It
is probably the creepy understated quality of VILLAGE OF THE DAMNED
and CHILDREN OF THE DAMNED that has made these two 1960s British
science fiction movies minor genre classics. But then again, it could be
that films about evil children tend to have a mildly fascinating quality
that usually appeals to a cult audience- I know I can’t resist them.
Certainly, these films had more shock value when they were released- back
before the sexual revolution, where the notion of an unwed mother was
something frightening in itself, and could be exploited in a sci-fi/horror
movie. Anyway, its great that Warner Home Video has seen fit to release VILLAGE
OF THE DAMNED and its pseudo-sequel CHILDREN OF THE DAMNED as a
double feature, in great looking widescreen presentations at a bargain
basement price of $19.98 for both films.
Adapted
from the John Wyndham novel, The Midwich Cuckoos, VILLAGE
OF THE DAMNED tells the story of a small English village where a
strange phenomena renders the entire populace unconscious for a matter of
hours. Although the villagers seem to awaken unharmed, in a few weeks time
all the townswomen (including the virgins) discover to their shock and
amazement that they are pregnant. All the children are born at roughly the
same time and have a similar appearance denoted by strange eyes and
platinum blonde hair. As they grow up, the children exhibit strange powers
that ultimately turn them into uncontrollable murderous monsters that are
obviously not of this Earth. The cast of VILLAGE OF THE DAMNED
features George Sanders, Barbara Shelley, Michael Gwynn, Laurence Naismith
and John Phillips.
CHILDREN
OF THE DAMNED takes a decidedly different tact with the material,
instead of a pocket of similar looking moppets from outer space, the movie
focuses on an investigation involving super-intelligent, but seemingly
normal looking children that have sprung up individually around the world.
Of course, the United Nations sponsors a scientific study that brings
together the six super children, who flee adult and government control and
take refuge inside a deserted old London church. Eventually the children
are tracked down, and when they exhibit decidedly lethal abilities…
Well, you can guess what the military response is going to be. The cast of
CHILDREN OF THE DAMNED includes Ian Hendry, Alan Badel, Barbara
Ferris, Alfred Burke, Sheila Allen, Ralph Michael, Patrick Wymark and
Martin Miller.
Warner
Home Video has made VILLAGE OF THE DAMNED and CHILDREN OF THE
DAMNED available on DVD in 1.78:1 wide screen presentations that have
been enhanced for playback on 16:9 displays. Both black and white films
look quite good and Warner must be credited with producing truly fine
presentations for each. Each film appears crisply defined and produces a
generally dimensional look. Black are always inky, whites are pure and
both demonstrate excellent grayscale and contrast. Despite both films
being over forty years of age, blemishes are minimal and very little
appreciable grain is present in either. Digital compression artifacts are
always well contained.
.
Both VILLAGE OF THE DAMNED and CHILDREN OF THE DAMNED
feature perfectly fine Dolby Digital monaural soundtracks. Most of the age
related background hiss and other audible anomalies have been cleaned up
in the mastering process, leaving the track with a very respectable sonic
quality. Certainly, there are limitations in fidelity, but neither film
suffers from harsh or brittle sounding music or effects. Voices are
cleanly reproduced and the dialogue maintains complete intelligibility. A
French language track has also encoded onto each film, as have English,
French and Spanish subtitles.
.
.
Music underscores the basic interactive menus, which allow one access to
the standard movie/scene selection and set up features, as well as a few
nice extra features. Both films include a running audio commentary, VILLAGE
OF THE DAMNED features author Steve Haberman, while screenwriter John
Briley is on hand for CHILDREN OF THE DAMNED. Each film’s
theatrical trailer closes out the extras.
. VILLAGE OF THE DAMNED and CHILDREN OF THE DAMNED are minor
genre classics that remain quite enjoyable, even if they aren’t quite as
shocking as they used to be. Warner has done a great job with the DVD,
offering terrific presentations, nice extras and a bargain basement price.
If you are a genre fan, you’ll definitely want to spend some time in the
VILLAGE OF THE DAMNED and with the CHILDREN OF THE DAMNED.
It
is probably the creepy understated quality of VILLAGE OF THE DAMNED
and CHILDREN OF THE DAMNED that has made these two 1960s British
science fiction movies minor genre classics. But then again, it could be
that films about evil children tend to have a mildly fascinating quality
that usually appeals to a cult audience- I know I can’t resist them.
Certainly, these films had more shock value when they were released- back
before the sexual revolution, where the notion of an unwed mother was
something frightening in itself, and could be exploited in a sci-fi/horror
movie. Anyway, its great that Warner Home Video has seen fit to release VILLAGE
OF THE DAMNED and its pseudo-sequel CHILDREN OF THE DAMNED as a
double feature, in great looking widescreen presentations at a bargain
basement price of $19.98 for both films.
Adapted
from the John Wyndham novel, The Midwich Cuckoos, VILLAGE
OF THE DAMNED tells the story of a small English village where a
strange phenomena renders the entire populace unconscious for a matter of
hours. Although the villagers seem to awaken unharmed, in a few weeks time
all the townswomen (including the virgins) discover to their shock and
amazement that they are pregnant. All the children are born at roughly the
same time and have a similar appearance denoted by strange eyes and
platinum blonde hair. As they grow up, the children exhibit strange powers
that ultimately turn them into uncontrollable murderous monsters that are
obviously not of this Earth. The cast of VILLAGE OF THE DAMNED
features George Sanders, Barbara Shelley, Michael Gwynn, Laurence Naismith
and John Phillips.
CHILDREN
OF THE DAMNED takes a decidedly different tact with the material,
instead of a pocket of similar looking moppets from outer space, the movie
focuses on an investigation involving super-intelligent, but seemingly
normal looking children that have sprung up individually around the world.
Of course, the United Nations sponsors a scientific study that brings
together the six super children, who flee adult and government control and
take refuge inside a deserted old London church. Eventually the children
are tracked down, and when they exhibit decidedly lethal abilities…
Well, you can guess what the military response is going to be. The cast of
CHILDREN OF THE DAMNED includes Ian Hendry, Alan Badel, Barbara
Ferris, Alfred Burke, Sheila Allen, Ralph Michael, Patrick Wymark and
Martin Miller.
Warner
Home Video has made VILLAGE OF THE DAMNED and CHILDREN OF THE
DAMNED available on DVD in 1.78:1 wide screen presentations that have
been enhanced for playback on 16:9 displays. Both black and white films
look quite good and Warner must be credited with producing truly fine
presentations for each. Each film appears crisply defined and produces a
generally dimensional look. Black are always inky, whites are pure and
both demonstrate excellent grayscale and contrast. Despite both films
being over forty years of age, blemishes are minimal and very little
appreciable grain is present in either. Digital compression artifacts are
always well contained.
.
.
.
