Quatermass 2 [DVD]

This is a review of the Region 2 DVD issued in 2003 by Hammer Films and DD Video, which comes with an accompanying booklet. Our initial concerns over print quality were soon put to rest. This unrestored black and white British film, made in 1957, is clear and reasonably sharp, and the sound is very good.This fascinating and iconic British Sci Fi film is the second to feature Professor Bernard Quatermass, named apparently in honour of Sir Bernard Lovell, the pioneering creator of Jodrell Bank Observatory. Two years previously, ‘The Quatermass Xperiment’ had terrified and thrilled audiences, as it moved from being a huge success as a BBC serial, to one for Hammer at the cinema. The Quatermass films were part of the driving force that cemented Hammer as a largely horror-based film company.The creator of Quatermass, Nigel Kneale, was a BBC screenwriter, who became a Sci Fi and Horror specialist. He co-wrote the Q2 script (for the initial BBC series and ~ slightly amended ~ for the film) and both elements are on show. Like many 1950s Sci Fi films made on both sides of the Atlantic, Q2 exudes paranoia from every pore. This was the era of the Cold War, of the Red Scare and McCarthyism, concerns about The Bomb and here in the UK, about our future place in the world, with the end of Empire. It was also an era when space exploration was just beginning in earnest. All this bleeds across into Q2, in a most creative fashion. Questions about the trustworthiness of our leaders, the safety of ‘secret’ projects, the true identity and allegiance of those around us, our ability to survive as a species, are all asked here.The film, like the TV series, was filmed partly on location. Shell’s oil refinery at Stanford-le-Hope in Essex provides a superbly eerie and sinister backdrop for much of the main action. Hemel Hempstead, a new town still being built, is also very atmospheric.The role of Quatermass himself, was taken (as in Q1) by American Noir star Brian Donlevy. He was emphatically not Kneale’s choice, but he was seen as key to American sales. In fact, he is fine: authoritative, gruff, with a big physical presence. He is surrounded by a galaxy of excellent British support, including Sid James in an unusually serious role as a Fleet Street reporter, and the excellent former Silent star John Longden, as the dependable and resolute Inspector Lomax.Despite serious concerns from the Censors, and some very dated comments by critics, Q2 was a success, and helped revive Hammer. Today, it stands on its merits as a chilling and thought-provoking allegory.

Val Guest's adaptation of Nigel Kneale's BBC program Quatermass II would prove again more lasting than the 3-hour TV show it was inspired from. Contrary to the first "Quatermass" movie, Kneale was involved in the film since he wrote the film screenplay. However, as in the first film, Val Guest compressed the story even more and, contrary to the author's recommendation, Guest re-hired Brian Donlevy as the scientist. This explains why both men have never quite seen eye-to-eye about these movies. More than 50 years down the road, history has remembered Val Guest's two films much more than the series they were adapted from, and with reason. "Quatermass 2" is a science fiction masterpiece, a completely paranoid movie, talking about the infiltration of the higher political spheres by an alien power, and where it is down to two men to reveal the truth. This feeling of angst, loneliness and manipulation is enhanced by the ghostly location of a Shell oil refinery duplicating for the aliens' headquarters, while the manipulative side is enhanced by the logo of the invaders, permeating every aspect of the lives of the people working for them. Watching this film, one cannot help feel that it was a strong inspiration for Patrick McGoohan's The Prisoner some ten years later. The cast is just great. Donlevy carries the weight of the planet's safety on his (broad) shoulders and carries the movie with strength and passion. He is assisted by classic British actor John Longden, best remembered as the male lead in Alfred Hitchcock's Blackmail in 1929. The strange feeling of eeriness is prolonged by the commentary of Val Guest and Nigel Kneale, obviously not in the same room. The commentary is less enlightening than for "Xperiment" or "X the unknown" but it is good to see the older Val Guest, a brilliant craftsman of British cinema, be recognized as one of the masters, and witness the almost posthumous success of this SciFi masterpiece. Well done!

Quatermass 2, here refers to the nuclear powered rocket that ultimately saves mankind and not simply a sequel title as some people seem to believe.I like Brian Donlevy as Bernard Quatermass and would place him second to Andre Morrel. This film is far better than the TV serial of the same title in that it removes the long-winded sequence at the end where Pugh and Quatermass pilot Quatermass 2 to the asteroid that is controlling the invasion and destroy it after a fight with each other!. Here, the rocket is just sent off and does the business which is much tighter.The exotic locations include Shell Haven and Hemel Hempstead which never looked better!The scene where the MP slithers down the side of the silo covered in black slime is still disturbing and Donlevy's reaction to it is a marvelous piece of acting. John Longdon, a veteran of British fims since the twenties is a good stand-in for Jack Warner and Sid James is a delight.This is a good film, but maybe you have to be a certain age to appreciate it, I'm sixty-eight.