The Quiet Earth
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Zac Hobson (Bruno Lawrence), a scientist working on a pioneering energy project, wakes up one morning to find that the technology has malfunctioned, leaving him as seemingly the only man left on earth. As Zac wanders the deserted city of Hamilton, New Zealand, hoping to find some remnant of life besides himself, his mind begins to disintegrate until fantasy and reality blur together in a heady, terrifying cocktail. Directed by Geoff Murphy and adapted from the 1982 novel of the same name, The Quiet Earth has attained cult status as one of the most distinctive post-apocalyptic sci-fi movies of the 1980s. By turns haunting, surreal and inscrutable, the film asks questions about humankind's insatiable appetite for destruction that are arguably as prescient today as they were at the time of its release thirty years ago. (Arrow Films)
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Reviews (4)
An interestingly conceived and unusually ended story about a man who wakes up one day to find that all the people on the globe had disappeared and he was left alone. A very imaginative script, a great performance by New Zealand star Bruno Lawrence, and most importantly, proof that you can make great science fiction without big special effects. In hindsight, I see this film as a truly unique piece of New Zealand cinema that was still in its infancy in terms of international recognition. Really, this film gets under your skin and stays there for a long time. I watched it almost 15 years ago on ČT2. Interesting fact: director Geoff Murphy later assisted Peter Jackson with the battle scenes in the Lord of the Rings trilogy.
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The idea and atmosphere are interesting, but The Quiet Earth is a half-baked sci-fi flick in terms of its story. And the characters behave very strangely in places. Geoff Murphy is an engaging post-apocalyptic director, but he’s a terrible psychologist. The popcorn flick I Am Legend isn’t much deeper or smarter, but it’s at least more entertaining and doesn’t pretend to be anything it isn’t.
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A very good film that manages to very effectively depict what the world would be like after only one person remained on it. Or just a few people. The introduction is truly excellent and the behavior of the sole person is understandable if you put yourself in his situation, which is not that difficult in this case. The finale is a bit peculiar, but not so much in the case of sci-fi.
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A superb film is born from one brilliant idea incorporated into an excellent screenplay, three talented actors, and maximized formal elements. Expensive digital effects, once unthinkable for their time, were replaced by costly set designs (the airplane in the wreckage, the destruction of the gas station), and the final result is even more impactful. Nothing matches the depressing atmosphere of the desolate streets. Perhaps it's unfortunate that the whole unraveling of the story is unnecessarily complicated (in terms of the screenplay), while it's presented so simply (in terms of direction). But let's be honest, when the protagonist says "And now, I am God!" in the middle of the film, who wouldn't want to switch places with him at that moment?
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