Wednesday, July 30, 2008

The day the earth stood still “1951”

What if all the electrical power and all the communication power around the globe are shut down for a complete half an hour with exception to hospitals and fire stations , can you imagine this !!?? It would be the day the earth stood still in the modern history
The day the earth stood still , a classical Sci-Fi  film produced in 1951 in America causing a lot of controversy then as it is not the typical stupid shallow alien monster Hollywood film , it was a political film with important message the makers made it so clear to deliver directly to the audience without using strong language or metaphors in the beginning of the Cold war in the midst of the McCarthy infamous campaign, already some of the actors’ political views were taken in consideration.
It was basically based on the short novel “Farewell to the master” written Harry Bates  in year 1940 and strangely the movie plot turned to be much more captivating and beautiful than the original novel “you can read it completely here
It was starring Michel Rennie , Patricia Neal and Sam Jaffe
It was directed by Robert Wise
**Spoiler**
The Film plot is about an Alien hamonied “Klaatu” , more like a messenger who come to warn the people of earth that the other planets are scared from the atomic power who we used as weapons and that if we do not stop , the other planets will have to take a day preventative extreme measures against us. He should deliver to the leaders of the world , the whole world but of course the leaders of this world full of conflicts can’t gather in one place . I will not reveal more spoilers because it is good to see the film till the end
Some people say that there is a hidden religious message in the film as “Klaatu” used the name of Mr.Carpenter as his human name when he went to live with the people , some said that Mr.Carpenter was referring to Jesus Christ the messenger of Peace , how he returned back from the dead and the Almighty spirit.
To be honest I love old films whether in Hollywood or in Egypt , I love those Black& White films , I know a lot of actors from that golden old time. I will be biased towards this film from the artistic point of view.
Forget about the modest visual effects , the stupid sparkling alien Day_the_Earth_Stood_Still_1951 suite and helmet and the prototype of RoboCop  and unrelated Movie poster, remember there were no 3D computers nor animation nor Lucas  and his star wars’ Millennium falcon. I think it is simple in every thing and this is its beauty, it keeps watching it till the end.
Rennie did the role of “Klaatu/Mr.Carpenter presented the character as it should be , already his face is some how cold but his character is nice and polite and he managed to make you respect him, believe him and like him .
The music is fantastic , in fact the theme music of the film made me curious about it , already I listen to it through Yahoo! Launch Cast Film Score Radio Channel and it is great. Already it is not strange on its composer Bernard Hermann who used to make Alfred Hitchcock’s film scores.
It is worth to be watched , it is not a long one , it is only one hour and 28 minutes only.
By the way  Keanu Revees is going to represent a new remake to this film. I do not like Keanu that much and his films after the Matrix were big failure , the film looks to be so great and eye candy with visual effects the makers of 1951 film makers did not dream of having it. But I do not know I feel that such film does not need huge production and visual effects to deliver its message. After all I read that the professor is going to be presented by John Cleese for God Sake !!??
people in the old 1951 were so classy ,I do not know I am kind of vintage/retro girl .
Here is the original trailer
More info from Wikipedia :
Also the film and the score from Amazon


2 comments:

  1. The original Day the Earth Stood Still is without question, THE GREATEST sci-fi classic of all time! To this day it remains so, without harsh language, without over the top special effects and without a multi million dollar budget. It's a must see for all, young and old. I hope the producers/directors of the new remake realize they are only borrowing it's name, and won't attempt to reproduce flawless perfection...

    ReplyDelete
  2. @Neil Zwicker, I agree with you sir,this is a perfect film for me , you do not multi million dollar budget with great special effects to have film that can live and thrill till this day.

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