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Directed by Piers Haggard
UK 1979
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... |
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Television Release: October 24th, 1979
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Review: Network - Region 'B' - Blu-ray
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Distribution | Network - Region 'B' - Blu-ray | ||
Runtime | 4 X 0:54:27.083 = 3:35:10.208 | ||
Video |
1.33:1 1080P Single-layered Blu-ray Disc Size: 48,565,741,875 bytes Feature: 47,008,008,192 bytes Video Bitrate: 20.99 Mbps Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video |
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NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes. |
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Bitrate Disc 1
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Bitrate Disc 2
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Audio |
DTS-HD Master Audio English 3045 kbps 5.1 / 48 kHz / 3045 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 5.1 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 24-bit)
LPCM Audio English 1536 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1536 kbps / 16-bit LPCM Audio English 1536 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1536 kbps / 16-bit |
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Subtitles | English, None | ||
Features |
Release Information: Studio: Network
1.33:1 1080P Single-layered Blu-ray Disc Size: 48,565,741,875 bytes Feature: 47,008,008,192 bytes Video Bitrate: 20.99 Mbps Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video
Edition Details:
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Brand-new HD restoration of The Quatermass
Conclusion in its original theatrical aspect ratio
Chapters 12 X 4 |
Comments: |
NOTE: The below Blu-ray captures were taken directly from the Blu-ray disc.ADDITION: (November 2018) Network - Region 'B' - Blu-ray: Network presents the 1979 mini-series iteration of "Quatermass" and its condensed version "The Quatermass Conclusion" on a dual-layered and separate single-layered Blu-rays. They utilized the the original 35mm negatives. The 1.33:1 image to 1080P (although wouldn't it have been in the PAL standard as a UK Television broadcast?) is rendered with a modest bitrate. It can look a bit waxy at times but also decent and pleasing in-motion. These are the four episodes of about 55-minutes each on the first disc (described on IMDb:)
Ringstone Round S1, Episode 1 The second Blu-ray with "The Quatermass Conclusion" (a condensed 1 3/4 hour) version is transferred at 1.78:1 (cited as the 'original theatrical aspect ratio'.) Network have included a bumped 5.1 surround audio option in robust DTS-HD Master (24-bit) transfer as well as a 2.0 linear PCM mono soundtrack. Effects do get a boost from the surround with modest separations but purists may opt for the mono - nice to have the option. The music is composed by Nic Rowley and Marc Wilkinson (who composed for The Blood on Satan's Claw also directed by Piers Haggard, who did Venom with Klaus Kinski, Oliver Reed, Nicol Williamson, Sarah Miles, Sterling Hayden, and Susan George... and Haggard is also credited as a dialogue assistant on Antonioni's Blow-Up) and it is included as an isolated score option for all four episodes. There are optional English subtitles (see sample below) on this Region-B-locked Blu-ray. Network has padded this Blu-ray package with Episode recaps, superfluous Textless titles (some without audio), an image gallery, and the package has a liner notes booklet by archive TV historian Andrew Pixley. There is definitely some of the Quatermass charisma here - and Mills was a comfortable option. I was reminded somewhat of the mid 60's films Daleks' Invasion Earth 2150 A.D., Dr. Who and the Daleks with Peter Cushing as the title character. For those keen on this era of Brit sci-fi, Network's Region-B Blu-ray package has a ton of value at the current price of less than £9 - more than 1/2 that of its initial offering. |
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