The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951)
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The Day the Earth Stood Still Movie Review
The Day the Earth Stood Still is a 1951 science fiction film directed by Robert Wise and starring Michael Rennie. It’s a genre classic.
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“Klaatu barada nikto“
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An alien and his robot bodyguard land on Earth to deliver a very important message to leaders around the world, which could determine the Earth’s survival. Yes, ‘Close Encounters of the Third Kind’ is great, but it isn’t the first movie to portray aliens as benign beings. That title goes to this seminal classic of science fiction that remains to this day one of the greatest of all time.
Though obviously some may find the film to be preachy, especially in that message-heavy third act speech, I personally found it to be very timely for the early fifties as it was made soon after the UN was first established, but it’s timeless in a sense that what it preaches is still to be heard by the reckless politicians of today who still rage wars, and who still have, as Klaatu would say “petty squabbles” about trivial things such as territory divide etc.
So, that means that to the cynics of today, this film such as all of Capra’s opus as well, could prove to be overly optimistic and “naïve”. But I am a humanist and a dreamer at heart, so I personally found the message here more than sound. As long as the Earth’s residents are concerned with trivial nonsense, we will never be worthy of anything bigger than ourselves.
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The movie thus presents a Cold War allegory which again makes it a timely statement for the audiences of the day, and it can also be seen to be metaphorical in its protagonist Klaatu clearly standing for Jesus himself.
Thematically rich and strong in anti-war statements, the movie is also very serious in its science talk. Although some of it is obviously dated now, and the alien being humanoid in the Star Trek vein is also problematic, but the fact that we get to see Klaatu examined led to a more detailed movie, and the alien language is great with the famous quote “Klaatu barada nikto” being iconic by now. I also loved the spaceship and its interior, and the robot of course offers the case of famous SF iconography.
Michael Rennie is very memorable as Klaatu, the film’s strongest character. His rationale is indisputable, and to me it was quite amusing how condescending he could get toward Earthlings. I found his interactions with Helen and Bobby wonderful, and the film makes sure to portray him as likable, but also as very mysterious and eerily dangerous at times.
Speaking of Helen, she’s great and quite memorable too. Her role near the end is pretty big for women in 50s SF as she transported that important message to the robot, and I also really liked Bobby. Gort is unforgettable as this very well designed, mysterious and cool robot. I also really liked the scientist guy, and to me one of the highlights was that conversation between Klaatu and him concerning arithmetic.
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The Day the Earth Stood Still is an interesting film tonally speaking. It is a science fiction film, but it’s also very much a noirish drama in its prolonged second act. And I loved that about it. It took the time to properly develop its characters, and give them strong interactions and relationships. The dialogue is fantastic, and those noir elements are great, especially in terms of darker lighting, and a strong use of shadows and eerie atmosphere.
Let’s talk about the special effects. Yes, this just might be the finest-looking SF film from the fifties. Usually, the color of the effects would be bright red or green or yellow, but here we have white which makes the film more unique. But even more so, those scenes look rather convincing, especially groundbreaking for 1951 with no computer help.
The robot also looks fantastic, I love the design with the head and the eyes that protract being his defining characteristic. The same goes for the spaceship which is clichéd in its flying saucer 50s look, but very intriguing in its protracting entrance door, and the interiors. I also loved the film’s mythology, and the power of Gort’s to bring people back from the dead.
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The direction from Robert Wise is excellent, the film’s pacing is also terrific and it’s an engaging, very interesting watch from the first to the last scene. The highlights include an epic beginning, a powerful ending, the scientist sequence and all noirish sequences. The atmosphere here is excellent, and the same should be said for the score which is brilliantly spooky, very creepy at times and frequently suitably grand.
With fantastic special effects for its time, a grand score and a very well conveyed noirish atmosphere, The Day the Earth Stood Still is also thematically rich and admirable in its anti-war statements. The beginning is epic while the ending is powerful. Klaatu and Gort are iconic SF characters, and the film overall works as both a hugely entertaining blockbuster and a very sophisticated, dramatic message movie that ranks among the finest genre films ever.
