Video, DVD, Super 8MM & Soundtracks

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At the end of the 1970s I read an interview that practically sunk my heart. Nigel Kneale catagorically stated, that the rights for the film had reverted to him, & as far as he was concerned, it would never be seen again. But all good things come those that wait, & after several outings on UK terrestrial TV...something had to give.....

With the introduction of the DVD at the end of the 1990's, & Nigel Kneale's leniency toward the big screen version of his TV serial, it would only be a matter of time before 'Quatermass 2' appeared in that format. 'Quatermass 2' first appeared in VHS form way back in the 1980s, when US release company Corinth, released the film as a video Cassette, & also as a Laserdisc. The next company to release the film was Roan an offshoot of Anchor Bay, the film appeared in Laserdisc form at the end of the 1990s, complete with Trailer & commentary from Nigel Kneale as well as Director Val Guest.

The film then had a VHS release from Anchor Bay in 1999, followed by a DVD release in 2000. From then on the film has been released in many countries throughout the World, including a 2003 release in the UK (Both on VHS & DVD), from DD Home Entertainment, sadly the company went into liquidation a few years back, making any chances of the film getting another UK outing through them, impossible. One hopes that another UK release company picks up the film & does it similar justice.

As for the BBC serial, this had up until 2005 never been released onto the home market, with only one repeat of episode 3 (The Food) by the BBC in 1991 (The episode was slightly edited for time). Nigel Kneale had never considered 'Quatermass II' even for a VHS release, & only the BBC 'Quatermass and the Pit' was lucky enough to be released to an adoring public in 1988. He believed that 'Quatermass II' had far too many technical problems to get a release. Then in 2004 rumours started circulating on the Internet, that all 3 (Including the only 2 surviving episodes of 'The Quatermass Experiment'), would be released in spring 2005, as a boxset.

The rumours proved to be true and on April 4th 2005, 'The Quatermass Collection' as it became known appeared. There were some great extras within the set too. The original 'Quatermass Trilogy' had been given an amazing clean up, by the 'Doctor Who Restoration Team', a masterly team that includes amongst many others Steve Roberts & Mark Ayres.

The good thing about all of this is that now both versions of this fantastic story can now be viewed, by a public that had very little idea that the story exsisted, the 1990s & 2000s, would see that 'Quatermass II/2' would no longer be the forgotten Quatermass story.

Above Left: French 1980s Video release cover for 'Quatermass 2' & 'The Quatermass Xperiment'. Above Right: The cover art for 'The Quatermass Collection'. This was released in April 2005 by 2Entertain.

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Above: The cover for the Derann Super 8 release.

'Quatermass 2' did recieve a home cinema release in the late 1970s on the Derann Films label, & I think the film ran over 4 or 5 spools long (I only have the box art these days). The film had the initial opening edited out, & suffered from an out of sync soundtrack (...well my copy did anyway!). Above is some artwork for that release.

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Above: Two soundtrack CD's that contain music from 'Quatermass 2'.

There are 2 soundtracks that I know of that have music from the 1957 film. The first one is actually a homage to the classic Hammer film 'The Devil Rides out', & is called 'The Devil Rides Out - Horror, Adventure and Romance'. The soundtrack CD also has music from other Hammer classics included. The music itself is not actually original score music, but is in fact a reworking of that original music. The music is obviously composed by James Bernard, but the conductor is Kenneth Alwyn, & the Orchestra is the Westminster Philharmonic. The CD was released in 1996 on the Silva Screen Label, & is becoming increasingly harder to find. The peice of music for 'Quatermass 2' can be found in 'The Quatermass Suite' the final part of the CD.

The second soundtrack that I'm aware of is 'The Quatermass Music Collection' which was released in 1999 on the GDI label. The set has some wonderful music from all 3 of Hammer's Quatermass films (Mainly 'Quatermass and the Pit', oddly enough). The sections used from 'Quatermass 2' are as follows: Opening Credits, Things in the Domes & End Credits. These all appear to be lifted directly from the actual film soundtrack itself. This collection is often out of print, but for those patient enough, can be picked up as a pre-order via Amazon UK.

Stephen Reed. 2008.