The Quiet Earth (1985)
DVD5 | ISO+MDS | NTSC 16:9 | Cover + DVD Scan | 01:30:53 | 3,91 Gb
Audio: English AC3 2.0 @ 192 Kbps + Commentary track | Subtitles: None
Genre: Sci-fi, Mystery
DVD5 | ISO+MDS | NTSC 16:9 | Cover + DVD Scan | 01:30:53 | 3,91 Gb
Audio: English AC3 2.0 @ 192 Kbps + Commentary track | Subtitles: None
Genre: Sci-fi, Mystery
Director: Geoff Murphy (as Geoffrey Murphy)
Stars: Bruno Lawrence, Alison Routledge, Pete Smith
The Quiet Earth is a 1985 New Zealand science fiction post-apocalyptic film directed by Geoff Murphy and starring Bruno Lawrence, Alison Routledge and Pete Smith as three survivors of a cataclysmic disaster. It is loosely based on the 1981 science fiction novel of the same name by Craig Harrison. Its other sources of inspiration have been listed as the 1954 novel I Am Legend, Dawn of the Dead, and especially the 1959 film The World, the Flesh and the Devil, of which it has been called an unofficial remake.
July 5 begins as a normal winter morning near Auckland, New Zealand. At 6:12 a.m., the Sun momentarily darkens and a red light surrounded by darkness is briefly seen. Zac Hobson (Bruno Lawrence) is a scientist working for Delenco, part of an international consortium working on "Project Flashlight", an experiment to create a global energy grid. He awakens abruptly; when he turns on his radio, he is unable to receive any transmissions. Zac gets dressed and drives into the deserted city. Investigating a fire, he discovers the wreckage of a passenger jet, but there are no bodies, only empty seats.
A strangely satsfiying low-budget mind-bender, and certainly one of the coolest flicks to come out of New Zealand (before Peter Jackson showed up), The Quiet Earth has lived for two decades as one of those "buzzed about" movie-geek movies. It's one of those titles that was available on VHS back in the day, and you probably never got around to seeing it, but every time someone mentions "that sci-fi flick where the guy discovers he's the last man on Earth," it's probably The Quiet Earth they're talking about.
The Quiet Earth was more or less Geoff Murphy's coming-out party, and seeing as how the guy went on to direct stuff like Young Guns 2, Under Siege 2, Fortress 2, and Freejack, I don't think I'm going out on a limb by calling The Quiet Earth Mr. Murphy's finest film. To be fair, Murphy also directed an underrated cable western called The Last Outlaw, so perhaps there's a title for your Netflix queue.
I'll have to keep the plot synopsis brief, because any extensive breakdown would inevitably spoil some of the movie's surprises, but The Quiet Earth is about a New Zealand scientist who gets out of bed one morning and goes about his morning routine … only to discover that any trace of humanity has been erased. No friends, no co-workers, no gas station attendants. Nada. So lonely old Zack decides to do what you and I might do in the same situation: He gets a fancy new house, does a whole lot of shopping, and slowly begins losing his mind.
Occasionally Zach will ruminate upon whether the experiment he was working on was somehow responsible for the global human extermination, but he can't really be sure one way or another. And just when he's pretty much reached the end of his rope, Zach makes a discovery…
Basically, The Quiet Earth is a soft-spoken, fascinating, and impressively mounted sci-fi drama. It unfolds like a particularly cool episode of The Twilight Zone and it keeps the apocalypse interesting up to and including the deliciously ambiguous finalé. The lead performance by the late Bruno Lawrence is absolutely fantastic: he's enough of a "normal joe" to keep our attention, but he's also smart enough to figure out what's going on … plus he's quite oddly amusing in certain scenes.
Made on a shoestring budget, but packed to bursting with clever set design and compelling ideas, The Quiet Earth has well-earned its mini-cult following, and it's very cool to finally get the flick released on DVD. (Trivia note: Now-bigtime director Lee Tamahori got his start as an assistant director on The Quiet Earth, because apparently those New Zealand filmmakers really stick together!)
The Quiet Earth takes a much softer and less explosive route to examining life beyond the pale. Here we have New Zealander Zac Hobson (Bruno Lawrence), who awakes one morning to find he's the only guy around. Literally. The rest of humanity – and all animal life, it seems – has simply vanished. Zac spends the following days in predictable stages of coping: Confusion, research, gluttony, insanity, and rebuilding – until a fetching second survivor, Joanne (Alison Routledge), shows up at his place.
Just when you think the movie is going to turn into a love story (blech!), director Geoff Murphy spuns the film into a new direction: A third survivor is found along with a cause for why they managed to survive and a theory about why 'the effect' occurred. The end plays out as the trio races against time to stop the universe from ripping apart completely.
Heavy stuff, and Murphy does amazing work with a deft script that, despite minimal dialogue and even fewer characters, keeps you engaged for its full running time and, incredibly, leaves you wanting more at the end. Murphy's later credits (Young Guns II, Under Siege 2) wouldn't indicate such an ability to produce powerful action/thriller/dramas on a tiny budget – and my, what special effects! that score! – but never you mind. The Quiet Earth is a cult classic of the good variety. There's not a moment of schlock or goofiness, and its topic (a metaphor for nuclear annihilation) is just as prescient today.
Special Features:
- Audio Commentary with Writer/Producer Sam Pillsbury
- Theatrical Trailer
Many Thanks to Original uploader.