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The Day The Earth Caught Fire [1961]


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Editorial
DVD Description

DVD Special Features:

Fully restored and remastered version of "The Day The Earth Caught Fire"
Scenee Selection
Production Notes
Biographies
Stills galleries
Interview with Leo McKern
Commentary with Director Val GUest
Trailer
US Television Spots
16:9 Anamorphic
Black and White
Dolby Digital Mono English
Subtitles: none

Editorial
Synopsis

When the Americans test a nuclear weapon at the South Pole at the exact moment that the Soviets are testing their own weapon at the North, the earth's axis is jolted out of alignment, causing catastrophic changes in global weather patterns. Additionally, the earth has been dislodged from its orbit, and is now hurtling towards the sun. It's a race against time as the world prepares for additional nuclear detonations which could restore life as we know it. This classic piece of British science fiction won a British Academy Award for Best Screenplay and has been completely restored by Anchor Bay, including tinted sequences not seen since the movie's original theatrical release in 1961.
Editorial
From the Back Cover

Nuclear tests, conducted by the Americans and Russians, inadvertently knock the world off its axis. Weather patterns around the globe are disrupted but temperatures rise universally. Did the tests do more harm that was first thought?

This atmospheric story is told through the eyes of three people: Peter Stenning - the hard-drinking star reporter sliding to failure; scientific correspondent Bill Maguire, whose sleep-starved mind is galvanised when he sees the truth behind the upheaval which brings chaos to the world; and Jeannie Craig, Stenning's girlfriend, who innocently stumbles on the truth the government has been trying to suppress.

Dynamically filmed by Val Guest in 1961, "The Day The Earth Caught Fire" represents a landmark in British science fiction film making with its completely authentic Fleet Street background and performances to match is startling theme.


A modern movie
Review date: 2008-01-23 Rating: 10 out of 10

This 1960s sci-fi is a compelling and interesting watch. You are sucked into period London and the lives of the young reporters, by the combination of the intriguing story and the broken life of the the leading man. The film addresses the 'do it now, think later' nature of man and some key issues are raised for the time, such as the nuclear weapons programs and the fear of the cold war. However the film still has a message for man of today, although I'm sure unintended by the director. It contains warnings of the effect of climate change and melting the polar ice caps, a very modern problem. The combination of enjoyable story and thought provoking subjects make this a five star film.

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Reviews


A Hot Film
Review date: 2007-09-30 Rating: 10 out of 10

This is simply the best Sci-Fi movie ever made (and that's coming from someone who has been a Sci-Fi nut since 1959!) It was also President Kennedy's favourite movie.
The Earth is knocked off its axis by two massive H-Bombs exploded at the same time on opposite sides of the planet, thus causing it to fall towards the sun.
It's the story of a reporter and his girlfriend trying to find out what has happened and then reporting it to the world (whatever happened to Edward Judd? He was a good actor)
Good story, good effects, good acting and interesting ending.
Buy and enjoy

Hot, hot, hot!
Review date: 2007-08-16 Rating: 10 out of 10

In an episode of "Cheers" Norm and Cliff are arguing at the bar about the sweatiest films ever made. I think they decide the winner is "Cool Hand Luke". There is sadly no mention of this simply superb film "The Day The Earth Caught Fire"! Shame on those beer guzzling anoraks for having this gap in their movie knowledge.

Nuclear tests have sent the Earth heading towards the Sun, and as the temperature rises so does the tension in this masterfully created and executed story. The film focuses on the London reporters covering the catastrophe itself, and there are simply dozens of scenes of old Fleet Street press offices, all cigarette smoke and hassled editors. Edward Judd and Leo McKern are ideally cast as the leads, and they are well supported throughout.

And, set as it is in the 1960s, all the men wear suits and ties and thus sweat profusely. Was the film EVER seen in Boston?? I think we should be told...



British Anti Nuclear Film
Review date: 2005-06-15 Rating: 10 out of 10

I remember seeing this film on Saturday afternoons when I was a kid and rewatching as an adult made me appreciate just what this film has to say. The day the Earth caught fire was made at a time when people lived with the fear that world could at any time be decimated by nuclear war, even when I was a child it seemed quite probable yet people doggidly went on with there lives. There's an element of this in The day the Earth caught fire as people continue to live their lives as the earth rocked by nuclear tests hurtles towards the sun.
Edward Judd plays a reporter for a london newspaper who through bouts of drinking discovers that similtanious nuclear tests by the americans and russians have dislodged the earth from it's orbit and have set it on course to hit the sun, Judds not bad in the role and Janet Munro makes an excellent and sexy female interest but Leo McKern can't help but steal the show. His grizzled portrayal of Judds friend and newpaper journo is electrifying to watch. It's worth the money just to see him but you won't have wasted any cash on this film even if he hadn't been in it. The day the Earth caught fire is an intelligent taught and highly entertaining film, to call it Sci fi would be wrong, It's just an excellent drama with a slightly far fetched plot. Although at the time it really didn't seem that far fetched living under the shadow of the bomb.
The end is particularly un Hollywood as it leaves you hanging, never finding out the fate of the characters.

one of the best British thrillers ever
Review date: 2003-11-16 Rating: 10 out of 10

I know that's a pretty grand claim of mine in the title, but I really believe this is one of the most intelligent, well-acted, and chillingly effective films we've ever made. Made at the height of concern about nuclear warfare (this was the era of the CND Aldermaston marches), it takes the idea that by detonating two massive nuclear bombs at once we have caused the Earth to shift off its axis and ... gulp, we are now heading towards the sun! Much of the unfolding terror is seen through the eyes of journalists in a newspaper office covering daily what could be the oncoming end of the world. These scenes are highly effective indeed, most particularly the briefings in the Editor's office, and Leo McKern is splendid as a jaundiced hack getting his biggest (and most unwelcome!) story. As the days click on and society begins to unravel, with water rationing causing riots and old diseases making a comeback, you even get reminded of later terrifying docu-dramas like "The War Game" and "Threads". On a lighter note look out for a before-he-was-famous Michael Caine appearing briefly in one scene as a policeman doing traffic duty.

Product Details/Specifications


Actor(s):
Michael Goodliffe
Leo McKern
Bernard Braden
Edward Judd
Janet Munro

Creators:
Janet Munro (Primary Contributor)
Leo McKern (Primary Contributor)

Director(s):

Recording label: Network
Manufacturer: Network
EAN: 5027626213848
Binding: DVD
Number of items: 1
Format: Black & White, PAL, Widescreen,
Release date: 2001-08-27
Number of discs: 1
Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
Audience rating: Parental Guidance
Running time: 99 minutes
Theatrical release date: 1962-05
Language: English (Original Language)

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