Sunday, June 28, 2009

The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951)


A spaceship has landed in Washington DC.  Out comes a giant robot and a spaceman.  The spaceman has a message for Earth, but before he can say what that message is, he is shot at.  The spaceman is then taken to a hospital while the Robot and the spaceship stay behind.  After being treated, the spaceman escapes from the hospital and takes up a room for rent.  In the house he is living in, he makes friends with a little boy and his mother.  They find out that he is from another planet and they do what they can to help him deliver his message.

"The Day the Earth Stood Still" is not what I really expected.  I thought that it was going to be a special effects extravaganza, but it wasn't.  It was mostly about the spaceman and his relationships with the little boy and his mother.  The acting was really good in the movie.  If not for the convincing acting, the movie would not have worked.  

The special effects that are in the film are great.  The robot can make things disappear by a beam that comes from his helmet.  This effect really works well.

The robot, Gort, is one of the most iconic figures in all science fiction movies.  He is not in most of the movie, but when he is, you really fear the worst.  Gort's costume was good, except for when he walked.  When he walks you can see the suit bend where his knees would bend.  This makes it obvious that he is not really made out of metal.

The best scene of the movie is when the spaceman proves to the world that destruction is possible.  He needs to come up with a way to prove this without hurting anyone.  He decides to make everything stop working.   Every sort of machine will not work, except for machines in hospitals and airplanes.  These scenes were very fun to watch.  Landmarks all around the world are shown and things have come to a complete standstill. 

I have not seen the remake of "The Day the Earth Stood Still", but I imagine it is nothing like this film.  This version relies solely on the acting abilities of the cast and it really works.  It keeps you in suspense from beginning to finish.

B+  I recommend it.

1 comment:

  1. I think you made bright resolution when you choose this theme of the article. Do you usually make your articles all by yourself or maybe you have a partner or even an assistant?

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