| Pre-Order Grand Theft Auto IV |  |
|
|
| Pre Order Grand Turismo 5 |  |
|
|
|
Doctor Who: The War Machines [1966] | ![Doctor Who: The War Machines [1966]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51%2BWjxvuo6L._SL160_.jpg)
 enlarge | Director: Michael Ferguson
Actors: William Hartnell, Jackie Lane, Anneke Wills, Michael Craze
Studio: 2 Entertain Video
Category: DVD
List Price: £19.99
Buy New: £6.10
You Save: £13.89 (69%)
New (7) Used (2) from £5.75
Rating:  8 reviews
Sales Rank: 2146
Format: Pal
Language: English (Original Language)
Rating: To Be Announced
Number Of Items: 1
Running Time: 95
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 7.1 x 5.4 x 0.6
EAN: 5014503244125
ASIN: B001BKYAY0
Theatrical Release Date: 1966
Release Date: August 25, 2008
Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days
Condition: IN STOCK. USUALLY DISPATCHED SAME OR NEXT WORKING DAY (MON - FRI). PLEASE ALLOW 3 - 6 DAYS FOR DELIVERY. BRAND NEW AND FULLY GUARANTEED BY A WELL ESTABLISHED TRUSTED LTD COMPANY. EMAIL DISPATCH CONFIRMATIONS SENT. TRACK PROGRESS 24/7
| |
| Similar Items:
|
| Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.co.uk Review
A hugely enjoyable Doctor Who adventure from the very infancy of the show, The War Machines finds William Hartnell in charge of the Tardis, and naturally enough there's an impending crisis facing the Earth. Set in the era in which the story was made, The War Machines sees the Doctor and Dodo heading off to the Post Office Tower, where they find out all about Professor Brett's new computer, WONTAN. And setting the scene for many science fiction films and television shows that would explore similar themes, WONTAN soon becomes a computer that believes machines should be in charge, and hence introduces the war machines of the story's title. Really well realised, and making the most of the resources at its disposal, The War Machines is visually impressive, but also a well-constructed story. It clearly works within many of the television conventions of the time, but Hartnell was always a strong Doctor, and the story explores its themes confidently too. It's good to have it on disc. Backed up by a substantive extras list, with a healthy slice of archive material, The War Games is a welcome DVD release, and a very good story from the archives of Doctor Who. --Jon Foster
|
| Customer Reviews: Read 3 more reviews...
 Really classy story - top stuff August 26, 2008
4 out of 5 found this review helpful
Barcode: 5014503244125
Just watched this and all I can say is wow! What an amazing story - with the at the time newly constructed Post Office Tower looming everpresent in the background, the Doctor takes to the streets of London to try and avert a potential world threatening plan. We also meet two instantly likeable new companions in the form of trendy it-girl Polly and cockney sailor Ben.
The story is paced to perfection, building quickly, the tension peaking in the edge-of-your-seat moments of the end of episode cliffhangers. From the panoramic shots of London to the full scale attack launched by the army on the Covent Garden warehouse, for Doctor Who - especially in terms of early serials - this is the show on a grand, almost filmic scale. The War Machines has some quite mature elements to it too such as the death of the unwitting tramp who just happens to be in the wrong place at the wrong time or the way Polly is hypnotised, becoming emotionless and cold to Ben's pleading for her to run.
Of course, this being Doctor Who, there are always those charming moments of comedy to lighten the mood too, one of the best probably being the comment from Polly's friend Kitty when she says to the Doctor 'I dig your fab gear!' All round, the acting is top-notch from everyone - Brett, Krimpton and Major Green making a suitably sinister villainous threesome as WOTAN's brainwashed servants.
The War Machines themselves, despite their boxy appearance, actually still look pretty impressive in their design, even now. If i was going to be picky, the endless discordant beeping and humming that issues from them can get a bit annoying but in many ways, it adds to their menace, defining them as efficient, merciless killers, especially as we see one mow down a load of soldiers with its gas weapon. And of course there's the 'bring me Doctor Who' bit from WOTAN, but hey, that's forgivable.
Hartnell takes a bit of a step-back from the action in the middle section of this story but really comes into his own in the final episode as he devises an ingenious trap to disable the War Machine on the rampage.
Theis serial makes a fitting tribute to the legacy of Hartnell's Doctor, his character facing only 2 more serials before his regeneration and it is clear to see how influential this episode has been to soo many aspects of the show that came to follow. The themes in The War Machines - a robotic attack on contemporary London + soldiers fighting back - are a nice precursor to Troughton's epic serial, The Invasion, a few years later and as it says in the accompanying booklet of this DVD, this story wouldn't have seemed out of place in Pertwee's Earthbound time as the Doctor either.
The extras are a good bunch too with a commentary by Anneke Wills and director Michael Ferguson. There's the always interesting Now and Then look at locations, a lovely nostalgic look at the Post Office Tower with MP Tony Benn and even a quirky Blue Peter episode which shows you how to build the tower in one of their classic 'makes'. There's also a short feature on how this story - previously completely lost - was recovered from Australia and Nigeria.
So, all round, another great Doctor Who DVD package from 2 Entertain.
Billy at his best August 7, 2008
11 out of 16 found this review helpful
This story was wiped by the BBC but copies were recovered from Nigeria and put together with recovered censor clips from Australia by the restoration team.Good story featuring the then new Post Office Tower.The story revolves around a super computer called Wotan who decides humans are inferior and tries the destroy them with the "war machines".Bit of a poor exit for Dodo who had been the Doctors companion for several stories.It also introduced Ben & Polly who were to stay for a while and become Patrick Troughton's companions when William Hartnell left.If you like classic Dr Who this is one for you.
doctor who comes down to earth August 30, 2008
2 out of 4 found this review helpful
a doctor who story from 1966, featuring william hartnell as the first doctor. jackie lane as his companion dodo. and introducing two new companions, polly played by anneke wills and ben played by michael craze.
the story runs for four twenty five minute long episodes. all are in black and white. the picture quality can vary a bit from scene to scene but is generally very good and perfectly watchable.
in the mid 60's, with the post office tower having just been built in london, one doctor who writer speculated what would happen if something took the tower over. and that was the basis for this story. a super computer built there called WOTAN brainwashes all the humans it can, and uses them to build robotic war machines that it can use to wipe out the human race. can the doctor save the day?
this is one of the best hartnell stories and it's great to get it on dvd. in many ways a template for what the show would do in the 70's, with threats to contemporary earth and the doctor working with the military to stop it. hartnell is an absolute star. watch the way he dominates the screen at the end of part three. his doctor has a great time showing off to all the humans how smart he is. the story moves at an excellent pace, has some splendid set pieces, and ben and polly are excellent new characters. highly entertaining stuff.
the extras are the usual:
english language subtitles
production subtitles, which bring up information about the story and the production whilst you watch it
PDF files [you view them when looking at the disc on a computer] showing the radio times listings for the story
a photo gallery of shots of the story and the production
and in addition, this also has some decent extra stuff:
PDF files showing the design of the war machines
a commentary from anneke wills [polly] and michael ferguson, the director of the story
now and then: a nine minute long look at the locations used for the filming as they were then and as they are now. fascinating stuff. I'd been through some of the london streets shown lots of times without realising they filmed the story in those particular ones, so it was very interesting to watch
blue peter: roughly fifteen minutes worth of three clips from the show, showing the building of the post office tower, the war machines visiting the blue peter studio, and children who built a model dalek. charming nostalgic viewing
one foot in the past: a nine minute long clip from a bbc history show in which former mp and paymaster general tony benn visits the post office tower. since it's been closed to the public since 1981 this is the only chance you'll ever get to see it, and the view is amazing. he's also a good presenter, so it's well worth watching.
as is WOTAN assembly. the tapes of the story were originally wiped by the bbc, but it was reconstructed from two different copies found overseas and lots of clips found elsewhere. very interesting to watch.
for an easter egg, watch this on a computer, go to the episode selection screen, and move the pointer to the top right corner till it lights up a doctor who logo. click on that for a short piece of footage of an effects shot not quite working out. worth watching.
there is also a coming soon trailer for the impending release of the seventh doctor story battlefield. the schedules for the dvds have changed a lot over this year and battlefield will not be the next one out, it will be out towards the end of the year. these trailers are very good, using great music and montages of clips to give the stories an epic feel. and in some cases they make them look better than they are. but we'll talk about that when battlefield comes out.
but the war machines is an excellent story. and the dvd extras are very good as well. this is a really good release and well worth getting
WOTAN to take over the world September 7, 2008
Well after many months of waiting one of favourite William Hartnell stories has been released onto DVD.
This is without doubt a brilliant story which even today still has that same fear, of computers trying to take over humans and for them to rule mankind, its done in a very effective but simplistic way and so just becareful next time you answer your telephone
The departure of Dodo was rather sudden and i think not very well thought through,one minute she is recuperating, the next she is no longer wanting to travel with the Doctor and thats that, all though it does introudce i believe one of the top travelling companions that have travelled with the Doctor, Ben (Michael Craze)& Polly (Anneke Wilks) they have a brilliant chemistry on screen and throughout this story, the only sad fact is that most of the stories featuring Ben & Polly now only exist on Audio Recordings as the cretins and BBC junked all the existing reels.
The extras on this DVD are also worth mentioning, the Blue Peter clips from where the BT tower (now telecom tower) first openened were brilliant and too see how different it looks now to when it did back in the 60's is brilliant and also a little bonus at the start and end of this section, the Now & Then featurette which shows scenes where it was filmed was also a fascinating insight to how things have changed in 40 years
HARTNELL'L FIX IT! September 20, 2008
Doctor Who
The War Machines
Starring William Hartnell
* New BBC DVD Release * Latest Triumph of the Restoration Team *
4 Episode Adventure
Feature Length: 95 minutes.
First broadcast 25h June - 16th July, 1966.
Written by Ian Stuart Black, based on an idea by
Kit Pedler.
A marvellous romp through the Swinging Sixties with the original Doctor in all his grumpy, cloak-twirling, chuckling glory.
The TARDIS materialises in Bedford Square, near to the base of the then new Post Office Tower, where the Doctor senses evil at work in the form of a megalomaniac super computer called WOTAN.
Mesmerised humans are soon obeying WOTAN's will and building the trundling War Machines, which the BBC were clearly hoping would rival the Daleks in popularity.
As with many Doctor Who scripts, this story was quite prophetic, as the idea of machines overtaking human intelligence and building robot soldiers is now a mainstay of science fiction. It's been used recently in the Terminator and I Robot films.
There are some great shots of London in the 60s, along with an insight into the groovy fashions and some cringe-worthy nightclub dancing, which should have you all rolling around in hysterics.
Yes, they even had flared trousers way back then.
In The War Machines we see how the Doctor authoratively commands both military generals and government ministers alike; a talent which will come in useful later on in his career and a nice forerunner of his dealings with UNIT.
The Doctor also gets a change of companion, as the BBC unceremoniously dump poor Dodo in favour of blonde dollybird Polly (Anneke Wills) and jaunty sailorboy Ben (Michael Craze).
These two companions would go on to join Patrick Troughton, when he takes over the role of The Doctor, at the end of The Tenth Planet.
I love this DVD, if only for some of the infamous continuity errors. You get to see the TARDIS door lock fly from the left door to the right one and the window frames change from white to dark (blue) - and back again.
Then there's the single War Machine prop playing its own numbers game...oh, and keep a close eye on the Doctor's trendy astrakhan hat...
Extras include commentary by Anneke Wills and Director Michael Ferguson, a Now and Then look at the London locations, Blue Peter presenters meeting the War Machine, the plans to build one and the Radio Times listings from 1966 on PDF.
Tremendous fun and well worth adding to your collection.
10/10
|
|
|
Copyright (c) 2007 - 2008 PS3 Games, Consoles and PS3 Accessories - a MrCrip site
All rights reserved. Information about prices, products, services and merchants is provided by third parties and is for informational purposes only. Sony PS3 Games Consoles does not represent or warrant the accuracy or reliability of the information, and will not be liable for any errors, omissions, or delays in this information or any losses, injuries, or damages arising from its display or use.
PS3 Games, Consoles and PS3 Accessories: Home - PS3 Games - PS3 Consoles - PS3 Accessories - Blu Ray DVD
Other MrCrip sites: Nintendo Wii Games & Accessories - LCD TV, Plasma TV - Singstar Games - Grubby Little Web Man | |
