Review of The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951) by Alex R — 04 May 2011

Before there was Star Trek, Stars Wars and 2001, there was The Day The Earth Stood Still. A classic of Sci Fi and maybe a film that influenced the genre as well. The film is fairly simple, but yet so grand at the same time.

The film focuses on aliens invading Earth, but its unlike nothing you've seen. Instead of destroying everything and murdering Earth population, the aliens have a message for Earthlings. They must live in peace or be destroyed by the Aliens.

The Alien Ambassador Klaatu after scaring the Earths inhabitants by causing a power outage reveals their intentions and Earths population immediately ceases its hostilities. The Day The Earth Stood Still is a splendid film that proves that you don't need a elaborate story to create a thrilling, interesting film.

The actors deliver strong performances and I especially enjoyed Michael Rennie's performance as Klaatu. The film has it flaws, but is nonetheless a classic of the genre. The film remains a staple of Sci Fi films after all these years and it's still very much entertaining.

Despite the fact that it's not perfect, you can appreciate the simplistic nature of the film and how the simple story can actually make the film a lot more interesting. The Day The Earth Stood Still is a fine Sci Fi piece of cinema and remains one of the best of the genre.

Definitely a memorable film in the genre.