The Day the Earth Caught Fire (1961)

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General		Extras
Category	Science Fiction	None
Rating
Year Of Production	1961
Running Time	94:47
RSDL / Flipper	No/No	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Menu
Region Coding	4	Directed By	Val Guest
Studio Distributor	Pax Universal Pictures Home Video	Starring	Janet Munro Leo McKern Edward Judd Michael Goodliffe Bernard Braden Reginald Beckwith Gene Anderson Renée Asherson Arthur Christiansen
Case	?
RPI	$9.95	Music	Stanley Black Monty Norman

Video		Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame	None	English Dolby Digital 2.0 (224Kb/s)
Widescreen Aspect Ratio	2.40:1
16x9 Enhancement
Video Format	576i (PAL)
Original Aspect Ratio	2.35:1	Miscellaneous
Jacket Pictures	No
Subtitles	None	Smoking	Yes
		Annoying Product Placement	No
		Action In or After Credits	No

    Do you ever remember snatches of a film you saw years ago, and have a suspicion which film it might be but seemingly never get another opportunity to see it? I saw a film in the 1970s with a strange ending, when I was too young to really follow what was going on. I suspected that it was this film, so when the opportunity came up to review it I jumped at the chance. And lo and behold, it was this film, of which only the beginning and end were familiar to me. More surprising was that this is an intelligent, well-made and serious (if a little lurid) British science fiction film, which I enjoyed a lot.

    The United States and the Soviet Union set off massive nuclear tests almost simultaneously. Shortly after, there is a series of climactic changes across the world. Temperatures rise in the UK and the USA, there are massive earthquakes in Scandinavia, floods in the Western Australian deserts and so on. Reporter Bill Maguire (Leo McKern) suspects that the nuclear tests have affected the rotation of the Earth, but he has a hard time getting any confirmation of this. Pete Stenning (Edward Judd) is Maguire's colleague, an alcoholic since his divorce who has a hard time finding motivation for his job. When he meets Jeannie (Janet Munro), an employee at the Meteorological Centre, they fall for each other, but she finds out some information that is being kept from the public. Will Stenning betray Jeannie's confidence by publishing the information? Of course he will.

    But this melodramatic subplot is just that, and the real interest in the story is the detailed and believable way in which the story unfolds. Rather than having the main characters address and solve the problem, as would be the case in similar American films, this one looks at the unfolding of the story and the effect of the climactic changes on the protagonists and on British society. The latter is not especially truthful, as the only sign of dissent is a riot by some Beatniks. Yes, you read that right.

    The film is well written by Val Guest and Wolf Mankowitz, and they would win the British Academy Award for their screenplay. Guest also directs very well, and the film builds a nice level of suspense. The special effects are quite good as well, though there are some obvious painted backdrops and one composite shot superimposing some fog over the action to distract we viewers of a more sophisticated age. Some stock footage of floods and other real events is well integrated into the film, as is a sequence involving a CND demonstration. The photography by Harry Waxman is excellent. The performances are all first rate by the cast of familiar faces, especially McKern. Edward Judd is billed as being introduced in this film, but he had been in minor roles for more than a decade. Despite doing well in the leading role, he quickly slipped back to supporting parts. The underrated Janet Munro gives one of her best performances, and is quite fetching as well. And Michael Caine appears briefly as a bobby towards the end of the film.

    This is a fine and engrossing adult film with a thought-provoking doomsday scenario.

Video

    The film is presented in an aspect ratio of 2.40:1 and is 16x9 enhanced. The original aspect ratio was 2.35:1, though I can detect no obvious cropping.

    The image is quite sharp and clear throughout, with a good level of detail present. Shadow detail is good too. Apart from the opening and closing sequences, which have a dark orange, almost ochre tint, it is entirely in black and white. The transfer here is also good, though it is slightly lacking in contrast preventing it from having that last ounce of sparkle (I may just be nit-picking, as it looks fine).

    Disappointingly, there is a lot of aliasing in this transfer, with many straight edges shimmering as they or the camera moves. Curved edges also tend to look jagged. There are several examples of the moire effect, such as at 19:35 and 80:25. Telecine wobble is also noticeable during the opening credits. And there is some edge enhancement visible in most scenes.

    On the plus side, the print used for this transfer has been restored, and there are no film artefacts visible, apart from occasional faint smudges and a thick white scratch down the left centre of the screen for about eight seconds from 51:30. Other than that this is a beautiful print. Grain levels are kept to a minimum. There is also the original British Board of Film Censors certification at the start, the film getting an X rating.

    The film is presented on a single layer disc with no subtitles.

Video Ratings Summary

Sharpness
Shadow Detail
Colour
Grain/Pixelization
Film-To-Video Artefacts
Film Artefacts
Overall

Audio

    The sole audio track is Dolby Digital 2.0 mono.

    I could detect no significant problems with the audio transfer. Dialogue is clear, if a little muted at times, meaning that I had to turn the audio up to understand everything.

    I did not really notice any score, though Stanley Black gets a Musical Direction credit. There is also a credit for "Beatnik music by Monty Norman", though it just sounds like '60s jazz to me.

Audio Ratings Summary

Dialogue
Audio Sync
Clicks/Pops/Dropouts
Surround Channel Use
Subwoofer
Overall

    No extras are provided.

    The Region 1 disc gets a full extras package, unlike the Region 4. The Region 4 misses out on

• Audio commentary by director Val Guest and film historian Ted Newsom
• Menu animation and audio
• Cast and crew biographies and filmographies
• Theatrical trailer
• TV spots and teasers
• Production notes
• Photo gallery (90 photos)

    The UK Region 2 disc includes these extras plus an eight-minute interview with Leo McKern, which makes it the disc of choice.

    A fine and rewarding science fiction thriller.

    A good video transfer apart from the aliasing.

    A satisfactory audio transfer.

    No extras, unlike other regions.

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall