X the Unknown 4K (1956)

Hammer’s follow up (of sorts) to their 1955 hit THE QUATERMASS EXPERIMENT is the latest film to receive the company’s whistles and bells deluxe treatment, with a special four disc limited edition set being released that includes a book, lobby card reproductions and a poster. 

In Scotland a large crack opens up in the ground where military training is taking place, killing one man and causing severe radiation burns on another. Because of this the help of the nearby Atomic Energy Laboratory is sought, including Quatermass stand-in Dr Adam Royston (Dean Jagger), his assistant Peter Elliott (William Lucas) and their boss John Elliott (Edward Chapman before he was Mr Grimsdale in Norman Wisdom comedies).

There’s a raid on the base, during which a safe door is melted and nuclear material stolen. A small boy sees something moving in the woods and gets the same radiation burns as the soldier. It turns out the crack in the earth has unleashed a large energy-hungry blob and it’s on the way to the atomic station for its next meal.

An entertaining, brisk, well-shot variation on the Quatermass theme, X THE UNKNOWN benefits from straight-faced performances and scientific explanations that you can just about believe for the length of the running time. Fans will spot plenty of familiar faces and if you’ve not seen this and love British SF you deserve to treat yourself.

As mentioned above, X THE UNKNOWN is getting the deluxe treatment. but if you want just the discs then those are being released in separate two-disc UHD or Blu-ray sets as well. However if you go for the limited edition, aside from the printed material, here’s what you’re going to get:

Disc One (UHD) and Disc Three (Blu-ray)

As with Hammer’s CURSE OF FRANKENSTEIN and other limited edition sets, these two discs have the same material on them. Disc one offers you the UK cut of X THE UNKNOWN in two aspect ratios - 1.66:1 (with optional Toby Hadoke and Andy Murray commentary) and 1.37:1 (with optional Steve Haberman and Constantine Nasr commentary). The film really benefits from the 4K transfer and the two commentaries work well in terms of complimenting one another.

There’s a 62 minute new making of documentary, Into the Unknown, which, if you’ve listened to both commentaries, will feature quite a bit of familiar information from Toby Hadoke, Andy Murray, Wayne Kinsey, Dick Klemensen and Frazer Hines. There’s a 2003 Jimmy Sangster interview (22 minutes) but perhaps the highlight of the disc is a 49 minute in depth and quite touching documentary on special effects wizard Les Bowie, hosted by his co-worker Mike Tilley and featuring Wayne Kinsey. It’s excellent and features a number of models, matte paintings and other examples of Bowie’s work. 

Disc Two (UHD) and Disc Four (Blu-ray)

This disc offers the US cut of X THE UNKNOWN in the 1.85:1 aspect ratio with an optional commentary by David Kalat, whose commentaries are always excellent although again if you’ve already listened to the two previous commentaries you may get a little bit of unavoidable deja vu. Disc two also has a plethora of bits and pieces including textless and mute opening titles, a trailer, censor card, the 8mm version of the film (26 minutes), a piece on the restoration (11 minutes), image gallery, and a sidebar in which Tim Lucas and Stephen R Bissette discuss the film for longer than X THE UNKNOWN’s running time (87 minutes).

The undisputed highlight of disc two, however, is Displaced and Damned, a 76 minutes career overview of director Joseph Losey with contributions from Melanie Williams, Gavrik Losey, John Hamilton, David Huckvale, and Lauren Barnett. This being a Hammer disc it’s understandably Hammer heavy, detailing Losey's nearly-directing of X THE UNKNOWN and his actual directing of 1962’s THESE ARE THE DAMNED. We also get the Losey-directed and Jimmy Sangster-scripted short (29 minutes) A MAN ON THE BEACH (in colour and 2.35:1 widescreen) in which criminal Michael Medwin ends up at the house of Sir Donald Wolfit. 

As is so often the case with these releases, the film feels more of an extra to support the special features and as such this package offers excellent value for money, with three commentaries and two excellent documentaries, plus of course you get X THE UNKNOWN looking absolutely pristine. 

X THE UNKNOWN is out in a limited edition four disc UHD and Blu-ray set, and in standard separate two disc UHD and Blu-ray editions on Monday 27th July 2026

On the Beach (1959)

The BFI are releasing producer-director Stanley Kramer’s film of Nevil Shute’s novel which, written in 1957, attempted to predict how people might behave when faced with the inevitability of death due to radioactive fall out. The film is getting a Blu-ray release but it’s not a restoration so be aware the print does look a little spotty from time to time. 

It’s 1964 (ie five years in the future) and most of the world has just been destroyed in a nuclear war. The radioactive residue has yet to reach Australia but it’s on the way, with an estimate of five months before it gets there. US submarine commander Dwight (Gregory Peck) arrives in Melbourne in denial that his wife and children are no more. At a party Moira (Ava Gardner) tries to cultivate a relationship with him. Meanwhile Dwight has been given a mission: he and his submarine crew are to travel to the west coast of America because a random morse code signal has been picked up in San Diego. Could there still be life there?

His team includes his lieutenant, Peter, (Anthony Perkins) whose wife Mary (Donna Anderson from COUNT YORGA, VAMPIRE) is having trouble coping with the idea of imminent death, and scientist Julian (Fred Astaire in his first non-dancing role). As the months pass it becomes obvious that there is no hope for humankind. At all.

A lavish, serious, big budget look at the end of the world, ON THE BEACH takes its time (134 minutes in all) painting you a picture of a society deciding what to do with its last months on earth. The overriding message here seems to be that humans will face their final days with dignity - something of a a far cry from Val Guest’s THE DAY THE EARTH CAUGHT FIRE (1961) and Australia’s own THESE FINAL HOURS (2013) which felt very much like an updating of ON THE BEACH albeit with a different cause for the catastrophe. Performances are solid and perhaps the biggest difference between this and other imminent apocalypse movies is that ON THE BEACH does not have a ‘moment of revelation’ that everyone is going to die. That knowledge is already set in stone before the film begins and it’s mentioned so casually that you actually wonder if you heard correctly. Like all armageddon movies ON THE BEACH is a sobering movie experience, and, with its over-riding theme of quiet dignity, quite a rare one.

Extras on the BFI’s Blu-ray include two commentary tracks, one by Dr Phillip Davey who wrote When Hollywood Came to Melbourne, and a new commentary by Scott Harrison. Both are sober and packed with interesting observations. Making ON THE BEACH is nine minutes of 8mm footage shot by amateur film-maker Richard Goslin with an entertaining voice over dubbed on. 

Kim Newman gives us a talking head piece in which he discusses apocalypse cinema (21 minutes) and he’s quite right that modern audiences worry too much about zombies and not enough about nuclear war. There’s a piece on Ava Gardner’s costumes for the film (16 minutes) that contextualises them within the world of Australian fashion at the time, and there’s a short tribute to director Kramer (14 minutes) from 2004.

There’s a new interview with Donna Anderson which concentrates on the movie, although at the end she admits she went on to star in some “terrible” films, but doesn’t mention any titles, so perhaps she doesn’t mean WEREWOLVES ON WHEELS. Finally we get OPERATION HURRICANE (1952) which is a 33 minute short film about Britain’s nuclear testing on the Monte Bello islands. There’s also a booklet with new writing on the film from Christina Brennan, Barry Forshaw and Vic Pratt.

Stanley Kramer’s ON THE BEACH is out on Blu-ray from the BFI on Monday 27th July 2026

Deep Water (2026)

“Aeroplane Disaster Plus Shark Movie Equals Smashing Film”

Yes that’s right. Director Renny Harlin (PRISON, NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET 4, DIE HARD 2 & THE DYATLOV PASS INCIDENT) manages to redeem himself after his recent trio of miserable THE STRANGERS movies with this exciting, well put together adventure picture that’s getting a digital and disc release from Signature Entertainment.

We’re on an international flight from Los Angeles to Shanghai piloted by crusty old captain Ben Kingsley and first officer Aaron Eckhart and the usual motley assortment of passengers, one of whom (INSIDIOUS regular Angus Sampson) has left his mobile phone charger in his suitcase. Soon there’s a fire, then an explosion, then more explosions and the flight is careering out of control with no option but to crash land in the middle of the ocean. 

The plane hits a coral reef that tears it apart. Some passengers are trapped in air bubbles in the aeroplane casing underwater, quite a few are dead, while others make to the surface, only to be faced with hungry movie sharks, the kind that aren’t interested in the random bits of dead bodies that are floating about and instead prefer to leap the shark equivalent of a tall building and take a big bite out of living prey, then go after somebody else.

And very entertaining it all is. It’s also a delight to see Renny Harlin actually getting back to the kind of movie he’s very good at but rarely gets the chance to make nowadays. The aeroplane breaking up is well choreographed and edited to the point of being nail-biting, with plenty of horrible deaths. In fact there probably hasn’t been a better example of this kind of disaster outside a FINAL DESTINATION film. The acting is just the right side of melodrama and if you fancy a movie featuring an aeroplane crash and sharks you won’t find a better one than this.

Finally, and before the trailer, you can see  the UK artwork up at the top there. However, DEEP WATER is one of those rare examples where the international artwork has exhibited quite the range of creativity. So before we have the trailer let’s take a look at the marketing for the film around the world:

Renny Harlin’s DEEP WATER is out from Signature Entertainment on Digital HD on Monday 20th July 2026 and on DVD and Blu-ray on Monday 27th July 2026

Beasts Unleashed (1955, 1956)

Eureka are releasing two 1950s monster movies, both examples of low budget (and in one case extremely low budget) monster mayhem, on a single Blu-ray disc. The package is a limited edition of 2000 and comes with an O-card slipcase and a booklet featuring new writing on AIP monster creator Paul Blaisdell and an essay on weird westerns. As for the films:

The Beast with a Million Eyes (1955)

I wrote about this pseudonymously Roger Corman-directed (at least in part) movie when I reviewed its previous DVD release and so you can read all about what I thought of the film in more detail here. Eureka’s 1080p presentation does upscale the film from that release but this is still an ultra-low early AIP effort with grainy black and white photography to match. 

Eureka’s disc offers you the opportunity to watch the film as seen at the cinema (77 minutes 19 seconds) or with a prologue added for TV to help explain the title (78 minutes 10 seconds). Extras include a trailer and a piece by film expert Mark Bourn on alien invasion movies (22 minutes) with special attention paid to THE BEAST WITH A MILLION EYES.

The Beast of Hollow Mountain (1956)

We switch to colour and a 2.35:1 aspect ratio for the second film in the double bill, an American-Mexican co-production for United Artists and shot in Mexico. Taken from pioneering stop motion animator Willis O’Brien’s desire to make a movie featuring cowboys fighting dinosaurs, BEAST OF HOLLOW MOUNTAIN certainly features quite a few cowboys, lots of cattle and some charming Mexican village dancing. At the hour mark of this 79 minute film we finally get to see the dinosaur that has allegedly been eating the cattle, who is more charming than the dancing and, to be fair, is present to give us some slightly wonky but endearing stop motion action for the rest of the film.

Kim Newman covers ‘Dinosaurs in Cinema’ in a new 17 minute talking head piece where he goes into exactly why the stop motion process used in BEAST OF HOLLOW MOUNTAIN was different from, say, that practiced by Ray Harryhausen, as well as talking about everything from the early animated ‘interactive’ (watch the piece to find out exactly how) short Gertie the Dinosaur up to the JURASSIC PARK series. You also get trailers for both films.

Beasts Unleashed is out from Eureka on Blu-ray in a limited edition of 2000 on Monday 20th July 2026

Laurel & Hardy: The Silent Years (1929)

Eureka are releasing a limited edition (of 2000) two disc set of the silent short films beloved comedy duo Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy made during 1929, complete with a bunch of extras, collector’s booklet with new writing on each film by comedian Paul Merton and an O-card slipcase. The films are 1080p presentations from 2K restorations by Blackhawk films and here’s what’s on there:

Disc One

We get six short films, all running around 20 minutes and starting with LIBERTY, in which the boys escape from prison and end up wearing each others’ trousers. Much trousers down in public hilarity ensues as they try to rectify the situation, culminating in a climax at the top of a building undergoing construction. There’s the option of the original Vitaphone soundtrack (suggested if you’re watching these for the first time) but there are two others, as well as a commentary track by L&H experts Chris Seguin and Kyp Harness. In WRONG AGAIN the Blue Boy is stolen and Stan & Ollie think they’ve found it and plan to return it for a reward. Unfortunately it’s the painting ‘The Blue Boy’ that has been stolen whereas they think it’s a racehorse that they then take round to the owner’s house, with shenanigans ensuing. This one comes with an alternate score by Neil Brand and a commentary by David Kalat.

THAT’S MY WIFE sees Ollie’s wife leave him and Stan has to dress up in her place to convince a rich uncle to leave Ollie his money, with the highlight being their unsuspecting appearance on stage at a downtown nightclub. There are score tracks by Andreas Benz and Neil Brand and a commentary by Glenn Mitchell. BIG BUSINESS sees the boys trying to sell Christmas trees and ends with wanton acts of destruction. Scores by Robert Israel, Maud Nelissen and Gaylord Carter with commentary by Neil Brand.

In DOUBLE WHOOPEE Stan and Ollie are mistaken for a hotel’s visiting prince and his prime minister before things are cleared up and they cause havoc as a doorman and footman. This one features an appearance by Jean Harlow. Music from Robert Israel, commentary by David Kalat. Harlow also pops up at the very end of BACON GRABBERS, where Stan and Ollie are in the repossession business and are trying to get back a radio. Music by Neil Brand, commentary by Glenn Mitchell.

Extras on disc one include eight minutes of the Hollywood Revue of 1929, Super 8 versions of BIG BUSINESS and DIZZY HEIGHTS (an alternate version of LIBERTY), and three audio recordings: The Wedding Night (16 minutes), Mr Slater’s Poultry Market (29 minutes) and an ad for the National war Disabled Association (2 minutes)

Disc Two

Three short films on here (not including extras). In ANGORA LOVE the duo get into some trouble with a goat. UNACCUSTOMED AS WE ARE sees Ollie, unbeknownst to his wife, inviting Stan home for dinner and getting into a lot of dress falling off ‘Oh no my husband’s home & he’ll kill you’ fun with Thelma Todd, while BERTH MATES sees them on a train with a double bass. Music is from Robert Israel and Andreas Benz with commentary from Neil Brand, David Kalat and Chris Seguin and Patrick Vasey.

The big extra is a 49 minute visual essay from David Cairns and Fiona Watson that charts Laurel & Hardy’s career from them meeting right up to the end of their silent movies. We also get a couple of sound shorts: THEY GO BOOM! in which Ollie has a cold and Stan tries to help and THE HOOSE-GOW in which the boys get into trouble with the law and end up on a chain gang. HOP TO IT is a silent movie that features Ollie alone and is a kind of forerunner to DOUBLE WHOOPEE. 

There’s also a Spanish fragment of BERTH MATES, the super 8 version of THE HOOSE-GOW, newsreel footage of the boys from 1947-1953, the public information film TREE IN A TEST TUBE which features the boys in colour, and an attempted 3D rendering of BIG BUSINESS for which you’ll need anaglyph glasses (it’s not clear if they come in the set). 

LAUREL & HARDY: THE SILENT YEARS is out from Eureka on a two disc set on Monday 20th July 2026