The Day The Earth Caught Fire

I had never heard of this film until a friend suggested I should watch it when it was screened on Film Four several years ago. Afterwards, I mentioned to my mother how much I had enjoyed it - her response was, "How have you never seen it before?" Unfortunately, apparently I am not the only one, as many friends I have now recommended it to have never seen it.

It is a very British disaster movie - it is not hysterical, it is not glamorous. It is restrained, and literate, well structured, written and acted. If anything, it is the closest to a Wyndham novel that has ever been put on film. The characters are real, and all have their own wants, needs, quirks, and weaknesses. The nominal "hero" has a drinking problem and a broken marriage, hardly typical for sixties sci fi fare. The leading lady is strong, independent, wilful, and totally capable of functioning without a man by her side. And the story itself, for the time it was written, seemed all to plausible, and in the best tradition of Wyndham, reflects how a mass population would be effected were a catastrophe to strike the world.

At this price, this gem should be added to the DVD libraries of many discerning movie buffs.

the previous review is bang on and needs no additional guff from me.a classic badly forgotten british film that really should be seen by s.f film fans and everyone else.