Nigel Kneale (1922-2006) was a British/Manx author whose influence on science fiction, supernatural fiction and television drama cannot be understated. Kneale wrote many scripts, screenplays and stories that would have a formative influence in English drama. While Kneale is best known for his Quatermass stories, his work is much more varied than those relating to Professor Bernard Quatermass. He has a fairly vast body of work that still exists, although due to the nearsighted preservation practices of the BBC and ITV affiliates of the 1940s-1970s, many of his contributions to TV drama do not survive, at least in their original form. The man wrote books, TV plays, film scripts and radio dramas. The purpose of this article is to identify what of his "genre work" still exists, what has been released and the best versions available to acquire. While books have been written about Kneale's career, impact on modern genre fantasy and his works, here we will let the author speak for himself directly to his audience.
Other Adaptations
The Quatermass Xperiment (Hammer Film, August 26, 1955)
Kneale had little involvement in the script, which was written primarily by Richard Landau and Val Guest. Released as "The Creeping Unknown" in the USA.
Best Version : 2023 Kino Lorber Blu-Ray Region A "Special Edition"
The Quatermass Experiment (Script Book, Penguin Books 1959; Arrow Books 1979)
These are printings of Kneale's scripts as he delivered them to the BBC. The book contained rare photographs of the broadcast production. The Penguin Books release may be more common than the Arrow Books re-release, but the Arrow edition, released twenty years later, has an newly added Foreword written by Kneale and can be borrowed from the Internet Archive.
The Quatermass Experiment (BBC Four Television Program, April 2, 2005)
This is a remake of the original serial condensed into a single feature-length program. It was broadcast live but some sequences were restaged after the broadcast to minimize technical flaws and actor flubs for DVD and rebroadcast. This is the last project Kneale had any involvement in before his death.
Availability : 2005 DVD Region 2 BBC/2 Entertain
This story is easily one of the most important works of science fiction ever made for the small screen, but experiencing the full story (or 2/3rds of it) has to be done by means other than the original broadcast. The three other adaptations all have their good points. The camera scripts come closest to the story as broadcast, but are in parts illegible. The script book is quite readable and comes closest to how Kneale imagined the story to be presented, but there are differences between the scripts as Kneale submitted them and the episodes that were broadcast, mainly due to the episodes overrunning their allotted time. Episode 3 ends differently in the script book versus the camera script, for example, and in my opinion his original ending was superior. The script books can be expensive and they are paperbacks for the most part, so their durability may be less than spectacular.
The Hammer film version is technically the most impressive of these adaptations and has a very good Blu-ray from Kino Lorber. The original Blu-ray from 2014 was recently and quietly superseded by a 2023 Blu-ray "Special Edition" from the Kino Lorber. The 2014 disc came on a single-layer Blu-ray, the 2023 release now uses a dual-layer Blu-ray for a higher bitrate. Unfortunately the Blu-ray is Region A locked, so UK viewers will need a way around the region encoding to watch this presentation. A common theme in this blog entry is that you will need a way to watch Blu-ray and DVDs without being beholden to region locking if you wish to watch the best versions of many of Kneale's works. The film is not the truest to Kneale's original thoughts and ideas but it is entertaining and much more briskly paced.
The BBC's 2005 remake of The Quatermass Experiment was broadcast live, which was a rarity for television drama produced in the 21st Century. The remake is more faithful to the 1953 serial's plot than the Hammer film version even though it was updated to the present day. The BBC production shot the remake on standard definition filmized digital video, so a Blu-ray release cannot not offer as significant improvements to the video quality from DVD to Blu-ray as would a theatrical film with good elements. The DVD itself does not present the remake precisely as it was broadcast, as a live TV presentation invariably came with line flubs and technical imperfections, scenes were remounted after the broadcast to present a more polished product for home video (this also happened with Quatermass II, see below). This was the last project Kneale had any involvement in before his death.
Other AdaptationsQuatermass 2 (Hammer Film, May 24, 1957)
Released as Enemy From Space in the USA. Fewer changes than the prior film because Kneale wrote the screenplay for this film.
Best Version : 2019 Shout! Factory Blu-ray Region A
Quatermass II (Script Book, Penguin Books 1960; Arrow Books 1979)
These are transcriptions of Kneale's scripts as he delivered them to the BBC. Kneale added a Foreword to the 1979 publication and they contain rare photographs of the broadcast production. However, unlike the previous book, Quatermass II survives in its entirety in its original form (more or less), making this work less vital. There were fewer time overrun issues than the prior serial, so this book is significantly closer to the original broadcast. The Penguin release appears to be more common than the Arrow release and can be borrowed from the Internet Archive. Kneale also wrote a novelization of the story for The Daily Mail newspaper, serialized from December 5-20, 1955.
All six episodes survive as telerecordings of the original broadcasts on 35mm film. Most of the prerecorded film material also exists on 35mm film. Repeated in two parts on December 26, 1959 and January 2, 1960.
Other Adaptations
Quatermass and the Pit (Script Book, Penguin Books 1960; Arrow Books 1979)
These are transcriptions of Kneale's scripts as he delivered them to the BBC. Kneale added a Foreword to the 1979 publication and they contain rare photographs of the broadcast production. Quatermass and the Pit survives in its entirety in its original form, making this work less vital than the script book for The Quatermass Experiment. Unlike the prior two stories, which overran their timeslots, Quatermass and the Pit was allotted 5 extra minutes per episode to avoid overruns, so this script book should be very close to what was broadcast. The Penguin release appears to be more common than the Arrow release.
Quatermass and the Pit (Hammer Film, November 9, 1967)
Released as Five Million Years to Earth in the USA. Much more faithful to the BBC broadcast than either of the previous Hammer efforts.
Best Version : 2019 Shout! Factory Blu-ray Region A
Other Adaptations
Quatermass (Novelization, Arrow Books 1979)
This is a novelization of the serial, not a script book. It would be the last work of fiction on paper published by Kneale during his lifetime and can be borrowed from the Internet Archive.
The Quatermass Conclusion (Euston Films, January 20, 1980)
This is a reworking of the serial to condense the narrative into a feature length film instead of four hour-long episodes. There are story differences between the serial and the film version and the aspect ratio is appropriate for theaters.
Best Version : 2015 Blu-ray Network Region B (contains both serial and film versions)
The Quatermass Memoirs (BBC Radio 3 Drama/Documentary, Five Episodes, March 4-8, 1996)
Other AdaptationThe Abominable Snowman (Hammer Film August 26, 1957)
Released as The Abominable Snowman of the Himalayas in the USA
Best Version : 2019 Shout! Factory Blu-ray Region A (contains both longer UK and shorter US versions)
Has not survived, would have been shot on black and white videotape with filmed inserts
Other AdaptationThe Road (BBC Radio 4 Drama, October 27, 2018)
Not available on a physical format
Other AdaptationThe Stone Tape (BBC Radio 4 Drama, October 31, 2015)
Not available on a physical format
Has not survived, would have been shot on color videotape with filmed inserts
Adaptation of H. G. Wells' 1901 novel.
Adaptation of Susan Hill's 1983 novel.
No comments:
Post a Comment