The Day the Earth Stood Still-1951

Director Robert Wise

Starring Michael Rennie

Scott’s Review #155

Reviewed August 18, 2014

Grade: B+

The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951) is one of the best, most credible, original science fiction thrillers. It has stood the test of time, considering it is over sixty years old.

Made in 1951, the film is a message movie about a spaceship that suddenly arrives on planet Earth in the United States capitol of Washington, D.C.

Michael Rennie is fantastic as Klaatu, the calm, poised leader of the spaceship. Along with Gort, a 7-foot-tall robot, Klaatu intends to deliver a message of peace and humanity to the leaders of Earth.

The arrival sets off a panic, and Klaatu is captured, only to escape and meet local townspeople as he tries to pass himself off as human and deliver his message.

The Day the Earth Stood Still is a liberal-slanted, anti-war, pro-tolerance, and acceptance movie, but also a good, old-fashioned black-and-white science fiction thriller rolled into one.

It’s an important film.

It is an edgy, questioning film that can easily still be viewed and appreciated today (sad that not much seems to have changed in the world after all these years).

It is political, and the setting of Washington, D.C., is wise and symbolic.

While a handful of humans are portrayed as intelligent and accepting, most of Earth’s human beings, especially politicians, are portrayed as war-happy, foolish individuals.

The viewer will question the world around him or herself and, hopefully, begin to question political decisions and the horrors of war that continue unabated.