Description: Daleks - Invasion Earth 2150 A.D. directed by Gordon Flemyng, now fully restored and starring Peter Cushing in his return to the big screen as British TV’s most iconic sci-fi hero, Doctor Who.

The earth of 2150 AD is a desolate and hostile ruin of a planet, crumbling at the edge of civilisation, slowly disappearing into the darkness of space. For the future of planet earth now belongs The Daleks, a destructive army of alien invaders who have turned the human race into cowering slaves. Meanwhile deep within the London Underground a group of resistance freedom fighters are planning an attack. But there’s only one man who could possibly help them succeed in destroying their extra terrestrial enemies and take back control of planet earth. A man of mystery, a man of time and space, a man known only as… The Doctor.

 

 

The Film:

By far the stronger of the Doctor's two early big screen adventures, perhaps because it was based on a popular story from the TV series, Daleks' Invasion Earth: 2150 AD delivers all-out adventure with refreshingly little messing about. Peter Cushing never quite clicks in the role of the famous time traveller but makes an engaging enough protagonist nonetheless, whilst Roberta Tovey reprises her role as granddaughter Susan, Jill Curzon plays curvacious, no-nonsense niece Louise and Bernard Cribbins is a Cocney copper who, in a swift opening sequence, stumbles into the TARDIS, determines to file a complaint, and finds himself stumbling out again in 2150. There's also an appearance from Quatermass star Andrew Keir.

Excerpt from eFilmCritic  located HERE

Image :    NOTE: The below Blu-ray captures were taken directly from the Blu-ray disc.

Daleks' Invasion Earth 2150 A.D. is restored on Blu-ray from Studio Canal in the UK.  The image quality is superior to that of Dr. Who and the Daleks Blu-ray. It is 1080P and has rich black levels in the, cinematic, 2.35:1 aspect ratio. This Blu-ray has a consistent appearance not crisp but there is depth. The grain texture isn't thick and reasonably consistent. Visually this isn't dynamic but has no marks or flaws and it is decent in-motion. It may be the best the film will ever get. I wasn't displeased with my viewing at all.

Like Dr. Who and the Daleks, the Kino Lorber is on a dual-layered disc with a max'ed out bitrate - cited as a 'new 2K restoration'. It looks superior to the Studio Canal with richer deeper colors and better rendered contrast levels. It looks like the same restoration - very clean - duplicate framing but Kino have transferred it more robustly. Skin tones are slightly warmer and you see a bit more depth. The Kino HD presentation is the best of the two.

CLICK EACH BLU-RAY CAPTURE TO SEE ALL IMAGES IN FULL 1920X1080 RESOLUTION

 

1) Studio Canal - Region 'B' - Blu-ray  TOP 2) Kino - Region 'A' - Blu-ray BOTTOM

 

 

1) Studio Canal - Region 'B' - Blu-ray  TOP 2) Kino - Region 'A' - Blu-ray BOTTOM

 

 

1) Studio Canal - Region 'B' - Blu-ray  TOP 2) Kino - Region 'A' - Blu-ray BOTTOM

 

 

1) Studio Canal - Region 'B' - Blu-ray  TOP 2) Kino - Region 'A' - Blu-ray BOTTOM

 

 

1) Studio Canal - Region 'B' - Blu-ray  TOP 2) Kino - Region 'A' - Blu-ray BOTTOM

 

 

More Kino - Region 'A' - Blu-ray Captures

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Studio Canal offer an uncompressed linear PCM 2.0 channel track at 1536 kbps (16-bit) with a few instances of notable depth but the film doesn't have an abundance of aggression in the conventional sense - with robotic Dalek demands and some gas-shooting, fires and expositions. It's fairly passive. Many will recognize Bach's regal Toccata and Fugue in D Minor, BWV 565. There are optional English (SDH) subtitles (see sample above) and my Oppo has identified it as being a region 'B'-locked.

Kino advance on the audio as well with a DTS-HD Master dual-mono track transfer at 24-bits. This is apparent in the aggressive effects with the spaceship(s) and the score by Bill McGuffie (Corruption) and that adds to the film's adventure with some sci-fi cues that sound imaginative in the lossless. Many will recognize in the opening Johann Sebastian Bach's "Toccata and Fugue in D Minor, BWV 565". The score, overall, has more depth than the Studio Canal's 16-bit LPCM. Kino also offer optional English subtitles (within the widescreen frame - see samples above) and their Blu-ray disc is Region 'A'-locked.   

Extras :

Studio Canal offer less than the Dr. Who and the Daleks Blu-ray, without a commentary here, but we get a 7-minute Restoring Daleks - Invasion Earth 2150 A.D. plus a interview with actor Bernard Cribbins and another with Gareth Owen (author of The Shepperton Story: The History of the World-Famous Film Studio.) There is a stills gallery and a trailer.

Repeated are the Dalekmania: Kevin Davies' 1995 documentary which is dedicated to the memories of Peter Cushing and Roy Castle. It's a behind-the-scenes documentary about the two 1960s "Dr. Who" movies starring Peter Cushing, and spin-offs from the BBC TV series Doctor Who (1963), that starts with a trip to the cinema for two kids lands them in the world ofDr. Who and the Daleks. It has clips from the movies, various trailers, and interviews with the original cast and crew. It is the same one on the Dr. Who and the Daleks Blu-rays. Also duplicated is the 4-minute interviews with Bernard Cribbins and Gareth Owen. The 'Restoring Daleks’ Invasion Earth 2150 A.D.' video piece is also here and a theatrical trailer. What Kino add, that the Studio Canal does not have, is a new audio commentary by Kim Newman (author of Anno Dracula 1999: Daikaiju), and writers Robert Shearman (author of Doctor Who: Dalek - Target Collection) and Mark Gatiss (author of St. Anthony's Fire - New Doctor Who Adventures). They tend to agree on the value in Daleks' Invasion Earth 2150 A.D. over the earlier Dr. Who and the Daleks. They have fun discussing the Sugar Puffs product placement and wanting Robo-men to return. Plenty of value and these three are enjoying the film and filling the commentary with opinions and details.