The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951)

User Rating:

8.1/10   

Director:

Robert Wise

Writers:

Edmund H. North (screenplay)
Harry Bates (story)

Release Date:

28 September 1951 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Sci-Fi | Thriller

Tagline:

A robot and a man . . . hold the world spellbound with new and startling powers from another planet!

Plot:

An alien lands and tells the people of Earth that they must live peacefully or be destroyed as a danger to other planets.

Plot Keywords:

Alien | Robot | Spacecraft | Washington D.C. | Tank

Awards:

Won Golden Globe. Another 1 win & 1 nomination

Cast

Michael Rennie	...	Klaatu
Patricia Neal	...	Helen Benson
Hugh Marlowe	...	Tom Stevens
Sam Jaffe	...	Prof. Jacob Barnhardt
Billy Gray	...	Bobby Benson
Frances Bavier	...	Mrs. Barley
Lock Martin	...	Gort

Runtime:

92 min | Germany:85 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | French | Hindi

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Certification:

Australia:PG (DVD rating) | Canada:G (Manitoba/Nova Scotia/Quebec) | Canada:PG (Ontario) | Portugal:M/12 | Italy:T | USA:Approved (PCA #15271) (original rating) | USA:G (re-rating) (1969) | Canada:G (video rating) | South Korea:12 (2004) | Brazil:Livre | Germany:12 (f) | Netherlands:12 | Argentina:Atp | Australia:G | Finland:K-12 | Spain:T | Sweden:15 | UK:U

Filming Locations:

RKO Encino Ranch - Balboa Boulevard & Burbank Boulevard, Encino, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation

Trivia:

The film was shot on the 20th Century-Fox back lot, which is now an upscale office complex known as Century City.

Goofs:

Plot holes: It is an almost universal custom for a boarder to pay in advance before to being given a room. "Mr. Carpenter" (Klaatu), as we quickly learn, has of course no money - yet gets the room (and board) anyway.

Quotes:

[first lines]
American Radar Operator: Holy Mackerel! Call headquarters. Get the lieutenant.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Penn & Teller: Bullshit!: Alien Abductions (#1.3)" (2003)

A Peaceful Message in One of the Brightest Science-Fiction Movies

A flying saucer lands in Washington, and a man, Klaatu (Michael Rennie), brings the preoccupation of other planets with the use of atomic energy and development of spacecraft by people on Earth planet. Further, he brings a message and also a threaten against the danger Earth could cause to other planets: the planet could be destroyed if the people does not live in peace. Any menace to other planets would cause the destruction of the entire planet.

This classic is one of the best science-fiction movies I have ever seen. The story is very simple, but the message is wonderful. When this film was made, World War II had finished six years ago only, there was the Cold War and the paranoia of the Americans at that time was against the communists. The special effects are excellent for a 1951 movie. In Brazil, this classic movie was not released on VHS or DVD. It is a shame! I have a VHS, having a version dubbed in Portuguese, full of commercial and with a terrible quality of image that I recorded from TV many years ago. Yesterday I watched this video again, and it is really an outstanding movie. My vote is ten.

Title (Brazil): 'O Dia Em Que a Terra Parou' ('The Day Which the Earth Stopped')

Obs: 01 March 2006 - Fox do Brasil finally released this DVD in 2005. After so many years, I was able to see one of my favorite sci-fi in the original language and restored image.