even now.

All in all there is much food for thought in this movie aside from the scale and spectacle. It is instructive to compare and contrast this sort of movie with the general SF competition of the time where good always prevails over evil and losses tend to be relatively less.

The series carries a message of hope but it is not clear on which basis the hope rests: is it on science or is it on a naieve fundamentalist rejection of modern societies or simply put, getting ourselves back to the garden?

Quatermass has set the example for others to follow. They may have more gore as in 28 Days Later, but in many respects much of British Science Fiction has gone on to develop ideas found in it's reels.

To me science fiction has never been about science per se but merely a set of posible alternatives, call it a multiverse if you will. Not all futures may be rosy but regardless there is a strong belief in the human spirit and human ingenuity all tied to freedom being strong enough to see us through. This Quatermass, in my view shows us much more of that human spirit and the capacity to defeat adversity, and that is it's greatest strength.

This is a haunting 4 episode BBC television show from 1979. A true classic with Quatermass back for his final & most difficult task. As with all of Nigel Kneal's Quatermass works this has great imagination and depth. As far as production values, I believe that Hammer and the BBC worked harder and were more creative due to lack of big budget funding. They make great use of their budget and allow the characters to develop. Hollywood's mega-budget, computer generated effect-laden, unimaginative refuse will never stand up against movies like this one (or Quatermass and the Pit or Quatermass II). Ideas, imagination and substance are what we need today not bland Lucasfilm special effects and Hollywood movies that pander to today's tasteless moviegoers. Bring back Eastmancolor & Technicolor 35mm 70mm film; it looks 100% better than anything released within the past 20 years!!

This 2 VHS set should be given to the folks at Anchor Bay for DVD release. They are the only people who know how to handle this type of film. The VHS looks very good but a Anamorphic DVD transfer would do it justice. Go buy this VHS set and all of the Hammer Anchor Bay releases today and enter the world of true filmaking and imagination!!

it starts a bit slow (only the 1st episode), then all of a sudden, you're in the middle of it. this semi-Post-Apoc story is not a thriller, it is not loaded with special effects, but the story and the stories w/i the overarching theme are thoughtful and interesting.
i watch this set every year or so, and i enjoy it each time as i discover more philosphical notions i missed the last time.
goes great with a glass of Cab and a bowl of stew on a cold winter's day.