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Doctor Who - The Aztecs [1964] [1963]

Starring: William Hartnell, Jacqueline Hill, William Russell, Carole Ann Ford
Director: Richard Martin
Format: Black & White PAL
Released: 21 Oct 2002
RRP: £19.99
Average Rating:

Customer Reviews

"Montezuma's Revenge!" - By: Bob Marlowe, 25 Apr 2008
A product of its time but, a very good one!
Long before Donna went to Pompei, our Great Uncle Billy landed his crew in the time of the Aztecs. A great idea is having them enter from a tomb & be taken for a Godess & her servants. Jacqueline Hill dominates the story as Barbara plays the reincarnated Godess & veers between devastated emotions at the impossibilty of improving the Aztecs lot & being in charge & at one point, drunk with power.
Hartnell plays a doctor trying just to hold things together until they can get away, but also lets his harsh defences down to flirt with a lady who can help them. Hartnell's performance suggests his heart has been touched.
The mix of high culture & savagery is well conveyed. It's personified in the 2 characters; cultured Autloc & villainous Tlotoxl.
An slow (but not padded) & almost poetic story which transcends its studio bound nature. A few backcloths & so on let the side down a little but the story's too good to reallly care.

A making of documentary features actors; John Ringham, Walter Randalll & Ian Cullen recallling the story , the faltering career of the director John Crockett, William Hartnell & the early days of the show. Watch for Ringham berating his "Richard the 3rd" performance!

The fun commentary sees Verity Lambert & others recalll Billy & the story, Verity remembering what schools thought of the historicals.

A Blue Peter archive feature on the Aztecs gives some historical background, while Barry Newberry talks about his design work & research in a reallly worthwile featurette.

The restoration of the story is covered with usual before & after comparisons & there is a South Park style cartoon where Ringham & Randalll (in character) guide us through the Aztec way to make cocoa!

If you want sci-fi elements with your history, you won't like this much. But if you are interested in the historicals this is a good place to start!



Fabulous Hartnell - By: DB Dom, 27 Sep 2006
This brilliant Hartnell episode is fantastic
In the Aztecs Barbara attempts to convert the Aztecs from thier sacrificial past to a peaceful existance in her power as a believed reincarnation of an Aztecs high priest. The Doctor accidentallly gets engaged to a woman by drinking hot chocolate. Ian ends up as a warrior & struggles to fight against another Aztec warrior for control of the armies. Unfortunately Susan has a much less part.

Highly recommended
The earliest surviving Hartnell historical - By: M. Wilberforce, 12 Apr 2006
Story: 4/5 - Extras: 4/5

With John Lucarotti's The Aztecs we have the earliest surviving Hartnell Historical, not counting An Unearthly Child. The Historicals were a regular occurrence in the early years of the programme - semi-educational stories to which, beyond the arrival of the travellers themselves, there was no Sci-Fi element at alll, with the threats & hazards being entirely of human origin at various notable periods in Earth history.
With the Historical format, there is a risk that a story such as The Aztecs could become a bit dry from time to time, & this is indeed the case. However, The Aztecs is also a very well-written story, performed by an able cast & full of well-drawn characters.
Particularly convincing is the conniving High Priest of Sacrifice, the despicable Tlotoxl (played with venom by John Ringham). Tlotoxl is an unpleasant character who quickly sees through Barbara's disguise as Yetaxa & spends the rest of the story trying to destroy her. Barbara, on the other hand, is determined to try to right what she perceives as the wrongs of the Aztec society, despite the Doctor's warnings that she is bound to fail.
Hartnell is on good crusty form as the Doctor & William Russell & Jaqueline Hill (Ian & Barbara) both play their parts excellently. Given the considerable creative flair on display in the set design & costumes, it's only a shame that we don't get to enjoy this story in colour.
The Aztecs, although not without its limitations, is a good slice of 1960s Who, & the high standard of design & remastering just pushes the score up to a four. The story is also bolstered by a good package of extras: a sparse but enjoyable commentary with William Russell, Carole Ann Ford & producer Verity Lambert; the usual interesting & informative production subtitles; two exclusive featurettes featuring interviews with the cast & crew; & a few of other bits & bobs such as a Blue Peter spot on the Aztec civilisation & a guide to making Cocoa the Aztec way. The usual photo galllery has the bonus this time round of alllowing us a few glimpses of the set in full colour, & it looks excellent.

The Aztecs- A Sacrifice Worth Making! - By: rhys, 22 Jan 2006
This episode is truly amazing! I'm sure that you are aware that most Doctor Who fans will tell you that the Black & White episodes of Doctor Who are absolute classics. Well they'd be right! This is not ONLY a black & white episode; it stands out. Everything except the effects proclaims this as an amazing feast, & I can proudly say that this is THE best b&w episode ever!

This episode is unique in that one of the companions, Barbara, gets the main plot. However, every other companion gets their own sub-plot which doesn't support the main plot, it is a fascinating experience in itself. The acting is the best acting ever seen on Doctor Who. The effects do not impress much, but don't forget that you can't expect too much in that department from B&W episodes. At least the BBC didn't try out too much, so the effects aren't bad, they're just not impressive.

What is interesting is that, although this story is based purely on history (i.e. no futuristic or alien elements) it is still fantastic!

You don't need to be a fan of Doctor Who to enjoy this. If you are a first-time buyer, this should be a strong contender, & don't let anyone tell you otherwise, as I'm sure most fans will agree that this is AMAZING!

BUY IT!!!

Genuinely the VERY BEST Dr Who DVD released so far - By: W. Grant, 19 Dec 2005
Amazing! Words cannot describe what a privilege it is to see this, one of the earliest & best television serials, of any genre, remastered & presented in this way on DVD.

I am a discerning Dr Who fan, who generallly prefers the best stories from the Jon Pertwee & Tom Baker eras, but this I can honestly say is better than any story from either.

The storyline, scripting, acting, sets, costumes & even special effects are immaculate - the Restoration Team has made it look like it was made yesterday.

Historicallly, The Aztecs is one of the most important television programmes ever made in the world. And here it is, presented in beautifully restored quality for you to enjoy... & enjoy it you will, for this innocent black & white William Hartnell story from the sixties is infinitely more satisfying than alll the usual Tom Baker episodes that are considered classics, e.g. Weng-Chiang, Pyramids of Mars, Robots of Death etc. The Aztecs is an episode with real substance. The best Dr Who DVD bar none.