We are visited by a flying saucer that lands near the U.S. capital. As a precaution the saucer is surrounded by the military with tanks, carbines, and side arms. The ship opens up and a being, Klaatu (Michael Rennie), steps out. He makes a menacing move with a foreign object. A quick thinking well trained military man shoots first.
Why are we being visited? A mysterious man named Mr. Carpenter may hold the answer. However the only people that will listen to the message are the world's scientists. To bring his point home Klaatu holds a demonstration. The result of the demonstration gives the movie its title "The Day the Earth Stood Still"
Besides being a classic this movie also captures a time. It is intriguing looking at the technology of the time and even the locations before they changed (some have not changed).
It is still fun to watch as Klaatu is encountered, detained, and the state of the governments (does not look like things have changed much). We all want to say to Gort "Gort! Klaatu barada nikto!"
This movie was better built than most for its time and rivals some movies of today. The message is still relevant and we sometimes try to apply the same solution here.
I have seen the Blu-ray of the 1951 version and it really did not improve the view as much as just having a 1080p 46" screen.
The more recent remake changed the message from people fighting people to people messing with ecology. Relevant bit deviates and is too politically correct with the snotty brat being the antagonist instead of the boyfriend. Too much CGI spoils the plot.
Forbidden Planet [Blu-ray] [UK Import]