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Forbidden Planet

Forbidden Planet

List Price: $19.98
Your Price: $14.99
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Great Film.. with Leslie Neilson in a serious lead...
Review: The Synopsis and video description are false... Not about two killers or a guy getting shot and looking for vengence..

This is what it should say...

In the year 2200, a spaceship venture to the planet Altair-4 where an earth colony had myteriously vanished years before.... Only by harnessing the technology of an ancient civilization can the psace explorers solve the mystery that plagues this remote planet.

I'm a big Robby the Robot fan so I love this film.. That that isn't the only reason.. It's a great film for '58..

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Paved the way for latter films like Star Trek and Star Wars
Review: Forbidden Planet is one of the best science fiction films ever. It was among the first movies that brought complex story ideas to science fiction. The crew of a spaceship land on a planet and encounter a scientist and his daughter who have unlocked the secrets to a lost alien civilization. Secrets that could spell the end of humanity, Great special effects and good acting make Forbidden Planet, a movie that keeps your attention from start to finish. Paved the way for later movies like Star Trek and Star Wars.Story by Irving Block and Allen Adler. Screenplay by Cyril Hume. Directed by Fred M. Wilcox.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Attention to detail and timelessness
Review: I have seen this movie several times and I believe that it is one of the most well thought out and delivered sci-fi films of the fifties. The special effects, when compared to other films of the genre, simply blow them out of the water when you consider the technology of the day. Many movies about that time refer to the 1990's as the period when humanity reached other stars or similar feats, but the realism of putting that discovery nearly a century past that only helps to make it more realistic. I strongly urge any sci-fi fan who has not seen this movie to go out and rent, buy, or tape it off of AMC.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: DVD is a major disappointment
Review: This great film is simply transfered from a somewhat marginal LD digital transfer from MGM. Every noise spot, etc. is there.

This really deserves some careful cleaning up if this is the best original MGM can find.

Again, a great film. If you have LD, don't buy this, it is no improvement at all. If you have tape, it might be worth the cost.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: The epitome of Science Fiction story-telling.
Review: Forbidden Planet is one of the all-time great classics of story-telling.

An island universe, a mythological supreme race, an almighty side-kick...

What would happen if whatever you wanted, you could wish it, and it would be?

What if you had the technology to tap into your mind and create matter?

Although we Earthlings can't do that, perhaps some advanced race could develop that technology.

And what if we discover that civilization and could try to decipher it's progress?

With a powerful story line, a classic electronic music soundtrack, and some excellent budding actors supported by a film icon, all members of the family will enjoy this classic film from the 50's.

Although many consider The Day the Earth Stood Still to be the best of the 50's Sci-Fi this reviewer gives Forbidden Planet the award for timelessness and all-round excellence.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: This DVD transfer sucks eternally
Review: Although Forbidden Planet is one of the greatest SF movies ever made, the 1997 DVD transfer sucks utterly. Many scratches, ticks, reel change "footballs" not to mention very bad colour tell me that this is not the digitally remastered and cleaned up version that appeared on VHS.

Avoid this DVD until it is cleaned up.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Absolutely Extraordinary Sci Fi Enterntainment - Has It All
Review: I am 43 and have seen this movie so many times over the years since my childhood that it has a very special place in my heart. As a note to the new viewer: The sheer entertainment value of this movie renders it beyond meaningful criticism; simply enjoy it knowing that it is perhaps the best sci fi flick ever made...I've seen them all (many times). The plot, acting, special effects, and attention to detail are essentially unsurpassed; most importantly, the sound track features audio effects produced by early synthesizers which have since found their way into so many other movies. However, they are unmistakably Forbidden Planet; after seeing this movie once you will never forget them.

Points to ponder: The robot (Robbie) albeit unprecedented in film retains a certain ironic yet forgivable charm; his computer circuitry consists of old style mainframe machine switches circa 1950 which is technology hardly befitting the master race (Crell) that designed him. Also he teeters slightly as a result of being slapped in good faith by Earl Holliman; hard to imagine Robbie could topple Morbius' home from it's foundation if Earl could reel him around. Oh and how about those dials...the power of 10x10x10.... etc. on to infinity. Ever notice at the end how they are virtually all lit when Morbius is encountering his "evil self". Mind you that was merely to get through 26 inches of solid Crell steel...so why didn't it just come through the concrete wall instead of melting the steel door? Moreover, if so many dials were needed to break through to Morbius, how could the same machine have provided enough power to destroy the entire race in a single night? Hmmm.

There are many more such quirks in the movie and they should further serve to provide additional entertainment to the viewer. I love this show...treasure it...it has it all and it is without deliberate fault.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Classic Sci-Fi at it's best!
Review: Before the alien technology of "Total Recall", Doctor Morbius (Walter Pidgeon), a tholologist, was learning of the fantastic machine buried beneath the surface of Altaire 6. Little did he know the actual function of the machine; one that would haunt his dreams for the rest of his life, and one that would shorten the lives of those who dreamed!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Sci-fi at its best!!!
Review: I have seen this movie several times, yet I still love it. It is sci-fi at its best, and that is saying a lot, since this film was made in the fiftes. Most fiftes sci-fi is creaky and poorly made, but not this movie, nooo way! For today, the special effects are somewhat dated, but the underground Krell city is still impressive, and the Id monster is well done, too. The movie is creepy without being bloody and gory ( fiftes movies not alllowing). Though, disappiontingly, we never get to see the Krell (though I suspect they resmeble the Id monster), I suppose,though, this was both a blessing to the audience, considering horrific alien design (aka B.E.M.s, Bug-Eyed Monsters), and a relief to the directors, who were not forced to come up with some scientifically innane creature as per fiftes special effects would allow.The lines are amazingly well written, eps. near the end, and it is still hard for me to believe that Leslie Nielson, who plays the brave and noble captain of the spaceship ( and gets some of the best lines), later went on to star in such stupidly silly movies as "Spy Hard" and "Mr. Magoo". If you like this movie, be sure to read William Shakespeare's "The Tempest", the inpiration for this movie, and try to match up the characters. Some of the themes in this movie are "Pride is deadly", "Knowledge is power", "Absolute power corrupts absolutly", and "Don't fiddle with alien mind-boosting machines!"

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Superb SCI-FI, decades ahead of its time
Review: I was only 4 or 5 years old when I first saw this movie, and remember thinking it was really scarey. Now, nearly 40 years later, I notice more thoughtful details each time I see it. For example, early in the movie, Morbius describes the power monitoring dials in the Krell control room . . . later on, when the "Id" monster is burning its' way in, you see more and more of the dials light up as it draws more power. The actors don't make a reference to this - it's just that the continuity people did their jobs. Many of the special effects were amazing for 1956, and still hold up well today. I was amused to see some shots of the underground Krell installation blatantly copied for an episode of "Babylon 5" - and they still looked good.


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