The Day The Earth Caught Fire

Newly remastered by the BFI National Archive and available in high definition for the very first time, this is the definitive version of the classic British science fiction thriller.When the USA and Russia simultaneously test atomic bombs, the earth is knocked off its axis and set on a collision course with the sun. As the planet inexorably heats up and society slowly breaks down, Peter Stenning (Edward Judd), a washed-up Daily Express reporter, breaks the story and sets about investigating the government cover-up.Made at a time when the nuclear threat of the Cold War loomed large, The Day the Earth Caught Fire is an expertly crafted British science fiction film that boasts a BAFTA winning screenplay, gritty characters and a vision of end-of-days London that really burns. Also Starring Leo McKern (Rumpole of the Bailey) and Janet Munro, and directed by veteran Val Guest (The Quatermass Xperiment).Bonus Features:Brand new 4 K High Definition digital restoration by the BFI national archive.The H-bomb (David Villiers, 1956, 21 mins): Civil defence film showing by diagrams and demonstrations the damage that might be expected from a ten megaton bomb.Operation Hurricane (Ronald Stark, 1952, 33 mins): The work involved in, and the research behind, Britain's first atomic bomb tests.The Hole in the Ground (David Cobham, 1962, 30 mins): A dramatisation of nuclear attack demonstrating of the operation of Britain's warning system for atomic war.The Day the Earth Caught Fire: An Audio Appreciation by Graeme Hobbs (9 mins)Original trailerStills galleryCast and Crew:Starring Leo McKern (Rumpole of the Bailey, The Prisoner), Edward Judd (Island of Terror), Janet Munro. Directed by Val Guest (The Quartermass Experiment, Hell is a City)