The
Quiet Earth
(1985/Film Movement Classics Blu-ray)
Picture:
B+ Sound: B Extras: C Film: B
While
watching the Geoffrey Murphy film The
Quiet Earth
(1985) today, it's hard to avoid comparison to several other films
where the startup is one man walking through a deserted city after
the wake of an apocalyptic event. Films such as I
am Legend,
28
Days Later,
and even on television with shows like The
Walking Dead
and The
Last Man On Earth.
Considering the time this was done and the budget, the production
value remains very impressive to this day.
Starring
Bruno Lawrence, Peter Smith, and Alison Routledge, The
Quiet Earth
brings up some thought provoking ideas about humanity and interesting
filmmaking, which is why this film has been cultivating its cult
status and hopefully a new life on disc.
Scientist
Zac Hobson (Lawrence) wakes up in the morning literally alone in the
world. He drives around unsuccessfully seeking out other survivors
and tries to figure out what might have happened. After a few days,
he shows traces of insanity due to the loneliness and hopelessness
when out of the blue, Zac finds Joanne (Routledge) and they stay
together looking for other survivors and soon find the distrustful
Api (Smith). Soon, Zac comes to the realization that the project he
was working on prior to waking up may be partly responsible for the
phenomenon. Soon, the trio band together and devise a plan to
blow-up the laboratory where the project was born in an attempt to
stop the experiment and restore humanity... but is it too late?
The
film is presented in sharp 1080p high definition and a widescreen
aspect ratio of 1.85:1 that brings the film to life like never
before, it easily surpasses all previous DVD versions. The colors
are rich and vibrant throughout, along with a standard DTS-HD MA
(Master Audio) 5.1 surround track that isn't terrible or phenomenal
either from its older stereo theatrical release.
Special
Features...
Commentary
by Neil Degrasse Tyson and Film Critic Odie Henderson
(rogerebert.com)
New
Essay by Teresa Hefferan
An
interesting epic in the vein of other 'end of the world' films, if
you are a big sci-fi fan it's definitely worth checking out.
-
James Lockhart
https://www.facebook.com/jamesharlandlockhartv/
