Les Monstres de l'espace

The picture concerns about the strange deeds into a London underground . There find a Martian aircraft which probes the humanity is created by a superior civilization . Then arrive Quatermass (Andrew Keir) , an official army (Julian Glover) and two obstinate scientists (James Donald and Barbara Shelley) , all of them discover fantastic events . The plot is developed for continuous discovery , leading a spooky and astounding finale.

The movie is an outstanding adaptation from a TV serial exhibited in BBC (1958-59) written by Nigel Kneagle . As protagonist turns up Andrew Keir substituting to Brian Donlevy starring in ¨The Quatermass experiment¨ and ¨Quatermass II¨ , both of them directed by Val Guest , besides John Mills starred the final chapter titled the ¨Conclusion Quatermass¨ directed by Piers Haggard . This 1967 film is one of the greatest British science fiction films and the best of Quatermass trilogy . The great climax film is , of course , the final confrontation between the starring and the weird entity . In the picture appears the usual Hammer technicians and artistic team as cameraman Arthur Grant creating a riveting and colorful cinematography , Bernard Robinson making an awesome production design and ordinary musical conductor Philip Martell . The film is well produced by Anthony Nelson and magnificently directed by Roy Ward Baker . The flick will appeal to science fiction movie enthusiasts and Hammer fans . Rating : Above average and well worth watching .

Whilst excavating at the site of a new underground tube station, workers unearth a mysterious object. On to the case comes Professor Quatermass who deduces that the object is Martian in origin. Initially viewed with scorn and disbelief, it becomes apparent that the Martian race have been involved in the human race before, and now they have been awoken again.

This was the third Hammer film adaptation of Nigel Kneale's BBC-TV Quatermass serial, with previous entries being The Quatermass Experiment & Quatermass 2. This to me, tho, is undoubtedly the shining light of the bunch. Chiefly what works the best in this one is the wonderful fusion of mystery and intelligence, the eerie sense of dread only off set by a yearning to find out just what has happened? And more crucially, what will happen? Building up perfectly, courtesy of Roy Ward Baker's astutely paced direction, Quatermass And The Pit is a film that just begs you to pay attention to every little detail, each conversation is fully fleshing out this most intriguing story. Then there is the finale that pays off handsomely, to hint at what is involved would result in a spoiler of sorts, and really it would be stupid of me to prepare you for the film's closure.

See it because it's one of the best genre entries of the 60s, a must for sci-fi enthusiasts that like a bit of brains to go with their genre persuasion. 8.5/10

Quatermass and the Pit is one of the finest of Hammer's vast and largely very fine oeuvre. Strangely, however, when you hear people speak of Hammer horror, this film rarely gets a mention, and that's a great injustice as it easily ranks up there with the best of them. The plot follows a group of construction workers that discover a plot of skeletons while extending London's subway station. This immediately attracts the attention of local scientists Mathew Roney and Barbara Judd, and later the man of the title; Dr Quatermass, who end up facing opposition from both the army and the press while trying to investigate the find. Where did the skeletons come from? How did they get there? And what's the meaning behind that bomb in the tunnel? All these questions and more are answered in Quatermass and the Pit.

As you might expect, the film is very camp. The effects are truly ridiculous and very easy to laugh at; but they add to the fun and charm of the movie. The reason why Hammer Horror films succeed is that, despite being unpleasant at times, it's obvious that they were made with a lot of heart, and the good nature that went into making them always shines through. Unlike many horror (or Sci-Fi) films, however, this one actually bothers to pose some interesting questions and really gets you thinking. The normal idea behind alien based Sci-Fi is completely turned on it's head, and it makes for both an enjoyable and interesting, not to mention original movie. It's quite ingenious, in fact; much more so than many recent 'thought-provoking' movies. There is also quite a lot of the trademark British humour in the film, which is always nice to see. It's obvious that the film is meant to be tongue in cheek anyway, but it's always nice to have a few moments of laughter in there. Quatermass and the Pit is directed by Hammer Horror supremo Roy Ward Baker. When people think of Hammer directors, it's often Terrence Fisher that comes out on top; but Baker is by far my favourite. He's delivered the lovely Asylum, the ingenious Dr Jekyll and Sister Hyde, not to mention The Vampire Lovers; and now this. And that's only the ones that I've seen!

Overall, this is an incredible movie. It's generous mix of horror, Sci-Fi and fantasy is truly refreshing and it makes for an interesting and enjoyable ride. I loved every minute of this film, and it easily ranks as one of the best Hammer Horror's that I've seen. Make sure you don't skip this one.

This is an excellent Sci-fi movie that holds up after 32 years. It does have that Hammer-films look so unique to the others made around that time. Some of the actors are recognizable from the Christopher Lee Dracula series. I saw this movie when I was very young and it haunted me through-out my adult life. I didn't even realize it, until I saw it again recently. You see, eveytime I would see one of those huge construction cranes, I would get this foreboding, disturbing feeling I couldn't get a grasp on. I would stare at the crane, trying to figure out why it disturbed my so. It didn't click into place until I saw the movie again.

This is a thoughtful science fiction/horror movie from the 1960s that doesn't insult the intelligence of the viewers. Instead of relying on CGI to enthrall a clueless audience, this movie relies on something rather novel – a real story. Filmed on a budget, this Hammer Film's special effects are good enough to advance the story. Some IMDb reviewers have criticized the film for its "corny" special effects or its "ridiculous" story. They simply don't appreciate the movie's effects in their context. Further, I would disagree that the story is ridiculous. The story unfolds as the characters and viewers discover the secret in Hobbs End. If you don't know what the movie is about, you will enjoy this bit of discovery. Instead of so many contemporary films where the viewer is simply told what happens, as if he or she is slack-jawed imbecile, in Five Million Years to Earth the viewer is part of the discovery process. Finally, the sense of horror builds from a vague sense of unease to a real sense of loathing and fear. I've seen this movie at least a half dozen times and continue to enjoy it as much as the first time.