Category: Drama - Horror / Sci-Fi / Fantasy - Movie - Science Fiction
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
List Price: $14.98 Our Price: $10.87YOU SAVE $4.11!
Buy it
DVD The Day the Earth Stood Still
A hallmark of the science fiction genre as well as a wry commentary on the political climate of the 1950s, The Day the Earth Stood Still is a sci-fi movie less concerned with special effects than with a social parable. A spacecraft lands in Washington, D.C., carrying a humanoid messenger from another world (Michael Rennie) imparting a warning to the people of Earth to cease their violent behavior. But panic ensues as the messenger lands and is shot by a nervous soldier. His large robot companion destroys the Capitol as the messenger escapes the confines of the hospital. He moves in with a family as a boarder and blends into society to observe the full range of the human experience. Director Robert Wise (West Side Story) not only provides one of the most recognizable icons of the science fiction world in his depiction of the massive robot loyal to his master, but he avoids the obvious camp elements of the story to create a quiet and observant story highlighting both the good and the bad in human nature. --Robert Lane
This is a great classic old sci fi. It may not have all the computer assisted aliens, explosions, etc. of the new genre, but it has a simple yet powerful message. It's not so much about the special effects, though for their time they were good, but it has a significant message and example of politics and your average joe in the screaming crowds. The observation of people, military, politicians and others shows that those who put The Day the Earth Stood Still had a very accurate depiction of humans in general. Old movie, but with a current message about fearing that which we do not recognize or understand.
Earth Stopping Stuff
"The Day The World Stood Still" is a powerful 1951 sci-fi film that I thought was both thought provoking and really enjoyable. The special features on this DVD were really nicely done too.
In the early 1950s, a time of high political tension, a UFO appears over Washington DC, landing in a park. Two strange beings emerge. The first is named Klaatu, resembling a human in a spacesuit, while the other, Gort, is an silent but intimidating robot who can destroy a tank with a glance. Klaatu, despite his peaceful introduction, is shot, and taken to a military hospital. He tells the Major who checks up on him that he has an important message to tell the world, the whole world at once, and wonders if it is possible to assemble the world leaders before him to talk. The Major tells, and shows him, that this isn't possible. The Americans want such a meeting on their terms and territory, the Russians want such a meeting on theirs, etc, etc, etc. Frustrated with the squabbling and mistrust, Klaatu leaves the hospital, taking the name of "Mr Carpenter" and mingling with the good citizens of the Capitol. He's able to get away with this because no one knows what he looks like when he's not wearing a spacesuit. Klaatu discovers the paranoia and panic surrounding his arrival, befriends a mother and her son, and meets the smartest of scientists. Will he be able to communicate his important message? How will the world leaders unite? Will Klaatu be found out?
It's a very atmospheric film, and would have been even more so in 1951, the world fresh into the fears of the Cold War. I love the look of the white hot UFO, and the reactions, both mild and extreme of the citizens of Washington. I love how engaging the film is on mostly just dialogue and concepts, it's a great satire. The foreboding score with a hint of theremin is a nice touch too.
Klaatu is an interesting character. Even though he's an alien, he's everything you could want a man of the 1950s to be, mild mannered, nicely dresssed, handsome, intellegent, good with kids, a man eager to listen and understand people's point of view. He's a lot nicer than the father of Billy, the child who Klaatu befriends, a more stoic man who quite categorically says "I don't care about the world!" when personal fame and fortune come calling. Klaatu takes the name of "Carpenter", stands for peace and love, and has an important message (and important warning) for the world. The leaders don't understand him, but the common people do. Because of these and other reasons, I couldn't help being reminded of a similar, more Biblical, person...
Special features include the original 1951 Movietone newsreel from the premiere of the film, which was great for context, as it featured footage of the Korean War and of a meeting of world leaders. There's also the original theatrical trailer, a featurette on restortation, and a commentary with director Robert Wise, with a chap called Nicholas Meyers asking him about the film. That's not a bad idea, to have someone in the commentary ask questions to the filmmakers. I know some DVD commentaries, where the cast or crew haven't seen the film in a while or pause to remember, don't really know what to say during the commentary, and they would have gained a lot having a third party help them like this.
A great science fiction film, a great movie from the 1950s, and definitely worth a look for anyone interested.
Best Sci-Fi movie ever
This is a classic Sci-Fi space movie with a great sound track. The odd "scary" sounds were made with a Theramin, a special instrument made by the father of electronic music, Bob Moog. Bob designed the Mini Moog and other classic synthesizers. (He died recently but his legacy lives on)
This 1956 pop adaptation of Shakespeare's The Tempest is one of the best, most influential science fiction movies ever made. Its space explorers are the models for the crew of Star Trek's Enterprise, and the film's robot is clearly the prototype for Robby in Lost in Space. Walter Pidgeon is the Prospero figure, presiding over a paradisiacal world with his lovely young daughter and their servile droid. When the crew of a spaceship lands on the planet, they become aware of a sinister invisible force that threatens to destroy them. Great special effects and a bizarre electronic score help make this movie as fresh, imaginative, and fun as it was when first released. --Amazon.com
On the DVDs Nestled in a metal collector's box decorated with... More Info about this DVD Director(s): Fred M. Wilcox DVD Release Date: Released the 14 November 2006 Usually ships in 24 hours
List Price: $59.98 Your Price: $39.87YOU SAVE $20.11!
Buy it
After the success of 1950's Destination Moon and 1951's When Worlds Collide, visionary producer George Pal brought the classic H.G. Wells story of a Martian invasion to the big screen, and it instantly became a science fiction classic and winner of the 1953 Academy Award for Best Special Effects. It's a work of frightening imagination, with its manta-ray spaceships armed with cobra-like probes that shoot a white-hot disintegration ray. As formations of alien ships continue to wreak destruction around the globe, the military is helpless to stop this enemy while scientists race to find an effective weapon. Gene Barry and Ann Robinson play the hero and heroine roles that were de rigueur for movies like this in the '50s, and their encounter with one of the Martians is as creepy... More Info about this DVD Actor(s): Gene Barry - Ann Robinson - Les Tremayne Director(s): Byron Haskin DVD Release Date: Released the 01 November 2005 Usually ships in 24 hours
List Price: $14.99 Your Price: $10.49YOU SAVE $4.5!
Buy it
With its modest special effects, lean plot, and small cast of lesser stars, this 1951 thriller remains a sturdy blueprint for fusing horror and science fiction. The formula has been employed countless times since, fleshed out with more extensive and elaborate production values, and manned by higher profiled marquee names, but the results have yet to improve on The Thing from Another World, Howard Hawks's lone foray into sci-fi.
The story begins as military airmen are dispatched to a remote Arctic research station where scientists have detected the crash of a spacecraft. An effort to retrieve the saucer-shaped vehicle fails, but the team returns to the station with the frozen body of its sole occupant. When the extraterrestrial pilot is accidentally thawed, the crew, headed... More Info about this DVD Actor(s): Margaret Sheridan - Kenneth Tobey Director(s): Christian Nyby - Howard Hawks DVD Release Date: Released the 05 August 2003 Usually ships in 24 hours
List Price: $19.98 Your Price: $15.98YOU SAVE $4!
Buy it
That ol' cinematic devil the A-bomb has spawned a colony of giant murderous ants bent on destroying humanity in this, the seminal big bug movie (an obvious and oft-credited influence for Alien among countless others). The special effects may be dated, but this brilliantly rational-sounding film has held up wonderfully in all other regards, including some starkly effective location work in the high Arizona desert, a genuinely inspired sound design guaranteed to bring on the creepy-crawlies, and an unexpectedly dry sense of humor (mainly personified by Grade-A egghead scientist Edmund Gwenn). This is essential viewing for all those who consider themselves science fiction or horror fans. Heroic hardcase James Arness previously played for the other team as the titular character in... More Info about this DVD Actor(s): James Whitmore - Edmund Gwenn Director(s): Gordon Douglas DVD Release Date: Released the 06 August 2002 Usually ships in 24 hours
List Price: $19.98 Your Price: $15.98YOU SAVE $4!
Buy it
