The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951)

THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL Is Still a Great Movie

Though released almost sixty years ago in 1951, THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL is a sci-fi and cinema classic that still holds up incredibly well. The film has had a huge impact upon popular culture and many elements in the film, e.g. the groundbreaking score, are now staples of the sci-fi genre.

The movie opens with worldwide warnings of an object hurling towards Earth. The object turns out to be a spaceship that lands in a field in Washington, D.C. The military, police officers, emergency personnel, and casual spectators surround the ship to see what will happen. A door opens in the spacecraft and a human-like creature walks out. The creature claims to come in peace and begins to take out a device from his suit. A fearful soldier shoots the creature and he falls to the ground wounded. From the spaceship a giant robot, named Gort, emerges and proceeds to destroy all the weapons in the area. He stops at the alien's command. The robot freezes and no one is able to move him from his place. Meanwhile, the alien is taken to a hospital. It is learned that the alien's name is Klaatu and he has come to Earth to deliver a vital message to the leaders of the world. Unfortunately, the world is an imperfect place and many of the world's leaders refuse to come to Washington, D.C. to hear what Klaatu has to say. So, he takes things into his own hands and escapes from the hospital. Very few people know what Klaatu looks like and he is able to blend in with the populace. He takes up residence at a local boarding house and takes the name of Mr. Carpenter. Klaatu attempts to complete his mission, but also befriends Helen Benson (Patricia Neal), a widowed mother, and her son, Bobby (Billy Gray).

Though some modern viewers might find THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL quaint, the film was exceptionally well done. The movie is notable for it's memorable images, i.e.Gort chasing after Helen Benson, and groundbreaking score by Bernard Herrman (the movie was one of the first to use theremins, an instrument that soon became common place in sci-fi musical scores). The movie withstood the test of time to become a classic piece of filmmaking and science fiction, it still holds up incredibly well today. Not only that, but despite not having many of the particulars that audiences seem to clamor for today: tons of special effects, excessive violence, gratuitous sexuality, etc.; the movie can still captivate an audience. In short, it's a film that people of all ages and from all walks of life can watch and enjoy today. "Klaatu barada nikto." And for those of you with a keen eye, look for Frances Bavier (best known as Aunt Bea on THE ANDY GRIFFITH SHOW) as Mrs. Barley, one of the residents of the boarder house that Klaatu moves into.

The DVD includes all kinds of extra features including a commentary by Robert Wise, a 70-minute documentary entitled "Making the Earth Stand Still", a Movietone Newsreel that includes a spot with Gort, restoration comparatives between the original film and restored versions of the movie, still galleries, the shooting script, original theatrical trailer, and trailers for ONE MILLION YEARS B.C. and JOURNEY TO THE CENTER OF THE EARTH. I particularly enjoyed the "Making the Earth Stand Still" documentary. I learned a great deal about the movie that I had never known or thought about before. For instance, though the parallels are rather apparent, I had never picked up on the Christian allegorical elements of the film. I also found it fascinating that Lock Martin, the giant of a man who portrayed Gort, was rather feeble. December 31, 2008

A MESSAGE FOR TODAY, ALSO!!

This classic science fiction, the defining film of the genre for many people, is about a humanoid that travels 250,000,000 miles from another planet with a message for the people of our planet. He lands in Washington, D.C. with his guardian robot and attempts to connect with world leaders to make his message known. There is mistrust by those in power of someone they are unfamiliar with and powers they have not seen before. They are not willing to give him the opportunity to speak so he must attempt to get his message out through other channels. Are there people who will listen to his message of how to prevent Planet Earth from self destructing or being destroyed from outside forces? Will anyone take him seriously? You have to remember that this was made during the height of the Cold War and nuclear war was on the radar screen of almost every citizen. Watch the newsreel that coincides with the release of the movie to see what was going on in the world at that time and it will help to put the movie into context. While there is action and some violence this is also a movie of relationships and how people react to something/someone they're not familiar with. A classic still worth watching today with good entertainment value as well as plenty of food for thought. www.lusreviews.blogspot.com. December 29, 2008

Stood the Test of Time

The movie is one of those that is just a relevant today as when made. The special effects are still those of the 1950's but still a great watch. This is the original in B&W. December 27, 2008

Transcends generations

I was nine years old when this film first came out -- about the age of Patricia Neal's little boy. My parents refused to let me see it, so I had to pretend I was attending another film. I identified heavily with the little boy, of course, and for weeks after fantasized about having an alien friend with unearthly powers. Aside from some very bad TV series, it was my first real experience with science fiction. Some time later, in a literary theory class, I wrote an essay about the film's brilliant use of media as a disseminator of disinformation and hysteria. Recently I taught The Day the Earth Stood Still in a Science Fiction Film course at my University and was surprised at how well it went over with the young people, who typically reject anything prior to their generation. To me it's one of the greatest science fiction classics of all time, but it had a lot going against it: black and white movie, few special effects, fairly obscure actors, obtrusive film score, etc. But the students picked up on the film's virtues: the argument for peace in a world threatened with annihilation, a simple but effective script, beautiful black and white cinematography, the ancient drama of betrayal and redemption, a spooky mystery story, quality acting, and iconic scenes, such as Gort, the giant robot, standing immobile before the ship in the DC Mall. In their final essays, the students praised and wrote about this film more than any other in the course, including more recent favorites, such as Star Wars and The Matrix. December 27, 2008

The Day The Earth Stoodstill

A verry well produced and directed 60ies film about the parinoia of the time of being invaded by aliens from another world.
The film is in black and white which adds to the inpact of the film.
The film was in a style that made the subject matter quite believable for the times. The actors were quite believeable in thair charactors.
This all adds up to a classic film of the 60ies and quite watchable in my opinion. December 22, 2008

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