This 1962 version of The Day of the Triffids has been a TV staple for many years, more probably because of a lasting affection for John Wyndham's original novel than any high regard for the film itself. The premise--a meteor shower blinds almost all of humanity, just as a space-borne strain of ambulatory killer plants begins to proliferate--is so strong that it's easy to overlook the frankly messy realization of it. The film opens well, sticking close to the book, as Howard Keel awakens in a London hospital after an eye operation and takes off the bandages to discover that he can see but most of the rest of the population can't. There are unsettling, effective bits with a plane literally flying blind and the beginnings of panic among the fumbling survivors, and one good Triffid encounter in a fog.

ANOTHER CHEEZY OFFERING

Well, many of us are finally getting to enjoy our old favorites on high quality DVD. Or are we? You certainly will not find any great quality in this poor DVD offering. The overall transfer is horrible to say the least. And they can't blame it on a lack of original source material, as the last Laser Disc edition and the current UK DVD edition are really quite nice.
Do yourself a favor and track down a nicer offering, they're around.

The BBC Series was better

For atmosphere, the BBC series produced by David Maloney and directed by Ken Hannam was in the Stratosphere compared to this. Most Americans miss it because it is not available here. I set my computer to play PAL, Region 2 discs just to watch, in part, the BBC 'Day of the Triffids' It was my first PAL disc purchase.

John Duttine and Maurice Colbourne are great as Bill and Coker. Emma Relph is great as Jo as well.

In 6 episodes it did what this movie did not, make you horrified of Triffids, wondering what would happen if everyone DID go blind (the BBC did a good job convincing me!) and if there were these rampaging plants around, the BBC did a good job convincing me they really could be!

I liked Maurice Colbourne later as Lytton in Doctor Who ('late of the Dalek Taskforce'), so I enjoyed seeing him in an earlier role as the nasty, turned heroic Coker.

Plus notes to this version: Carole Ann Ford is in it (Susan from 'Doctor Who' 1963-1964). Ummmm... that's it.

Trust me on this one, the BBC DVD version blows this one away.

Great Film - Unforgivable DVD

My VHS copy of "Day of the Triffids" has become well worn in the 27 years since it was released. This is a classic SciFi B movie that I still love after at least 100 viewings. When I saw that a wide screen DVD version was available I ordered without even looking at the reviews. What a disappointment. I had to get out the VHS version and look at the scenes side by side to see any improvement in image quality at all. And the VHS was made before they coined the term 'Remastered'. In this day of digital remastering there is no excuse for the poor contrast, dirt, and scratches on this transfer. Amazingly enough they even managed to get distracting streaks and flashes of white in the letterbox bars.

The bottom line is this movie is well worth having, but unless you're a die hard fan it might be better to wait for a decent restoration to be released.