The Quiet Earth

1985 "The End of the World is Just the Beginning"
6.7| 1h31m| R| en| More Info
Released: 18 October 1985 Released
Producted By: Cinepro
Country: New Zealand
Budget: 0
Revenue: 0
Official Website:
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After a top-secret experiment misfires, a scientist may be the only man left alive in the world.

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Director

Geoff Murphy

Production Companies

Cinepro

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The Quiet Earth Audience Reviews

Micitype Pretty Good
Console best movie i've ever seen.
Humaira Grant It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.
Bob This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.
James 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.
Sameir Ali 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
dungeonstudio The movie starts off with a seemingly hot sunrise, and to a naked man asleep on his bed. The bedside clock reads 6:11, and for a brief moment there's a flash and weird shift to time and space. At 6:12, the man awakes somewhat confused and bewildered, but gets ready to begin his day. On his way to work, he notices there is nary a soul around. Vehicles are abandoned in the middle of the street, and a fiery plane crash with no one on the scene in way of survivors or rescuers. He makes his way to his work at a research facility with a large satellite dish, only to find in it's emptiness that the computers confirm that 'Operation Flashlight' has been initiated. So how did it go so wrong? And why was this man named Zack the sole survivor? On the surface, the movie deals with Zack's attempts to find other humans that may have survived, while enjoying the wealth and recklessness he can experience by having everything to himself. After brief insanity over his isolation, Zack straightens himself out to study where this project went wrong, and study the effects it may still be causing to time and space on the planet, if not the whole universe. And then a young woman appears. Happy to find another living being, the two set out to find more. And come across a macho native Mari. Needless to say, jealousy and contempt soon follow for the three, while at the same time effects from this mass project may eradicate them and the rest of the universe as well. As a romantic drama, with a little bit of sci-fi thrown in, it's not a bad movie. But on a deeper level dealing with psychological fantasy and/or insanity, the movie is more lasting. Are any of these characters really 'alive', or did they bring the others into the fold due to desperation and atonement? Is 'purity' that pure? Is 'savage' that savage? Can we ever live by ourselves with the choices we make and God's will around us? On that level, the movie bodes much better. It doesn't answer things any clearer, but makes the viewer think more for longer after. And I think that's why it has such staying power to this day.
Janabutts I watched this movie for the first time in 2012 and it promptly became my favorite movie of all time. It starts with a man waking into the world alone. It explores themes of existential questioning, rebirth, and love/betrayal. By the end of the movie, this film leaves you questioning these very things but in your own vastly populated world. I'm a huge movie fan and it's rare I ever get to discover a movie that stops me in my tracks. There is just no movie I can compare this to, except maybe Moon, or Silent Running, just in that they make you question the futility of existence and happen to be in the sci-fi genre. I cannot recommend this film enough, there's nothing like it.