The Quiet Earth (1985)

Wonderful character development!

Boring, over-political, tech fuzed mess

It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

It's simply great fun, a winsome film and an occasionally over-the-top luxury fantasy that never flags.

It's no secret that New Zealander Geoff Murphy didn't have a great deal of cash to make "The Quiet Earth", but quite why that convinces us that the film might have been made 10 or even 20 years before it was is the first mystery about this somewhat mysterious sci-fi effort. which draws on a novel from British-born, NZ-based writer Craig Harrison. Indeed, the film has a book-ish feel about it, and it's torn between rational detective-work about what caused the apocalypse and dystopia we see (work that doesn't seem to get too far, yet still appears to supply a means of ending the predicament) and more sociological-emotional comment about how things work when you're the only human being left (harking back as far as Mary Shelley's "The Last Man"). The latter strand then throws in a bit of Antipodean rebel stuff in which our hero Zach (Bruno Lawrence) goes through various stages of "gentrification", defies a number of (no-longer-apt) conventions and ultimately views himself as Emperor of all he surveys. Now this may be authentic behaviour to imagine for unimagineable circumstances, but it's hard to argue for it adding much to the film overall. For, like its zombie-plague-related predecessor "The Omega Man" and indeed "I am Legend", our movie here insists on pursuing that old (at-times annoying) plot device that in fact there are just a few people left, NOT just one. And, since it seems that New Zealand at least has 3 such survivors, and since that's first one man + one woman (played by the intrepid Lawrence plus Alison Routledge), and since the pairing eventually expands into an eternal-triangle (thanks to the appearance of an action-hero Maori character played by Pete Smith), we pass through two further interesting sub-parts of the film (which vaguely bring to mind the BBC's original "The Survivors" also including such storylines). What is quite fascinating here is how the sympathising (male) viewer quickly starts seeing the Routledge character as some kind of bewitching goddess figure, where perhaps she would not be very noticeable at all in a High Street full of people. That can only mean that the viewer has somehow been drawn into the bleak world of the film, empathising with the need for physical/emotional/sexual contact under a degree of isolation that goes beyond "desert island" level. Furthermore, Routledge as Joanne reflects stark evolutionary reality rather bluntly as she does the calculations as to which guy she's better off with, but mostly (one supposes authentically) flirts with both and flits from one to the other. Though blighted - like the piece as a whole - by cheapish special effects, the ending has its own power, and I again felt a wave of fellow-feeling for Zach - and thus for humanity - thanks to it.As a whole, I stick with my headline comment in believing that "The Quiet Earth" is a hair'sbreadth away from turning Turkey - bits of it are silly, incongruous, cheap, pointless and badly done. But the actors put in quite reasonable performances, and the temerity of Murphy has to be admired at some level. Furthermore, a score from New Zealander John Charles that seems OTT for much of the film somehow comes into its own in the final scene.In short, the people that put this film together really did try to do what they could with a big storty, and effort is always to be admired.

The movie starts with an amazing sunrise. The magical beauty of this title scene provides the whole curiosity to watch the entire movie.Zac Hobson wakes up in the morning. He felt something strange about that day. Soon, he discovers that the Earth was deserted; the whole population was vanished. He goes crazy being alone. Then, he tries to live like a king. He gets a female company and they are trying to solve this mystery. Soon, they find the third survivor. The presence of the third man, of course brings jealousy and suspicion.A cool SciFi movie with a limited number of actors. A very well made movie. It bagged all the 8 awards nominated for the movie at the New Zealand Film and TV Awards. This was the first ever science fiction movie made and produced by the country of New Zealand.Do not miss this awesome movie.A must watch.#KiduMovie

The world changes at 6:12am. Zac Hobson wakes up to find himself alone. He's a scientist and suspects his work in Project Flashlight is responsible for the disappearance. It's a global energy grid thought up by the Americans. He starts to go mad with loneliness and then Joanne finds him. The flashes continue to happen. Zac is less than enthusiastic about finding survivors as he conducts experiments. Api takes him prisoner.This is not the first man-alone-in-the-world movie. It takes the theme and breathe life into it. The life and death idea is terrific and well thought out. This is very well made especially for a New Zealand indie in the 80s. The low budget is used to maximum effect. Zac is a terribly flawed human being and the others are also very human. This is not a monster movie so they are truly alone on the quiet earth. The last scene evokes a sense of wonder and bewilderment. It's one of my favorite small sci-fi indie.

I do not understand all comments ... I'm not sure if this is the same movie I'm talking about but this is the monumental waste of time ... One of the worst movies I've ever seen. What the hack is wrong with you people? This is c(..)p ... simply saying ... the same level as "Plan 9 from Outer Space" I should write something about screenplay, music, director ... but there is nothing to write... movie is about nothing. Another stupid idea is to have 10 lines of text in review :) Sometimes it's enough to say just one word ... but OK, This is line 8, this is line 9 and this will be line 10 for your convenience ..... Thank you !!!!!!!!!