Review of The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951) by Jason D — 02 Jan 2010

The Day the Earth Stood Still is the classic Science Fiction film that forgoes the regular B-movie types and delivers a straight forward film with a message that works on a social commentary on the society people were creating back then.

In the film, an alien ship flies all over Earth until finally landing in Washington D.C. amongst a bevy of frightened citizens who act irrationally when alien humanoid Klaatu and his scary, hulking robot Gort emerge from the ship.

They shoot and injure Klaatu, who quickly subdues Gort, before being whisked away to a hospital. His wishes to speak to all the leaders in the world fall upon deaf ears and before Klaatu gives up on Earth, he decides to go out and walk amongst the people to see if they are worth saving, which he concludes after meeting a nice mother and son, but will he be able to hold this meeting before he's killed by the ignorant society of the 50's.

Almost ahead of its time, The Day the Earth Stood Still rings powerful in its message of people and their pettiness over war with others as well as their tendency towards violence when confronted with the unknown.

This was directed by the great Robert Wise, who's also delivered such classics as West Side Story, The Haunting, and Star Trek: The Motion Picture. The Day the Earth Stood Still is a powerful drama by its own merit, but it also manages to dazzle as an excellent science fiction classic as well.

The open-ended ending is also a great touch for this film, leading the viewer to subjective thinking. Excellent movie that, after well over 50 years, the message is still strong and far from outdated.

I pity anyone who doesn't enjoy this gem. Whatever you do, don't forget the words: Klaatu Barada Nikto!