Quatermass and the Pit

Quatermass and the Pit (1967) aka Five Million Years to Earth, directed by Roy Ward Baker, Shout! Factory remaster, encoded in 10 bit HEVC with AAC sound, including original theatrical stereo, commentary track, and English subtitles.

IMDb : https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0062168/

Video encoded in two-pass 12.0 Mbps x265 10bit with the veryslow preset for archive quality image. Audio encoded separately with Apple AAC for the highest-quality AAC sound available.

Subtitles converted to VobSub and repositioned.

Note : If you forced me to pick my favorite Hammer horror film, I'd probably have to pick this, although it's pretty atypical. The third film adaptation of Nigel Kneale's Quatermass BBC serials, it's more sci-fi than horror, and kind of reminiscent of a very high-budget Doctor Who episode (Kneale famously hated sci-fi in general, and Doctor Who in particular, but the plot of this film was ripped off for at least two 1970s Doctor Who serials, and was generally very influential on that show). The horror there is in this is subtle and by implication, with the sort of contemplation of the vastness of space and time that exemplifies the finest cosmic horror, blending superstition, ghosts, and witchcraft, an alien invasion five million years before the present, and straight-up religious belief in Satan. If you enjoy Lovecraft, the more cosmic films of Carpenter (whose Prince of Darkness is pretty obviously influenced by this), and brave scientists facing ancient evils, and you don't mind a slower pace with a lot of dialogue, you're going to like this.

During excavations to extend the London Underground at Hobbs End station, workers discover an old skull and several other skeletal remains. Paleontologist Dr. Roney is called in, and identifies them as primitive humans, more ancient than any previously known. When a metallic object is partially uncovered, the army is called in to defuse what is potentially an unexploded bomb from the London blitz, however, when another skull is found inside a cavity in the object, Professor Quatermass, who has accompanied the army, realizes the metal object must also be extremely ancient. Roney's assistant Barbara Judd points out that the area was originally known as "Hob's End", and that "Hob" is an old name for the devil. Investigating, they discover the area has a history of spectral apparitions and hauntings going back centuries, coinciding with digging and construction in the area, just as, after all attempts to open the metallic object have failed, it opens spontaneously to reveal the corpses of insectoid aliens with horns. As the government races to take control of the situation, Quatermass, Roney, and Judd start realizing the horrifying implications of the find, and that the danger may not be extinct at all.

This is a very good remaster, sharp and clear, with good color, although it shows some slight signs of fading having been corrected, and the reds are occasionally oversaturated, but all in all, it's about as good as a color film from the 60s can look. The stereo track is also nice and clear, and the director and writer commentary track is very much worth your time.

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