Rating: 
Summary: The Movie that Hollywood Made Best
Review: There's no need for any longwinded review or description of THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL. As a science-fiction film, this is the classic by which all others are measured. As a classic film, this is quite possibly one of the finest ever made.With its subtle allegory of the story of Christ, this multi-layered yet simple cautionary tale is a must in any serious videophile's DVD library. The new DVD release does not quite measure up to the landmark laser disc set from a decade ago but that should not stop anyone from acquiring and treasuring THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL on DVD.
Rating:
Summary: A Sci-Fi Great
Review: Numerous reviews have already stated various things about this classic so I'm going to focus on the things I'm not seeing immediately. This movie is an example of great sci-fi that may appeal to those who wouldn't normally watch sci-fi. As with most of the better sci-fi, there are hidden political and social comments. This could be why the insert includes statements about how the extras don't reflect the views of the studio. The image and sound quality is the best I've seen of this movie. It has been cleaned up so there are only minor specks here and there. They're only noticeable if you're looking for them. Although I'm not a fan of two sided DVDs, the extras here are wonderful. Personally, I'd prefer two separate DVDs, and the second side should have some kind of label. Some people may assume they can't play the other side since there's no indication that the side B exists. I could figure it out, but there may be some who don't. The Movietone newsreel is complete. It contains a segment with Klaatu at a convention receiving an award which has been shown on the Fox Movie Channel. The newsreel also includes the signing of the Japanese Peace Treaty, Gen. MacArthur announcing that POWs will be returning home soon, G.I.s encountering floods in Korea, and clips from Miss. America and Mrs. America pageants. This DVD also has the THX intro with the cows which is my personal favorite. The "Making of..." documentry is interesting but fairly basic with talking head shots and some clips from the movie. The documentry contains one error that I know of. Julian Blaustein incorrectly states that, in the short story, the military shoots Klaatu. That only happens in the movie, not Harry Bates' story. There are major differences between the movie and Harry Bates' Farewell To The Master. First off, Klaatu is dead at the beginning of the story, shot by someone who was "mentally unbalanced." The entire story focuses on a reporter observing the robot, called Gnut instead of Gort. The ship didn't land either. It simply appeared like Dr. Who's TARDIS. Klaatu steps out wearing robes instead of a space suit. The short story doesn't have the same political statements that the movie makes. As the documentry suggests, it would have worked well for a Twilight Zone episode. Right now, all copies of the short story are out of print. On Amazon, I found a used copy of They Came From Outer Space, edited by Jim Wynorski, which contains the original short story. The early 1950s brought us some great sci-fi movies, and this one is highly recommended for any fans of the genre. Since the bulk of the story is dramatic, it might be enjoyed by a wider audience. There is very little sci-fi type action - no UFOs destroying buildings or aliens killing off humans. The action focuses on a misunderstood, peaceful alien trying to survive so he can deliver an important message to the people of Earth.
Rating: 
Summary: A well done fake of a wonderful story
Review: The production is a product of the times. The studio couldn't see telling you the REAL story as written, so they FAKED the ENDING to ruin all the meaning the author intended. The movie is inferior to others around at that time by being hyper. The 3 stars are for the production--but it should be -10 for the ending. If you really care, find a copy and read it BEFORE watching the movie and THEN decide how you feel about it.
Rating:
Summary: Sci-Fi At Its Best
Review: Its been at least fifty years and I remembered every scene! This film remains a classic that defines the genre. Although immersed in the paranoia of the Fifties, the spaceman and the robot remain timeless. The spaceman comes through as an empathetic but unsympathetic alien with a message to deliver. He is unswayed by the current political climate and refuses to take sides in our "irrelevent conflicts". The character of Gort, the robot manages to convey menace without uttering a sound and being imobile throughout most of the film. A mere turn of the robot's head was enough to cause me to run for cover. Yet it is shown to be an intelligent and complex being. Throughout, the story relies little on special effects. Even the spaceship is spartan with virtually none of the ever present knobs and dials we are used to seeing in an alien craft. This should be on everyones Must Have list.
Rating:
Summary: One of my "Top Five" Movies!
Review: For those outside the "Know," this film is one of the greatest sci-fi films ever made. It ranks second in my personal "Top Five." It combines mythic elements, current issue relevance, and of course scintillating special effects to bring a wallop of a film. The story is deceptively simple. The aliens are concerned about our atomic infancy, especially combining atomics with rockets. Klaatu lands in a baseball field in Washington D. C. Klaatu has a rough encounter with the Army, and is shot. He meets with the Secretary of state to get an audience with all nations, but it flops. Unable to get a political solution, he decide to become human, and study humanity incognito. He assumes the name "Carpenter," and goes to a boarding house, and meet Helen Benson and her son Bobby. Young Bobby provides a great window on humanity, since he is young and has not been corrupted by money and folly. The most touching moment is when Klaatu and Bobby visit his father at Arlington. Klaatu decides to get a scientific solution to the problem of meeting, so he tracks down Nobel Laureate Professor Bernhard. Klaatu and the Prof decide to call a meeting of scientist to hear Klaatu's message. Before they meet, they demonstrate Klaatu's power by stopping all electricity on earth for half an hour. ...P>The meeting of minds happens and Klaatu explains that Gort is one of an army of robots that enforces peace in the galaxy: "In matters of aggression, we have given them absolute power over us. This power cannot be revoked. At the first signs of violence, they act automatically against the aggressor. The penalty for provoking their action is too terrible to risk." Klaatu concludes his message: "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. I think the staying power comes from Rennie's acting ability. He is thin, and gaut, with intriguing features-he looks like Jesus. His New England accents gives a sheen to his character, and he mixes childlike wonder with stern authority. He was perfectly cast, and this film is his masterpiece. Gort is a streamline moderne masterpiece. He is not as flashy as Robbie, and does not have the pluck of R2-D2, but there is something about him-the brooding and quiet steel exterior that reflects his steel interior. At times you see the costume and not the character, but with a friendly eye you get pulled into the illusion. I appreciate the care that Fox took to restore this classic of classic. The picture was sharp and clear. It looks like it was filmed yesterday; hopefully it will last forever. I must comment on the music. This film popularized the Theremin, the "oooh-ooh" sound from the Beach Boy's "Good Vibrations." It reminds me of the muisc in "Forbidden planet." It is otherworldly, eerie, and a far cry from the booming John William's "Star Wars" anthems. There is one odd surprise: the boarding house is owned by Mrs. Barley, played by Francis Bavier, better known as "Aunt Bee" from the Andy Griffith show. She just looks odd in this sci-fi classic film, The extra's are killer. Fox went hog wild, and made all the hard core fans very happy. They has the shooting script, many production and promotional photos, and a 70 minute documentary. They also included the Movietone newsreel, where Klaatu got an award from a sci-fi organization. But they also included the rest of the newsreel, so you get a feel for the times and events of 1951. I have two complaints. First of all, this DVD is double-sided, so you need to be very careful as you grab the disk. Moreover, you cannot set the DVD down, except in the case. I would prefer paying more for two DVDs (which is what Lucas does with his films), than have to deal with a two-faced DVD. They are just too awkward. Secondly, the DVD cover is inferior to the video cover. The DVD is pale and anemic, while the VHS is a lively riot of color and energy. It looks like the 1930's propaganda posters of the Soviet Union. It grabs your eye and arrests your imagination. Furthermore, I find it easier to find the products I like if the DVD and the VHS covers are identical. Once again, remember Lucas sets the industry standard here.
Rating:
Summary: Undeniably A Classic. And Where Are The Suits?
Review: No one can argue this is a monumental classic from the ground up, made even moreso by the actors' later admissions that they had great difficulty not laughing while delivering many of their lines. What happened to the two Gort suits -- one for views from the front, the other from the rear? They've got to be sitting someplace, either in a museum or warehouse. Is there any information about that?
Rating:
Summary: Gort¿ Klaatu barada nikto¿
Review: To those of us of a "certain" age, those words will surely resonate far more strongly than "Use the Force, Luke," or even "Beam me up, Scotty!" (Hey, I know the Trek line is a misquote, but you know what I mean!) "The Day The Earth Stood Still" is THE seminal Sci Fi film of the 50's, the film that finally treated extraterrestrials as something more than bug-eyed monsters intent on taking over the World, stealing our beer, and our girlfriends, for no other reason than that they could! The film hits the ground running, through a documentary style montage, we see worldwide reaction to the news that a strange craft is orbiting the Earth at incredible speed. Cut to Washington DC, and said craft, a beautifully classic "saucer," lands in a park, scattering picnickers and baseball players like confetti. The next thing we know, the Military are on hand ASAP to deal with the "threat;" the saucer opens, and out steps Klaatu, an emissary from a "Federation of Planets" type body. They have been observing us with increasing worry; at our endless propensity for self-destruction, our development of nuclear weapons, but more importantly, our first, faltering steps into space. Klaatu holds out with a gift for the President, and is immediately shot by a trigger-happy GI, thinking the device is an alien "death-ray..." not a particularly good start to interstellar relationships! As Klaatu writhes on the ground, from out of the ship steps the "iron fist" within Klaatu's "velvet glove;" an 8ft tall, indestructible robot named Gort. Now Gort HAS a death-ray, and he unleashes it in short order, not indiscriminately against the troops and civilians, but with precision, as he zaps rifles, artillery pieces, and finally a couple of tanks, into oblivion! When you think about it, this is an incredibly original, and thoughtful, scene. In just about every film of this kind that had come before - and more than a few that have come since! - this kind of action would have resulted in wholesale destruction...Anyway, Gort's reaction to the attack on Klaatu betrays a superior intelligence at work: a measured response to a threat situation, instead of just nuking the planet to dust and ashes! Klaatu is taken to hospital for treatment. But frustrated at "our" inability to come together and heed his "message," he transforms himself, with the help of a freshly dry-cleaned suit, and a monogrammed briefcase, into "Mr Carpenter," so he can lose himself within human society, all the better to study us. It is in this part of the film that the 1950's "Reds under the bed" paranoia really comes into focus. Mr Carpenter befriends a mother, "Helen," wonderfully played by Patricia Neal, and her young son "Bobby" played by Billy Gray. And I think it's this casting, plus the characterization, that does so much to make the film work. The main casting coup was getting Michael Rennie in the role of Klaatu. At the time, Rennie was a stage actor working in Britain, he'd never been seen in the US, so when he walks out of the saucer, he really is, to all intents and purposes, an "alien," unknown and unfamiliar. Tall, almost painfully slim, aesthetic in appearance, urbane in his manner, he really was as far removed from the "alien invader" look and persona as it was possible to get! Patricia Neal's "Helen" is a single mother, an unusual lead role in 50's cinema, and she imparts her character with a great deal of self-sufficiency and "grit." Again, not the usual running/screaming/fainting leading lady. Billy Gray is a joy to watch, he portrays "Bobby" with that breathless wide-eyed innocence - "...can we go see the spaceship mister, can we, huh , can we please mister?!?!?!" - that really only existed, if ever, in 50's America. Luminous black and white photography, a solid story, a tight, pared-to-the-bone script, naturalistic(!) performances, integral "news broadcasts" and "interviews," plus a gorgeous soundtrack, all come together to tell the fantastical tale of TDTESS in an almost documentary style. This was one of the first films I looked for on Amazon when I got my hands on a new shiny-disc player last year, and having watched this wonderful film on TV and video over the years, I can say that this DVD release was well worth the wait! The restoration is superb - never having owned a Laser Disc system I can't comment on those versions - and is light years ahead of the last video version I purchased back in the 90's. My one regret is that while restoring the film they didn't take out the "wires" and the "lacing," on Gort's suite, that can be momentarily seen in one pivotal sequence. But that is a minor gripe; this is a superb, intelligent Sci Fi film, fully deserving of its "classic" status, and a must-have for any serious lover of the genre!
Rating:
Summary: It is one of the best sci-fi pictures ever
Review: I have loved this movie from the first time I saw it. I cannot remember how old I was but it has remained a favorite. So much so that about seven years ago I tracked a copy down. I was born and live in Washington and even though many of the sights have changed you still see the Peoples Drug at Thomas Circle in it (which is still there but now the CVS). Of course DuPont Circle is still there along with other landmarks. I think everyone who lives in Washington should see it.
Rating: 
Summary: great movie, bad DVD
Review: It is a great movie, but the DVD is so disapointing. Fox releases a single-layer flipper in 2003! All the two sides of the movie could be easily put in a dual-layer dvd. I really don't understand why the studio did like this. Make no sense in 2003!
Rating:
Summary: great movie, bad DVD
Review: It is a great movie, but the DVD is so disapointing. Fox releases a single-layer flipper in 2003! All the two sides
of the movie could be put in one side with dual layer. I really don't understand why the studio did like this. Make no sense in 2003!
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