Doctor Who - The Aztecs (Story 6)
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Movie Reviews of Doctor Who - The Aztecs (Story 6)
Movie Review: Astonishing restoration of a great story.
Summary: 5 Stars
No disrespect to the wonderful original cast but the majority of Doctor Who entries from the William Hartnell era are overlong overpadded, absolute cures for insomnia. "The Aztecs" is one of the notable exceptions. It is a well written, well paced, beautifully designed show. All of the regular cast are given something to do which seems lacking in other episodes. William Hartnell's Doctor makes a strong showing in this one in an era when Ian Chesterson took center stage much of the time. The first Doctor's accidental engagement is priceless. Even the usually boring and frumpy Barbara is interesting in this one! This was my favorite Hartnell story when I first saw it years ago in its previous condition. That being said, the DVD restoration is absolutely astonishing! They have managed to restore it to its original videotaped look and it is clean as a whistle and sharp as a tack. The soundtrack has been equally cleaned up and I was actually taken aback as to how clear the opening theme was when I first popped it into the player. This is a MUST for any fan. You won't be dissapointed.Movie Review: 3 of the cast superb - one weak
Summary: 5 Stars
Overall, this story is a good Doctor Who story. It is the first instance in the program where the TARDIS crew (specifically Barbara here) try to manipulate and change known history. I won't tell you if she succeeds or fails, though.
This story is overall a dry one, but that may be that the science fiction element is gone from most of it. Fan-boys call them "historicals".
Anyway, the Doctor, Ian, and Barbara all have strong parts and are enjoyable to watch (especially the Doctor with Camecia); yet Susan could have been written out completely with no real loss to the story.
I enjoy extras on DVDs, yet dislike how "hidden" features are on some DVDs (ie, Easter Eggs). This one has random sayings that play at the beginning of an episode. It took me something like 30 times to hear all the sayings, and that was my major dislike.
Overall, I liked it. And, if you wonder what the ending (after part 4) is referring to, then you need to watch "The Sensorites" (not yet available on DVD).
Movie Review: This First R1 VidFIRE DVD Simply Shines
Summary: 5 Stars
You can't possibly watch The Aztecs without somehow talking about the Doctor Who Restoration Team; a group of dedicated individuals who have devoted their free time and energy to making sure Doctor Who's decaying prints are lovingly restored. The Aztecs is their first region 1 release that fully takes advantage of their patented VidFIRE technology. VidFIRE seamlessly blends the 24 frame per second look of the film prints into a near perfect match to the 50 frame per second look of the program as it appeared on television in the mid-60s. A short clip of this process was made available on the Tomb DVD, but here it truly gets to be shown off, and what a display it is. Words can't fully describe just how beautiful and realistic VidFIRE is. The touch up work is also far better than what was used on the Tomb DVD. I only wish they had waited to release Tomb and have it look as good as Aztecs does, because this is easily the best Doctor Who DVD release to date. Simply magnificent.Movie Review: You can't change the past...
Summary: 5 Stars
Doctor Who The Aztecs is the sixth story, featuring the First Doctor and his companions Ian, Barbara and Susan. They materialize in the center of the Ancient Aztec empire and Barbara decides she wishes to change history (it seems that she admired the Aztec civilization and wants to destroy the bad parts and leave only the good ones). It is an interesting lesson against meddling with time and with other cultures. Of course everything goes wrong and it takes all the wits and intelligence of all four of them to get away.
The four episodes have been restored to their original glory and the disc has tons of extras, with behind the scene features, a short on how to make cocoa which looks like a South Park cartoon, commentary for all episodes, the photo gallery, the always interesting production notes and even a short history lesson on Cortez and Montezuma.
Movie Review: Great Doctor Who DVD, a "Must Have"
Summary: 5 Stars
"The Aztecs" is considered by many to be the First Doctor's finest episode. Having seen it many years ago on public TV, at the time I thought it a bit dull. But I have I to report that this DVD is one of the best Who discs to date.First off, using some fancy new restoration program, the Aztecs now looks as it was originally transmitted all those years ago. Suddenly, the whole thing comes to life. Now I love the story. You can appreciate the actor's performances so much better. The story of the restoration is one of the documentaries on the DVD.
There are also a ton of extras including interviews with the actors who portrayed the Aztecs and the set designer.
This is a "Must Have" for any Who enthusiast. I hope they give the same treatment to "An Unearthly Child" some day.