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Summary: sci-fi fan
Review: one of the pivotal science fiction movies of all time. until this movie came along, all sci-fi movies were about aliens wanting conquest or eating or some nasty scheme. this movie shattered the sci-fi mold forever. concepts the aliens could be morally above us, motives beyond our conception of civilization and yes even AI. the movie also explores cold war fears and the possiblity of total destruction of the earth. i recommend this movie for the serious minded viewer and would make an excellent addition to a collection....
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Summary: One of the greatest of the 1950's Sci Fi genre
Review: Being an absolute fan of 1950's sci fi I simply can't faulty this production from the point of view of sets, special effects, and casting. Michael Rennie is superb in the role of the alien who lands in Washington DC to warm Earth's leaders of the dangerous game they are playing with our solar system. Rennie I always love from his marvellous guest starring performance as "The Keeper" in one of my favourite TV series "Lost in Space" He was a character very similiar to the alien in this film.
Patricia Neal lends most capable support to Rennie in this actually quite simple story that is intelligently written, carefully acted and combines good solid drama with a growing tension. No Bubble eyed aliens here just a man-like creature delivering a message that we need to get our act together as others are "watching us".
It really is a stunning film and is right there with other sci fi favourites of mine "War of the World's" "The Thing" "Earth Vs the Flying Saucers" "Tarantula" "It came from Outer Space"
These great films are, I feel, so much more creative than most of today's sci fi films I can never get enough of them . I know you will appreciate "The Day the Earth stood still" if like me you enjoy creative well written stories from the 1950's
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Summary: Let's get this one on DVD ASAP!!!
Review: "Gort! Klatu...verada...nikto!!!" My personal nomination for the best science fiction film of all time (Arthur C. Clarke actually told "Day" producer Julian Blaustein that nothing before "2001" topped it)...and still not out on DVD. Dang!!Rennie and Neal were A-list players in 1951, and "Day" was the first big-budget science fiction film ever made. Everyone involved...most especially Blaustein, with whom I studied at Stanford...staked their careers on the film, which ended up being a big success. Oh well...wait we shall, I guess
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Summary: Still stands out
Review: As a child, I saw the movie on its release in 1951. Gort spooked
me plenty. I've remembered every detail of the movie since then,
but still look for an opportunity to see it again. The plot has
some curious flaws. The notion that Klaatu could walk around
Washington DC essentially anonymously, and that he could visit
the spaceship at night and find only a couple of soldiers around,
all despite the his arrival being the biggest event in human
history, is hardly credible. And yet it doesn't matter. This is
part of the mystique of the movie. That it doesn't. There's
something timeless about the plot, and the notion of a literate
visitor from space is very appealing. Gort is all powerful, but
the movie resists the more modern temptation to simply have it
tear up the town. It has a more civilized purpose. People who
like the movie tend to like it a lot, and maintain a long term
fascination with it, making it well worth owning.
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Summary: The Test of Truth and Time
Review: Most Sci-fi doesn't stand up to the test of time - the politics and social attitudes of the day are clearly evident, and worst of all, the special effects are painful to watch. DTESS falls into neither of these pitfalls of most films more than 15 years old - this film does not scream out its era. One can 'suspend ones imagination' long enough to overlook the technology available in 1951. To me, one of Sci-fi's finest aspects is its ability to take the truth and turn it into fiction. Do you want to know why so much of the dialogue rings true in a kind of universal tone? It is because this story is more true than you may think. This is a story about why the extraterrestrials do not wish to make open contact with us. We may look at the 1950s and say, 'well, that was before civil rights, positively primitive days', but are our attitudes really that different today? Would we not treat such an open extraterrestrial contact with hostility and fear? Do you really think that an advanced civilization would deliberately create the panic and destruction that this film portrays? This film allows us on a mass-consciousness level to play out one of the scenarios of extraterrestrial contact... This is all to say that I give a big "Thumbs Up" to DTESS
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Summary: Klatu-Barata-Nikto!
Review: Not only one of the best sci-fi movies of all time, but one of the best movies of all time. They don't make them like this anymore. Wonderful story and great actors ,all working together, giving brilliantly subtle performances. Not like most of todays hammy "look at me aren't I wonderful?"(no) celebrities. This movie sends a message of brotherhood or doom, which is as timely now (more so,unfortunatley)), then when it was made. From the very beginning, as the story unfolds, you will be captivated and intrigued. And all this is accomplished with NO annoying computerized special effects.(Call me old fashioned.)Just a great, great film. And when you see Patricia Neal hurriedly going to the park at night to send spaceman Michael Rennie's "Klatu's" urgent message to "Gort", the robot, you are seeing one of the most memorable, goose-bump filling scenes in motion picture history.Forget "Independence Day", watch this classic film. It's the real thing.
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Summary: Greatest Science Fiction Movie
Review: I am a 50's Science Fiction fan and believe this movie and 'It Came from Outer Space', to be one of the greatest movies in this genre. 'The Day the Earth Stood Still' is a true classic. Intelligent script, great acting and production. Most modern movies don't even come close to this classic and others from the 50's. I own the VHS PAL version, which is surprisingly sharp and clear. Even so, I am eagily awaiting the DVD release.
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Summary: BEST SCI-FI MOVIE EVERand
Review: If you have not seen this movie and you consider yourself a Sci-Fi fan, then you'd better buy this immediately. This movie sums up the entire perspective that any alien race would likely experience when confronted by the ridiculous race know as the humans. We are such pathetic tool users that I think it would be better if this movie was reality rather than fiction. It should be required viewing for anyone taking political office. And I am totally serious.
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Summary: The best sci fi movie ever made brfore 2001 came out.
Review: Maybe I'm just reading too much into this, but my take is this is a sci fi rendering of the Christ Story. This fellow descends from the heaven's to preach a message of peace and "love thy neighbor" to us earthlings. Initial response among earthlings? Not too positive. He's shot and locked away. He escapes and takes on a human identity (his name? Mr. Carpenter!) and looks for local "disciples" to help him spread the word. Finds a few but is still not going over well with the people at large. Tries a miracle to get his point across-works with a few but still not catching on well with the local power structures. In fact, once they get their hands on him, they kill him. Shortly thereafter, thanks to the application of some heavenly technology, he's resurrected, appears before his disciples and delivers his message and then ascends back into the heavens. Of course, there are some liberties being taken here. He has a nominal love interest. He's basically hiding out, not really working the crowds out in the open. And he's brought help in the form of a large mechanical being. So it's a very generalized rendering, yet an affecting one. More of an effort to use the story as a sociological rather than a religious metaphor. Nonetheless, I think it's that "this all feels really familiar" aspects of the story and plot that has a resonance with the audience. The film is in black and white, so it has an authentic fell of the '50's. The music score is authentic to the time as well. The acting is superb. The technical effects, such as they are-and they are few and far between-are primitive by today's standards, but they are so peripheral to the story and the message that that doesn't become a factor insofar as enjoying the movie is concerned. This is one of my all time favorite movies. I watch it about once a year or so. I think it's will connect with a very wide audience. Give it a try. I'd be genuinely interested in discussing via email anyone's take on my theory about the basis of the plot & story. So, feel free to send a note.
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Summary: A groundbreaking yet often overlooked film!
Review: In my last year of college, I took a class in sci-fi film, where I had the good fortune of having to view some of the classic sci-fi films of all time from 'Metropolis' to the present - movies which I probably would never have seen otherwise. One of those movies was 'The Day the Earth Stood Still'; and compared to other sci-fi films of the time ('Forbidden Planet,' 'War of the Worlds,' etc.) - this movie seemed to take the genre far more seriously. In that respect I agree that this movie was ahead of its time. My only gripe is that ITS NOT AVAILABLE ON DVD YET. Please whoever is responsible for the ditribution of this film; LET'S GO!!!
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