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Michael Rennie,
Michael Rennie,
Patricia Neal,
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Robert Wise,
Robert Wise
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: 20th Century Fox
: Classics, Science Fiction , Classic Sci-Fi, Classic Sci Fi/Fantasy, Classic Fantasy
: 92 min.
: English, Spanish, French
: English, Spanish
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All of Washington, D.C., is thrown into a panic when an extraterrestrial spacecraft lands near the White House. Out steps Klaatu (Michael Rennie, in a role intended for Claude Rains), a handsome and soft-spoken interplanetary traveler, whose "bodyguard" is Gort (Lock Martin), a huge robot who spews forth laser-like death rays when danger threatens. After being wounded by an overzealous soldier, Klaatu announces that he has a message of the gravest importance for all humankind, which he will deliver only when all the leaders of all nations will agree to meet with him. World politics being what they are in 1951, Klaatu's demands are turned down and he is ordered to remain in the hospital, where his wounds are being tended. Klaatu escapes, taking refuge in a boarding house, where he poses as one "Mr. Carpenter" (one of the film's many parallels between Klaatu and Christ). There the benign alien gains the confidence of a lovely widow (Patricia Neal) and her son, Bobby (Billy Gray), neither of whom tumble to his other-worldly origins, and seeks out the gentleman whom Bobby regards as "the smartest man in the world" -- an Einstein-like scientist, Dr. Barnhardt (Sam Jaffe). The next day, at precisely 12 o'clock, Klaatu arranges for the world to "stand still" -- he shuts down all electrical power in the world, with the exception of essentials like hospitals and planes in flight. Directed by Robert Wise, who edited Citizen Kane (1941) and The Magnificent Ambersons (1942) for director Orson Welles before going on to direct such major 1960s musicals as West Side Story (1961) and The Sound of Music (1965), The Day the Earth Stood Still was based on the story Farewell to the Master by Harry Bates. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
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| The best science fiction movie of the 50's
by larbeck
May 15, 2003 - 7:30 AM PDT
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4 out of 4 members found this review helpful
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I actually was not born when it came out - like many, I first saw this classical on "Saturday Night at the Movies" on TV in the late 50's. It is a slow sort of film, life in the 50 was actually slower than it is now. A film with a great message and decent acting and lush cinemaphotography, cheesy special effects that still manage not take away from the story. And a music score that may sound cliched today but this is where the cliche begin! This may be the most important science fiction of the last century since it looks hard at the human species. And in the words of Theodore Sturgeon, great "science fiction does not predict the future, it shows us a fiction that will be if we do not watch out."
And extras! Interviews and trailers and stuff! What a great, great DVD. |
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GreenCine Member Rating
(Average 7.77)
269 Votes
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