British distributors Network have officially announced that they will release on Blu-ray Nigel Kneale's Quatermass. The release will be available for purchase on July 27.
Synopsis: John Mills brings a stoic intensity to the role of Professor Bernard Quatermass in this key piece of British dystopian fiction from visionary writer Nigel Kneale. Unsettling in its vision of a crumbling society coming under alien attack, Quatermass is directed with characteristic style by BAFTA winner Piers Haggard and features the high production values associated with Euston Films. Shot on 35mm, the original negatives have been used for this stunning, brand-new High Definition restoration – a new 5.1 mix from original triple-track audio elements is also presented here alongside the original mono soundtrack.
Bernard Quatermass, former head of the British Rocket Group, lives in seclusion in western Scotland, watching in appalled silence as Britain slowly turns into a vision of violence, gang rule and governmental collapse. A desperate search for his missing granddaughter plunges him into a terrifying situation when he comes to realise that the mass disappearance of thousands of youths is nothing less than the culling of the human species by an unknown alien intelligence...
Special Features: Brand-new 5.1 mix for episodic version Brand-new HD restoration of The Quatermass Conclusion in its original theatrical aspect ratio Music-only tracks for all four episodes Episode recaps Textless titles Image Gallery Booklet by archive TV historian Andrew Pixley
Note: A Limited Edition first run of this Blu-ray will be available in four different colored sleeves, based on the title color scheme of each episode. These sleeves will be fulfilled randomly and specific colors will not be able to be ordered. Once the Limited Edition sleeves have sold out, the cover design will revert to a standard cover which matches the accompanying DVD release.
This feature alone is enough for me to be interested in this release. (and I already own this 1979 "Quatermass" series on DVD). There is so little of the music by Marc Wilkinson for films & TV available on albums that a bonus isolated music track is likely the most we can expect to happen in this area.
Excellent news, for both serial and music. I never bothered with the previous dvd release expecting a better one eventually, and here it is! Loved this since it was broadcast. Wore out my vhs off-air recordings.
The music is superb, and I had an audio recording of the end title theme, which is also used at the climax of the drama. I listened to it over and over. Beautiful piece.
Nice to see my old mate Andrew Pixley still doing the booklets too. There's no one, and I mean NO ONE more thorough than this guy when it comes to the facts surrounding any production he turns his attention to.
This is the 1979 Quatermass, in which Nigel Kneale takes the Prof. and his predicament in a new and surprising direction. Well, maybe not that surprising. Prof. Qautermass has given up on science because no one will listen to him or fund his plans. The story reflects certain observations and conclusions Kneale has made about society, thru Prof. Quatermass' search for his missing daughter in a world going crazy. Kneale keeps the story plausible even as it is speculative.
A h-def transfer is most welcome. Piers Haggard was a first-rate director. He made this the most visually arresting Quatermass adventure.
The original Quatermass TV serials from the 1950s filled a box-set in the U.K. In PAL only. If Kneale's brilliant work is not as well-known in the USA it's because the serials have not been released here. I would have thought Anchor Bay or Blue Underground would have corrected that years ago, but nope. Now if only Hammer's Quatermass 2 (1958) and Quatermass and the Pit (1967) could get a blu-ray release in the USA. The latter is a reference-quality blu-ray in the U.K. region B only.
I like Quatermass very much, and I'm a huge admirer of Marc Wilkinson. Great combo, yet I have to say I wish he could have taken an orchestral route with the score. Thought so then, think so now. As is, the synths nail the drama to 1979, and there's a whiff of cheese in their sounds, though the music itself is fine. I dare say the decision to score it with electronics was budgetary, but I think an orchestral ensemble would have helped the show's long term cultural influence. That's a general rule with film music, imo.
Anyway, glad to see a bluray release. Typical Brit sci-fi: grey skies, soldiers having no effect, worried scientists, doom, gloom, grim malaise, grey skies, paradoxical downbeat ending... and grey skies even when it's sunny. Great!
