The Quiet Earth

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domino harvey
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The Quiet Earth

#1 Post by domino harvey » Thu Mar 29, 2018 10:29 am

Image

Zac Hobson (Bruno Lawrence, As Time Goes By), a scientist working on a pioneering energy project, wakes up one morning to find that the technology has malfunctioned, leaving him as seemingly the only man left on earth. As Zac wanders the deserted city of Hamilton, New Zealand, hoping to find some remnant of life besides himself, his mind begins to disintegrate until fantasy and reality blur together in a heady, terrifying cocktail.

Directed by Geoff Murphy (Under Siege 2, Freejack) and adapted from the 1982 novel of the same name, The Quiet Earth has attained cult status as one of the most distinctive post-apocalyptic sci-fi movies of the 1980s. By turns haunting, surreal and inscrutable, the film asks questions about humankind s insatiable appetite for destruction that are arguably as prescient today as they were at the time of its release thirty years ago.

SPECIAL EDITION CONTENTS:

High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) presentation
Lossless 5.1 surround and 2.0 stereo audio options
Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
New audio commentary by critic Travis Crawford
New video essay on the film by critic Bryan Reesman
New interview with critic Kim Newman on the post-apocalyptic movies of the 1980s
Original theatrical trailer
Stills gallery
Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Laz Marquez
FIRST PRESSING ONLY: Illustrated collector s booklet featuring new writing by Amy Simmons

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domino harvey
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Re: The Quiet Earth

#2 Post by domino harvey » Thu Mar 29, 2018 10:34 am

I have to say, using "From the director of Under Siege 2" to bolster sales is some new level of sad

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furbicide
Joined: Thu Dec 29, 2011 4:52 am

Re: The Quiet Earth

#3 Post by furbicide » Thu Mar 29, 2018 6:46 pm

Great to see some NZ cinema coming out. This is a pretty good – not exactly great – but definitely unique and interesting film.

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colinr0380
Joined: Mon Nov 08, 2004 4:30 pm
Location: Chapel-en-le-Frith, Derbyshire, UK

Re: The Quiet Earth

#4 Post by colinr0380 » Thu Mar 29, 2018 6:52 pm

Here's the trailer
It is a very entertaining 'apocalyptic' (with a twist) film. This is perhaps most famous for the scene of the main character going sacrilegiously wild in lingerie in a church, which of course sort of got alluded to in The Simpsons in amongst its main homage to The Omega Man!

I'm looking forward to the Kim Newman piece on 80s post-apocalyptic films. Of course I'm expecting The Road Warrior and Night of the Comet to get a mention (maybe also Cherry 2000?), but it would be great to hear some mention of the film In The Aftermath: Angels Never Sleep, which is that (EDIT) American film that took Mamoru Oshii's anime Angel's Egg and interspersed it with live action post-apocalyptic elements to tell its own story. It is a very bizarre film (lots of overdubbed respirator noises, and with a bit of narration), but it was unforgettably fascinating when I stumbled across it a few times on its late night television screenings.
domino harvey wrote:I have to say, using "From the director of Under Siege 2" to bolster sales is some new level of sad
Yes, though it is understandable. I'd actually hope that if this is successful that we might see Geoff Murphy's earlier films, and especially Utu, on disc at some point.
Last edited by colinr0380 on Sat Mar 16, 2019 8:36 am, edited 3 times in total.

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Feego
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Re: The Quiet Earth

#5 Post by Feego » Thu Mar 29, 2018 8:09 pm

I saw this film about 12 years ago, and honestly the main thing I remember is that it was almost beat for beat a remake of the 1959 movie The World, the Flesh and the Devil, albeit with a more downbeat and ambiguous flavor.

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Rayon Vert
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Re: The Quiet Earth

#6 Post by Rayon Vert » Thu Mar 29, 2018 9:05 pm

Feego wrote:I saw this film about 12 years ago, and honestly the main thing I remember is that it was almost beat for beat a remake of the 1959 movie The World, the Flesh and the Devil, albeit with a more downbeat and ambiguous flavor.
This was a favorite of mine in the 80s but seeing it again not too long ago I liked the concept a lot but felt that how the story develops once the premise is established is so-so. I'm curious: how good is the older film?

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Feego
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Re: The Quiet Earth

#7 Post by Feego » Thu Mar 29, 2018 10:48 pm

It's been even longer since I saw the older film, and to be honest I don't think it was a masterpiece either. It stars Harry Belafonte as a man who finds himself seemingly the last man left alive (some eerie scenes of him in an abandoned New York City are the highlights) after a nuclear attack. He later meets a woman who also survived (Inger Stevens), and still later another man (Mel Ferrer). As in The Quiet Earth, there is a love triangle and some racial tension between the men, one black and one white. I'm sure there is some exploration of humankind's capability to destroy the world and the potential of these three to save it, but it's not taken to the sci-fi level of the 80s film, instead focusing more on the three main characters' relationships with one another. If you happen to catch it on TV, I'd say it's worth a watch, especially for comparison's sake, but I wouldn't say it's an absolute must-see.

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Ribs
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Re: The Quiet Earth

#8 Post by Ribs » Fri May 18, 2018 8:51 am


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