The Day the Earth Stood Still

This is one of the first of the 1950s flying saucer movies and arguably the best. The many extra features on the Blu-ray disc alone justify the purchase. According to the "making of" feature, the producers ultimately decided against casting Spencer Tracy and Claude Rains as Klaatu, preferring to use an unknown Michael Rennie which time has proven to be the right choice.The smooth simplicity of the saucer rendered it timeless even as much more recent, highly detailed movie spacecrafts appear much more dated. Combine a compelling script, flawless direction, excellent acting and effective special effects and you have the perfect template for the 1950s sci-fi movie genre.I showed it to my young nephew and he loved it, especially the part where Gort's ocular death ray predated the metal robot in "Thor" by over 60 years. This film also helped him to develop a more mature attention span that doesn't require constant explosions and special effects to hold his interest. He got into the acting and the building tension, and really related to the Billy Gray character.

The Day the Earth Stood Still is a milestone in the history of sci-fi movies. It's one of the first to portray aliens in a positive light, and champions multilateral cooperation to boot! It was regarded by some as proof of Communist influence in the movie industry in that McCarthy-dominated era (one of its major actors was blacklisted.) My memory of seeing the movie as a child was being scared by the big robot, but in later years it's become a favorite. The Blu-Ray restoration brings out all the detail and clarity of seeing the movie on the screen -- in fact, like many other high definition restorations of 1950s and 60s sci-fi productions, the resolution reveals just a little too well the cardboard sets and rubber suits that were perfectly believable at the time. Still, the Blu-Ray version should be welcomed by all fans of the first golden age of sci-fi cinema.

I first watched this excellent movie in the early 60's in black and white and it was a classic then as it is now.The remake is not exactly the same but is also good because of the special affects.About 11 years later I was 21 and went into the U.S. Secret Service and I got to see some of the actuallocations where that film was made. Especially since I worked at the White House and I could see theEllipse just south of the White House.Billy Gray is an excellent actor and played Jim Thorpe(later Burt Lancaster) when Thorpe was a young boy.Michael Rennie is the perfect Klaatu as is Patricia Neal as Mrs. Benson and all the others.Being former law enforcement I sometimes wondered what it would be like if we had a GORT too?I know there are Aliens here, but I don't think they woudl want to harm the Earth as it is a plethora of Life thatwe still know nothing about.

This review is for the 1951 original, NOT the abysmal Keanu Reeves remake. The atmosphere of this movie is pure 1950's - capitalizing on the genuine fear that flying saucers or nuclear war could snuff us out at the speed of a gamma ray. Bernard Herrmann's score meshes perfectly with the script, years before he polished off North by Northwest, Vertigo or Psycho. Whether it's the two medical doctors smoking in a military hospital or Gort's powerful ray melting a tank, everything about this film is classic; right down to Klaatu's instructions for preventing Gort from destroying the world - "Gort; Klaatu barada nikto!I watch this movie every few months and it never fails to satisfy my need to be chilled by dialogue, story and music. No CGI. No blood and guts. And best of all - no environmental polemics!

One of the best of the sci-fi movies of the 50s, dominated by the statuesque form of Michael Rennie and by the robot Gort, played by Lock Martin, a doorman in Los Angeles.There is a grave seriousness about much of the movie, the cinematography is excellent, and it avoids the cliché that the aliens are going to turn us into zombies incapable of love. On the contrary, Klaatu's mission is to elevate us above our petty squabbles an help us become a more responsible race.Justly praised.

There is a quaint and, at times, comic aspect to this classic film. Nonetheless, it has a certain sophistication and elegance about it. Klaatu, a humanoid visitor to earth, does not come to conquer our planet, as cartoonish alien characters are often portrayed. Rather, he comes to bring an important message of peace and harmony demonstrating that his planet is light years ahead of the earth.The unidentified planet has banished violence and discovered a way to prevent it - by creating a community of robots capable of destroying whatever defies peaceful coexistence. Of course, the creation of non-life forms that exceed the powers of the human species has its own risk of potentially disastrous consequences.But no matter, the underlying theme of creating universally acceptable rules on a planet that favor peaceful coexistence is one that still resonates with our world. The continued existence of our own species, and perhaps even our planet, may depend on it.

I first saw this with my dad in 1951 age 6 years. Before movies were graded X or PG. Loved it then, love it still. Its my all time favourite film. Seen UFOs lifelong. Dad was an aeroplane technician, he spent six years 1939-1945 (2nd WW) working on plane engines, keeping them up in the skies, to fight Hitler. He said the three UFOs we saw together in 1949 were not man made, not from earth, and he yearned to get his hands on their engines, that were silent, hovered overhead for half hour plus, and scared the entire street. Except him, and me. I inherited his unflappable nature.

Although this is quite dated now I personally like this version of the film over the updated version, my personal opinion rates this movie a classic and a great story and I think it shines a light on the reaction that the Human race would (even now) take if the situation that is depicted in the film played out in real life, a shame really. It is a great film and one that I think is well worth the money and time to watch it.

My reason for two stars has nothing to do with the contents on the actual discs - the film is as brilliant as it ever was, all the extras are fantastic, excellent value for money. No, my beef lies with the fact this product was sold as a "Steelbook" edition, which, as the name suggests, should be in a metal case, not a plastic one with a cardboard sleeve. My reason for purchasing this version of the film (I already have it on dvd - twice) was because of the steelbook element, giving it a special, more classy feel - sadly, I was disappointed.

Okay, this film produced post WWII sparked other Sci-fi films down this road, despite it's age the underlying story remains good, and if you like black & white film with all it's shades of colour, and great angle shots, this will make your evening viewing worth it... and leads you on, to an interesting plot, that today may seem stinted or under played; however the acting is truly good and in character too, not overly played if you understand the political situation of it's time 1951. Gort the robot is in a rubber suite, but all-in-all works well for this NO CGI film, however the UFO landing is a true art-form of the production house, the animation is amazing for it's day; my only niggle is the crowd seen, by cranking-up the speed it spoils this shot; but costs to produce or re-shot was not an option... by-the-way, the remake of this classic was a disaster ? in my option; re-makes NEVER give the same sense of adventure once your hooked on the original; otherwise take a viewing of this film, I be surprised if you don't like it, that is unless your not a Science Fiction fan.

​​As an alien spaceship lands on Earth, for if the people of the earth do not change their preponderance for war and conflict then their Galactic neighbours will intercede on the Planets’ affairs. This is the message Klaatu (Michael Rennie) brings to the peoples of the earth. However, he is thwarted in his efforts and soon realises that other methodologies may ​be needed to convince the powers that be. To add maybe a touch of melodrama to the piece, and a little bit help for Klaatu comes in the form of Patricia Neal as women disposed to love and her son Billy Gray as a clean-cut American youngster with an enquiring mind and no father figure. The character of Klaatu aka Michael Rennie plays the visiting alien with a genteel meticulous fashion while coming over as being charmingly suave and cosmopolitan to those he meets.This is a film that had good special effects, for a movie made in 1951; and come over as being very believable. While some say, Gort was a man in a rubber suit, his impact along with “other worldly OST” ads to the projected power of the robot. The narrative is a relatively simple one, but the message is powerful. When this film was made, World War II had finished some six years earlier. This is where the Cold War looked as if it was going to heat up. There was the ever-prevalent paranoia of the West/Americans against the communists/red menace.This is an iconic piece of 1950s science fiction, which is a necessary film to see for those fans of the genre.