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I ordered this movie as a Christmas present for my dad. I'm amazed at how quickly I received the product as well as the product's great quality. My dad was like a little kid on Christmas.HE LOVED IT.
Roughly based on Jerome Bates' story "Farewell to the Master", the Earth is stirred by the arrival of Klaatu (Michael Rennie) and his giant robot Gort (Lock Martin). Robert Wise has got to be the most successful underappreciated directors in movie history. Now I have seen the remake. Such is the case of THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL. Extras includes a long documentary about the making of this sci-fi classic. Save your time and money.
Terrific performances by Patricia Neal, Hugh Marlowe, Sam Jaffe as a scientist meant to represent Albert Einstein and Billy Gray. His resume includes: WEST SIDE STORY, THE SOUND OF MUSIC, THE SAND PEBBLES, THE ANDROMEDA STRAIN, STAR TREK THE MOTION PICTURE and, from the early 1950's THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL. Firmly fixed in the hysteria and fixation on nuclear war, TDESS is a cautionary tale about how would other species beyond the earth look at a hostile, violent human race bringing such baggage with them into the cosmos. As is all too often the case Hollywood tried to update something and came up with an albsolute turd. Some things can't be remade because they are shaped by the time in which the original was made. Incredible score by Bernard Hermann.
Thank God this was done at a time when Wise was still around.
Really ahead of their time.My main point is everything in this movie is done well, and I can see why this is considered a masterpiece of Science Fiction.The 2008 remake. No strings on the spaceships no obvious use of miniatures.
I generally make every effort to see the original or read the book before I see a remake or adaptation. So, before the remake came out I sat down at my PC and pulled up Netflix.
I only recently started posting reviews on Amazon which is why this one is so late.When I first saw the trailer for the recent remake of The Day the Earth Stood Still, I knew vaguely about the plot. I never thought a movie from the 1950's would have me on the edge of my seat but this one did.By todays standards yes the special effects are of course extremely dated, but for that time they were absolutely cutting edge and really considering when this was made they are actually quite well done.
I was truly blown away by this movie. The acting is superb, the story is amazing and the pacing perfectly builds tension.
They used forced perspective to make Gort look 12 ft tall. not so much.
A SPACE SHIP LANDS IN WASHINGTON AND TROOPS ARE SENT TO GUARD THE PREMISES.ATTEMPTS ARE MADE TO GET IN the ship TO NO AVAIL.when the spacecraft finally opens Klaatu a immisary sent bythe interplanetary commission greets the people outside the ship andand reaches in his vest to get a gift for earth and he isshot by a nervous soldier.Gort the Robot starts to retaliateand looks as though he could destroy the whole city with the raysemitting from the slowly opening eye shield.the concerned Klaatu issues Gort a command and the robots face shield closes.Klaatu tells the general why he has come and needs to speak to world leadersbut is still held by the military.impatient with progress he slips away and the news media causes panic because the spaceman is on the loose.This movie is a classic and more concerned with a moral statement thanspecial effects.and if you are lookingfor a noisy, bloody sci fi with continious actionthis is not for you.but enough suspense for thosethat like a well done story.this movie can be enojoyedby any age.Michael Rennie(KLaatu) and Patricia Neal are someof the classiest actors of their day and far more interestingthan actors today.with a few exceptions.
Given it's era, THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL could have degenerated into a paranoid red-baiting fantasy, but it doesn't. Rennie plays Klaatu, an interstellar ambassador who lands in Washington DC to bring peace to the planet Earth. He is a soft-spoken, pacific, and gentlemanly sort who, though occasionally dismayed by human nature, recognizes it for what it is---evolving.Even after being shot, killed, and regenerated by his android assistant Gort (played in a rubber suit by the very tall doorman of Grauman's Chinese Theatre), Klaatu asks for nothing more than an opportunity to address Earth's combined leadership. This is a thoughtful and intelligent film, short on effects but long on story, a tale of hope and of the ultimate redemption of the human spirit. The choice is ours. She begins to think there's something unusual about "Mr. After recovering, he decides to go incognito to observe human society.He quickly makes the acquaintance of Patricia Neal, a single mother boarding in his rooming house.
Carpenter," but Klaatu is never frightening. Quite to the contrary. The Shakespearean actor Michael Rennie lamented that he would be forever remembered for a few words of gobbledygook ("Gort---Barenga.") instead of "What a piece of work is man." but the beautiful thing about this ageless 1951 classic is that it IS Hamlet's Soliliquy. The Earth stands still. Faced with such awesome power, humanity listens to this quiet, articulate, reasonable space visitor. It's antiwar message strikes just the right balance. was destroying atolls in nuclear tests, Russia had just developed the bomb, and the hydrogen bomb was in final development. At this time, the U.S.
Unfortunately, he's immediately shot by a soldier with an itchy trigger finger. The anxiety of the time is present and destructive, but is rendered understandable. The scientific community applauds his request, but the military-industrial complex shudders. Things reach a climax when Klaatu uses the immense power of his culture to de-energize all Earth machines for one hour. The threat of nuclear annihilation is very real, and is the one thing really to be feared. The early Cold War has given us a parable of tolerance, a critique of xenophobia, one that addresses what's best in human nature while never ignoring what is worst.
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