Science Fiction & Fantasy > Q Science Fiction & Fantasy

Quatermass - A Bold Experiment by BBC4

Advantages: An excellent production that will appeal to any fan of classic TV and SF.
Disadvantages: Because it's a recording, it loses some of the excitement of watching it live.

...well, so when I saw the DVD on sale for £10 earlier this year, I snapped it up. If (like me) you're a fan of classic era TV (by which I mean the TV of the 50s, 60s and 70s) and especially if you're a fan of classic TV SF, then this DVD is a must purchase. Not because it's old - it was only made in 2005 - but because it was a deliberate attempt to pay homage to 1950s TV drama by employing the same methods that were available to TV production companies ...
...broadcast live, with just the occasional pre-recorded film insert used when necessary - exactly the way the original TV serial was made. The original version of "The Quatermass Experiment" was a six part TV serial made by the BBC in 1953 and written by Nigel Kneale. It was a major hit at the time, but only the first two episodes were recorded. So when BBC4 decided to remount a 1950s drama production in 2005, "The Quatermass Experiment" was an obvious ...

The_Man_With_No_Nickname 26.12.2008 · Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of The Quatermass Experiment (DVD)

A 1950s Xperiment

Advantages: a good history lesson in cinema
Disadvantages: a bit dated

The 1955 film 'The Quatermass Xperiment' was a huge success at the time. Based upon the 1953 BBC six part television series of a similar name, it is deemed to be one of the first British horror movies, and has been hugely influential. Part of its success was due to Hammer Films treating the film's science fiction content as horror - creating an atmosphere rather than just focussing on the story. Professor Bernard Quatermass is an American with a ...
...aboard. Something goes wrong during the flight, leading to two of the mens' death, and doing something funny to the third. This third crew member flees his nurses at his hospital, and goes on a bit of a rampage, absorbing others into himself and growing... Richard Wordsworth puts on a good performance as Victor Carroon, the changed astronaut. Although he doesn't say much, as he's only human for a small part of the film, you can see the anguish in ...

Pyrokeet 28.08.2007 · Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of The Quatermass Experiment (DVD)

You Look Like a Radioactive Tampon

Advantages: Great Direction and Acting
Disadvantages: Too Slow for some

Moon reminds me a lot of those big weighty Sci-fi films of the seventies where it was all about atmosphere, storyline and your imagination rather than riotous special effects and wise cracking aliens. This film is utterly beguiling, its tense but strangely relaxing, all of these is down to two men, the director Duncan Jones and the star Sam Rockwell. This is Jones' first feature film and its an incredibly impressive debut, he eschewed using his father ...
...it is a really fantastic film which is a credit to him. Starring Sam Rockwell as Sam, the only worker on an automated lunar mining complex. He has been working on his own for nearly three years and nearing the end of his term in space he feels lonely, isolated and confused....as anyone would, I imagine. With only a droid, Gerty (Voiced by Kevin Spacey) for company, Sam is alone and starts to feel a world apart from Earth, he feels he is alone but ...

paulie1975 29.12.2009 · Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of Moon (DVD)

Sometimes, Ignorance is bliss

Advantages: clever thriller, good story, well acted
Disadvantages: bit depressing?

Dont misunderstand my review title, this is a cracking film. You can nearly always say that about Nicolas Cage films, but this one really is! The premise is simple. There are many disasters happening on earth, for some reason, aliens decide to warn mankind about the upcoming disasters by "whispering" them to a little girl in the 1950's. Unfortuneately, that girl does nothing with the information other than write it down on a bit of paper and allow ...
...capsule. The capsule is dug up in the current day and discovered by Nicolas Cage's character. He soon discovers the code in the series of numbers written on the page and works out that the code tells of impending disasters, when they will happen, how many will die and the location. The story continues on along this path, with a worrying fortelling of the end of days. We don't know what will happen right until the end. I wont ruin it for you either, ...

AgeUK 28.12.2009 · Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful
Review of Knowing (Blu-ray)

Return To Form!

Advantages: Classy return to form, set in the future! very well done!
Disadvantages: should have been an 18 to be its best!

...is I am a big Terminator fan. I loved Terminator 1 and 2. With Terminator 3, they ruined the franchise, it was rubbish on many levels. Terminator salvation is literally the saviour of the fanchise. In the same way that Casino Royale, Batman Begins and others have saved other franchises, the same has happened here. The most thrilling thing is that Terminator Salvation is the first film set in the future. During the war against the Terminators and ...
...as you'd expect from a Terminator film. Sure, Arnie wasn't in it, but perhaps that was a good thing. You can have too much of a good thing after all. Christian Bale does a very good job of being bad-ass and insipiring at the same time. The way its set in the not too distant future, featuring current human weaponry being used against the machines in a nice touch. The picture and sound on the blu ray edition is first rate and makes the scenes with ...

AgeUK 28.12.2009 · Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of Terminator - Salvation (Blu-ray)