1982
*
A prehistoric bird terrorises New York.
Odd, quirky horror which found a following.
Dir: Larry Cohen
Stars: Michael Moriarty, Candy Clark, David Carradine, Richard Roundtree
QUADROPHENIA
1979
*
In 1965 London, a mod assesses his lot after trouble at home and work.
A rather dingy and self-indulgent film with unlikeable characters. The soundtrack offers some relief.
Dir: Franc Roddam
Stars: Phil Daniels, Leslie Ash, Sting, Ray Winstone
QUANTUM LEAP
1988 (TV)
*
A scientist finds himself in the body of a man from the 1950s.
Successful pilot for a long-running TV series, a nice idea with amusing culture clashes.
Dir: David Hemmings
Stars: Dean Stockwell, Scott Bakula
QUANTUM OF SOLACE
2008
*
James Bond chases a corrupt environmentalist who wants to control a South American country’s water supply.
A Bond film that tries hard not to be a Bond film, more of a Bourne one – witness its absence of gadgets, meaty adversaries, humour and sexiness; it starts well but becomes dull and is difficult to follow both in terms of plot and action (thanks to hyper-quick editing). Many of its visuals are classy and striking - including the opera house and the hotel in the desert - but it's rather dry and unlikeable and has way too much of Dench as the perennially whinging, boot-faced M.
Dir: Marc Forster
Stars: Daniel Craig, Olga Kurylenko, Mathieu Almaric, Judi Dench, Gemma Arterton, Giancarlo Giannini, Jeffrey Wright
QUARTET
1949
**
Four stories by W Somerset Maugham: The Facts Of Life, The Alien Corn, The Kite and The Colonel's Lady.
Mild, agreeable portmanteau, the first of three film adaptations of the short stories of one of the masters of the genre. These four could do with a little tightening up, but they're all enjoyable - the first is fun, less saucy than the printed story; the second is gently compelling, presumably about homosexuality; the third concerns a mother who won't let her child go (hence affecting the child), and is pleasingly odd; the fourth is about hypocrisy and quite funny until its bitter twist. It's also nice to see Maugham himself presenting, a man who knew much about human nature and gave the world wonderful tales.
Dir: Ralph Smart, Harold French, Arthur Crabtree, Ken Annakin
Stars: Basil Radford, Naunton Wayne, James Robertson Justice, Dirk Bogarde, Honor Blackman, Bernard Lee, George Cole, Cecil Parker
QUATERMASS AND THE PIT
1967
**
A deadly force is unleashed when skeletons are unearthed in London.
Intelligent sci-fi with splendidly effective moments, especially in the final third. It's the ideas behind the dramatics that really make it work, though the aesthetics - aliens in a Sixties tube station! - are also pleasing.
Dir: Roy Ward Baker
Stars: Andrew Keir, James Donald, Barbara Shelley, Julian Glover, Duncan Lamont
THE QUATERMASS CONCLUSION
1979
0
In a dystopian Britain, Professor Quatermass searches for his lost granddaughter who may be with a strange cult.
ITV produced a four-part Quatermass series after the BBC had dropped it at the end of the Seventies, with this being a re-edit for feature presentation, though it was only released theatrically overseas; it has a small amount of new material and loses a good deal of the original, particularly a big chunk of episode three. The format has not really improved things: it remains a chilly, humourless, distant-seeming odyssey that fails to present the alien power in any salient or exciting form, while the bands of youths are irritating and ineffective.
Dir: Piers Haggard
Stars: John Mills, Simon MacCorkindale, Barbara Kellerman
THE QUATERMASS EXPERIMENT
1956
**
Returning from space, an astronaut turns into living fungi.
Hammer's first internationally successful horror, an adaptation of the BBC television series, is thoughtful and chilling on a restricted budget. Two sequels followed.
Dir: Val Guest
Stars: Brian Donlevy, Jack Warner, Thora Hird, Gordon Jackson, Lionel Jeffries
QUATERMASS 2
1957
**
Quatermass discovers a huge factory which is feeding alien creatures.
Possibly the best of the Quatermass films, this is taut, intriguing and atmospheric – the use of Shell’s Essex refinery as a location helps enormously, and images such as the mask-clad soldiers with machine-guns give it an appropriately dark edge. It’s also notable for what was probably the first ever use of a number in the title to indicate a sequel.
Dir: Val Guest
Stars: Brian Donlevy, John Longden, Sid James, Bryan Forbes, Michael Ripper
THE QUEEN
2006
**
After Princess Diana is killed in a car crash, The Queen struggles to adjust to the mood in the country.
Unusual perhaps to make a film of this nature so soon after the events it chronicles, and potentially dangerous too in that the slant could soon be judged to be all wrong; at any rate, we can only guess at the accuracy of the conversations shown here. Hence it may be best to treat as a cultured, urbane drama with a fantastic lead performance rather than a trustworthy historical record.
Dir: Stephen Frears
Stars: Helen Mirren, Michael Sheen, James Cromwell, Sylvia Sims, Alex Jennings
QUEEN CHRISTINA
1933
*
The queen of Sweden has to choose between the throne and the Spaniard she loves.
One of Garbo's most significant roles is in this historical romance which takes some interesting risks with its handling of sex and gender, while the director comes up with some memorable imagery, like the famous final shot. Much of its royal machinations are now a bit boring and dated though.
Dir: Rouben Mamoulian
Stars: Greta Garbo, John Gilbert, Ian Keith, Lewis Stone
QUEEN KONG
1976
0
On an African island, a giant female ape takes a shine to a visiting film star.
Locked away for years for legal reasons, it would have been better had that remained the case; a bombastically bad film from the opening seconds.
Dir: Frank Agrama
Stars: Robin Askwith, Rula Lenska, Valerie Leon, Linda Hayden
QUEEN OF KATWE
2016
*
A Ugandan girl from a poor background becomes a chess champion.
The story is familiar, the scenery less so, with this almost entirely African-set drama presenting a colourful and sometimes vivid portrait of Ugandan life. Sadly it's a tad flabby dramatically, certainly a little too long, and while some may predictably intone that chess is just not cinematic (and the chess here does not look to be of a particularly high standard) that's not the main detraction. Nyong'o is the stand-out in the cast.
Dir: Mira Nair
Stars: David Oyelowo, Madina Nalwanga, Lupita Nyong'o, Martin Kabanza
QUEEN OF OUTER SPACE
1958
0
Earthmen discover that Venus is inhabited only by women, headed by a wicked queen.
Infamous sci-fi that may or may not have been made as a comedy; acolytes of Fifties SF will take pleasure from seeing what is lifted from the likes of Forbidden Planet, World Without End and Flight To Mars (all qv) and any audience now may cringe at its contributions to what came to be known as 'sexism'. In fact, this film may have invented sexism. (Did it also invent the incredibly long pre-credits sequence?)
Dir: Edward Bernds
Stars: Laurie Mitchell, Zsa Zsa Gabor, Eric Fleming, Dave Willock
THE QUEEN OF SPADES
1948
*
A Russian officer sells his soul in order to learn how to win at cards.
Slow-moving costume fantasy whose authentic, chilly atmosphere tends to make it less sympathetic.
Dir: Thorold Dickinson
Stars: Anton Walbrook, Edith Evans, Yvonne Mitchell, Ronald Howard
QUEEN OF THE BLUES
1979
0
Racketeers investigate a strip club with a view to protection.
Among the worst films ever made, an hour of drivel featuring strippers, leering men and a stand-up comedian. Most of the routines are shot with a static camera some way from the action, making it an even more redundant exercise, and by the end the same scenes are even being shown twice.
Dir: Willy Roe
Stars: Mary Millington, Rosemary England, John M East, Felix Bowness, Milton Reid, Nicola Austin
QUEST FOR LOVE
1971
**
A scientist is thrown into a parallel dimension where he is a successful playwright with relationship problems.
Mad but beguiling smoochy fantasy.
Dir: Ralph Thomas
Stars: Tom Bell, Joan Collins, Denholm Elliott, Laurence Naismith
THE QUESTOR TAPES
1973 (TV)
0
A scientist builds a powerful robot with no emotions.
Unexciting TV movie which didn't lead to the expected series.
Dir: Richard A Colla
Stars: Robert Foxworth, Mike Farrell, John Vernon, Lew Ayres
QUICKSAND
1950
*
A mechanic finds himself caught in increasingly desperate situations after he steals $20 from his employer to go on a date.
Brisk B-feature that punches above its weight; it builds quite cleverly and benefits from an above average cast and some moody photography.
Dir: Irving Pichel
Stars: Mickey Rooney, Jean Cagney, Barbara Bates, Peter Lorre
THE QUIET EARTH
1985
*
A man finds himself alone on Earth; he goes about living out his fantasies while looking for others.
With its staple sci-fi plot, this is very well done apart from a confusing ending.
Dir: Geoff Murphy
Stars: Bruno Lawrence, Alison Routledge, Peter Smith
THE QUIET MAN
1952
*
An American ex-boxer comes to Ireland hoping for a quiet life but immediately falls in love.
Fondly remembered but rather artificial and rambling comic drama that rides on the strong personalities of the leads; it's pleasingly pastoral but what goes on in front of these backgrounds is a little dated and not too exciting.
Dir: John Ford
Stars: John Wayne, Maureen O'Hara, Barry Fitzgerald, Victor McClagen
THE QUIET ONES
2014
0
A university professor and his students conduct experiments on a mysterious young woman.
Heated but dull horror that doesn't bring anything new to the table; the '70s setting seems a little contrived - even the smoking feels a bit forced.
Dir: John Pogue
Stars: Jared Harris, Sam Claflin, Olivia Cooke, Erin Richards
A QUIET PLACE
2018
**
Aliens who attack sources of sound have decimated the planet; one family struggle to survive.
The BBFC consumer advice for this read 'sustained threat', and that ain't wrong: this is an intense and suspenseful thriller that pretty much manages to maintain its quality for its length; there are lapses in logic but the high concept is so good they can be forgiven.
Dir: John Krasinski
Stars: John Krasinski, Emily Blunt, Millicent Simmonds, Noah Jupe
QUILLS
2000
*
The Marquis de Sade defies all attempts by his asylum to curtail his writing.
Heavy-going, unsympathetic fantasy drama with things to say about the role of art, censorship and hypocrisy.
Dir: Philip Kaufman
Stars: Geoffrey Rush, Kate Winslet, Joaquin Phoenix, Michael Caine, Billie Whitelaw
QUINTET
1979
0
In the future, men play a game in which they have to hunt each other down.
Boring sci-fi which found few admirers.
Dir: Robert Altman
Stars: Paul Newman, Vittorio Gassman, Fernando Rey
QUIZ SHOW
1994
***
In 1950s America, a young lawyer investigates a crooked TV game show.
About as well done as could be hoped, this is an always gripping dramatisation of true events which is a showcase for some fantastic acting and makes its points in a non-heavy-handed fashion. Full of good things, it's easily the best film Redford's directed.
Dir: Robert Redford
Stars: Ralph Fiennes, John Turturro, Rob Morrow, Paul Scofield
QUO VADIS
1951
*
A Roman general falls in love with a Christian slave girl.
One of the true epics of its time, with spectacular sets and thousands of people on screen - it would have been quite a marvel for audiences, something rather different from watching their small black and white televisions at home. Viewed today it still looks impressive, the story's a decent one and Ustinov as Nero is fun if you're in the mood; its Christian propaganda now seems laid on a bit strong though.
Dir: Mervyn LeRoy
Stars: Robert Taylor, Deborah Kerr, Leo Genn, Peter Ustinov, Finlay Currie
