The Day The Earth Stood Still Reviews

 

 

Kelsey Adair

 

The Day the Earth Stood Still is a great movie for its time period. Surprisingly, there is still a large element of entertainment value today. Much of the entertainment, I found, comes from the cheesy acting and special effects. The special effects could not even begin to compare to what people are used to seeing in movies today. As far as the acting goes, it was entertaining to watch because people today are so much different than fifty years ago. For example, children do not follow the same patterns of “perfection” as little Bobby Benson from the film. It is interesting to watch a child say “Yes, Mom” and “Okay, Mom” every time he is told to do something. I guess it’s just so unrealistic in today’s time to expect kids to act like that. Overall, the movie had some great points presented in a solid, easy-to-follow plot line. The movie brought up questions of world peace in a time that was full of confusion during the Cold War. Knowing that we are still far from world peace, and will probably never get there, it is nice to think about the possibilities of living in a completely civilized world.

 

Josh Berting

 

The Day the Earth Stood Still by Robert Wise is a 1951 film that centers around the landing of a strange alien craft, and the ensuing chaos that results from the “escaped” alien, and his unstoppable robot named “Gort.” This movie surprised me, because for a 1951 movie with 1951 ear special effects it was actually pretty good. The film had a good plot, and for the time, not bad special effects. The film also sported a solid a cast of actors, and though it was black and white pretty good cinematography. While taking into account the fact that this was a 1950’s era movie, I would give this film an overall high rating.

 

Brittany Burton

Although The Day the Earth Stood Still wasn't exactly my favorite movie, it was decent enough to be able to get into and understand. The use of robots in this movie was one of the most prevalent compared to the others we've seen thus far. The main character, Klaatu, although considered an alien had a robot companion who followed his every order. This in turn, led to one of the biggest mysteries of the time: An unmovable spaceship and robot parked on a field in the capital. The special effects in this movie are to be expected for its time. One of the best things about this movie were the actors. Although the plot was completely unrealistic, the actors made the characters very belieavable. The music and soundeffects were mediocre, but overall did a good job leading throughout the movie. This is a classic movie and although it is in black and white, I would recommend it to others to watch.

 

Kevin Caskey

 

The Day the Earth Stood Still was my favorite movie of all time, but for what it is, it’s a pretty good movie. The film was made in 1951, which wasn’t my favorite time period for movies, but it had a sufficient enough plot to be entertaining, and it offered surprisingly good special effects for what they had to work with in 1951. The movie is about an alien spacecraft that ventures to earth to deliver a very important message. The messenger is an alien named Klaatu, who, along with his seven foot tall robot Gort, came to earth in a peaceful attempt to build relations with Earth’s people. Klaatu becomes know to everyone as the Space Man, who has escaped and is running loose throughout the city. He takes on the name Mr. Carpenter and rents a room at a local bed and breakfast while he explores the city; he is able to do this because back in 1951, aliens looked just like humans so no one notices he is from another far off planet. The Space Man has ultimately come to earth to tell all the nations of the world that if they continue to develop nuclear weapons and arm their space ships with them, Klaatu’s home planet will destroy earth… The movie was good overall; it had its share of suspenseful moments, frightening moments, and heartwarming ones as well. It is probably not one of the greatest movies of all time, but it’s a good one none the less. You should watch it for Gort’s, if not for anything else.

 

Marco Flores

For a movie made in the 19th century, it was actually not bad. An alien that strangely speaks perfect English and is a human, lands on Earth and warns the population that they are tampering with atomic weaponry, and should it threaten neighboring planets, Earth would be eliminated. The “alien” blends into society and attempts to speak only to the highest Earth authorities on the matter and is protected by a near invincible bodyguard (which is a robot). Although the effects are pretty lame, of its time it is much more advanced than I would think. In fact, it was probably revolutionary. It was the best black and white movie I ever saw with a robot in it to say the least. Obviously, the robot was much more advanced in the movie than society in the movie because it easily “melted” all weapons threatening it in the beginning of the movie. Society in which the movie was made was impacted because the movie warns humanity that should it continue to tamper with dangerous technology, it will be the end of life as they know it (is this a reoccurring theme in all robot movies?)

 

 

Emily Hager

 To tell the truth, I'm actually kind of a sucker for old movies, so I wasn't dreading this movie as much as some other people, and as it turns out, it wasn't really that bad. If you take into account it was made 50 years ago, the special effects really aren't that bad (they might have been better than Flash) and the plotline is kind of scary if you consider the mindset of that time period. People are always scared of things they don't understand, and in this movie, people really don't understand. I liked that the alien was actually trying to save Earth from itself in the movie, because its true that we are a very violent planet. The robot was sufficently intimidating, even if it was just a tall guy in a space suit. This was actually a well-done movie, with a real plotline and decent acting. Its quite a change from some of the other stuff we have watched. I liked the lead actress in particular, and the little boy was very, very irritating (like he was supposed to be I think). I think the plot of this movie is more believable than a lot of other movies, because we are so violent and it makes sense that other, more peaceful planets would enforce peace with a deadly robot police force. I actually see it. But overall, I liked the movie, even if i was a bit dated.

 

 

Stephanie Herndon

I wasn't expecting much from this movie, due to its old age, but I actually ended up liking it a lot. The movie gave an accurate account of world suspicions, and how difficult it would be if all the countries of the Earth ever had to join together for an important cause. The main point of this movie, instead of technology, seemed to be about world peace and life on other planets. During the time this movie was created, exploring the universe was a strange new idea, making these concepts very relavent. Also, modern countries have constantly been working against each other, as effectively shown in this movie. The idea of space exploration and life on other planets is used basically to show how important it is to work together and how unproductive it is to be as suspicious as nations today tend to be. The special effects were fairly decent considering the age of the movie. The robot was pretty neat, and focused mainly on the idea of actually having a robot instead of focusing on controversial ideas about robots and artificial intelligence.

 

 

Dustin Houser

Contrary to my expectations for the film The Day the Earth Stood Still, I actually enjoyed the movie quite well. First of all, the plot of the movie was pretty simple, but it was still interesting enough to keep my interest. This basic plot may be due to the fact that the film is somewhat old and it is definitely an original. The idea of space men and extraterrestrial life was still pretty new in the 50's, and this was somewhat evident in the film. There are no elaborate costumes for any wildly-imaginative alien creatures, and the spaceship retains the original saucer shape. This makes this particular movie a little less vivid and exciting, but the story within the movie is what kept my interest. I enjoyed seeing how people interacted and a little bit about what everyday life was like in the 50's. It was also interesting to see how the people of that time period would have interacted with extraterrestrial life, and it was also unique to see a peaceful alien for once. I have not seen many black and white movies, but The Day the Earth Stood Still now ranks fairly high on my movie-preferrence list. This film is worth the watch, it is a classic and it is an overall interesting and enjoyable movie.

 

Earl Duncan Laing

The Day the Earth Stood Still was, in my opinion, actually a really good movie. I got the feeling that after we left, there weren’t many people who actually enjoyed the movie. I however, felt that the movie was quite good. I’m not really a fan of old movies. I prefer to watch movies which are more up to date with technology. But, I felt that the plot of The Day the Earth Stood Still was very intriguing. The story was what made the movie have any value. The thing about the plot which was so interesting was the main character Klaatu. Klaatu is an alien who comes to Earth to warn the Earthlings that if they continue to use nuclear weapons in warfare, and it poses a threat the rest of the galaxy, then Earth will have to be destroyed to ensure the galaxy’s safety. Klaatu then meets a boy by the name of Bobby who he becomes very fond of. Bobby’s mother Helen then decides to take Klaatu or Mr. Carpenter as she knows him, and let him stay with them for a little while. Klaatu asks Bobby to show him around planet Earth, so he can see the things that it may have to offer. Over the course of the movie, Klaatu is exposed to the Earthlings and must retreat to space, only to leave them with the warning he came to give them in the first place. Klaatu’s robot, Gort, was another thing that made the movie very interesting. Gort’s capabilities were very technologically advanced for the time in which the movie was made. The special effects were not all that great but it was very interesting to see how much Gort was actually capable of. Overall, the plot of the movie was what truly made it enjoyable, while the special effects and sound were merely mediocre.

 

Overall Rating: 7/10

 

 

Kara Learman

Klaatu, a spaceman, lands his ship on the Ellipse in Washington Park. He steps of the ship only to find himself surrounded by numerous armed soldiers. Klaatu pulls out a mechanical trinket, which someone decides is a threat, is shot at. At this time, the large robot, Gort, emerges from within the casserole. He lasers away all of the guns and weapons and such, until Klaatu called him off. Klaatu goes to the hospital where he meets the secretary of state, Klaatu attempts to explain the gravity of the situation that earth is in but no one will speak with him. Not today. The film continues on documenting Klaatu’s escapades throughout the city. The ending fit perfectly with the rest of the movie. I enjoyed this movie greatly, even though it was in black and white. The robot used, Gort, was only marginal in his costume. It wasn’t too believable. I would give this film an overall rating of 8. I truly enjoyed it.

 

 

Matt Lynch

The Day The Earth Stood Still is a suprisingly good movie coming from the 1950s. I was pleasantly suprised by this movie. An alien (Klaatu) comes to Earth with an important message, but of course an American shoots him before he gets to explain this. Klaatu then escapes the hospital needing to tell his message to the world. He disguises himself as a normal human being and tries to understand our world. Klaatu befriends a boy who shows him around and they become very attached. When the boy and his mother discover who Klaatu is they are terrified. Klaatu finally meets with a brilliant scientist and explains the need for him to give his message. The Day The Earth Stood Still is a good movie that shows the flaws in our society and how unaccepting our society is. The movie might lack on color, action and special effects but it is a good movie that is relevant to almost any generation and is a classic that should be seen by everyone. I give this movie a 7 for its plot and relevance to everyone across the world.

 

John Nunns

 

 

Dee Parks

This oldie but goodie always entertains. The story is engrossing and the use of black and white just makes the plot seem more serious. What I found most interesting this time was how little our society's big concerns have changed since the 1950's. At the time this movie was made, only a few short years had passed since the U.S. had dropped two atomic bombs on Japan and people had witnessed on television the horrific destruction wrought by nuclear weapons. The movie reflected how worried we were back then about such weapons being used again. And what has changed? People no longer have fallout shelters in their basements and school children no longer have drills in which they practice getting under their desks to avoid being crushed by falling steel if bombs land near their schools. But we are still worried about nuclear weapons in the hands of our enemies. Have the countries of our planet managed to find ways to get along with one another? Absolutely not. There are ongoing conflicts throughout Africa, the Middle East, South America, parts of Asia, and parts of Europe. Perhaps we need a real Klaatu to visit us and threaten to destroy the Earth if we can't get our acts together. I wonder if we could do it even then. The Day The Earth Stood Still is always good for reflection and is one of this reviewer's favorite films in our collection.

 

Amanda Pudney

I wasn't really looking forward to watching this film, but it actually turned out to be one of my favorites so far. The special effects were fantastic for the time, mainly the scenes with the space ship. The robot wasn't exactly convincing, and I was a bit dissapointed that he didn't really play a larger role in the film. The message of the movie, however, was one of the best things about it. The main goal of Klaatu was to warn Earth against its destructive habits and stop all the violence. Even when asked by an alien, the countries could not put aside their differences to schedule a meeting with Klaatu before he left. I think this is still relevant today. There wasn't too much action in the film, but it had the ability to make you think. I'm glad we chose that one as the older film to watch.

 

Austin Reiter

The Day the Earth Stood Still was a different brand of movie than many of the ones that we’ve watched thus far. While many of the other films lacked a solid plot and turned their focus towards special effects instead, this movie had a solid plot throughout the entire film but did relatively little in the way of special effects. The movie takes place in what was then present-day Washington, D.C., which is a refreshing change from the all-too-futuristic settings of many of the other movies that we’ve watched (like 2001: A Space Odyssey and THX 1138). Another refreshing change from the other space-related movies we’ve watched is the fact that the beings from outer space portrayed in the film are distinctly human, not alien. I tend to like movies that do things differently from other movies in its genre, and The Day the Earth Stood Still does that simply by making many aspects of the movie “normal”. Yet however much I may have liked this movie due to its capturing normalcy, I can’t help but feel that the acting was simply mediocre and that the personality of the characters were relatively stagnant. Overall though, The Day the Earth Stood Still is a decent movie that I would definitely recommend watching if you are a fan of science fiction films.

 

Michael Salley

The Day The Earth Stood Still, produced in 1951, is without a doubt a product of its time period with regard to special effects, which were nothing spectacular. The effects were a step even farther back than those in the Star Trek original series from a decade later. However, like Trek, if one looks past the admittedly cheesy dialogue and the primitive (by modern standards) effects, there is a great deal of value to be found in the content of the movie. As much progress as we think we've made as a society, this 1951 film shows a shocking number of elements in modern society that haven't evolved or expanded at all since that time. The plot of the movie is relatively simple; as weapons of warfare on Earth are developed to such an extent that they could potentially wreak havoc in (supposedly empty) space beyond the planet itself, an advanced (and presumably more moralistic) alien society sends a representative (Klaatu) and his pet robot (Gort) in their flying teakettle (really, it doesn't look anything like a saucer...) to warn the people of Earth that they will be obliterated from space by the "evolved" intergalactic society that exists beyond Earth, if they don't confine their destructiveness to their own planet. The space society is a brotherhood of sorts between all the intelligent space-capable races of the area, all of whom have agreed that nonagression towards one another is the only acceptable policy, and further have agreed to allow a force of robotic enforcers to patrol the galaxy, so to speak, and eliminate all possible sources of war and conflict. The Earth has a choice: to remain warlike and be destroyed, or to learn the value of peaceful compromise and coexist with the rest of the universe's populations. However, an underlying theme of this 1951 portrayal of Earth that remains with us to the present day is the conflict-causing nature of humans in general. The first action taken by the human population towards Klaatu, at the time of his landing, is to shoot him out of "defense" because they are afraid of a gift he has presented them (whose technological nature makes it appear weaponlike, presumably.) Klaatu is then fatally shot as he tries to escape the police, army, and every other possible source of brute force and brawn that has been set after him, again for a peaceful demonstration of his power. Technology in the film is portrayed as useful, but almost unequivocably evil throughout the film. The technological advances of the space-traveling races has obviously given them a tactical advantage over those who are stuck on Earth; obviously, the extra technology available to Klaatu's society is represented as a source of destructive power ready to be unleashed against the Earth. Gort, the robot, is feared because he is technologically advanced (and not afraid to prove it) to the point of being pursued almost as hotly as Klaatu himself. The only truly destructive technology in the movie exists as the potential for the atomic weapons that supposedly presented a danger to the rest of the galaxy - but oddly enough (not oddly at all, if one looks at today's society critically...) - the only technology NOT feared by the people in society in the film... is the most destructive technology portrayed, and the only technology that society itself created. The technology that lets Gort bring Klaatu temporarily back to life was indeed a non-agressive technology, and was representative of the dedication of the more advanced population of the galaxy toward peace and lifesaving instead of war and life-taking. Unfortunately, the lesson has not been learned; society on Earth today is just as warlike and just as self-destructive as society on Earth in The Day The Earth Stood Still. Having an alien with a police robot and a flying teakettle deliver a similar ultimatum to the people of Earth currently would be a benefit to us all... if we even have enough wisdom left among us to save ourselves from destruction from space robot police.

 

 

Jamie Stevens

 

When I heard that The Day the Earth Stood Still was going to be the oldest movie that we would watch, I didn’t have my hopes up and was preparing myself for another terrible movie. However, it proved me wrong and actually was quite entertaining. The Day the Earth Stood Still was about a man, Klaatu, who is a stranger from another planet. He crashes down on a field on Earth and tells the humans that he comes in peace and has a message to give them. However, the people on Earth were not very accepting and shot him before they could hear what he had to say. His robot protector came out of the spaceship and terrifies the people. Klaatu escapes his guards and goes out into the city to see how the people on Earth live. He meets a little boy, Bobby, who he becomes very close to in the next few days. When Bobby and his mother learn of Klaatu’s true identity, they are terrified, but eventually Klaatu persuades Bobby’s mother to help him in saving Earth’s future. This movie had a good plot and storyline. It didn’t, however, have much technology and special effects. I would have to say, though, that they story made up for the movie’s lack of special effects.

Overall Rating: 7 out of 10

 

 

Jesse Talbott

 

 

Jeanne-Claire White

Despite the fact that The Day the Earth Stood Still was black and white, it held my attention span. In the beginning, the humans are baffled by the landing of a UFO with a human-looking man, Klaatu, and a robot, Gort. They have landed on Earth to help protect it from violence and destruction. After landing, Klaatu takes on a human identity as Carpenter who goes to live in a rent house and grows close to the residents there. After gaining their trust, he confides in them the important role that they will play in saving earth from destruction. Since this is an older film, the special effects and costumes are not very advanced. Gort looks like a giant fluffy marshmallow, and the intense action scene involves a small laser beam that causes weapons to disappear. Although the Day that the Earth Stood Still is the oldest film we are watching, I enjoyed it despite its lack of technology advances.

 

 

Mike Wittmer

 

"Gort can do anything. Gort could destroy the Earth."  Klaatu, Gort's master, has this to say about his robot companion in the 1950s film The Day the Earth Stood Still.  The movie combines a compelling plot with refreshing characters to provide for a very entertaining movie.  Klaatu and Gort wish only to help a hostile Earth by warning them of ensuing danger.  Can humanity come together and save their own tail or are they too caught up in their own pride and self-worth to listen to this alien's advice?  The movie not only makes a strong statement about robots, but about the unknown.  In a world where alien spaceships land in Washington D.C. and a single robot can destroy a planet, where the limits?  Society at the time this movie was made is scared.  Scared of new technology and violence that it can lead to.  The movie alludes to the dangers of nuclear war and violence.  Not only is this film entertaining, but it has valid societal concerts at the time and voices them quite well.  I would recommend this movie to all audiences.