I’ll admit to having a certain amount of trepidation when the Blu-ray version of ‘Quatermass and the Pit’ landed in my lap, mainly due to the fact if a film looks dated when converted from VHS to DVD there is a big chance that Blu-ray might not do the movie any favours whatsoever. So I crossed my fingers in the hope that one of my favourite films of all time would not be horribly exposed.

Based on the BBC TV productions The Quatermass Experiment (1953), Quatermass II (1955) and the final in the series ‘Quatermass and the Pit’ (1958), the film version of the latter was released in 1967 and was generally well received. The film centres round a group of underground tube workers who discover what they believe to be a an unexploded bomb from World War II. It soon becomes evident that the discovery is far more sinister than even the Nazi’s could muster and the city soon finds itself engulfed in strange and evil alien energy that threatens to consume mankind as we know it. Dr. Quartermass, played by the brilliant Andrew Kier, must find a way to stop the evil forces at work before it’s too late.

Andrew Kier plays Quatermass flawlessly and infinitely better than Brian Donlevy in the original TV series. I’ve always had a bit of a soft spot for Julian Glover and he plays the bumbling, arrogant young army officer, Colonel Breen, to perfection (there’s a great interview with Julian in the extra’s which is definitely worth a watch). James Donald plays the well spoken, brilliant scientist, Dr. Mathew Roney, superbly well as does Barbara Shelley in her role as Barbara Judd.

The most noticeable improvement to the DVD version is the picture which is considerably sharper. Certain external shots struggle a little as the grainy nature of some of the shots are definitely exposed in places, but these are few and far between. One of my main concerns was that by cleaning the picture up too much the viewer might lose the honest almost charming feel that original offers but I was pleasantly surprised to find that wasn’t the case. I was hoping that the sound might have taken the step up to 5.1 but unfortunately it’s still in stereo but that said the sound has been given a bit of a clean up and is noticeably crisper.

It’s hard not to be biased when it comes to this movie because watching it reminds me of some of my fondest childhood memories. The film is a classic and still stands the test of time and even though it’s bound to seem dated to some you have to remember that this was the height of technology back in the late 60’s! If you already own this film on DVD then the step up might not be worth it for the picture and sound quality alone, however the extra’s might interest you. There are a number of interviews with cast, crew and experts and these alone could be worth the step up to Blu-ray.

Overall this is a classic and a great starting point if you’re new to Hammer who have helped shape horror over the years, and have continued to do so with some of their recent releases. If you don’t own this film, buy it! If you do own DVD and love everything Hammer then, again… buy it! A wonderful and incredibly important British movie. Everyone should own this.