Product Description: At exactly 6:12 am government research scientist Zac Hobson (a powerhouse performance by Bruno Lawrence of SMASH PALACE and UTU) awakens to discover that he may be the last man on earth: homes highways and entire cities are deserted. Empty planes have fallen from the sky. Every living thing has disappeared. But for Hobson the ultimate shock is still to come months later when he finds that he is not alone. With the addition of a beautiful young woman (Alison Routledge) and a Maori trucker (Pete Smith) the apocalypse suddenly becomes very personal.What has happened to everyone else on the planet? Why has Zac himself survived? Will sexual tension lead to sudden violence? And what is the ultimate responsibility for a man of science when the end of the world may be just the beginning?System Requirements:Length: 91 minsFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: SCI-FI/FANTASY Rating: R UPC: 013131414691 Manufacturer No: DV14146
Amazon.com: The "last man on Earth" sci-fi sub-genre is reasonably well represented by director Geoff Murphy's The Quiet Earth, a 1985 film from New Zealand that earned plenty of Kiwi kudos in its day but still fails to measure up to the great expectations engendered by its premise. Bruno Lawrence is Zac Hobson, a techie who's involved in "Project Flashlight," a vast energy grid that allows war planes to circle the planet without ever refueling (leave it to "the Americans," who are blamed for the whole ensuing mess, to come up with such a diabolical idea). When what Zac drolly describes as "a malfunction" (thereafter known as "the Effect") occurs early one morning, he awakens to discover that he's apparently the only survivor, human or otherwise, of a catastrophe that has altered the very fabric of the universe. Lawrence is terrific in these early scenes, which find him gradually losing his marbles as the gravity of his situation sets in; wearing nothing but a woman's slip, he stands on a balcony and grandly addresses an "audience" of cardboard standups (from Queen Elizabeth and Hitler to Bob Marley and Alfred Hitchcock), declaring himself "president of this quiet Earth." But effectively sustaining such weirdness is tough, and although Murphy, to his credit, doesn't over-rely on special effects and scientific gobbledygook, the film isn't up to it. Turns out Zac isn't the only survivor, and when first a pretty young woman (Alison Routledge) and then a Maori man (Peter Smith) appear, the director tries to balance the human dynamics with the sci-fi elements (seems the Effect may not be over after all) to awkward and unsatisfying effect, and the film loses most of its momentum. As for the ending, well, safe to say that it will leave some viewers perplexed, others feeling that they've been bamboozled, and still others thinking that its mystery and lack of explicable closure are perfect. --Sam Graham
Good sci fi The 1985 sci fi film from New Zealand, The Quiet Earth, is one of the best of the `Last Man/Woman On Earth' apocalyptic films. That said, since that is a sub-subgenre of film (subgenre being Apocalyptic films in the genre sci fi), it's merely a good film overall, for it progressively gets weaker as it goes on, as do all films in that vein. Like most films in this sub-subgenre, it falls prey to tropes that undermine it- the first being the predictability of sexual or racial conflict (two for two), and the second being following the Dumbest Possible Action, wherein characters do really dumb things no one would do in real life, just so the film can move along. Of course, some slack must be given to films like this re: their scientific explanations for the depopulation of the world. In this film, it is ascribed to a Project Flashlight that the New Zealand government was working on in concert with the United States of America. It seems that a worldwide power grid was to be established via airplanes or satellites (it's never made clear- as it should be, lest the science bog down in irreality) and something goes wrong at 6:12 am, New Zealand time. The universe changes to the point that only those people who were near death at `the effect' survive. The rest all vanish- save a few corpses who were likewise near death, then died slowly afterwards. Perhaps it was a quantum shift in reality, but it's clearly a stand-in for nuclear power- something that New Zealand banned around the time of the film. A thin vein of Anti-American Big Brotherism thus hangs over the film. The film owes much to prior Last Man films- such as the obligatory scenes of a shopping spree at a shopping mall (Dawn Of The Dead), the scenes in the church (The Last Man On Earth), sexual tensions between two men over the last woman (The Last Woman On Earth), racial tensions (The World, The Flesh, And The Devil), political brinksmanship backfiring (On The Beach), the Earth changed, but still the Earth (Planet Of The Apes), and there are also some great scenes unique to it- such as an airplane that seemingly fell from the sky and crashed into a building. But, the Dumbest Possible Action tropes- such as Api almost killing Zac in a car chase, or Zac simply not telling Api of Project Flashlight, and their shared assumptions that they alone are the survivors, is simply untenable- even if one suspends much disbelief. After all, if there are at least three survivors in Auckland alone, there would likely be dozens in New Zealand, and several thousand around the world- more than enough to repopulate the world; and worth seeking out. This is yet another unredeemed cliché of the Last Man genre. Yet, despite all its flaws, I like this film more than I should, in relation to its artistic quality; possibly because in its flaws are the possibilities of what might have been a great sci fi film, in the hands of a better director with a better screenplay. As it is, though, The Quiet Earth is merely a satisfactory entry in the Last Man On Earth sub-subgenre. But, in a medium where even mere satisfaction is so rare, why complain too much?
Understated but good The quiet earth is not a remarkable film (I give it a 3.5), but it does manage to capture both mood and feelings only present in a handful of other films. The plot isn't much more than sci-fi mumbo-jumbo; just enough scaffolding to get to where the film is really trying to go: namely, what happens to the human psyche in total isolation, or in the company of only one or two other human beings.
With two males and one female, there is a thread of jealously, but it isn't over-explored; much is left for you to contemplate after the film has run its course. Gender relations are brought up (though not so convincingly) as are race issues. There is even a bit of paranoia (as you might expect being an 80's production), but like everything else, you're just given enough to want more.
The film ends in a way that may be to abrupt for some and dissatisfying, but to run longer may have been an artistic mistake. Ultimately, the film succeeds at making you think about this situation, but as a movie there isn't enough action, conflict or even dialogue to sustain it for much more than its running length or to make multiple viewings rewarding.
Alone Again hear on Earth I saw this movie years ago when I was fresh out of college and fell in love with it. It is a very slow moving, thoughtful movie.
One of those rare gems of a movie. Once upon a time this movie found its way to my local video rental store. It must have just come out because it was only there for a short time. As I browsed the sci-fi section looking for something new to watch I stumbled upon A Quiet Earth.
It is really an interesting movie and I have always liked these types of movies. I won't spoil the plot for you but when I saw it on Amazon I bought it immediately. Glad to have it in my collection.
The Quiet earth is worth talking about Here is one of the few sci-fi films every made in New Zealand. And it is fantastic, try watching if you like your sci-fi cerabal, sort of like CYPHER or Epsilon. this is not sci-fi action or one for kids. (I think I first liked it at around 15...
The acting by Bruno Lawrence is powerful and he carries the film. which has just 3 actors.
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