Boobirt Stylish but barely mediocre overall

Platicsco Good story, Not enough for a whole film

Pacionsbo Absolutely Fantastic

SanEat A film with more than the usual spoiler issues. Talking about it in any detail feels akin to handing you a gift-wrapped present and saying, "I hope you like it -- It's a thriller about a diabolical secret experiment."

Prichards12345 Director Val Guest made some good stuff in his time. He did not deserve to end his career stooging for Cannon and Ball that's for sure! I really like his directorial style; he seems to have decided a documentary-style approach was the best way to present outre material; and what worked so well in his Quatermass movies works equally well here.What a refreshing change to have believable characters compared to the one dimensional stereo-types we get today. Having just watched SPECTRE, where the screen writers appear to never have met a real human, it was so good to watch this: well rounded, flawed guys trying to make sense of the momentous events.Edward Judd usually played slightly disagreeable types (at least in most of the movies I've seen him in) and this is no exception. He plays a journalist at the Daily Express who stumbles upon a story that the world is about to end due to twin nuclear missile tests forcing the earth from its orbit, and he does it very well. Slacking off as he's depressed over the failure of his marriage and only able to see his kid for a few hours once a week, hitting the bottle a bit too much, full of sarcastic rejoinders and bitterness, I found him totally convincing, much like the movie, in fact.Leo Mckern is also a stand out as Judd's colleague, who frequently covers for him and despite his acerbic nature is actually soft-hearted. Janet Munro has some quite sexy scenes as Judd's love interest, her near toplessness is surely the only reason I can think of for the film's original X certificate. Munro is very good, too.There is also plenty of historical interest as the film was actually shot in part at the real Daily Express print offices. Indeed, the paper's then editor, Arthur Christensen, also has a role in the movie!It's only real fault is the beatnik riot towards the end. This is just bloody silly and was injected only to add some false drama to the end. This movie didn't need it.The film is superb. Hollywood please don't remake it. I don't want Tom Cruise saving the world, or teenagers uncovering adult conspiracy theories amidst ten thousand special effects shots.

christopher-underwood I was in my mid teens when I first saw this film on its UK theatrical release and have always held it in high regard. Not many seemed to agree with me and it slipped away, rarely appearing on sci-fi, catastrophe or sixties favourites lists. For my part I have avoided watching it again lest it disappoint. It doesn't, watched again last night on a crisp new Blu-ray print, the film shines once more and holds the viewer transfixed from first to last frame. Stunning dialogue and central performances to match. Presumably Edward Judd and Janet Munro both so good in this went nowhere because the film went nowhere. I can only imagine now that perhaps the very real cold war events unfolding in the early sixties left the film looking a little at odds with the world. Whatever, it demands to be seen, if only to remind film makers the magic of telling a story bit by bit. There is nothing to be said for having the big reveal at the start and then spending two hours of special effects trying to match the initial promise. Here in the offices of the Daily Express, the story is gradually uncovered and we much as the reporters struggle to make sense as things go from bad to worse. Fantastic views of London and its various parks, including Battersea in full fairground mode ensure that this is very impressive and involving cinema experience.

andyhise THE DAY THE EARTH CAUGHT FIRE is a remarkable little film, and one I have to thank my big brother Mark for. He bought me the BFI Blu-ray version one Christmas, and suggested I'd like it. He was right.I was surprised by it. The first thing you notice is the terrific, sparky, rapid-fire script written by Wolf Mankowitz and the film's director, Val Guest. It's relentlessly quippy. All three main actors - Leo McKern, Janet Munro and particularly Edward Judd - are memorable. It's all delivered in that clipped Queen's English fashion so evocative of films from that era (pre-Beatles early Sixties), but the dialogue is sarcastic and laddish, not surprising since most of it takes place in a national newspaper newsroom.But oh that misogyny ... TDTECF is a proper throwback to when men were men and women were grateful. Or at least subservient. Nobody's particularly macho, but the tone switches minute-by-minute from incredible early 60s sexism to 40s romance to 50s melodrama at bewildering speed.Memories include a LOT of stock footage .. people carrying dead chickens being a common indication that the world is going to pot, weather-wise. Plus flash floods and lots of ruined buildings. There's some bizarre scenes .. an absurdly white, middle class 'riot' down Chelsea way (it's all set in London), where 100 sweating Beatniks groove around to jazz music throwing water over each other, stands out. One lad makes the worst attempt ever at saving his own life, before falling down a lift shaft. It's the most laughable scene of civil unrest imaginable.Edward Judd's character, the film's anti-hero, is a complete jerk, to be honest. Rude, lazy, self-centered, pretty much a lech and almost a rapist at one point. He's one of the most unlikeable protagonists I've ever seen, but Janet Munro falls for him because, hey, she likes it rough. Leo McKern gets the best lines and nails every one.But finally, the plot. Two hydrogen bomb tests go off simultaneously, one USA, one Russian, accidentally. The earth's axis shifts, and the planet's weather changes ... and we're speeding towards the Sun and certain death. Only one thing to do: detonate more bombs, to re-set the earth's tilt, and correct our course before everything fries. Will it work?The moment the nightmare becomes clear, towards the end of the film, has genuine shock value. From that moment till the terrific ending, TDTECF ratchets up the tension. Time for one last tender moment between, weirdly, two minor characters (bar staff at the alcoholic journalists' favourite pub), and then .... you'll have to see for yourself.Oh, and there are only about 500 people in London throughout the whole film.If it were made today, this film would be fantastically spectacular, with CGI opportunities to die for. I wonder if they'll remake it. If they do, I predict many strong female characters and a distinct lack of attempted date rape.

Scott LeBrun "The Day the Earth Caught Fire" is a very fine British entry into that genre that came to be known as the disaster film. It's done in a very matter of fact, realistic way. In fact, what it really does is it stresses the human element. It might not be satisfactory to people who prefer less talk and more action, but it gives us a bunch of engaging characters whom we can actually care about. The script (by producer / director Val Guest & Wolf Mankowitz) is often very witty and funny. Scenes of destruction are ultimately kept to a minimum.Edward Judd stars as reporter Peter Stenning, who's first to break a critical story. Earth has been knocked off its axis by the Americans and Russians, who performed atom bomb tests at roughly the same time. This causes much upheaval in the weather. Water evaporates and a strange mist covers Britain. However, the characters won't be aware of just how bad the news is for a while, and simply go about their daily business. Peter, a divorced father of one, begins romancing Jeannie Craig (Janet Munro), who becomes his contact.It's worth noting that this ends in a rather brave way, forcing the audience to interpret things. It simply fades to black. (The words "The End" don't even appear.) The low key quality of the narrative works quite well, and the actors are all just wonderful. Judd is a personable hero and the sadly short lived, very lovely Munro is an endearing leading lady. Leo McKern delivers a delightful supporting performance as Peters' co-worker Bill Maguire. Real life newspaperman Arthur Christiansen plays the role of editor Jeff Jefferson, and that's a young Michael Caine as a cop directing traffic late in the film. The action is extremely well shot in Dyaliscope by Harry Waxman, and viewers are advised to check out the full 99 minute version with very striking tinted opening and closing sequences.Very good of its type.Eight out of 10.