Customer Reviews:
The Use of Violence As A Solution To All Problems.......2007-02-19
Klaatu: This comes from our own planet, but if you threaten to extend your violence, this Earth of yours will be reduced to a burned-out cinder. Your choice is simple: join us and live in peace, or pursue your present course and face obliteration. We shall be waiting for your answer. The decision rests with you."IMDB
'The Day the Earth Stood Still' was one of the first movies in the 1950's to explore space travel and to provide a warning that "the use of violence as a solution to all problems" is an issue we need to face. All these years later we are still on this path and these words have not been taken seriously. This movie is known as the best Science Fiction movie ever written. 56 years later it still stands up. Patricia Neal had no idea this would be the case and had trouble keeping a straight face while reciting her lines.
Michael Rennie as Klaatu/Carpenter, as the spaceman who came to Earth to give us a warning. He takes up the persona of Mr. Carpenter and unfortunately is not taken seriously until it is too late. One of the reasons that Michael Rennie was cast as Klaatu was because he was generally unknown to American audiences, and would be more readily accepted as an "alien" than a more recognizable actor. Patricia Neal as Helen Benson is one of the few who does take him seriously, and with her son, Bobby,( a young Billy Gray) comes to love Mr. Carpenter. The world becomes afraid of this unknown spaceman, and of course we do him wrong. This black and white film won the Golden Globe in 1952 for "Promoting International Understanding"- why oh why do we not have such an award today?
One piece of trivia is that "Although he was already signed to play the Einstein-like Professor Barnhardt, the studio wanted to remove Sam Jaffe as a result of the political witch hunts that were then underway. Producer Julian BlaKlaatu:" Now, we do not pretend to have achieved perfection, but we do have a system, and it works. I came here to give you these facts. It is no concern of ours how you run yustein appealed to studio chief Darryl F. Zanuck. Zanuck allowed Jaffe to play the role, but it would be Jaffe's last Hollywood film until the late 1950s."
"In other words, it's not that these advanced worlds are a bunch of peace-loving little green men; in fact, they are governments that have voluntarily subjugated their sovereignty to a fascist organization that threatens them with annihilation unless they remain on the up-and-up. Klaatu's greatest hope for the people of Earth is that we can become enlightened enough to join his little group. No thanks. That's not peace as a choice, that's the kind of peace that's kept by threats and intimidation -- the kind of peace of people who would name a missile a Peacekeeper or a Patriot." Matt Bailey
The film is good at explaining how misunderstandings can develop between ordinary people and between nations and how easily fear can overwhelm reason and understanding. We also realize that optimism about the nature of human beings and our ease of resorting to violence and fear of the unknown is not our greatest virtue. Highly Recommended. prisrob 2-16-07
Delightful Gem.......2006-01-03
When the spaceship landed on the lawns of the White House, everyone was excited at what this portended for Earth and its relations with the rest of the Universe. However, when the alien finally came out of his ship and made his way down the ramp to meet those who had come to see him, a member of the military, who had surrounded the vessel, mistakes his peacefully reaching for a document as an attempt to reach for a weapon and shoots the alien Klaatu. Not to kill him, but he is badly wounded, which elicits a response from the starship in the form of Klaatu's robotic companion, Gort. Gort destroys those watching in everyone's expectations of the evil robot.
Meanwhile in hospital, Klaatu thinks he's talked the doctor in charge of his case into assembling the world's leading scientists so he could describe what had brought him to Earth. But it doesn't take him long to realise that he is just being strung along and the doctor had no intention of fulfilling his requests so Klaatu escaped into the Washington suburbs where he takes a place in a local boarding house along with a young widow and her inquisitive son. As the government desperately hunts for him, Klaatu makes contact with a local scientist whom he uses to pass on his request for the world's scientists to assemble at his ship. And this time, there's a definite threat involved, for just before the meeting was called, all devices dependant on electricity stopped working.
Klaatu's message: Don't fight. Put the planet's resources into improving the lot of the masses. If Earth persisted in its militaristic ways, then the Federation would have to act and Earth would find itself destroyed. And there was a surprise revelation; Gort was not Klaatu's servant, but his master, one of the guardians of the Federation.
Few of the humans in the film come out looking good - the government forces, at best, looking foolish and at worst, decidedly duplicitous and the inhabitants of Klaatu's boarding house mirrored their attitudes, with Helen Benson, the widow woman, as the only decent person amongst them. Her fiancé proved to suspicious of the new member of the household, particularly when it appeared his woman was taking an inordinate interest in the stranger!
What makes this film so special is that it was written and made in the early fifties at the height of the Cold War paranoia, when Reds under the bed were everyone's favourite enemy, and yet this shows the Government as the enemy, over reacting to Klaatu and his message in precisely the wrong way. Having Michael Rennie in the part of Klaatu certainly did not do any harm to the film as he managed the role in an extremely dignified manner.
ýThere are signs of normalcyý.......2005-07-07
We are visited by a flying saucer that lands near the U.S. capital. As a precaution the saucer is surrounded by the military with tanks, carbines, and side arms. The ship opens up and a being, Klaatu (Michael Rennie), steps out. He makes a menacing move with a foreign object. A quick thinking well trained military man shoots first.
Why are we being visited? A mysterious man named Mr. Carpenter may hold the answer. However the only people that will listen to the message are the world's scientists. To bring his point home Klaatu holds a demonstration. The result of the demonstration gives the movie its title "The Day the Earth Stood Still"
Besides being a classic this movie also captures a time. It is intriguing looking at the technology of the time and even the locations before they changed (some have not changed).
It is still fun to watch as Klaatu is encountered, detained, and the state of the governments (does not look like things have changed much). We all want to say to Gort "Gort! Klaatu barada nikto!"
This movie was better built than most for its time and rivals some movies of today. The message is still relevant and we sometimes try to apply the same solution here.
Customer Reviews:
I agree.......2007-11-11
Mark Barry doesn't leave much else to say, other than I agree. The quality is excellent and I was pleased to get the extra bits about making the film. It easily deserves more than one reviewer giving it 5 stars. It's all so nastalgic and there were certainly some moments in the commentary that I really wanted to hear. I'm not sure about the biting assessment of Hugh Marlowe's performance though - except that I definitely agree its a subject for discussion. I remember hating him (i.e. his character, Tom Stevens) and feeling the contrast he brought to the rest of the performance - but wasn't he supposed to do that?
Gort! - Digitally Remove Those Unsightly Strings - You Great Big One-Eyed Iron Pillock! .......2007-05-18
Before the review, a little about the Cinema Reserve series from 20th Century Fox (this issue is one of those titles).
"Cinema Reserve" is the title given to Fox's "premium" issues and releases started in February 2006 & are on-going. The blurb inside each tin promises best digital transfers, best audio, best extras, dedicated and unique booklet - and all of it wrapped up in a rather delicious metal tin exterior with slightly altered artwork. The series is numbered on the spine of the tin - from 001 on upwards (see list below). Most are 2DVD sets where the standard issue or Studio Classics issue is often only 1 disc. (Some of the doubles in this series are the 1st UK release of already released doubles in the USA on Region 1.)
I mention all of this because when you type in "Cinema Reserve" into the Amazon search engine, you get only 2 entries - "The Seven Year Itch" and "The Fly". No one at Fox seems to have alerted Amazon of the releases nor provided them with all of the proper artwork. Amazon's system has most of the titles available (not all) but they're not highlighted or recognised as "Cinema Reserve" releases. (The unique artwork is an easy way to spot them). It looks like the series will contain almost 20 titles by the end of the year. I've bought 6 others to date and 2 of them do have stock faults despite the "pristine transfer" claims in the booklet (more of those in later reviews). Still, if most are like this title (superb), then you may want to start saving! And the tin effect looks soooo good too - craftily geared towards the collector in us all!
For those interested, I've compiled an alphabetical list with the Series Number, Film Title, Film Release Date and finally the Cinema Reserve Release Date (including forthcoming titles):
1. Number 003: All About Eve (1950) (26 Feb 2006)
2. Number 013: Beyond The Valley Of The Dolls (1970) (12 Feb 2007)
3. Number 007: Butch Cassidy & The Sundance Kid (1969) (22 May 2006)
4. Number 019: Cleopatra (due 2007)
5. Number 001: The Day The Earth Stood Still (1951) (26 Feb 2006)
6. Number 009: The Fly (1986 Remake) (3 July 2006)
7. Number 010: The Hustler (1961) (18 Sept 2006)
8. Number 011: Kagemusha (1980) (27 Nov 2006)
9. Number 004: Laura (1944) (27 Feb 2006)
10. Number 005: Lifeboat (1944) (27 March 2006)
11. Number 018: The Magnificent Seven (1960) (due 2007)
12. Number 016: Midnight Cowboy (18 June 2007)
13. Number 002: My Darling Clementine (1946) (27 Feb 2006)
14. Number 006: Patton (1970) (24 April 2006)
15. Number 008: The Seven Year Itch (1955) (19 June 2006)
16. Number 017: Some Like It Hot (1959) (23 July 2007)
17. Number 012: Tora! Tora! Tora! (1970) (18 Dec 2006)
18. Number 015: Valley Of The Dolls (1967) (14 May 2007)
19. Number 014: The Verdict (1982) (19 March 2007)
Back to this release. The film itelf is on Disc One and is a fully restored print in black and white - and looks just sensational. So good in fact that it's prompted my title for this review. There's a scene where the seven-foot seven Lock Martin (formerly a doorman at a Hollywood Theatre) who plays Gort the Robot has to pick up Patrica Neal in his cumbersome silver suit. It was impossible to do. So they had string pullies yank her up - the restoration shows us the strings as she gallantly lets out one of those blood-curdling screams Fifties women seemed to do in Fifties Sci-Fi movies - which is both funny and cute!
Michael Rennie, superbly majesterial as Klaatu the interstellar messenger, was new to American screens. After being manhandled by the army and jailed by Washington types who take his requests to meet all leaders of the world as being impossible to achieve, Gort blasts a wall and helps him escape. He meets an understanding widow and her family in a boarding house he takes refuge in. Helen (Neal) and her son Bobby (played by Billy Gray - interviewed on Disc 2) say that Klaatu must meet the smartest man in the world, Doctor Barnhardt (veteran actor Sam Jaffe, an obvious ringer for Einstein). The Doctor says the world still won't listen; Klaatu tells them there will be a sign of his race's power; he stops everything at twelve noon one day. Great stuff!
For a movie that could have so easily descended into the clunky and even preachy, all the dialogue was superbly handled. The script was clearly one of the reasons why the film got made. And the great "message" given by Klaatu at the end of the movie about the Human Race growing up or the world will destroy itself could be quoted word-for-word now and not be out of place. Throughout the film Rennie calls himself Mister Carpenter and the inference to Jesus was subtle but deliberate by the screenplay writer.
After the movie, there are a few superfluous Movietone News Events of 1951 on Disc 1 that seem irrelevant to the movie really (but part of the movie experience of the time).
However, the real goodies start on Disc 2 with an 80-minute featurette on the Making Of the film. Although short on actual on-set footage, there are stills and fascinating features on each of the actors. Patricia Neal openly admits that she couldn't stop giggling in a lot of scenes at the poe-faced seriousness of it all - but the endlessly patient Rennie took it. There are interviews with the producers about the politically difficult times in which it was made. The downside is that Fox clearly don't have interviews with Rennie or Jaffe or Martin - and footage of the actual shoot is practically non-existent, so many of the interviews are peppered only with a photo of what/whom is being discussed - when you long for more.
Cinema cards, the iconic posters, the cinema stands at the premier are all talked of - even ownership of the prop that was the flying saucer is touched upon. There's the nervous preview screening where the audience giggled at the opening army shots of trucks rushing to the scene -much to the terror of the film makers who thought they might have a turkey on their hands. There's a bit on the restoration process, a trailer, stills gallery - all very good.
And then there's Bernard Herrmann's score - ripped off by every Sci-Fi movie ever since - a huge part of the scare factor. Astonishingly ahead of its time - and so on the money.
All in all, this is a superb issue of a ground-breaking movie. Sure it'll be boring to some of our CGI saturated kids, but watching it all the way through now - some 55 years after the event - it's astonishing how relevant it was then - and still is.
So puny Earthlings, in the words of your friendly alien, "Klaatu Barada Nikto". Indeed!
Amazon.co.uk Review
The very epitome of a cult SF classic, The Day the Earth Stood Still is more often referenced than seen, which is a pity since it remains even now one of the most thought-provoking examples of the genre. The title is a misnomer, a mere tease to entice 1950s audiences into the cinema in the expectation of seeing another sensationalist B-movie about murderous aliens (i.e. Communists). In fact, Robert Wise's film of Edmund North's screenplay is a thoughtful Cold War allegory about a Christ-like visitor (Michael Rennie) who comes to Earth preaching a message of salvation for mankind, only to be spurned, killed then finally resurrected (significantly, Rennie's character Klaatu adopts the pseudonym "Mr Carpenter" while on the run from the authorities).
Aside from its philosophical message, the film also boasts memorable imagery--notably the giant robot Gort--a much-quoted catchphrase in "Klaatu barada nikto", and one of composer Bernard Herrmann's most admired scores, featuring the theremin and other electronic instruments that must have sounded very otherworldly back in 1951. The result is a bona fide landmark in cinema SF with a central message about "weapons of mass destruction" that's still uncannily relevant today.
On the DVD: The Day the Earth Stood Still has been splendidly restored for its DVD incarnation from the original 35 mm print, and the results are demonstrated in the "Restoration Comparison" feature. Also included is a fascinating 1951 newsreel showing Klaatu receiving a certificate of merit amid stories of Communist threats, the Korean war and beauty pageants ("Pomp and pulchritude on parade in Atlantic City"). Best of all is an absorbing commentary track with director Robert Wise in conversation with Nicholas Meyer (both men have Star Trek movies on their CV). --Mark Walker
Customer Reviews:
Fantastic - in all three senses of the word........2007-09-07
Five and a half stars for this. TDTESS is a great film; entertaining, well acted - Michael Rennie is stone cold superb, he totally makes the part and the Mom, the kid and the Prof are all good; good direction - it keeps you hooked from the start; music by Hermann; the pace is spot on and the story and premise convincing. This is one of the best films ever with a message more pertinent than ever. Buy it for someone and then borrow it - you'll want your own copy. Apparently there's a remake in the pipeline due 2008, but even if it's great, this film is a tremendous achievement. Nice one, team TDTESS.
"There must be security for all or no one is secure.".......2005-11-07
Robert Wise's "The Day the Earth Stood Still" is a prime example of how well science-fiction films excel in examining universal issues. The proliferation of nuclear weapons following the end of World War II spawned this cinematic treatise on the new dangers the world had to face in the atomic age.
A flying saucer touches down in Washington D.C. and is immediately surrounded by armed troops. A hatch on the saucer opens and a figure named Klaatu (Michael Rennie) emerges. After he is shot by a nervous soldier, his robot companion Gort (Lock Martin) destroys some of the weaponry gathered around the saucer. Klaatu halts Gort's destructive spree and is taken to a nearby hospital. He soon escapes after making no headway in his plan to assemble the leaders of the planet to listen to a message he wants to deliver. With the help of a young boy named Bobby Benson (Billy Gray) and his mother, Helen (Patricia Neal), Klaatu makes contact with Professor Jacob Barnhardt (Sam Jaffe), a respected mathematician, who he hopes will assemble for him an audience of the world's leading academics.
While other science-fiction films of the period were content with one-dimensional storylines complete with rubber-suited monsters and spaceships straight out of model kits, Robert Wise proved that the genre had much more potential. He avoided silliness and absurdity and instead infused his film with meaning and food for thought. Much like the television series "Star Trek" did a decade later, "The Day the Earth Stood Still" used science fiction to explore the human condition and to critique the puzzling obsession the human race has with total annihilation. Rennie's stoic performance is chilling because of the weight behind Klaatu's message. Gray, Neal, and Jaffe also turn in great work and more than manage to keep from being overshadowed by Gort. Although it is rarely referred to as a "Cold War" film, "The Day the Earth Stood Still" nevertheless effectively captures the nuclear anxiety and political grandstanding that characterized the early Fifties.
Sci-fi masterpiece with a message.......2005-10-19
In a time when most science fiction movies were Earth versus mean aliens, Earth being invaded by mean aliens, or Earthlings encountering mean aliens during space exploration (all of which were just us civilized people against the ignorant barbarians, with lots of campy effects and shooting), this film was different. It started from a different premise and carried strong social messages. It was a message of peace in an era of hostility and paranoia.
Dignified, peaceful humanoid alien Michael Rennie comes to visit Earth and try to instill more peaceful ways on our world. His visit is misinterpreted by paranoid humans and he is shot. He escapes from the hospital where he was being treated for the wound, blends in with average, ordinary people, and finds our underlying good. His faithful robot is also a model of dignity and loyalty.
The acting is very good, which separates it from many early sci-fi movies, which were little more than extensions of cartoons or Saturday serials (What's a "Saturday serial"? Ask an older relative). The special effects were okay, but they didn't need to be spectacular, as that was not the focus of the film. The story was meaningful, it flowed, and it had some action mixed with much depth.
An early science fiction movie for people who like to think.
ýThere are signs of normalcyý.......2005-07-07
We are visited by a flying saucer that lands near the U.S. capital. As a precaution the saucer is surrounded by the military with tanks, carbines, and side arms. The ship opens up and a being, Klaatu (Michael Rennie), steps out. He makes a menacing move with a foreign object. A quick thinking well trained military man shoots first.
Why are we being visited? A mysterious man named Mr. Carpenter may hold the answer. However the only people that will listen to the message are the world's scientists. To bring his point home Klaatu holds a demonstration. The result of the demonstration gives the movie its title "The Day the Earth Stood Still"
Besides being a classic this movie also captures a time. It is intriguing looking at the technology of the time and even the locations before they changed (some have not changed).
It is still fun to watch as Klaatu is encountered, detained, and the state of the governments (does not look like things have changed much). We all want to say to Gort "Gort! Klaatu barada nikto!"
This movie was better built than most for its time and rivals some movies of today. The message is still relevant and we sometimes try to apply the same solution here.
A sleek spaceship and a big scary robot........2004-10-13
A classic from the opening credits. There's very little bad, if anything at all to say about this film.
It's a Robert Wise film with an immensely effective score from Bernard Herrmann and a suitable 50's cast (Michael Rennie is magnetic as Klaatu- eerily calm and self-assured) and very stylish design- especially the spacecraft and Gort.
When I first saw this as a kid I loved it- on face value as a Sci-Fi classic (a sleek spaceship and a big scary robot) but now I guess the biggest talking point is the subject matter- that of Post-War pacifism in the midst of the Cold-War.
It's amazing this ever got made. The military reaction to an alien arriving in the middle of Washington is understandable but I felt ashamed at our pettiness as a species.
Compare this reaction though to that of the dove-wielding Jack Nicholson in 'Mars Attacks' and you begin to wonder whether they are right to be mistrustful. Klaatu is very arrogant that he is right....
Anyway, enough of this- the pace and build up superb and it make great viewing- you can watch it again and again.
Amazon.co.uk Review
The very epitome of a cult SF classic, The Day the Earth Stood Still is more often referenced than seen, which is a pity since it remains even now one of the most thought-provoking examples of the genre. The title is a misnomer, a mere tease to entice 1950s audiences into the cinema in the expectation of seeing another sensationalist B-movie about murderous aliens (i.e. Communists). In fact, Robert Wise's film of Edmund North's screenplay is a thoughtful Cold War allegory about a Christ-like visitor (Michael Rennie) who comes to Earth preaching a message of salvation for mankind, only to be spurned, killed then finally resurrected (significantly, Rennie's character Klaatu adopts the pseudonym "Mr Carpenter" while on the run from the authorities).
Aside from its philosophical message, the film also boasts memorable imagery--notably the giant robot Gort--a much-quoted catchphrase in "Klaatu barada nikto", and one of composer Bernard Herrmann's most admired scores, featuring the theremin and other electronic instruments that must have sounded very otherworldly back in 1951. The result is a bona fide landmark in cinema SF with a central message about "weapons of mass destruction" that's still uncannily relevant today.
On the DVD: The Day the Earth Stood Still has been splendidly restored for its DVD incarnation from the original 35 mm print, and the results are demonstrated in the "Restoration Comparison" feature. Also included is a fascinating 1951 newsreel showing Klaatu receiving a certificate of merit amid stories of Communist threats, the Korean war and beauty pageants ("Pomp and pulchritude on parade in Atlantic City"). Best of all is an absorbing commentary track with director Robert Wise in conversation with Nicholas Meyer (both men have Star Trek movies on their CV). --Mark Walker
Customer Reviews:
Fantastic - in all three senses of the word........2007-09-07
Five and a half stars for this. TDTESS is a great film; entertaining, well acted - Michael Rennie is stone cold superb, he totally makes the part and the Mom, the kid and the Prof are all good; good direction - it keeps you hooked from the start; music by Hermann; the pace is spot on and the story and premise convincing. This is one of the best films ever with a message more pertinent than ever. Buy it for someone and then borrow it - you'll want your own copy. Apparently there's a remake in the pipeline due 2008, but even if it's great, this film is a tremendous achievement. Nice one, team TDTESS.
"There must be security for all or no one is secure.".......2005-11-07
Robert Wise's "The Day the Earth Stood Still" is a prime example of how well science-fiction films excel in examining universal issues. The proliferation of nuclear weapons following the end of World War II spawned this cinematic treatise on the new dangers the world had to face in the atomic age.
A flying saucer touches down in Washington D.C. and is immediately surrounded by armed troops. A hatch on the saucer opens and a figure named Klaatu (Michael Rennie) emerges. After he is shot by a nervous soldier, his robot companion Gort (Lock Martin) destroys some of the weaponry gathered around the saucer. Klaatu halts Gort's destructive spree and is taken to a nearby hospital. He soon escapes after making no headway in his plan to assemble the leaders of the planet to listen to a message he wants to deliver. With the help of a young boy named Bobby Benson (Billy Gray) and his mother, Helen (Patricia Neal), Klaatu makes contact with Professor Jacob Barnhardt (Sam Jaffe), a respected mathematician, who he hopes will assemble for him an audience of the world's leading academics.
While other science-fiction films of the period were content with one-dimensional storylines complete with rubber-suited monsters and spaceships straight out of model kits, Robert Wise proved that the genre had much more potential. He avoided silliness and absurdity and instead infused his film with meaning and food for thought. Much like the television series "Star Trek" did a decade later, "The Day the Earth Stood Still" used science fiction to explore the human condition and to critique the puzzling obsession the human race has with total annihilation. Rennie's stoic performance is chilling because of the weight behind Klaatu's message. Gray, Neal, and Jaffe also turn in great work and more than manage to keep from being overshadowed by Gort. Although it is rarely referred to as a "Cold War" film, "The Day the Earth Stood Still" nevertheless effectively captures the nuclear anxiety and political grandstanding that characterized the early Fifties.
Sci-fi masterpiece with a message.......2005-10-19
In a time when most science fiction movies were Earth versus mean aliens, Earth being invaded by mean aliens, or Earthlings encountering mean aliens during space exploration (all of which were just us civilized people against the ignorant barbarians, with lots of campy effects and shooting), this film was different. It started from a different premise and carried strong social messages. It was a message of peace in an era of hostility and paranoia.
Dignified, peaceful humanoid alien Michael Rennie comes to visit Earth and try to instill more peaceful ways on our world. His visit is misinterpreted by paranoid humans and he is shot. He escapes from the hospital where he was being treated for the wound, blends in with average, ordinary people, and finds our underlying good. His faithful robot is also a model of dignity and loyalty.
The acting is very good, which separates it from many early sci-fi movies, which were little more than extensions of cartoons or Saturday serials (What's a "Saturday serial"? Ask an older relative). The special effects were okay, but they didn't need to be spectacular, as that was not the focus of the film. The story was meaningful, it flowed, and it had some action mixed with much depth.
An early science fiction movie for people who like to think.
ýThere are signs of normalcyý.......2005-07-07
We are visited by a flying saucer that lands near the U.S. capital. As a precaution the saucer is surrounded by the military with tanks, carbines, and side arms. The ship opens up and a being, Klaatu (Michael Rennie), steps out. He makes a menacing move with a foreign object. A quick thinking well trained military man shoots first.
Why are we being visited? A mysterious man named Mr. Carpenter may hold the answer. However the only people that will listen to the message are the world's scientists. To bring his point home Klaatu holds a demonstration. The result of the demonstration gives the movie its title "The Day the Earth Stood Still"
Besides being a classic this movie also captures a time. It is intriguing looking at the technology of the time and even the locations before they changed (some have not changed).
It is still fun to watch as Klaatu is encountered, detained, and the state of the governments (does not look like things have changed much). We all want to say to Gort "Gort! Klaatu barada nikto!"
This movie was better built than most for its time and rivals some movies of today. The message is still relevant and we sometimes try to apply the same solution here.
A sleek spaceship and a big scary robot........2004-10-13
A classic from the opening credits. There's very little bad, if anything at all to say about this film.
It's a Robert Wise film with an immensely effective score from Bernard Herrmann and a suitable 50's cast (Michael Rennie is magnetic as Klaatu- eerily calm and self-assured) and very stylish design- especially the spacecraft and Gort.
When I first saw this as a kid I loved it- on face value as a Sci-Fi classic (a sleek spaceship and a big scary robot) but now I guess the biggest talking point is the subject matter- that of Post-War pacifism in the midst of the Cold-War.
It's amazing this ever got made. The military reaction to an alien arriving in the middle of Washington is understandable but I felt ashamed at our pettiness as a species.
Compare this reaction though to that of the dove-wielding Jack Nicholson in 'Mars Attacks' and you begin to wonder whether they are right to be mistrustful. Klaatu is very arrogant that he is right....
Anyway, enough of this- the pace and build up superb and it make great viewing- you can watch it again and again.
DVD:
- The Family Way [1966]
- The Forsyte Saga - Complete Series 1-7 Box Set [1967]
- The Glenn Miller Story [1953]
- The Graduate [1967]
- The Ladykillers [1955]
- The Lion In Winter [1968]
- The Maltese Falcon (2 Disc Special Edition) [1941]
- The Norman Wisdom Collection [1953]
- The Party (2 Disc Special Edition) [1968]
- The Philadelphia Story [1940]
DVD List
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