I’m just going to come out and say it. The Day The Earth Stood Still is probably the best, if not one of the best science fiction films ever made. The film not only reflects the social issues of it’s time, but also shows that history does in fact repeat itself as the film does reflect issues that are similar to those of our own problems that we face right now. It’s a film that for it’s time really represented and took on the issue of the cold war and the fear of nuclear weapons.
The Day The Earth Stood Still is about a humanoid alien and his robot companion who come to earth with a warning to the human race. However upon their arrival the humanoid alien Klaatu (Michael Rennie) is shot in the hand by a nervous solder. This action causes the robot Gort to disarm all the army solders of their weapons in a peaceful manner, but the then is ordered to shut down by Klaatu before he is rushed to the hospital. While at the hospital, Klaatu meets with the president of the United States secretary, where as Klaatu kind of explains to him while he’s there, but that it’s important for him to address all the leaders of all the nations of Earth. This of course does not sit well with the president, so Klaatu escapes the hospital and goes to live among the humans of earth in order to better understand them. However he becomes a wanted alien and the government is after him. With the help of a scientist and a women and her little boy Klaatu is determined to get his message across to the human race, and hopefully make them understand his message of peace which he came to deliver.
I’m not going to go crazy with my feeling about the why I think this film is great, as it’s pretty oblivious by my statement in the beginning of this review how I feel about this film as a whole. It has great acting, and for it’s time the effects where decent. Honestly the effects are something I can’t comment on because I’m so used to the effects of our time, that I find it a bit unfair for me to judge. But from all the other sci-fi and horror films that were made around the same time I think many will agree that the effects in this film look a lot better than many of the other films produced around the same time. The movie is shot in almost a documentary like feel, while trying to look like polished Hollywood production. The film is shot in black and white, but with this new DVD the picture has been cleaned up to perfection and looks awesome in it’s digital format. Pretty much in a nutshell, I think the whole story and meaning behind this film makes it perfect from a production point of view.
If you look at all the social issues presented in this film it’s no wonder that it’s being remade right now in 2008. The remake comes out in theaters next week (12/12/08), and I’m very curious as if it’s going to have a similar message to it’s predecessor. The DVD does show us a scene from the remake and it does look promising despite all it’s computer generated effects and highly polished look. But getting back to my point, this film really takes on the social issues of it’s time, mainly that of post World War Two, the Cold War and the arms race of nuclear technology. I don’t want to go to much into the specifics of the films message, but it’s obvious that we do face the very same issues and then some of that during the time in which this film was made. If you look at our nation now, fears of nuclear attacks are on many peoples minds and tensions between nations is mounting. If someone from another world, a peaceful world would come to give a message here on Earth, would we treat them with respect or as invaders that as human nature might depict as threatening. This is the message of THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL and it’s one that will leave your mind questioning yourself about the world around you and the human race as a whole. It’s a real wake-up call, one that you would hope all the leaders of the world will take into account when they make the decisions that they do.
The DVD, as I mentioned above has a beautiful transfers of the film. The two disc set is packed with a lot of special features including commentary with Director Robert Wise and Star Trek 2: The Wrath of Khan director Nicholas Meyer. It also has commentary with film and & music historians John Morgan, Steven Smith, William Stromberg and Nick Redmen. The first disc also includes an Isolated Score Track, All-New Featurettes including The Mysterious, Melodious Theremin; The Day The Earth Stood Still Main Title Live Performance By Peter Pringle; The Making of The Day the Earth Stood Still, Farewell To The Master: A Reading By Jamieson K. Price Of The Original Harry Bates Short Story in an audio presentation, Fox Movietonews from 1951, and Original Theatrical Trailer & Teaser Trailer. The Second Disc Includes more new Featurettes such as Decoding ” Klaatu Barada Nikto”; Science Fiction as a Metaphor; A brief History of Flying Saucers; The Astounding Harry Bates Featurette; Race To Oblivion: A Documentary Short Written And Produced By Edmund North; Edmund North: The Man Who Made the Earth Stand Still Featurette; Advertising Gallery, Behind-The Scenes Gallery, Portrait Gallery, Shooting Script, Spaceship Construction Blueprints and a lot more.
Watching a classic film like THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL reminds me just how much better films from the past were made. It seems that back in the day filmmakers really put their heart and souls into their projects and tried to make them just as good as a home cooked meal, where today most films seem more like fast food. This film is a classic and I don’t think the remake is going to be able to rival not only the unique script and story of this film, but the courage the filmmakers and writers had to present such a message within the film about the way in which they perceived the world at the time. When I say and talk about a good film is one that presents elements of social issues and the world around us, this is the kind of film I talk about. The filmmakers behind THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL, even thought it was before my time, did just that; and its that reason why I think this film deserves such a high honor of praise.
Trivia Tibit: George Lucas the creator of Star Wars named three of Jabba the Hutts henchmen in Return of the Jedi Klaatu, Barada, and Nikto; all of which are the popular quote from THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL. If they plan on using the saying in the remake of the film. The producers might have to pay a royalty fee to George Lucas who is believed to have trademarked all the names of the characters in the Star Wars films.
– Horror Bob
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