The Day the Earth Stood Still

MPAA Rating: Not rated by the MPAA.
Runtime: 92 mins.
Director: Robert Wise
Writer: Edmund H. North
Cast: Michael Rennie; Patricia Neal; Hugh Marlowe ... complete cast
Tagline: A robot and a man . . . hold the world spellbound with new and startling powers from another planet!
Genre: Drama | Sci-Fi | Thriller
Memorable Quote: "I'm worried about Gort. I'm afraid of what he might do if anything should happen to me. " ... more quotes
Release Date: September 25, 1951
DVD Release Date: December 2, 2008

Wobbly sounding dual-theremins engaging upon initial liftoff, The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951) has just as much cosmic resonanceâ€”the 21st century's emotionless Keanu Reeves and global warming themes notwithstandingâ€”as it did at the Cold War's outset some 50-plus years ago. Pleasingly, fighting a war of an altogether different nature in 2009 does little to distract from what it meant still means to be responsible human beings responsibly inhabiting planet Earth. Then, executive assistants were still secretaries, your doctor was still sitting around contemplating the challenges of Western medicine under man-made Lucky Strike clouds, and the term â"spacemen" was still two words. A case of the more things change, the more they stay the same.

Following in the hysteria-inducing shadow of Wells' â"The War of the World's" (1898), but foreshadowing pop music's R.E.M.: it's the end of the world as we know it. Firmly grounded in our intergalactic space Washington, D.C. precisely Day the Earth reminds in sobering, circumspect fashion that human beings have as much responsibility to the each other and the universe, as to themselves.

A shooting star much worth glimpsing, an historical bookend, seemingly light-years away, 13, before anyone, someone Kubrick unleashed the chutzpah to revel, rather than shrink from, the madness of it all. Nuclear fallout, species extinction. Played for yucks. In some transcendental measure, we've director Robert Wise to thank for the preceding decade-and-a-half of chilly cinematic sobriety on the matter. Not even monochromatic b/w would soften tense political perceptions of the Red State. The ominous shadows might've even heightened them. Edified usâ€”Wise-ened us, as it were? (Think: school-sponsored bomb shelter drills). In the end, made us name names. Half a century on, the film's greatest special effects are McCarthyism, Star Trek, â€˜Dirty' Harry, Dubya Bush. Some reality-based, some not. Only history can tell that. Our civil liberties in exchange for perceived peace of mind. Straighten up and fly right, earth people or the consequences will be dire. Shoot now, ask questions later.

The 91-year-old Robert Wise saw the rise and fall of the atomic bomb and the Cold War before his death in 2005. Strange to consider, Osama bin Laden and Klaatu may come with the same message, if not the same diplomatic emphasis.

Message sent to voice-mail for later retrieval, Day the Earth's most awe-ish aspect and cinematically relevant contribution to timeless moviemaking is the fact that it's a sci-fi noir, if ever such a thing could exist, could take flight, landing in the new millennium none the worse for wear. Shadows loom large as Klatuu/â"Mr. Carpenter" (Michael Rennie) and Helen Benson (Patricia Neal) try to save Earth from itself. In Ms. Benson's case, not an easy task for a U.S. federal government employee. Jingoism got us into this mess, but she knew it wouldn't serve us well getting out. That would take political cooperation and collaboration on an international scale, a common sense of greater purpose. Tearing down a repressive, divisive physical wall in an act of literal and symbolic unification almost 40 years later continues proving to be a tough political epilogue to live up to.

Component Grades
Movie		DVD


DVD Experience

DVD Details:

Screen Formats: 1.33:1

Subtitles: English; Spanish

Language and Sound: English: Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo mix from the 2002 Fox release has not been carried over.

* Commentary
o 1- Feature-length commentary track with director Robert Wise and Nicholas Meyer
o 2- Featuring music and film historians John Morgan, Steven Smith, William Stromberg and Nicholas Redman
* Featurettes
o Fox Movietone News reel (6:21)
o Behind-the-Scenes Documentary (23:52)
o The Mysterious, Melodious Theremin (5:40)
o Farewell to the Master (3 sections, 96:59 total)
o Decoding Klaatu Barada Nikto: Science Fiction as Metaphor
o A Brief History of Flying Saucers (34:00)
o The Astounding Harry Bates (11:02)
o Edmund North: The Man Who Made the Earth Stand Still (14:43)
o Race to Oblivion (26:41)
* Photo Galleries - Promotional Galleries; Interactive Pressbook
* Previews: Theatrical Trailer (2:09); Teaser Trailer (1:01); First Look at the 2008 remake (7:42)
* Music video: Isolated Score Track, presented in its original mono, which focuses solely on Bernard Herrmann's contributions to the film

Number of Discs: 2 with Keepcase Packaging