This Movie Can Only Be Described With One Word.

Tells a fascinating and unsettling true story, and does so well, without pretending to have all the answers.

The film creates a perfect balance between action and depth of basic needs, in the midst of an infertile atmosphere.

It is interesting even when nothing much happens, which is for most of its 3-hour running time. Read full review

When Dr. Who (Peter Cushing) shows his time machine TARDIS to the clumsy Ian (Roy Castle), who is boyfriend of his granddaughter Barbara (Jennie Linden), he accidentally transport them and Dr. Who´s granddaughter Susan (Roberta Tovey) to somewhere in space and time. They explore the spot and see a city; Dr. Who fakes a leak in the fluid and they go to the city to seek mercury to refill the component. They are captured by the Daleks and soon they learn that a war between Daleks and Thals has destroyed the planet. Further they are exposed to radiation and only the Thals have the antidote. The Daleks send Susan to find the cure and she meets the Thal Alydon (Barrie Ingham) that has the antidote and wants to negotiate with the Daleks to exchange for food. But the cruel Daleks want to destroy the Thals to rule the world. The naïve "Dr. Who and the Daleks" is a funny entertainment for children and for adults in a Saturday afternoon. The art direction is very poor, the plot is silly but in the 60´s we had "National Kid", "Lost in Space" among other films and "Dr. Who and the Daleks" is in the same level. My vote is six.Title (Brazil): "Dr. Who e a Guerra dos Daleks" ("Dr. Who and the War of the Daleks")

"Dr. Who and the Daleks" was the first of two Doctor Who films made by Amicus Productions in the mid-sixties; the second was "Daleks – Invasion Earth: 2150 A.D". Both films starred Peter Cushing as Dr. Who, not William Hartnell who was the current television Doctor. Although they make use of many key features of the television series, such as the Tardis (a machine disguised as a police box and capable of travelling in time and space), and the Daleks, the Doctor's most iconic enemies, the films are not generally considered to form part of the official "Doctor Who" canon. Patrick Troughton, who succeeded Hartnell on television, is regarded as the Second Doctor, not the Third. I think the reasons are firstly that no mention is ever made of Cushing's character being a Timelord- he is always assumed to be an eccentric human inventor rather than an alien- and secondly that he does not feature in any "regeneration scene" as all the other Doctors do. The film opens in a setting about as far removed from the hi-tech world of science fiction as one can get, the cramped living-room of a small London house, decorated in a style desperately old-fashioned even by the standards of the 1960s. Dr. Who and his granddaughters Susan and Barbara are proudly showing his latest invention, the Tardis, to Barbara's boyfriend Ian. The accident-prone Ian accidentally activates the machine and the three suddenly find themselves on an alien world which turns out to be Skaro, the home planet of the Daleks. (The name is not actually used in this film, but "Skaro" is the name given in the television series and the second film).The planet is actually home to two races, the aggressive, warlike Daleks and the more peaceful humanoid Thals. (The Thals have much in common with the Eloi in H.G Wells's novel "The Time Machine" and in the film made of it in 1960). We learn that the Thals have not always been so peaceful; at some time in the past a nuclear war, fought between them and the Daleks led to the devastation of the planet, which remains heavily contaminated by radiation. The Thals are able to survive the fallout through the use of anti-radiation drugs, but the Daleks are forced to remain within their city. Because of their previous experiences the Thals have adopted a philosophy of pacifism and refuse to fight back even when threatened by the Daleks, until the Doctor is able to convince them of the soundness of the Just War doctrine. Further elucidation of the plot will probably be unnecessary; anyone familiar with the conventions of "Doctor Who" will realise that it revolves around how the Doctor and his companions assist the Thals to frustrate the evil schemes of the Daleks. This was the first "Doctor Who" story to be made in colour; the TV series continued to be made in black-and-white until 1969. It was also revealed that the Daleks have their own colour-based class system; the leaders are black, secondary commanders red and ordinary Daleks blue. Cushing's characterisation also looks ahead to the future; his Doctor, eccentric but kindly, is quite different to Hartnell's rather testy old man. Some later incarnations of the Doctor, especially Jon Pertwee's Third Doctor and Peter Davison's Fifth, may well have been influenced by Cushing's portrayal. Another feature that predicts the way the programme was to go is the use of humour, something that was increasingly to become a feature of the series in the seventies and eighties. (By the time of Sylvester McCoy's Seventh Doctor, a frequent complaint was that it was becoming too jokey). Roy Castle's Ian is, to begin with, a rather comical figure, clumsy and cowardly, but later he proves to have hidden reserves of courage. Castle, I must say, proved more successful than did Bernard Cribbens who played the equivalent role in "Daleks – Invasion Earth". I also liked Roberta Tovey's sweet young Susan, proof that not all child stars have to be brats. The television series was famous (some might say notorious) for its low budgets, especially in the special effects department, and the film was obviously made in a similar tradition. We only, for example, see the Dalek city from the inside, and what we see seems to have been put together by an enthusiastic Blue Peter presenter out of sticky-backed plastic. Pace George Lucas, however, one does not need a budget the size of a small planet to make effective sci-fi, and "Dr. Who and the Daleks" is really quite an enjoyable good-against-evil adventure story with a loveably eccentric hero in the best British tradition. It lacks the silliness and preposterous plot elements which sometimes marred Daleks – Invasion Earth". Forget all the arguments about whether the film is "canonical" or not. This is really vintage Doctor Who. 6/10

I have never understood the rather low esteem the die-hard Who fans give to the Amicus films. I'm a casual Yank fan of the series; I enjoy the series overall, but find individual episodes and portrayals to be very hit and miss. However, I enjoy the heck out of the movies, despite hearing bad things about them before finally encountering Dr. Who and the Daleks on a late night TV broadcast.The films depart from the series in a few respects, mostly in the character background. The Doctor is an eccentric Earth genius who has developed the TARDIS, rather than an alien. He has two granddaughters, Barbara and Susan, where only Susan was a granddaughter in the series (though the 20th anniversary magazine had a story that suggested Susan wasn't a blood relation of the Doctor). In the series, Barbara and Ian are Susan's teachers, who stumble into the TARDIS, after following the odd little girl home. Here, Ian is Barbara's boyfriend, who is shown the TARDIS by the family. Also, the TARDIS interior is vastly different, with the film version looking like a complicated mess of wires, tubes, and equipment, compared to the cleaner and more functional lines of the series. After that, the film pretty much follows the plot of the original Dalek serial.Our explorers are accidentally propelled into the future, and to another planet (Skaro), where they discover a devastated world, as seen in the wonderfully designed petrified forest. They encounter a strange city, where they meet the Daleks, armored apparently robotic creatures who have survived a nuclear holocaust. Later, they will meet the Daleks' foes, the Thals, humanoids who have developed a serum to cure radiation sickness and create immunity. The Doctor and his family join with the Thals to stop the Daleks and their aims of conquest and destruction.The world is wonderfully realized, at times very reminiscent of the 60s, yet also appearing otherworldly and timeless. The exterior of the Dalek city is very evocative of this strange race, while the insides are sleek and functional, as who fit this mechanical race. The Dalek designs are slightly modified from the series, with some of the "plunger" arms replaced by gripper claws, slightly larger dome lights, and wider bases. Also, since the film is in color, we get to see varied designs for the Daleks that weren't available in the original black & white TV broadcast. The petrified forest is an amazing set, with a sandy gray texture and the appearance of a world frozen in time (rather like Pompeii or the petrified forest of Arizona). Watching the film, you feel like you are observing an alien world, not a studio set.The actors are all terrific, with Peter Cushing making a fine Doctor. he was a bit of a departure from the gruffer William Hartnell, but fits right in with the more twinkle-eyed qualities of Patrick Troughton or Tom Baker. It's a lighter portrayal, for sure, but never campy. Jennie Linden makes for a fine Barbara, who gets to muck in with the action, though she is the closest to the standard Who companion, asking lots of questions and screaming at the appropriate moment (though not nearly as much as the television ladies did). Roy Castle adds some comic relief as the slightly bumbling but valiant Ian. Castle proves very versatile and would have made a great hero, had he continued in the sequel. Roberta Tovey is excellent as Susan, the youngest granddaughter. She essays a very mature character, one who combines the seriousness of an adult scientist with the curious nature of a young girl. Susan makes for a great heroine, as she doesn't stand around screaming or whining. She explores and she solves problems. She could have easily have been the main focus of a whole series. The Thals are able assayed by Barrie Ingham and Geoffrey Toone, in the key roles. They are given an odd appearance that does look very 60s, but doesn't scream "The 60s" at you. really, they kind of look like a proto-Glam Rock band.The film offers plenty for everyone, with great sets, costumes, and vibrant colors contrasted with more subdued elements in the petrified forest. The is plenty of mystery to go along with the action and fantastic, presenting something for both child and adult. It has many tense moments and a rousing climax that makes good use of plot points that were introduced along the way.I personally feel that the harsher criticisms of some fans are grounded in fact that they forget this (and the series) was designed for children. As such, many elements are kept simple; but, that helps strip away some of the excess baggage of many sci-fi dramas and lets you focus on the key story elements. The lighter tone helps offset the rather grim nature of the story (a post-holocaust world and a fight for survival), but it never descends into farce. If you enter the film with an open mind, you will find much to entertain you.

I feel I have to put a disclaimer here. I am not a hardcore Dr. Who fan, I grew up with Pertwee and Baker and loved them, after that I hit puberty and the good Doctor left my own personal universe. So basically I want to say that I view this picture as a film lover, not as some serio Dr. Who fan. Thus I ask, just how did Amicus get it so wrong?Oh it really isn't as awful as some "who" fans have painted it as, and by painted I mean spittle daubed venom! But it looks like Amicus have tried to reinvent Dr. Who about 25 years before he needed reinventing. I mean, I realise it's a show involving time travel, but Amicus' Tardis is just a bit too early! They have taken two of Britain's most beloved entertainers and made one a bumbling comedy side-kick (Castle as Ian), and the other a doddering old eccentric granddad type (Cushing as the Doctor). Fair enough Cushing's Doctor is a genius, we know and understand that, but if you take away the Tardis invention, then this could be any old geezer in a sci-fi movie.Things are further muddied by lack of screen time for Cushing, he is strangely secondary here. It's a good job the two girls playing his nieces (Jennie Linden and Roberta Tovey) get good characterisations to work from, and that the Daleks are a colourful and dastardly foe, because Sir Peter of the Who is jostling for attention in a film that bears his character's name. The irritants continue when you reach the end credits and the action quota amounts to being very little. It's safe to say the stunt department and director Gordon Flemyng's camera were not required to work over time.On the plus side. The production design, considering the low end budget, is visually impressive. The outer lands of the Dalek's planet Skaro is very striking with green tints and scorched plant life. The interiors are suitably metallic in feel, plenty of odd angles, though you will have to ignore parts of the set flapping about when they aren't meant too. The Thal race of beings that enter the story significantly, are interestingly costumed and made up, preempting Glam Rock by a few years, and those Daleks, pop culture for ever assured and entering the villain stratosphere, really do rock with their staccato voices. But ultimately the film feels like such a waste of talent and source material, so much so that not even a casual Dr. Who fan can proclaim it a worthy spin on this particular practitioner. 5/10