CREATURES THE WORLD FORGOT [1971 / 2022] [Blu-ray] UK Release]
An Unforgettable World of Unimaginable Savagery!
SEE prehistoric love rites! SEE primitive chieftains duel in naked fury! SEE the young lovers sacrificed! SEE staked girl menaced by giant python!
Following the enormous success of ‘One Million Years B.C.’ [1996] and in 1965, Hammer Film Productions embarked on a series of prehistoric adventures over the next five years, concluding with ‘Creatures the World Forget.’ Directed by Don Chaffey – previously responsible for ‘One Million Years B.C.’ not to mention Ray Harryhausen’s classic ‘Jason and the Argonauts’ [1963] – the film swapped dinosaurs for more adult content, starred former Miss Norway and ex-Bond girl Julie Ege (On Her Majesty’s Secret Service), and earned itself an ‘X’ certificate in the process. Even today, it still rates an ‘18’ from the BBFC!
FILM FACT: All of the exterior sequences were shot in Namibia and South Africa. The film is the fourth and last of Hammer's “Cave Girl" sequence of films, directed by Don Chaffey and assistant director Simon Petersen, preceded by ‘One Million Years B.C.’ [1966] (which was also directed by Don Chaffey), ‘Prehistoric Women’ [1967] and ‘When Dinosaurs Ruled the Earth’ [1970]. Like the other films, it trades heavily on the audience appeal of scantily-clad tribeswomen. This film eschews the stop-motion animated dinosaurs of the first and third of the series. ‘CREATURES THE WORLD FORGOT’ is not related to two later, similarly titled films, ‘The Land That Time Forgot’ [1975], and ‘The People That Time Forgot’ [1977]. These were made by Amicus Productions and both starred Doug McClure.
Cast: Julie Ege, Tony Bonner, Robin John, Brian O'Shaughnessy, Sue Wilson, Rosalie Crutchley, Marcia Fox, Gerard Bonthuys, Hans Kiesouw, Josje Kiesouw, Beverly Blake, Doon Baide, Don Leonard, Frank Hayden, Rosita Moulan, Fred Swart, Ken Hare, Audrey Allen (uncredited), Debbie Aubrey-Smith (uncredited), Samantha Bates (uncredited), Joan Boshier (uncredited), Vera P. Crosdale (uncredited), Mike Dickman (uncredited), John Hollis (uncredited), Christine Hudson (uncredited), Trudy Inns (uncredited), Mildred Johnston (uncredited), Jose Manuel (uncredited), Tamsin Millard (uncredited), Manuel Neto (uncredited), Lilian M. Nowag (uncredited), Leo Payne (uncredited), Jose Rozendo (uncredited), Mark Russell (uncredited), Cheryl Stewardson (uncredited), Dick Swain (uncredited), Heinke Thater (uncredited), Alwyn van der Merwe (uncredited) and Derek Ward (uncredited)
Director: Don Chaffey
Producer: Michael Carreras
Screenplay: Michael Carreras
Composer: Mario Nascimbene
Costume and Wardrobe Department: Rosemary Burrows (wardrobe mistress) and Roy Ponting (wardrobe master)
Cinematography: Vincent G. Cox (Director of Photography)
Special Effects: Sydney Pearson
Image Resolution: 1080p (Technicolor)
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
Audio: 1.0 LPCM Mono Audio
English: 2.0 Dolby Digital Stereo Audio
Subtitles: English
Running Time: 95 minutes
Region: Region B/2
Number of discs: 1
Studio: Columbia Pictures / Hammer Film Productions / Powerhouse Films
Andrew’s Blu-ray Review: ‘CREATURES THE WORLD FORGOT’ [1971] has mostly been forgotten about by the majority of film watchers, with only Hammer Film Productions aficionados keeping its candle alight for the lovers of prehistoric films. It’s kind of understandable too given that two of its three prehistoric predecessors were ‘One Million Years B.C.’ [1996] and ‘When Dinosaurs Ruled the Earth’ [1970], both were highly regarded, of their type of prehistoric films.
Probably the main issue that most people had and still have with the film is that its very title is misleading since there are no “creatures” in the film, except for a few wild animals, such as a wild boar, a deer and a hyena.
So, what’s a prehistoric movie without the threat of giant dinosaurs like then? Well, for one thing, it’s far more realistic since people and dinosaurs never co-existed, or at least there’s no fossil record to corroborate such a notion. But it’s still worth a watch since there’s plenty of interesting people action to witness, even though the dialogue, such as it is, mostly consists of guttural grunts and expansive hand gestures. This can make trying to work out who does what and is quite tricky.
Plot-wise, there’s not a lot to share, just that one tribe’s chief is killed during a hunt leaving his two antagonistic sons played by Tony Bonner and Robert John to vie for his top spot and therefore determine the fate of their tribe. Along for the ride are some attractive prehistoric ladies including the delectable Julie Ege, who the brothers discover in a cave system when they go to rescue one of their own women from a rival clan who live there.
The film takes in plenty of impressive, geologically interesting locations and actually it was filmed in South Africa and Namibia), and sets, all nicely shot and lit well by director of photography Vincent Cox, some excellent model work, and a not so convincing cave bear of the “man in a tatty costume” variety. It’s all underscored by a decent musical undercurrent composed by Mario Nascimbene and is action-packed enough to keep audiences awake, especially those who enjoy seeing scantily clad women running away from wannabe suitors/rapists or fighting each other in somewhat hair-pulling fashion. Although when one of the young women screams revealing an amalgam filling in one of her teeth it sadly undermines the historically accurate aspect of the story somewhat!
‘CREATURES THE WORLD FORGOT’ is, in fact, more in the caveman subgenre of films, which also includes ‘The Clan of the Cave Bear’ [1986] and ‘The Quest for Fire’ [1981], rather than in the normal prehistoric sort of movie subgenre. It’s also on the violent side, not stinting on injury detail and bloodshed, which may appeal to more traditional horror movie fans. It’s certainly worth a watch as it holds the attention in a fairly unique way, despite not having any understandable dialogue.
* * * * *
Blu-ray Image Quality – Columbia Pictures, Hammer Film Productions and Powerhouse Films presents us the film ‘CREATURES THE WORLD FORGOT’ with a wonderful Technicolor 1080p image which was sourced from a Sony HD remaster, a typically strong one and is of course is shown with a 1.85:1 aspect ratio. Detail is well defined, the contrast nicely graded to retain solid black levels and keep even darker scenes such as cave interiors clear, and while the colour palette has what is likely a deliberately earthy hue, the bright blue skies are vividly reproduced. The fine film grain coarsens very slightly when footage of the volcanic eruption borrowed from the earlier films is repurposed here, and the image is clean of dust and damage. Please Note: Playback Region B/2: This will not play on most Blu-ray players sold in North America, Central America, South America, Japan, North Korea, South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Southeast Asia. Learn more about Blu-ray region specifications.
Blu-ray Audio Quality – Columbia Pictures, Hammer Film Productions and Powerhouse Films brings us the film ‘CREATURES THE WORLD FORGOT’ with just one standard 1.0 LPCM Mono Audio experience. Unsurprisingly, given the film's age, there is no low frequency bass rumbles when the volcano erupts, but the sound is otherwise clear, particularly the music and effects, and the track itself shows no signs of wear or damage. And in case you were wondering, yes, optional English subtitles for the deaf and hearing impaired have been included.
* * * * *
Blu-ray Special Features and Extras:
Special Feature: Audio Commentary with Sean Hogan and Kim Newman [2022] [1080p] [1.85:1] [95:20] With this featurette, we get hear this audio commentary with Filmmaker Sean Hogan and Author and Critic Kim Newman on their personal thoughts on the 1971 film ‘CREATURES THE WORLD FORGOT.’ First up to talk about the film in Kim Newman and informs us that he is an author and critic and also informs us he is sitting next to filmmaker Sean Hogan. They also comment that they are generally among a big fan of the Hammer Film Productions franchise and also followers of the prehistoric action movies as “The one without dinosaurs,” which they feel was totally over looked. They talk about the fact when they viewed the film when they were a young child, that they were very disappointed that there we no dinosaurs in the film, and finding it all quite boring and especially looking at the film now, they find it a much more interesting film. They also feel it is a much better film that ‘One Million B.C.’ [1996] that of course starred Raquel Welch, and is much more considerate towards humans in prehistoric genre period. They also again talk about ‘One Million B.C.’ and felt the animals used were treated very badly with things stuck on their bodies and also they brought in effects genius Ray Harryhausen and that film has two big things going for it, and that Ray Harryhausen and the actress Raquel Welch, and they also had the film poster up on a wall in a room in their family home. They also talk about other prehistoric feature films, where the cavemen talk in an inventive language and of course with the film ‘CREATURES THE WORLD FORGOT’ the executives at Hammer Film Productions ditched the dinosaurs because it would have made the film much more expensive. They say with the film ‘CREATURES THE WORLD FORGOT’ there was rather a complicated development period for the movie, which ties in with several famously unproduced films, but there was one that finally was suggested and that was a treatment of an Edgar Rice Burroughs’s novel, but decided it would not work, so that is why they scrapped the whole idea at Hammer Film Productions and decided this prehistoric film would be much cheaper to make, especially without the dinosaurs. When we see the massive volcano erupt, as well as the earthquake, they say this was footage from ‘One Million B.C.’ spliced in and they feel it does not quite workout. They suspect that people who bought this Blu-ray could not care less on their negative comment. At one point when the tribe start to move to another location, you see them walking in a desert scene in Namilia and then two women fight and roll down a big sand dune and the tribe knows they will not climb back up to join them and the tribe move on and yes we see one dead woman killed by the other woman and she tries to climb back up and keeps sliding back down and realise she is going to die and they say too true as that female got her comeuppance for killing the other woman. They then get round to talking about the director Don Chaffey and both of them went back and viewed some of his other films, and they feel this film is very slow paced and does not have much of a plot up to the point at 29 minutes and 47 seconds and they then feel the film starts to get its mojo going when the first tribe come upon another tribe with blond hair. But they also talk again about Don Chaffey who went onto do iconic British Television series like “Ganger Man,” “The Prisoner,” “Man In A Suitcase,” “The Avengers,” and the Hammer TV Series franchise, then Don Chaffey went to America and directed TV episodes of “The Magic Lassie” and “Pete’s Dragon,” and they feel Don Chaffey did a good job in directing ‘CREATURES THE WORLD FORGOT.’ They talk about the fact there is no actual dialogue, just grunts, but feel it is quite acceptable being a sort of cave man film, and feels it is a much more realistic prehistoric film. At around 54 minutes the Norwegian model and actress Julie Ege makes an appearance and when people saw her advertised in the poster, but they feel the public might be feeling slightly cheated that it has taken well over 50 minutes to have this actress make an appearance in the film and before the actress made her appearance in this film, they say Julie Ege made a couple of Norwegian films and of course appeared in one of the James Bond film when coming to live in the UK, and not so iconic and dumb down British sexual type films, then decided to move back to Norway. By now Kim Newman and Sean Hogan are getting on my nerves as they just constantly waffle on about nothing of interest about this film and at 61 minutes the blond haired tribes after walking for a long time, end up in a jungle environment and these two idiots say, “They are now getting into a jungle setting, which maybe a bit of a mixed blessing.” At around 94 minutes we are thankfully coming to the end of this audio commentary and again Kim Newman and Sean Hogan say, “So to sum up, I think there are some interesting aspect the this Hammer Film Production, and far more interesting than when we were younger seeing the film, and we had to get not seeing Ray Harryhausen stop animation prehistoric dinosaurs, but the film is something else, and I think what it is, id kind of interesting, as much as we wanted more of Ray Harryhausen stop animation prehistoric dinosaurs, and we are glad we are glad we had this film instead.” At that point the audio commentary ends. As to my comment on what Kim Newman and Sean Hogan talked about this film, it was very hit and miss and I can only give this audio commentary a two star rating and that is pushing it.
Special Feature: Hammer’s Women: Rachel Knightly on Julie Ege [2022] [1080p] [1.78:1] [6:51] With this featurette, we get to view an in-depth profile of the Norwegian model and actress Julie Ege [1943 – 2008] with Academic Rachel Knightley who informs us that Julie Ege was born in Sandnes, the daughter of brickyard worker Marton Ege and Hjørdis Halvorsen. At the age of 15, she began to work as a model. In 1962, she came second in Miss Norway at the age of 18, and subsequently participated in Miss Universe. In 1967, Julie Ege moved to England to work as an au pair to improve her English, and there also studied at a language school. Julie Ege was twice married and divorced in the 1960’s and had two daughters. In the 1970’s Julie Ege lived with The Beatles’ tour roadie Tony Bramwell, and later with the Norwegian author Anders Bye.[1] After her movie and modelling career she finished her secondary education and studied nursing. She later graduated from the University of Oslo where she studied History and English, after which she finished her nursing exams and continued working in the public health sector in Oslo. Julie Ege career, as well as her illness is described in detail in her autobiography, “Naken” (Naked), published in 2002. Near the end of her life in 2008, Julie Ege was featured in a documentary, where the actress said, “That it was a good life, and it helped paid the bills, and that, to be honest, I was never proud of my performances in the films I appeared in, and I gave it my best, and I enjoyed the work very much.” Julie Ege sadly died from breast cancer at the age of 64 on the 29th April, 2008. Julie Ege had previously been treated for breast cancer and lung cancer.
Special Feature: Signs of Change: Johnathan Rigby on ‘CREATURES THE WORLD FORGOT’ [2022] [1080p] [1.78:1] [25:03] With this featurette, Jonathan Rigby, author of English Gothic: A Century of Horror Cinema 1897 – 2015 revisits Hammer Film Productions classic adventure film ‘CREATURES THE WORLD FORGOT.’ Jonathan Rigby delivers a considerable amount of background information on what he describes up front as an extraordinary film, as well as an unusual one to emerge from the Hammer Studio. Jonathan Rigby takes us through the process of the film's production, from its typically Hammer Film Productions beginnings as nothing more than a title and three posters, through various scripts to its eventual funding and production, and ultimately its release and less-than enthusiastic critical reception. Jonathan Rigby describes it as a strikingly good-looking and strikingly uncompromising film, and champion’s actor Brian O'Shaughnessy as the element that speaks most strongly of early man.
Special Feature: Primitive Rites: David Huckvale on Composer Mario Nascimbene [2022] [1080p] [1.78:1] [26:06] With this featurette, here we get to view an in-depth appreciation of the composer Mario Nascimbene for his work on the film ‘CREATURES THE WORLD FORGOT’ by David Huckvale who is the author “Hammer Film Scores and the Musical Avant-Garde.” David Huckvale admits to preferring this film to ‘Quest for Fire,’ in part because he finds Mario Nascimbene's composed score more interesting than the one composed by Philippe Sarde for Jean-Jacques Annaud's later prehistoric drama, and interestingly suggests that the battle between the two brothers in the film has a whiff of Kane and Abel about it.
Special Feature: Theatrical Trailer [1971] [1080i] [1.78:1] [2:14] With this featurette, we get to view the Original Theatrical Trailer for the film ‘CREATURES THE WORLD FORGOT.’ The trailer is slickly assembled American release trailer that encourages its potential audience to come along and “see their primitive mating rites” and “the ordeal of the virgins." Unsurprisingly, it makes "fabulous Norwegian beauty” Julie Ege its prime selling point.
Special Feature: TV Spot [1971] [480i] [1.78:1] [2:14] With this featurette, it basically concentrates on the Norwegian model and actress Juli Ege and her appearance in the film CREATURES THE WORLD FORGOT,’ and it is also basically like a cut down version of the above Theatrical Trailer for the film, but is made to broadcast on the television. Also it tends to really push in search for a new female star and the selection of Julie Ege, skipping through her press and portfolio pictures before turning its attention to the film itself in which she appears.
Special Feature: Radio Spot [Audio only] [1971] [1080p] [1.78:1] [0:50] With this featurette, we get to hear another theatrical trailer for the film CREATURES THE WORLD FORGOT,’ but of course for audio listeners, but sadly the screen is completely blank. One shocking revelation is the atrocious serious voiced narrator, who hits the reverb button when saying the film's title, tells of “a world of brutal combat where women are spoils to the victors.” Try going with that promotional angle nowadays and see where it gets you, matey!
Special Feature: Image Galleries: With tis featurette, we get to view two individual featurettes and they are as follows:
Promotional Materials: This mainly contains 107 black-and-white and colour 1080p high quality production stills for the film ‘CREATURES THE WORLD FORGOT.’
Behind the Scenes: This mainly contains 70 behind the scenes 1080p black-and-white and colour images for the film ‘CREATURES THE WORLD FORGOT.’ But as an added bonus we get to view quite a few images of the Norwegian model and actress Julie Ege.
Special Feature: ‘Skid Kids’ [1953] [480i] [1.37:1] [48:39] With this featurette, we get to view a film directed by Don Chaffey, and is a story about a group of young cyclists. Parents and authority figures simply came along for the ride and to mop things up once the kids had done the detective work for them. Often presenting a rather idealised view of post-war working-class childhood, these were well made films whose continuing entertainment value today is matched by their very real value of records of a bygone era in Britain. As an added bonus, you can hear an audio commentary with Film Historian Vic Pratt for this film ‘Skid Kids.’
Special Feature: ‘A Good Pull-Up’ [1953] [480i] [1.37:1] [17:31] With this featurette, we get to view a second film directed by Don Chaffey, where we get to meet the star of the Carry-On films regular actor Peter Butterworth as Dickie Duffle, where he gets himself into utter chaos who is self-proclaimed handyman who is so disaster prone that no-one with even an ounce of sense would allow him anywhere near their property. Seriously, if he came into your house to fix a dripping tap, within fifteen minutes the roof would probably fall in and the floor explode. The character apparently appeared in six comedy shorts for the CFF in the early 1950’s. Once again, you can hear an audio commentary with Film Historian Vic Pratt for this film ‘A Good Pull-Up.’
Special Feature: ‘Watch Out!’ [1953] [480i] [1.37:1] [17:56] With this featurette, we get to view the third and final film directed by Don Chaffey, where we get to view further utter chaotic escapades with actor Peter Butterworth as Dickie Duffle, as he causes total mayhem in The MULTI-DIMENSIONAL Film Corporation Ltd. film studio. Once again for the final time, you can hear for the final time an audio commentary with Film Historian Vic Pratt for this film ‘Watch Out!.’
BONUS: We get supplied four wonderful black-and-white 5” x 7” cards of the Norwegian model and actress Julie Ege in her prehistoric costume.
PLUS: FIRST PRESSING ONLY: Limited edition exclusive 80 page book with a new essay on the film ‘CREATURES THE WORLD FORGOT.’ Including: Cast and Crew. Creature Feature by Julian Upton. The Cast of ‘CREATURES THE WORLD FORGOT’ includes promotional biographies on the lead actors. Julie Ege and the Search for “The Next Raquel Welch.” Don Chaffey includes a short biography of director Don Chaffey. Exploiting ‘CREATURES THE WORLD FORGOT’ includes Columbia’s press material. The Return of Michael Carreras includes biography on the screenwriter and producer. Roy Skeggs: Hammer’s Money Man. Critical Response. Items about the ‘Skid Kids,’ ‘A Good Pull-up’ and ‘Watch Out!’ and finally Don Chaffey At The CFF by Jeff Billington. Plus lots of black-and-white and colour photos relating to the film ‘CREATURES THE WORLD FORGOT.’
Finally, ‘CREATURES THE WORLD FORGOT’ [1971] was for years a poorly regarded and even forgotten Hammer title that nowadays is ripe for re-evaluation. Nobody's going to claim that this is an accurate portrait of the prehistoric era and early tribal culture, but it's far more grounded in a recognisable reality than its admittedly entertaining and more colourful predecessors. This Powerhouse Films Blu-ray is once again top-notch, with a strong transfer and some excellent special features, with the CFF films and Vic Pratt's enthusiastic audio commentaries and the most unexpected bonus here. Some may still scoff at the film itself, but as a package, it's hard to find fault. Highly Recommended!
Andrew C. Miller – Your Ultimate No.1 Film Aficionado
Le Cinema Paradiso
United Kingdom CREATURES THE WORLD FORGOT [1971 / 2022] [Blu-ray] UK Release] An Unforgettable World of Unimaginable Savagery!
SEE prehistoric love rites! SEE primitive chieftains duel in naked fury! SEE the young lovers sacrificed! SEE staked girl menaced by giant python!
Following the enormous success of ‘One Million Years B.C.’ [1996] and in 1965, Hammer Film Productions embarked on a series of prehistoric adventures over the next five years, concluding with ‘Creatures the World Forget.’ Directed by Don Chaffey – previously responsible for ‘One Million Years B.C.’ not to mention Ray Harryhausen’s classic ‘Jason and the Argonauts’ [1963] – the film swapped dinosaurs for more adult content, starred former Miss Norway and ex-Bond girl Julie Ege (On Her Majesty’s Secret Service), and earned itself an ‘X’ certificate in the process. Even today, it still rates an ‘18’ from the BBFC!
FILM FACT: All of the exterior sequences were shot in Namibia and South Africa. The film is the fourth and last of Hammer's “Cave Girl" sequence of films, directed by Don Chaffey and assistant director Simon Petersen, preceded by ‘One Million Years B.C.’ [1966] (which was also directed by Don Chaffey), ‘Prehistoric Women’ [1967] and ‘When Dinosaurs Ruled the Earth’ [1970]. Like the other films, it trades heavily on the audience appeal of scantily-clad tribeswomen. This film eschews the stop-motion animated dinosaurs of the first and third of the series. ‘CREATURES THE WORLD FORGOT’ is not related to two later, similarly titled films, ‘The Land That Time Forgot’ [1975], and ‘The People That Time Forgot’ [1977]. These were made by Amicus Productions and both starred Doug McClure.
Cast: Julie Ege, Tony Bonner, Robin John, Brian O'Shaughnessy, Sue Wilson, Rosalie Crutchley, Marcia Fox, Gerard Bonthuys, Hans Kiesouw, Josje Kiesouw, Beverly Blake, Doon Baide, Don Leonard, Frank Hayden, Rosita Moulan, Fred Swart, Ken Hare, Audrey Allen (uncredited), Debbie Aubrey-Smith (uncredited), Samantha Bates (uncredited), Joan Boshier (uncredited), Vera P. Crosdale (uncredited), Mike Dickman (uncredited), John Hollis (uncredited), Christine Hudson (uncredited), Trudy Inns (uncredited), Mildred Johnston (uncredited), Jose Manuel (uncredited), Tamsin Millard (uncredited), Manuel Neto (uncredited), Lilian M. Nowag (uncredited), Leo Payne (uncredited), Jose Rozendo (uncredited), Mark Russell (uncredited), Cheryl Stewardson (uncredited), Dick Swain (uncredited), Heinke Thater (uncredited), Alwyn van der Merwe (uncredited) and Derek Ward (uncredited)
Director: Don Chaffey
Producer: Michael Carreras
Screenplay: Michael Carreras
Composer: Mario Nascimbene
Costume and Wardrobe Department: Rosemary Burrows (wardrobe mistress) and Roy Ponting (wardrobe master)
Cinematography: Vincent G. Cox (Director of Photography)
Special Effects: Sydney Pearson
Image Resolution: 1080p (Technicolor)
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
Audio: 1.0 LPCM Mono Audio
English: 2.0 Dolby Digital Stereo Audio
Subtitles: English
Running Time: 95 minutes
Region: Region B/2
Number of discs: 1
Studio: Columbia Pictures / Hammer Film Productions / Powerhouse Films
Andrew’s Blu-ray Review: ‘CREATURES THE WORLD FORGOT’ [1971] has mostly been forgotten about by the majority of film watchers, with only Hammer Film Productions aficionados keeping its candle alight for the lovers of prehistoric films. It’s kind of understandable too given that two of its three prehistoric predecessors were ‘One Million Years B.C.’ [1996] and ‘When Dinosaurs Ruled the Earth’ [1970], both were highly regarded, of their type of prehistoric films.
Probably the main issue that most people had and still have with the film is that its very title is misleading since there are no “creatures” in the film, except for a few wild animals, such as a wild boar, a deer and a hyena.
So, what’s a prehistoric movie without the threat of giant dinosaurs like then? Well, for one thing, it’s far more realistic since people and dinosaurs never co-existed, or at least there’s no fossil record to corroborate such a notion. But it’s still worth a watch since there’s plenty of interesting people action to witness, even though the dialogue, such as it is, mostly consists of guttural grunts and expansive hand gestures. This can make trying to work out who does what and is quite tricky.
Plot-wise, there’s not a lot to share, just that one tribe’s chief is killed during a hunt leaving his two antagonistic sons played by Tony Bonner and Robert John to vie for his top spot and therefore determine the fate of their tribe. Along for the ride are some attractive prehistoric ladies including the delectable Julie Ege, who the brothers discover in a cave system when they go to rescue one of their own women from a rival clan who live there.
The film takes in plenty of impressive, geologically interesting locations and actually it was filmed in South Africa and Namibia), and sets, all nicely shot and lit well by director of photography Vincent Cox, some excellent model work, and a not so convincing cave bear of the “man in a tatty costume” variety. It’s all underscored by a decent musical undercurrent composed by Mario Nascimbene and is action-packed enough to keep audiences awake, especially those who enjoy seeing scantily clad women running away from wannabe suitors/rapists or fighting each other in somewhat hair-pulling fashion. Although when one of the young women screams revealing an amalgam filling in one of her teeth it sadly undermines the historically accurate aspect of the story somewhat!
‘CREATURES THE WORLD FORGOT’ is, in fact, more in the caveman subgenre of films, which also includes ‘The Clan of the Cave Bear’ [1986] and ‘The Quest for Fire’ [1981], rather than in the normal prehistoric sort of movie subgenre. It’s also on the violent side, not stinting on injury detail and bloodshed, which may appeal to more traditional horror movie fans. It’s certainly worth a watch as it holds the attention in a fairly unique way, despite not having any understandable dialogue.
* * * * *
Blu-ray Image Quality – Columbia Pictures, Hammer Film Productions and Powerhouse Films presents us the film ‘CREATURES THE WORLD FORGOT’ with a wonderful Technicolor 1080p image which was sourced from a Sony HD remaster, a typically strong one and is of course is shown with a 1.85:1 aspect ratio. Detail is well defined, the contrast nicely graded to retain solid black levels and keep even darker scenes such as cave interiors clear, and while the colour palette has what is likely a deliberately earthy hue, the bright blue skies are vividly reproduced. The fine film grain coarsens very slightly when footage of the volcanic eruption borrowed from the earlier films is repurposed here, and the image is clean of dust and damage. Please Note: Playback Region B/2: This will not play on most Blu-ray players sold in North America, Central America, South America, Japan, North Korea, South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Southeast Asia. Learn more about Blu-ray region specifications.
Blu-ray Audio Quality – Columbia Pictures, Hammer Film Productions and Powerhouse Films brings us the film ‘CREATURES THE WORLD FORGOT’ with just one standard 1.0 LPCM Mono Audio experience. Unsurprisingly, given the film's age, there is no low frequency bass rumbles when the volcano erupts, but the sound is otherwise clear, particularly the music and effects, and the track itself shows no signs of wear or damage. And in case you were wondering, yes, optional English subtitles for the deaf and hearing impaired have been included.
* * * * *
Blu-ray Special Features and Extras:
Special Feature: Audio Commentary with Sean Hogan and Kim Newman [2022] [1080p] [1.85:1] [95:20] With this featurette, we get hear this audio commentary with Filmmaker Sean Hogan and Author and Critic Kim Newman on their personal thoughts on the 1971 film ‘CREATURES THE WORLD FORGOT.’ First up to talk about the film in Kim Newman and informs us that he is an author and critic and also informs us he is sitting next to filmmaker Sean Hogan. They also comment that they are generally among a big fan of the Hammer Film Productions franchise and also followers of the prehistoric action movies as “The one without dinosaurs,” which they feel was totally over looked. They talk about the fact when they viewed the film when they were a young child, that they were very disappointed that there we no dinosaurs in the film, and finding it all quite boring and especially looking at the film now, they find it a much more interesting film. They also feel it is a much better film that ‘One Million B.C.’ [1996] that of course starred Raquel Welch, and is much more considerate towards humans in prehistoric genre period. They also again talk about ‘One Million B.C.’ and felt the animals used were treated very badly with things stuck on their bodies and also they brought in effects genius Ray Harryhausen and that film has two big things going for it, and that Ray Harryhausen and the actress Raquel Welch, and they also had the film poster up on a wall in a room in their family home. They also talk about other prehistoric feature films, where the cavemen talk in an inventive language and of course with the film ‘CREATURES THE WORLD FORGOT’ the executives at Hammer Film Productions ditched the dinosaurs because it would have made the film much more expensive. They say with the film ‘CREATURES THE WORLD FORGOT’ there was rather a complicated development period for the movie, which ties in with several famously unproduced films, but there was one that finally was suggested and that was a treatment of an Edgar Rice Burroughs’s novel, but decided it would not work, so that is why they scrapped the whole idea at Hammer Film Productions and decided this prehistoric film would be much cheaper to make, especially without the dinosaurs. When we see the massive volcano erupt, as well as the earthquake, they say this was footage from ‘One Million B.C.’ spliced in and they feel it does not quite workout. They suspect that people who bought this Blu-ray could not care less on their negative comment. At one point when the tribe start to move to another location, you see them walking in a desert scene in Namilia and then two women fight and roll down a big sand dune and the tribe knows they will not climb back up to join them and the tribe move on and yes we see one dead woman killed by the other woman and she tries to climb back up and keeps sliding back down and realise she is going to die and they say too true as that female got her comeuppance for killing the other woman. They then get round to talking about the director Don Chaffey and both of them went back and viewed some of his other films, and they feel this film is very slow paced and does not have much of a plot up to the point at 29 minutes and 47 seconds and they then feel the film starts to get its mojo going when the first tribe come upon another tribe with blond hair. But they also talk again about Don Chaffey who went onto do iconic British Television series like “Ganger Man,” “The Prisoner,” “Man In A Suitcase,” “The Avengers,” and the Hammer TV Series franchise, then Don Chaffey went to America and directed TV episodes of “The Magic Lassie” and “Pete’s Dragon,” and they feel Don Chaffey did a good job in directing ‘CREATURES THE WORLD FORGOT.’ They talk about the fact there is no actual dialogue, just grunts, but feel it is quite acceptable being a sort of cave man film, and feels it is a much more realistic prehistoric film. At around 54 minutes the Norwegian model and actress Julie Ege makes an appearance and when people saw her advertised in the poster, but they feel the public might be feeling slightly cheated that it has taken well over 50 minutes to have this actress make an appearance in the film and before the actress made her appearance in this film, they say Julie Ege made a couple of Norwegian films and of course appeared in one of the James Bond film when coming to live in the UK, and not so iconic and dumb down British sexual type films, then decided to move back to Norway. By now Kim Newman and Sean Hogan are getting on my nerves as they just constantly waffle on about nothing of interest about this film and at 61 minutes the blond haired tribes after walking for a long time, end up in a jungle environment and these two idiots say, “They are now getting into a jungle setting, which maybe a bit of a mixed blessing.” At around 94 minutes we are thankfully coming to the end of this audio commentary and again Kim Newman and Sean Hogan say, “So to sum up, I think there are some interesting aspect the this Hammer Film Production, and far more interesting than when we were younger seeing the film, and we had to get not seeing Ray Harryhausen stop animation prehistoric dinosaurs, but the film is something else, and I think what it is, id kind of interesting, as much as we wanted more of Ray Harryhausen stop animation prehistoric dinosaurs, and we are glad we are glad we had this film instead.” At that point the audio commentary ends. As to my comment on what Kim Newman and Sean Hogan talked about this film, it was very hit and miss and I can only give this audio commentary a two star rating and that is pushing it.
Special Feature: Hammer’s Women: Rachel Knightly on Julie Ege [2022] [1080p] [1.78:1] [6:51] With this featurette, we get to view an in-depth profile of the Norwegian model and actress Julie Ege [1943 – 2008] with Academic Rachel Knightley who informs us that Julie Ege was born in Sandnes, the daughter of brickyard worker Marton Ege and Hjørdis Halvorsen. At the age of 15, she began to work as a model. In 1962, she came second in Miss Norway at the age of 18, and subsequently participated in Miss Universe. In 1967, Julie Ege moved to England to work as an au pair to improve her English, and there also studied at a language school. Julie Ege was twice married and divorced in the 1960’s and had two daughters. In the 1970’s Julie Ege lived with The Beatles’ tour roadie Tony Bramwell, and later with the Norwegian author Anders Bye.[1] After her movie and modelling career she finished her secondary education and studied nursing. She later graduated from the University of Oslo where she studied History and English, after which she finished her nursing exams and continued working in the public health sector in Oslo. Julie Ege career, as well as her illness is described in detail in her autobiography, “Naken” (Naked), published in 2002. Near the end of her life in 2008, Julie Ege was featured in a documentary, where the actress said, “That it was a good life, and it helped paid the bills, and that, to be honest, I was never proud of my performances in the films I appeared in, and I gave it my best, and I enjoyed the work very much.” Julie Ege sadly died from breast cancer at the age of 64 on the 29th April, 2008. Julie Ege had previously been treated for breast cancer and lung cancer.
Special Feature: Signs of Change: Johnathan Rigby on ‘CREATURES THE WORLD FORGOT’ [2022] [1080p] [1.78:1] [25:03] With this featurette, Jonathan Rigby, author of English Gothic: A Century of Horror Cinema 1897 – 2015 revisits Hammer Film Productions classic adventure film ‘CREATURES THE WORLD FORGOT.’ Jonathan Rigby delivers a considerable amount of background information on what he describes up front as an extraordinary film, as well as an unusual one to emerge from the Hammer Studio. Jonathan Rigby takes us through the process of the film's production, from its typically Hammer Film Productions beginnings as nothing more than a title and three posters, through various scripts to its eventual funding and production, and ultimately its release and less-than enthusiastic critical reception. Jonathan Rigby describes it as a strikingly good-looking and strikingly uncompromising film, and champion’s actor Brian O'Shaughnessy as the element that speaks most strongly of early man.
Special Feature: Primitive Rites: David Huckvale on Composer Mario Nascimbene [2022] [1080p] [1.78:1] [26:06] With this featurette, here we get to view an in-depth appreciation of the composer Mario Nascimbene for his work on the film ‘CREATURES THE WORLD FORGOT’ by David Huckvale who is the author “Hammer Film Scores and the Musical Avant-Garde.” David Huckvale admits to preferring this film to ‘Quest for Fire,’ in part because he finds Mario Nascimbene's composed score more interesting than the one composed by Philippe Sarde for Jean-Jacques Annaud's later prehistoric drama, and interestingly suggests that the battle between the two brothers in the film has a whiff of Kane and Abel about it.
Special Feature: Theatrical Trailer [1971] [1080i] [1.78:1] [2:14] With this featurette, we get to view the Original Theatrical Trailer for the film ‘CREATURES THE WORLD FORGOT.’ The trailer is slickly assembled American release trailer that encourages its potential audience to come along and “see their primitive mating rites” and “the ordeal of the virgins." Unsurprisingly, it makes "fabulous Norwegian beauty” Julie Ege its prime selling point.
Special Feature: TV Spot [1971] [480i] [1.78:1] [2:14] With this featurette, it basically concentrates on the Norwegian model and actress Juli Ege and her appearance in the film CREATURES THE WORLD FORGOT,’ and it is also basically like a cut down version of the above Theatrical Trailer for the film, but is made to broadcast on the television. Also it tends to really push in search for a new female star and the selection of Julie Ege, skipping through her press and portfolio pictures before turning its attention to the film itself in which she appears.
Special Feature: Radio Spot [Audio only] [1971] [1080p] [1.78:1] [0:50] With this featurette, we get to hear another theatrical trailer for the film CREATURES THE WORLD FORGOT,’ but of course for audio listeners, but sadly the screen is completely blank. One shocking revelation is the atrocious serious voiced narrator, who hits the reverb button when saying the film's title, tells of “a world of brutal combat where women are spoils to the victors.” Try going with that promotional angle nowadays and see where it gets you, matey!
Special Feature: Image Galleries: With tis featurette, we get to view two individual featurettes and they are as follows:
Promotional Materials: This mainly contains 107 black-and-white and colour 1080p high quality production stills for the film ‘CREATURES THE WORLD FORGOT.’
Behind the Scenes: This mainly contains 70 behind the scenes 1080p black-and-white and colour images for the film ‘CREATURES THE WORLD FORGOT.’ But as an added bonus we get to view quite a few images of the Norwegian model and actress Julie Ege.
Special Feature: ‘Skid Kids’ [1953] [480i] [1.37:1] [48:39] With this featurette, we get to view a film directed by Don Chaffey, and is a story about a group of young cyclists. Parents and authority figures simply came along for the ride and to mop things up once the kids had done the detective work for them. Often presenting a rather idealised view of post-war working-class childhood, these were well made films whose continuing entertainment value today is matched by their very real value of records of a bygone era in Britain. As an added bonus, you can hear an audio commentary with Film Historian Vic Pratt for this film ‘Skid Kids.’
Special Feature: ‘A Good Pull-Up’ [1953] [480i] [1.37:1] [17:31] With this featurette, we get to view a second film directed by Don Chaffey, where we get to meet the star of the Carry-On films regular actor Peter Butterworth as Dickie Duffle, where he gets himself into utter chaos who is self-proclaimed handyman who is so disaster prone that no-one with even an ounce of sense would allow him anywhere near their property. Seriously, if he came into your house to fix a dripping tap, within fifteen minutes the roof would probably fall in and the floor explode. The character apparently appeared in six comedy shorts for the CFF in the early 1950’s. Once again, you can hear an audio commentary with Film Historian Vic Pratt for this film ‘A Good Pull-Up.’
Special Feature: ‘Watch Out!’ [1953] [480i] [1.37:1] [17:56] With this featurette, we get to view the third and final film directed by Don Chaffey, where we get to view further utter chaotic escapades with actor Peter Butterworth as Dickie Duffle, as he causes total mayhem in The MULTI-DIMENSIONAL Film Corporation Ltd. film studio. Once again for the final time, you can hear for the final time an audio commentary with Film Historian Vic Pratt for this film ‘Watch Out!.’
BONUS: We get supplied four wonderful black-and-white 5” x 7” cards of the Norwegian model and actress Julie Ege in her prehistoric costume.
PLUS: FIRST PRESSING ONLY: Limited edition exclusive 80 page book with a new essay on the film ‘CREATURES THE WORLD FORGOT.’ Including: Cast and Crew. Creature Feature by Julian Upton. The Cast of ‘CREATURES THE WORLD FORGOT’ includes promotional biographies on the lead actors. Julie Ege and the Search for “The Next Raquel Welch.” Don Chaffey includes a short biography of director Don Chaffey. Exploiting ‘CREATURES THE WORLD FORGOT’ includes Columbia’s press material. The Return of Michael Carreras includes biography on the screenwriter and producer. Roy Skeggs: Hammer’s Money Man. Critical Response. Items about the ‘Skid Kids,’ ‘A Good Pull-up’ and ‘Watch Out!’ and finally Don Chaffey At The CFF by Jeff Billington. Plus lots of black-and-white and colour photos relating to the film ‘CREATURES THE WORLD FORGOT.’
Finally, ‘CREATURES THE WORLD FORGOT’ [1971] was for years a poorly regarded and even forgotten Hammer title that nowadays is ripe for re-evaluation. Nobody's going to claim that this is an accurate portrait of the prehistoric era and early tribal culture, but it's far more grounded in a recognisable reality than its admittedly entertaining and more colourful predecessors. This Powerhouse Films Blu-ray is once again top-notch, with a strong transfer and some excellent special features, with the CFF films and Vic Pratt's enthusiastic audio commentaries and the most unexpected bonus here. Some may still scoff at the film itself, but as a package, it's hard to find fault. Highly Recommended!
Andrew C. Miller – Your Ultimate No.1 Film Aficionado
Le Cinema Paradiso
United Kingdom
