The third entry in Hammer’s cinematic “Quatermass” series is often considered one of the most celebrated and iconic British science fiction movies of all time, and it now makes its U.S. Blu-ray debut courtesy of Shout! Factory’s Scream Factory arm.

Construction workers at the London Underground (subway train to those in America) at Hobbs End discover human-looking skeletal remains, and expert paleontologist Dr Matthew Roney (top-billed James Donald, THE BRIDGE ON THE RIVER KWAI) is brought in along with his assistant Barbara Judd (Barbara Shelley, DRACULA, PRINCE OF DARKNESS). Roney believes that the uncovered remains are of five-million-year-old apemen, and reporters are invited to hear of his theories. During a press conference, further digging uncovers a large metallic object, with an army unit now present, thinking that they have to dispose of some kind of explosive bomb. Elsewhere, Professor Bernard Quatermass (Andrew Keir, BLOOD FROM THE MUMMY’S TOMB) is disappointed to learn that his Moon colonization plan has been taken over by the military, as overseen by the stuffy Colonel Breen (Julian Glover, THEATRE OF DEATH). When Breen is brought in to oversee the bomb disposal unit, Quatermass tags along and shoots down the theory that the found object is a bomb or a weapon, but rather an alien vessel as old as the apemen, which he also suspects were not of this Earth.

Barbara’s own probing of Hobbs End notes that the origins of its name has to do with the Devil, with Quatermass writing this off as just an old wives’ tale; he soon changes his tune when a worker completely freaks out, claiming he saw something appearing through the wall of the object. Quatermass’ explanations in all this is a combination of what he believes to be scientific fact as well as a force of “evil”, but when a drill operator (Duncan Lamont, THE CREEPING FLESH) fails to penetrate the outer shell of the vessel, resulting in an unearthly trembling, and a mysterious hole then develops, revealing perfectly-preserved giant locust-like creatures encased in hives within. Both Quatermass and Roney believe them to have come here from Mars, colonizing and altering primitive man as slaves, resulting in the hybrid remains they unearthed. With a special psyche-probing machine attached to a wild headgear apparatus, Barbara’s mind picks up images of these creatures in action – millions of years ago – and the results are recorded on film. When this vital proof is shown to the Minister (Edwin Richfield, THE FACE OF FU MANCHU) and the military, they of course want to cover it up and convince the press and public that all the hoopla is down to Nazi propaganda from World War II. But a literal “Pandora’s Box” of unworldly horrors is unleashed from the excavation site, culminating in an appearance by old Beelzebub himself.

A full ten years after their QUATERMASS 2, Hammer was able to revisit the character, and much like the popular TV serials it’s based on, he's played by an English actor (the original 1958 “Quatermass and the Pit” featured Andre Morrell in the lead). This third installment was prolonged for years, first proposed in the early 1960s when Columbia Pictures had an ongoing deal to distribute Hammer films (and it likely would have had Brian Donlevy and Val Guest again as star and director respectively) but the studio was uninterested in such a project. Years later, when Hammer had a distribution deal going with Seven Arts, Associated British Picture Corporation and Twentieth Century Fox, QUATERMASS AND THE PIT went into production and was released in the United States in 1968 as FIVE MILLION YEARS TO EARTH, as the name Quatermass wasn’t recognizable enough to factor into an American movie marquee. Although generally receiving favorable reviews upon its U.S. release, the film had disappointing numbers at the box office in the same year as Sci-fi blockbusters 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY and PLANET OF THE APES.

QUATERMASS AND THE PIT had a screenplay by Nigel Kneale – based on his original BBC serial – and he was more pleased to have Scottish-born Andrew Keir portray the character. His ideal casting is just one of the facets that has the film as one of the most highly regarded of its type. This time in the director’s chair was the more-than-capable Roy Ward Baker, who had already helmed such classics as A NIGHT TO REMEMBER and would go on to a number of Hammer horrors throughout the 1970s. With the talent in front of and behind the camera, the exemplary screenplay by Kneale results in a thought-provoking and multi-layered genre film which not only fashions a truly chilling hypothesis centering on the origins of mankind and the human condition, but also manages to cross over into folk horror territory well before such a description was even coined. As this was produced to be more cinematic in comparison to the earlier serial of the same story, Hammer makes the most of their modest budget, with scenes of mass panic and city-wide destruction unveiling some terrific sets and the Les Bowie-supervised special effects (I guess you can say this is the closest Hammer came to making a disaster epic) are by large very effective as well (the film being shot at the opulent M.G.M. British Studios as well as various London locations). The film also benefits from a grand yet haunting score by Tristram Cary (BLOOD FROM THE MUMMY’S TOMB) and support by a number of other Hammer regulars including Peter Copley (FRANKENSTEIN MUST BE DESTROYED), the recently-deceased Bryan Marshall (who had fleeting appearances in Hammer’s RASPUTIN THE MAD MONK, THE WITCHES and THE VIKING QUEEN) and Robert Morris (“Hans” in FRANKENSTEIN CREATED WOMAN).

Scream Factory is releasing QUATERMASS AND THE PIT on Blu-ray in a transfer pretty much identical to the one released in the UK by StudioCanal, and that’s a good thing. It’s presented in 1080p HD in a 1.66:1 aspect ratio. The transfer offers well-saturated bold and bright colors, realistic skin tones and excellent clarity which reveals a generous amount of fine detail. Black levels are deep, and the grain and contrast are both nicely balanced. There are no flaws in the element source that was utilized for the transfer, so this is pleasing presentation which brings out the film’s visual aesthetics to full effect. Audio is provided in DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 and 5.1 surround. Both tracks have been cleaned up beautifully and have good dynamic range, well-handling the mix of dialogue, sound effects and Tristram Cary's wonderful score. Optional English subtitles are included.

First appearing on the 1998 Elite Entertainment laserdisc, and carried over to this Blu-ray, is the vintage audio commentary with Baker and Kneale, which is invaluable since both gentlemen are no longer with us, and they actually have a lot to say here. We get the feeling from Baker’s comments that it was a great experience making the film (he also seems to shoot down the rumor that he originally wanted Kenneth More in the lead) and Kneale – his dissatisfaction with the casting of Brian Donlevy in the first two films is well known – was very pleased with the casting of Kier and he was satisfied with the overall outcome. The first new audio commentary has Hammer expert Bruce G. Hallenbeck (author of Hammer Fantasy & Sci Fi), who deems the film one of his all-time favorites, and he gives a complete history of the its production and reception, he offers background on the cast and crew, and he analyzes the complex plot and its characters – as well as adding his own critique of the more powerful scenes – making for a consistent and informative discussion. The team of filmmaker/film historian Constantine Nasr and author/film historian Steve Haberman (who were also great on such Hammer Scream Factory releases as FRANKENSTEIN CREATED WOMAN and QUATERMASS 2) are back, conversing about Kneale’s complex plot and comparing his writing to that of some accomplished classic fiction writers. They note many of the differences between the film and the older (and much lengthier) television version, they express what they believe the alien vessel really resembles, and they share dissimilar opinions on Kier in the role of Quatermass. It’s a colorful conversation, which probes the film, its influence on other works in popular sci-fi culture, director’s Baker’s style and how it applies here, and the Quatermass universe in general.

A number of new video interviews have been furnished for this Scream Factory release. Actor Hugh Futcher (6:40) who played a military man who goes into shock after witnessing something mysterious emerge from the inner wall of the alien vessel, describes meeting Baker on the morning he did his scene and the direction he was given. Special effects artist Brian Johnson (5:10) describes working on Les Bowie’s effect team, the construction of the creatures and the city destruction bits. Clapper loader Trevor Coop (8:26) recalls first jobbing in the industry working on commercials and getting his first feature job on QUATERMASS AND THE PIT (followed by THE VENGEANCE OF SHE). He shares recollections of the special effects and filming the exterior shots of the underground station. Focus puller Bob Jordan (2:23) recalls a funny anecdote about shooting a pub scene (where objects get blown around) with assistant director Burt Batt.