Review of The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951) by Anthony L — 03 Jan 2010

Comapre the day the earth stood still to most, if not all, sci-fi's from the same period and you will instantly see just why this one still holds up so brilliantly!...To say the effects are crap... and yes folks some users on this site like to complain 'bout 'em... is like complaining that the lion from the wizard of oz didn't look like a real lion!? I'm not going to rant on for too long about this but its crazy concidering the age of the film, because actually the effects were mind blowing at the time (check out the scene where the ship lands at the start, the cars in the background are active and moving around which was incredible for the time).

Day the earth stood still was probably the first realistic sci-fi movie, shot like a documentary, using familar settings and actual location shoots at times with a real credible message and top class performances it set the bar for much of what would follow.... and is a true peice of cinema history that should be appreciated and respected even if it isn't always the most convincing when comapred to what we can achieve today.