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The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951)
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Bud Brewster
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PostPosted: Mon Dec 16, 2013 7:27 pm    Post subject: The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951) Reply with quote



This thread comes with a music soundtrack — an All Sci-Fi exclusive Special Feature!

Click on the links below and let YouTube play an 18-minute section of the original soundtrack from The Day the Earth Stood Still and the 11-minute suite from The Fantasy Film Worlds of Bernad Herrmann while you read the posts on this thread!


Enjoy! Very Happy

__

Using Google Earth I acquired these two shots of Klaatu's landing site as seen from high orbit. The first shot shows the Washington Monument in the lower half, and the second shot is a bit closer.

Notice that the baseball fields that occupied this area in the scene from the movie are not there any longer.

Cool, huh?








However, as much as I have always loved this movie, it does have quite a few problems. Consider these puzzling aspects of this great movie.

Klaatu lands his spaceship in our nation's capitol without radioing ahead for permission, even though he speaks our language because his civilization has been monitoring our radio broadcasts for years. Hmmmmm








Klaatu steps out of his spaceship wearing his space helmet, which was totally unnecessary. Did he think the air wasn't breathable here?





After landing his spaceship, Klaatu waits two hours while a nervous group of armed soldiers surround him and get all set to shoot him.





Klaatu steps out of this spaceship wearing his opaque space helmet, preventing the trigger-happy soldiers of this dangerously hostile planet from seeing his face. So, they shoot him. Big surprise.





Klaatu steps out of his spaceship, walks towards dozens of armed and nervous soldiers, pulls out a strange device, points it at them, and makes spiky-things spring out. So, they shoot him. Naturally, no big surprise.





Gort opens his visor, zaps the first set of guns -- and nobody shouts "Take cover!"


___


Were these guys perhaps a National Guard unit on their very first weekend tour of duty? (Actually, they WERE National Guard soldiers, except for the actors in close-ups, according to Robert Wise's commentary on the DVD. He couldn't get the Army to cooperate with the movie because they thought is was anti-military. Weird, huh?)

What other quirky little things did this wonderful movie slip past us for 50 years until we noticed them after the 20th viewing?

~ By the way, Klaatu has the answer to the equation. Wink



________
_________________
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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)


Last edited by Bud Brewster on Thu Apr 27, 2023 2:39 pm; edited 18 times in total
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Bongopete
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PostPosted: Wed Dec 18, 2013 12:43 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Wow, another movie that when taken apart really shows that Klaatu is neither benevolent or from a civilization that is.

Enjoyable film, yet far from being a heroic character we see that Klaatu is evil, not really THAT saavy for a supposedly advanced race and manipulative of others around him.

Helen Benson is turned into a collaborator, Professor Barnhardt shows that he is really a communist at heart while Tom Steven (the supposed bad guy) turns out to actually be a patriot for Earth!!

Bobby exhibits fascination for the criminal element.
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The Spike
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PostPosted: Tue Sep 23, 2014 10:21 pm    Post subject: The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951) Reply with quote



I'm impatient with stupidity. My people have learned to live without it.

The Day the Earth Stood Still is directed by Robert Wise and adapted to screenplay by Edmund H. North from the story Farewell to the Master written by Harry Bates. It stars Michael Rennie, Patricia Neal, Hugh Marlowe, Sam Jaffe, Billy Gray and Frances Bavier. Music is by Bernard Herrmann and cinematography by Leo Tover.

Classic sci-fi is right here, as director Robert Wise gives a beautifully steady hand to Harry Bate's short story.

Peace for the world or else is the message, and I don't see anything wrong with that, because it stands up to relevant scrutiny today and unfortunately many days ahead in the future. Debates about the allegorical worth of the film still persist today, but the core message is not up for argument.

Wise shows his influences from the time when he worked with Orson Welles and Val Lewton. Here, aided by Tover's beautiful photography, he blends the feel of semi-documentary starkness with film noir visuality.

Whether it's scenes of Klaatu (Rennie) trawling the wet night streets, or the interiors of the spaceship and boarding house, the visual imagery by way of low-key lighting compositions is often striking for mood accentuation.

All the cast are spot on in their respective performances, with Neal refreshingly given a female role that doesn't resort to her being token sex appeal or a shrieking harpy.

Herrmann's understated score is dynamite, and pretty much imitated wholesale from this point onwards. The film is laced with poignant and frightening scenes that keep the viewer firmly glued to the tale unfolding. The demonstration of the visitors power gives the film its title, and it's a glorious slice of celluloid.

Gort the robot (Lock Martin) is one of the biggest icons in sci-fi cinema.

Once viewed, one can never forget The Day The Earth Stood Still. Its message, its structured precision, and its technical smarts ensure you will remember this film always. One of the most important science fiction movies of all time, a game changer in the critical year for the sci-fi genre.

All told it's magic cinema still standing the test of time. 10/10

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Robert (Butch) Day
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PostPosted: Wed Sep 24, 2014 1:54 pm    Post subject: Re: The Day the Earth Stood Still - (1951) Reply with quote

Bud Brewster wrote:
He couldn't get the Army to cooperate with the movie because they thought is was anti-military.

My dad was a lieutenant colonel in the Army at the time He was about to retire from the Army but was offered a better job if he transferred to the Air Force. So he did and became a full bird colonel. He knew some of the Army PR men assigned to "that Hollywood madness" and told me when I first saw the movie that the Army felt that they wouldn't have been so sloppy as to let any of the things happen They would have:

1) Cleared the area of ALL civilians (including the press and police);

2) Patrolled the air space to prevent those "damned pinkos" from interfearing;


3) Deny! DENY!! DENY!!! DENY!!!!

Think of how Senator Joe McCarthy would have reacted since he saw the 'Red Menace' everywhere even where it was patently ridiculous!

Thank Ghu that Robert Wise was a peace-loving and kind man.

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Bud Brewster
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PostPosted: Fri Oct 03, 2014 8:25 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Found this on YouTube -- the raw recording of the studio session during which the soundtrack for The Day the Earth Stood Still was recorded!

The technicians and musicians chat in between takes, and we hear segments of the familiar music being recorded, often several times before they're satisfied.

Occasionally they'll stop in the middle because the performance was flawed.


This is amazing! Listen to this right now!


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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)


Last edited by Bud Brewster on Sat Dec 02, 2017 12:39 pm; edited 1 time in total
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Pow
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PostPosted: Sat Oct 04, 2014 7:51 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I am a big fan of TDTESS. One of the issues which bother me was the arbitrary way in which Gort dealt with soldiers.

When Klaatu returns to his ship in order to set up the neutralizing of the earth's power sources, Gort knocks out 2 soldiers standing guard.

When Helen comes to the park to give Gort the message from Klaatu, Gort zaps 2 soldiers & disintegrates them.

Why not render them unconscious as he did the first time?

Doesn't his visor ray beam have a stun setting?
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Bud Brewster
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PostPosted: Sat Oct 04, 2014 10:34 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

______________________________

Forbidden Planet is supposedly based on Shakespeare's The Tempest, and Robby is allegedly Caliban from that play.

But I think Gort has his own Shakespearean aspirations. Gort is Hamlet, and when it comes to his ray, it only has two settings.

To be . . .






. . . or not to be.



_________________
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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)


Last edited by Bud Brewster on Thu Jun 30, 2022 3:59 pm; edited 3 times in total
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Bud Brewster
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PostPosted: Mon Jan 05, 2015 4:36 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

_____________________________________

If somebody ever decides to make brief mini-movies based on what the posters show -- the outrageous ones like the poster below -- then this one will inspire a rip-roaring good scene.

Mobs of screaming people flee from a 100-foot tall Gort carrying a 50-foot tall Allison Hayes back to his giant spaceship for totally non-robotic purposes.



The scene would only be thirty seconds long, and the screaming mob would flow past the camera as it slowly turns to track Gort while he approaches, passes, and retreats, right behind the screaming crowd -- moving slowly because he's gigantic. As he walks away we see the saucer in the distance, ridiculously large, built to scale for Giganto Gort, taking up most of the ball field where it landed.

Like this.



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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)


Last edited by Bud Brewster on Thu Jun 30, 2022 4:00 pm; edited 3 times in total
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scotpens
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PostPosted: Mon Jan 05, 2015 8:09 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Bud Brewster wrote:
Forbidden Planet is supposedly based on Shakespeare's The Tempest, and Robby is allegedly Caliban from that play.

But I think Gort has his own Shakespearean aspirations. Gort is Hamlet, and when it comes to his ray, it only has two settings.

I always thought TDTESS was a retelling of the Christ story, more or less.
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Bud Brewster
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PostPosted: Mon Jan 05, 2015 9:22 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

_____________________________________

I've often heard that, but I don't really agree with it. Klaatu was just a messenger sent here to warned us that the robot police would fry us it we didn't obey their strict rules.

Christ's message, in a nutshell, was "Love thy brother".

Klaatu's message, in a nutshell, was "Make one false move and you're toast. That goes for your brother, too."

_________________
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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)


Last edited by Bud Brewster on Sun May 22, 2016 12:02 am; edited 1 time in total
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Rocky Jones
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PostPosted: Sun Jan 11, 2015 10:29 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I've never been to DC so I was just studying the saucer landing area on Google Maps/Sat/Street View. That section of the National Mall is called "The Ellipse". It doesn't have baseball fields any more (as you can see in the aerial), just the live national Christmas tree. It seems to be a popular spot for tourists to snap pics of of the Washington monument.

Yes, Klaatu certainly should have known a helmet wasn't necessary. A Kevlar vest might have been a good idea, though. He certainly would have detected the presence of weapons outside the saucer.
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Eadie
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PostPosted: Fri Feb 27, 2015 8:02 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Bud Brewster wrote:
Forbidden Planet is supposedly based on Shakespeare's The Tempest, and Robby is allegedly Caliban from that play.

Slight correction; Dr. Morbius = Prospero, Altaira = Miranda, Robby = Ariel, The Id Monster = Caliban.

Publicity photo of Helen Benson and Klaatu.


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Bud Brewster
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PostPosted: Fri Feb 27, 2015 9:54 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

____________________________________

An amazing picture! Thanks.
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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)


Last edited by Bud Brewster on Sun May 22, 2016 12:04 am; edited 1 time in total
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Eadie
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PostPosted: Mon Mar 30, 2015 6:06 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

____________________________________

What if Klaatu and Gort both had dogs?

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Pow
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PostPosted: Sun Dec 27, 2015 12:34 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Caught a mistake while watching TDTESS on TCM this morning.

We see the door # as 306 at the hospital for Klaatu's room where he is recovering after being wounded.

Later on in the movie Klaatu introduces himself to Professor Barnhard.As proof of who he is he offers the name of the doctor who took care of him at the Walter Reed Hospital.
He also states that his room # while he was there for two days was 309.
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