Welcome back Dial Effers! This episode is huge and you won't want to miss this one! Incredible Two-Headed Podcast host Aaron Lowe returns to our A-Z series, and this week we are on the letter Q, and the film is, The Quiet Earth (1985): a lo-fi science fiction film from New Zealand based on a novel by Craig Harrison. 

But before we get to that on the episode, I reveal my Top 10 Films of 2022; I don't say much on the films, as I have talked about most of them on the show with guests on this month's bonus best of series. I talk about All Quiet on the Western Front, The Batman, Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio, and more. 

Around the 40 minute mark, we begin talking about the film for this episode. This was my first time watching Geoff Murphy's science fiction classic, The Quiet Earth, which is considered New Zealand's first major science fiction film production. If you enjoyed the films derived from Richard Matheson's I am Legend, then you will definitely enjoy this one, as it deals with "the last man on earth" device, but diverges from those films, by focusing on the human aspects of survival, loneliness, and despair. 

 The story follows three survivors after a cataclysmic event set off by "Project Flashlight." The first 36-minutes, are a solo performance by Bruno Lawrence, who plays Zac Hobson, one of the individuals involved in "project flashlight." At his lowest point, two survivors show up, first, Joanne (Alison Routledge), followed by the leather-clad Api (Pete Smith), the third piece to this love triangle. The first act of the film has some of the most striking visuals and an incredible performance by Lawrence as he slowly loses his mind and falls deeper into loneliness. 

The Quiet Earth is a visually striking science fiction film going for big ideas but remaining sparse in its execution. We watch Bruno Lawrence traverse desolate city streets with the emptiness of the world around him accentuating his loneliness. Furthermore, the film's soundtrack was redubbed to remove sounds of the real world adding to the loneliness of our three characters and isolating the audience into a world where there is as much mystery as there is wonder. 

This one is worth your time, and is currently available on multiple platforms. I watched this on one of my favorite free-with-ads app, Tubi. Take a listen to our conversation, this one is going down as one of my favorites on the show, and we cover a lot of the film, which maybe will entice you to watch! 

Thank you for reading (and thank you for listening). Follow us on Instagram (@Dialfpodcast) - this is where I'm most active; shoot me a message or comment and let's talk about film.

Dial F for Film is a podcast about the love of movies and host's -- J. Carlos Menjivar -- attempt to watch 1001 movies before he dies. A lover of lists and film, Carlos is a firm believer that all film lists should be tackled with one goal in mind: completion. Steven Jay Schneider's "1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die" is the subject of this podcast. Each episode features one guest and five movies from the massive list, compiled into themed lists by the host. Guests each week will select one category without any prior knowledge as to what films are included. Once a category is chosen, Carlos reveals the five films and the viewing begins. The guests then come on Dial F for Film via Zoom and the discussion begins.