The Quatermass Xperiment (1955) - Kino Studio Classics - December 2, 2014

[Akijama]

The Quatermass Xperiment Blu-ray




IMDB - 6.8 ( ‎2,961 votes )

Rotten Tomatoes - 89% ( 9 reviews counted )

Val Guest (The Day the Earth Caught Fire) directed this chilling film about a spacecraft returning to earth with a frightening surprise on board. Two of the ship's three astronauts have mysteriously vanished, while the third is sick with an unidentifiable illness. While doctors try to help the third man recover, an investigation takes place to figure out just what happened to his comrades. As it turns out, the survivor's body has been taken over by an alien fungus that needs blood to survive. After the astronaut escapes from the hospital, he transforms into a monster, attacking everyone who gets in its way. Meanwhile, Scotland Yard detective Lomax (Jack Warner, The Blue Lamp) and Professor Bernard Quatermass (Brian Donlevy, The Glass Key), a determined scientist, attempt to track down the creature before it finds new victims. Also known as The Creeping Unknown.

Source

The Quatermass Xperiment / Original Theatrical Trailer (1955) - YouTube

[The Great Owl]

Awesome. I've never seen The Quatermass Xperiment, but I've always heard great things about it, and I've wanted to see it for a while now.

[Sinep]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

Awesome. I've never seen The Quatermass Xperiment, but I've always heard great things about it, and I've wanted to see it for a while now.

I think its an excellent upper tier science fiction film. Atmospheric, creepy. It of course depends on your taste for these films but I feel its one of the finest science fiction films ever - at least from that era..

Its coming !!

[MifuneFan]

Cool, one of its sequels, Quatermass and the Pit, is available overseas

[bigshot]

It's strange that they would start with that one when Quatermass and the Pit is a much better film and has spectacular color to boot.

[zbinks]

Originally Posted by bigshot

It's strange that they would start with that one when Quatermass and the Pit is a much better film and has spectacular color to boot.

The US distribution rights to Hammer's films are all over the place. Kino probably just took the Quatermass film that was available to them through their licensor, MGM/UA.

Edit: Looks like this was recommended to Kino by Scorpion Releasing.

[Braktastic]

Wow! I'm really surprised to see this is getting a US release. I bought the AU BD figuring it never would. Here's hoping this release is progressive and an improvement over that one.

[John Hodson]

They'll be using MGM's superlative master.

Which is unfortunately full frame.

Seen in original widescreen QX looks absolutely *gorgeous*. Go on Kino Lorber, surprise us by presenting this exceptional and ground-breaking British film not only as it was originally framed, but as the vast majority of contemporary cinema-goers saw it , *and* with supplements actually worth a damn...

[John Hodson]

MisterLime at the HTF: "We're working on the extras and will be releasing it 1.66:1..."

[*PREACHER*]

Originally Posted by MifuneFan

Cool, one of its sequels, Quatermass and the Pit, is available overseas

This was instantly on my brain that i still need to import it!

Excited for the first one nonetheless!

[Thomas Veil]

Will pick this up...Kino is really taking my money this year but I'm ok with that.

I know the Quatermass and the Pit UK version is region B locked but what about the German and Italian versions?

[bgart13]

Those others are controlled in the US by Millennium or Lionsgate, I'd think, not MGM.

[ddwall]

The pit is a much better film I hope they can release it. Its been a long seance Ive seen this maybe I'll watch it before I bite

[bgart13]

Originally Posted by ddwall

The pit is a much better film I hope they can release it. Its been a long seance Ive seen this maybe I'll watch it before I bite

I'd disagree. I adore TQX, I also adore Q&TP. Donlevy is the weak link -- but that's the influence of the US distributors at the time.

[Wernski]

I think part of the QX v QatP debate depends on how familiar you are with their BBC counterparts. Both are longer and have nice elements missing from the movie, but Hammer QX is a much bigger let-down compared to Hammer's QatP. This is probably largely because the original writer, Kneale, wrote the screenplay for the Hammer version of QatP but not QX, and was able to control what made it through to its by-necessity shorter film adaptation. I mean, QX totally changes the ending, where in the original,

[Show spoiler]they've tried everything to kill the monster, tanks, fire, electricity... in final desperation, Prof Quatermass suicidally walks inside the creature itself and, because his original crewmen are still alive within it, is able to reason with it, appealing to its humanity to kill itself because of all the pain it's causing others.

In the film version,

[Show spoiler]they try tanks, fire, electricity and... oh, electricity did it, phew. The end.

Both shorter versions naturally lose neat characters and smart plot points in their reductions, but QX suffered the most. So I think serious Quatermass fans are more bothered by QX than general Hammer fans, who have no idea what they're missing out on anyway.

[bgart13]

I've got the Quatermass tv series set, but it's only got the first two epis of EXPERIMENT. I still prefer the Hammer version.

[AFILMDUDE]

Bring it on! Day one purchase for me!

[BENNIE QUINCY SHAFT]

What's the length of QX going to be, 82 minutes or the shorter US 78?

[oddbox83]

The HD restoration was full length with the original UK title.

[oddbox83]

Originally Posted by brasil

Finally watched Australia's Shock version of Quatermass Experiment, X, and 2. All there were a real treat. Favorite was Experiment 2 but all have their merits. Experiment II had at times a noir feel, and the setting in a gas refinery or some such place with the extensive piping gave it an exotic and high budget (for the time) sci-fi ambiance. Appreciate how they hold back showing you the "monster" until much later in the film....about 60 min mark in X 2, and near the end in the first one as well.

Some aliasing in Quatermass Experiment 2 (notice the suit of the dude who played Jonathon Harker in Dracula (1958) when announcing he is to give them a tour of the factory, or outlines of narrow lines of objects) maybe due to lower bitrate in the 20's vs 30's for the main feature.

One of my favorites. Will still want to pick up Quatermass Experiment in 1.66.

Quatermass 2 and X the Unknown are upscales on the Australian release, and not very good ones at that hence the many jaggies.