There may be nearly five decades old, but the mid-’60s Technicolor Dalek movies starring Peter Cushing are still causing a commotion; the recent brief theatrical rerelease of StudioCanal’s new 4K restorations of both movies – 1965’s Dr Who and the Daleks and 1966‘s Daleks’ Invasion Earth 2150 A.D. – has seen the films back in the British box office top ten rubbing shoulders with 2022 summer blockbusters like Jurassic World Dominion and Thor Love and Thunder. Their renewed success is a testament to the fact that they’re both damned good little movies in their own right and that many fans who have seen these films on TV, DVD or Blu-ray have never seen them on the big screen – so close you can feel their fire – and couldn’t resist the opportunity to take a trip back to their childhood. And there’s nothing wrong with that… Daleks’ Invasion now arrives in a lavish, chunky 4K boxset destined to sit happily on the shelves alongside its predecessor as the final and ultimate presentation of these very special examples of British cinema in general and Doctor Who in particular.
With Dr Who and the Daleks having been one of 1965’s top twenty movies in the UK, it’s hardly surprising that a sequel was hurried into production to capitalise on the ongoing Dalekmania craze that had sprung up in the wake of the introduction of the Daleks to the fresh-faced Doctor Who TV show at the end of 1963. Offering a truncated version of Terry Nation’s 6-part serial that saw the Daleks return to the series near the beginning of its second season in 1964, Daleks’ Invasion Earth is an altogether faster, more action-packed and more thrilling film than the occasionally plodding Dr Who and the Daleks. Arriving in the ruined London of 2150 A.D. (which never looks anything other than 1966) the fussy Dr Who (Cushing), his granddaughter Susan (Roberta Tovey, returning from the first film), his niece Louise (a fairly thankless role for Jill Curzon), and baffled passing bobby Tom Campbell (Bernard Cribbins) find themselves in the middle of a struggle between a bunch of ragged, determined survivors and the pitiless Daleks who have taken over the planet for their own nefarious (and rather unlikely) purpose. This is a tougher, grittier film with the Daleks at their most ruthless and the human race at its most desperate as it fights to reclaim its planet. It’s not Saving Private Ryan, obviously, it’s a breezy kids’ film from the 1960s, but it’s pleasantly dark and nihilistic in places and at eighty minutes it bounces along filled with action and spectacle the like of which fans of the TV series had never seen before.
The 4K restoration is little short of miraculous but it actually does the film a disservice here and there; wires holding up the impressive Dalek saucer are painfully visible and the Dalek props themselves occasionally look a bit tatty and battle-weary, although perhaps that’s excusable in a film which depicts them at war on a planet they have brought to its knees. The boxset includes familiar bits and pieces – posters, souvenir booklets, art cards, a commemorative coin and a slew of special features ported over from previous releases with a brief new ‘Legacy’ featurette and a commentary previously unavailable in the UK. A cheaper two-disc edition is also available without the paraphernalia of the more expensive collection.
Doctor Who fans are often dismissive of these clearly non-canonical movies, but that’s really their loss. With Dalekmania on the wane in 1966 (fickle kids!), the film underperformed and a planned third Dalek adventure was abandoned. But Daleks Invasion Earth 2150 A.D. is still an utterly joyful piece of nostalgia and this gorgeously-presented boxset finally lavishes upon it the care and attention it has long deserved.
Daleks’ Invasion Earth 2150 A.D. is available now from StudioCanal
