Rating: 
Summary: Much better than the original
Review: Even better than the original British TV show, this is one hell of a great flick! The effects are astounding, especially at the end . . . also, I'm a big fan of the good Professor, who comes out in this film as being a man not only of science but of humanity. An good investment for all DVD owners who love a good, suprising, well-made sci-fi feature. Also great for fans of the wonderful Barbara Shelly.
Rating: 
Summary: Leaping! Hopping! Skinning up!
Review: Now hang on a minute, Nige. Here you say the human race is basically a bunch of genetically modified Martians. Later in the 'Quatermass Conclusion' you say humans have been planted here to be harvested as musque for aliens. Now which is it, eh? We're up to our ears in aliens (leaping, hopping! Etc) Is there anyone out there carrying a credit card who is actually indigenous to our own planet? Personally, I think I'm British through and through, and one sniff under my armpits tells me I'm no Eau de Plonk for anyone.Now, why does that guy climb up that crane in the climatic scene? You can't operate it from up there, son. Still, it all worked out fine in the end, eh?
Rating: 
Summary: Look in the mirror and you'll see the alien
Review: Quatermass and the Pit (aka Five Million Years to Earth to those of us in the US)is a stunning science fiction film from Hammer. Produced during a period when Hammer films had begun to look cheap, Pit has a number of stunning performances and well designed action sequences. Although the optical effects haven't aged all too well (the sequence where we "see" the Martians during their eugenics war looks about as convincing as the Zanti Misfits in the Outer Limits), the acting and imaginative sets save the day. I do have to praise the opticals at the close of the film as they still look stunning and are quite imaginative. The plot is essentialy this; Martians left their planet and cultivated humanoids to be their slaves. They helped us along the evolutionary path. They also instilled something of their Martian mentality in us as well. When a spacecraft is discovered during a routine excavation for a new subway route, all hell breaks lose quite literally. A scientist named Quatermass (the delightful Andrew Keir) is called in to assist the military. The ship is actived and goes into something of a defense mode. It manipulates the humans turning them into Martians by somehow accessing a primal instinct programmed into humanity by the Martians. There's a great deal of discussion about the myth of the Devil, religion and how the Martians figure into it. The script is sharp, literate and interesting. Roy Ward Baker's direction is tight and controlled creating suspense throughout the film. Anchor & Bay have done a great job with the transfer and included audio commentary from the writer and director. I can't compare this to the television version produced for the BBC as I've never seen it but can't imagine a 6 hour version of this being anything but talky and less than suspenseful.
Rating:
Summary: That's it...Iron...the Devil hates Iron. It's our one hope.
Review: A mixture of all things Beelzebub, ghostly and strange, and science fiction coming to us not from an alien world of tomorrow making startling visitations to us but from the dim and distant ages past when man was new (and newly, unknowingly altered). The chain of events unleashed by peoples meddling reaches a crescendo that pits society at large...the strong...the capable...the obedient...against those who are different...who think differently...who individualise...and the effect Ladies and Gentlemen IS nothing short of terrifying. The best sci-fi film I have ever seen...the only one that truly terrifies. You will not of course believe me until you see it...so see it. Once you do it will stay with you forever.
Rating:
Summary: Pretty Darn Good for its Time!
Review: The first time I saw this movie, was years ago, late at night on television and it scared the, well you know, out of me! The writing is superior and the acting is too. When actors play a monster movie role as though they really believe it, it comes out believable! I like my monster movies to be played seriously, (unless it's meant to be funny, such as MIB), in that way, you can escape into the movie and enjoy it more. Because it's a DATED movie, if you've never seen it before, watch it at night, alone, maybe with a candle on. It'll creep you out, especially all the talk about "Hobbs Lane" - and demons. BOO!
Rating:
Summary: Early Hammer film is a Knockout!!!
Review: This engrosing early Hammer horror film show just what can be done a small budget. Made for a ridiculous price, it is a film that grabs you and keep you to the very end. A seemingly ordinary expansion to the tube system in London, first unwarths a strange skull, and then later exvacation exposes what they fear is a experimental bomb left over from WWII. Quatermass ccomes into the perplexing problem since his space division is being merged with the military, and his co-commander is called into consult the bomb. As it is slowly exposed, they learn it is not a bomb, but something else entirely bringing dire consequences. Intelligently written, acted and directed, this is one superior horror film.
Rating:
Summary: Good for a film version of a Classic TV series, but no cigar
Review: My memories as a schoolboy watching on mediocre reception of the BBC signal of the 30 minute episodes of Quatermass are inescapable. This movie version is passable, but only passable, to those of us who were enthralled, and terrified, by the black and white drama of the original.
I hope that somewhere in the achives of the BBC there are recordings of the original series. Their release on DVD would be a meaningful event.
This movie is an worthy attempt, but for those of us who remember the original, and its cultural ambiance, it will forever fall short.
Rating:
Summary: Four Stars. But the Original TV Series is Five
Review: The 1960s Hammer Horror movie "Quatermass and the Pit" is a decent film, well worth watching. However, if you can get your hands on the original 1957 BBC TV serial version, do so. Nigel Kneale's script is a landmark of television science fiction, with ideas that have influenced a number of more modern television series (especially "Doctor Who"). The script itself borrows heavily from HP Lovecraft (especially the ancient alien artefact that drives humans mad) and is the reason why both the television series and the movie are as good as they are. The premise is smart and rock solid, and the characters are extremely well realized. The television mini-series is in a league of its own, however, in terms of the acting and the direction. Even though it was produced on a fraction of the budget of this movie remake, it does a lot to get inside your head and scare the bejeezus out of you. The special effects are exceptionally cheap but well realized enough to make you marvel at the production crew's genius. Unfortunately, the television series is only available in the United Kingdom. If you want your thrill in North America without having to bother with regionalization issues, the Hammer Horror film should be good enough.
Rating:
Summary: Mars Attacks - Five Million Years Too Late!
Review: Veteran sci-fi/horror scriptwriter Nigel Kneale's best script, with a great cast and even passable special effects.British government rocket scientist Bernard Quatermass is more than happy enough to take time out from his busy schedule of helping the Ministry of Defense put missiles on the Moon, to check out an odd supposed German V-weapon left over from the war discovered in the London tubes. Not only isn't it a missile, but its metal is unknown, and it has unusual properties. And it's resting on top of five million year old human bones, much older than man is supposed to have been around on Earth. One odd clue leads to another, with Quatermass and a growing scientific team coming to eventually discover that what they have found is a Martian spaceship - complete with dessicated, insectoid Little Green Man occupants - that crash-landed all those many millions of years ago. The Ministry is reluctant to believe that these glorified grasshoppers either came from the Red Planet, or had anything to do with engineering the human race into existence, and plan a public exhibition to put rumors to rest. But that's when the fun really starts - because the ship and its occupants aren't quite as dead as they appear... This is brilliant sci-fi, a genuine classic, which works primarily due to a superiorly intelligent script and great performances from the entire cast. Even those not usually into sci-fi will probably love it, as it's really more a great melodrama than anything else, just with a sci-fi premise. It's hampered only by a few really cheap special effects, in one or two spots almost laughably so, though mostly they're pretty good. I really can't recommend this movie highly enough. Watch it, by all means.
Rating:
Summary: I doubt I'll look at a grasshopper the same way again
Review: Cerebral, suspenseful sci-fi thriller starts out well, but is ultimately burdened by too much confusing exposition. The Cold War-era political allegory, a requirement in any Quatermass film, is handled with surprising subtlety. The film's finale is appropriately cataclysmic -- although I'm not sure how or why these events transpire. And if someone could explain either the film's final minutes or where those scary scratch marks come from, I'd be most grateful. On another note, the primitive, low-budget special effects are used to excellent effect here -- very creepy, in a way that contemporary CGI F/X could never match.
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