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The Day the Earth Stood Still
Stars:
Michael Rennie, Patricia Neal, Hugh Marlowe, Sam Jaffe, Billy Gray, Frances
Bavier, and Lock Martin
Writer:
Edmund H. North
Based
On A Story By: Harry Bates
Director:
Robert Wise
Feature
length: 92 minutes
Extras:
Audio Commentary By Robert Wise and Nicholas Meyer, Feature Length Documentary,
Movietone Newsreel, Restoration Comparison, Still Galleries, Shooting Script,
and the Theatrical Trailers
Languages:
English Stereo and Monaural and French and Spanish Monaural Sound
Subtitles:
English Captions and Closed Captions and Spanish Language Subtitles
Packaging:
Keep Case
Chapter
Stops: 15
Sound:
Stereo and Monaural Sound
Year
of Theatrical Release: 1951/DVD Release: 2003
Theatrical
Distributor: Twentieth Century Fox
Home
Video Distributor: Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment
MPAA
Rating: G
Reviewer:
Mark A. Rivera
One
of the finest science fiction films of the 1950s if not one of the finest
science fiction films ever made, “The Day The Earth Stood Still” still
resonates today with each new generation. Directed by the multitalented Robert
Wise, “The Day The Earth Stood Still” is actually one of three science
fiction films he directed during his amazing career that spans so many different
types of movies that one can almost be in disbelief that the same guy who
directed “The Sound Of Music” and “West Side Story” also directed “The
Andromeda Strain” and “Star Trek: The Motion Picture.” While
interplanetary space travel seems still far off, the Cold War politics resonate
in our own present world situation at the time of this writing.
The fear of viral warfare as well as unstoppable disease also seems very
relevant as portrayed in “The Andromeda Strain.” What makes the three
science fiction films Robert Wise directed standout among others of the genre is
they each propel the viewer to think about what he or she is seeing and the
threat is usually not exactly what one usually expects from a sci-fi film.
It
has been said that “The Day The Earth Stood Still” is a lot like an allegory
for the Christ story complete with a being from another place that attempts to
enlighten the world and subsequently goes through a death and resurrection
before delivering his final message and ascending to the heavens in his
spaceship. Even the name the being goes undercover as “Carpenter” calls to
mind aspects of the Christ story as well as making all of the worlds powered
objects stopping at one time with the exception of certain things like emergency
hospitals and planes in flight might as well be a miracle as far as humanity is
concerned. Without the understanding of the science behind the act, it would
seem as miraculous as having the powered objects we depend on today might appear
to a person one thousand years ago. Whether intentional or not, there is no
denying the archetype exists within the film’s subtext and the final message
regarding humanity’s ability to live peacefully with its universal neighbors
might as well be a paraphrase of “Love you your neighbor as much as you love
yourself. Love God with all your heart above all things.” Just think for
moment about how hard it is to love your neighbor as you love yourself and to
love God with all your heart in the face of our own selfish id, ego, and
superegos. There is no superficiality to Klaatu’s message and warning and that
above all else helps to set “The Day The Earth Stood Still” apart from the
many sci-fi films of the 1950s. This is not “E.T.” or “Starman.”
Some
might argue that aside from Gort, all we see is Michael Rennie, but who better
to follow than a being from another place that looks like one of us. If we were
to take a person back in time to the eighteenth century, we would appear almost
like aliens the way the Spanish appeared otherworldly with their horses and
armor to the Indians that occupied South America. For one thing we have most of
our teeth, we are generally healthier in appearance, cleaner, live longer,
taller, and we do not have some of the diseases that were commonly passed on
from generation to generation that created premature balding or discolored urine
on those that we might consider middle aged if not younger by our calculations.
The screenplay addresses this when it is revealed that Klaatu’s age is
approximately 78, but he looks like he is in his mid thirties. Few actors can
pull off the illusion of being otherworldly without makeup, but there is no
denying that Michael Rennie manages to make us believe he is a “stranger in a
strange land” without removing our ability to sympathize with him. “Do you
grock?”
Twentieth
Century Fox Home Entertainment’s “The Day The Earth Stood Still: 20Th
Century Fox Studio Classics” presents the film on DVD in the original (1.33:1)
theatrical release aspect ratio. The transfer was restored from the original
negatives to make a new 35mm answer print. Then two fine grain master positives
were created with one for the Fox archives and the other for this DVD edition.
Comparisons of the restoration (3:56) are provided comparing this new DVD
transfer to the 1993 laserdisc, 1995 filmstrip, and 2002 restored film print.
The transfer is THX certified complete with the THX Optimizer® program for
picture and sound calibration. While the image quality for this DVD release is
quite good, I found the English Stereo Sound mix to be hollow in comparison to
the English Two-Channel Monaural Soundtrack, which I prefer overall after
comparing both soundtracks. A Spanish Language Monaural Soundtrack is also
included along with English Captions and Closed Captions for the hearing
impaired encoded onto the DVD as options.
The
extra features for the most part appear to be carryovers from the laserdisc.
Included is an enlightening feature length audio commentary with Director Robert
Wise and Writer and Filmmaker Nicholas Meyer. I am an admirer of Meyer’s work
and think his inclusion with Mr. Wise is more than appropriate. I think it
enhances the commentary since these are two real industry professionals talking
with mutual respect for each other. This is supported by the feature length
documentary “Making The Earth Stand Still,” which features interviews with
surviving cast members as well as Robert Wise, Joe Dante, and Bob Burns among
others. There is also a “Movietone Newsreel” (6:20), the theatrical trailer
(2:08) and galleries that include the shooting script, production, construction
and blueprints for the ship, American and British press books, posters and lobby
cards, and images of the spaceship model and the robot Gort. Bonus trailers
include “One Million Years BC” (3:07) and “Journey To The Center Of The
Earth” (3:20).
The
disc is a DVD-10 so most of the extra features are on the other side of the
disc. The main menu on both sides is animated while subsequent menus are
standard interactive still frames that are easy to navigate. “The Day The
Earth Stood Still: 20Th Century Fox Studio Classics” is available
on DVD-Video now.
©
Copyright 2003 By Mark A. Rivera
All Rights Reserved.
Buy This DVD Now By Clicking On The Text Link Below!
The Day the Earth Stood Still