Average Rating: 
Rating:  - Intelligent, landmark film that is truely a classic.
Loosely based on the Harry Bates short story "Farewell to the Master", "Day.." is an intelligent movie that avoids the hoary sf cliches of the period, though this can be difficult to appreciate since the film has been copied so many times over the years.Michael Rennie displays real charisma as Klaatu, the enigmatic messenger from space. His subdued performance succeeds in displaying the wisdom, intelligence and maturity of Klaatu as he almost desperately tries to deliver his warning to the people of Earth. An equally great performance is turned in by Patricia Neal. Her fright at the sight of Gort and her effort to compose herself as she tries to stop the robot from destroying her (and, presumably, the rest of Washington D.C.) with the words "Klaatu barada nikto" remains a classic genre sequence. Bernard Hermann's theremin score was considered to be highly original at the time and it works well for the film, but it has been copied so many times that it has become something of a cliche. The robot Gort is sleek and imposing despite being a bit weak at the knees and Klaatu's saucer is an equally impressive design, though the interior seems to be too spartan. Unintentional humor is seen when the two doctors who are tending to an injured Klaatu are expressing amazement at his healthy, youthful condition at 75 years of age while they both light up cigarettes. Such was the state of medical science in the early 1950's. "The Day the Earth Stood Still" kicked off a flowering of sf films in the 50's and yet for intelligence and charm it was hardly ever equalled.
Rating: - The Best Science Fiction Film Ever Made
This is the best, and one of the oldest believe it or not, science fiction films ever made. The quality of the special effects was decades before it's time. The spacecraft flying scenes still amaze me.The film has a strong message. Mankind isn't ready to become a member of a greater system of beings, and if we continue to develop our space program, alongside our weapons of mass destruction, we will have to be eliminated. This is because only ten years before, we had created the first atomic bomb, and have started sending people into space. The other civilized worlds in the galaxy have learned to live in peace, and don't need us around mucking it up. They give us an ultimatum, learn to live in peace, or be destroyed. The apparent war-like paranoia of the human race is shown in the first scene of the film. Michael Rennie walks out of his ship and is immediately shot by a soldier. What a way to greet an out-of-towner! Anyway, he ultimately sneaks out of the hospital, and goes around D.C. with a young boy, trying to find something that will convince him that mankind is worth saving. He visits places like the Lincoln Memorial, where he's impressed, only to then visit Arlington Cemetery, where he's apalled. The DVD has a few extras that make this even sweeter, such as the 'making of' featurette. This was shown on AMC, and is very good. It explains how many of the actors in the film were blacklisted during the communist hearings of the 50's, because of the message of the film. What a crock. Anyway, this was the paranoia the film parodies. If you want to add a good science fiction film, that doesn't have lots of blood and gore, get this one, it's the best.
Rating: - The Day The Earth Stood Still
I first seen this movie when I was 12 years old, now I am 64 years old and I think the movie is still great. I now have it on dvd and I watch it a lot and I still love it.
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