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Movies / On DVD / Day the Earth Stood Still
Day the Earth Stood Still

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Day the Earth Stood Still (1951)

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Reviews Counted:48

Fresh:45

Rotten:3

Average Rating:7.9/10

Consensus: Socially minded yet entertaining, The Day the Earth Stood Still imparts its moral of peace and understanding without didacticism.

Runtime: 1 hr 33 mins

Genre: Science-Fiction/Fantasy

Synopsis: Beginning with a documentary style that immediately hooks the viewer, THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL, based on the Harry Bates short story "Farewell to the Master," becomes as much a human interest... Beginning with a documentary style that immediately hooks the viewer, THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL, based on the Harry Bates short story "Farewell to the Master," becomes as much a human interest story as it does a sci-fi B-movie classic. The film soberly depicts the arrival of an alien dignitary, Klaatu (Michael Rennie), who has come to earth with his deadly robot, Gort (Lock Martin), to deliver the message that earthlings must stop warring among themselves--or else. After being shot at by ignorant, panicky military guards, Klaatu is brought to a Washington, D.C., hospital, where he begs a sympathetic but frank Major White (Robert Osterloh) to gather all the world's leaders so he can tell them more specifically what he has come 250 million miles to warn them about. Losing patience, Klaatu slips into the human world, adapting a false identity and living at a boarding house where he meets a smart woman with a conscience, Helen Benson (Patricia Neal), and her inquisitive son, Bobby (Billy Gray). Both mother and son soon find themselves embroiled in the complex mystery of Klaatu, his message, and the government's witch hunt for the alien. Made during the cold war--when Americans were obsessed with the destructive capabilities of the atomic bomb--THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL, thanks to its beautiful pacing, excellent dialogue, and haunting score by Bernard Herrmann, is still a treat for contemporary audiences. [More]

Starring: Michael Rennie, Patricia Neal, Hugh Marlowe, Sam Jaffe

Starring: Michael Rennie, Patricia Neal, Hugh Marlowe, Sam Jaffe, Billy Gray, Frances Bavier, Lock Martin, Drew Pearson, Frank Conroy, Edith Evanson, Tyler McVey

Director: Robert Wise

Director: Robert Wise
Screenwriter: Edmund H. North
Producer: Julian C. Blaustein
Composer: Bernard Herrmann

[See More Credits]

Reviews for Day the Earth Stood Still

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1 - 20 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 3 >> >|
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This is a superbly crafted, landmark film which invested a much-derided -- and frequently ludicrous -- genre with a welcome degree of dignity and respectability.

Full Review Source: Empire Magazine | comment Comment
03/04/06
Angie Errigo
Angie Errigo
Empire Magazine
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Edmund H North's intelligent script and Wise's smooth direction are serious without being solemn, while Bernard Herrmann's effectively alien-sounding score reinforces the atmosphere of strangeness and potential menace.

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
01/26/06
Time Out
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

It is a handsome, thoughtful fable with a thriller element and a slightly evasive ending.

comment Comment
11/08/02
Paul Arendt
Paul Arendt
Teletext

Embora soe ingênuo e mesmo datado para os dias de hoje, permanece interessante graças à figura enigmática e superior de Rennie e à ameaça representada pelo impassível Gort.

comment Comment
01/10/09
Pablo Villaca
Pablo Villaca
Cinema em Cena

An enduring film property with an unforgettable catch phrase ('Klaatu barada nikto')...[and] socially conscious themes. [Blu-ray]

Full Review Source: Groucho Reviews | comment Comment
12/30/08
Peter Canavese
Peter Canavese
Groucho Reviews

...remains a cut above the majority of its campy '50s brethren...

Full Review Source: Reel Film Reviews | comment Comment
12/30/08
David Nusair
David Nusair
Reel Film Reviews

Made at the time as a plead for international peace, its message should still ring true today where the world picture is more complex and, in many ways, more splintered and dangerous.

Full Review Source: Movie Views | comment Comment
12/23/08
Ryan Cracknell
Ryan Cracknell
Movie Views

More thoughtful and restrained than most sci-fi of the period, The Day the Earth Stood Still has aged better than almost all of its peers.

Full Review Source: Decent Films Guide | comment Comment
12/12/08
Steven D. Greydanus
Steven D. Greydanus
Decent Films Guide

...dispels any notion you might have about shlocky science fiction.

Full Review Source: LarsenOnFilm | comment Comment
12/02/08
Josh Larsen
Josh Larsen
LarsenOnFilm

Iconic from the get-go.

Full Review Source: Slant Magazine | comment Comment
12/02/08
Bill Weber
Bill Weber
Slant Magazine

The Day the Earth Stood Still may at first look like goofy, outdated science fiction, but its timeless warnings about violence, nuclear confrontation and the difficulties of policing the planet have made it an enduring cultural classic.

Full Review Source: Denver Post | comment Comment
10/05/07
Michael Booth
Michael Booth
Denver Post

Like most of Robert Wise's work, this slickly constructed 1951 science fiction film settles squarely in the middle of its genre, better than some and worse than others.

Full Review Source: Chicago Reader | comment Comment
06/04/07
Dave Kehr
Dave Kehr
Chicago Reader

Superb performances by all involved, restrained direction by Wise, and a magnificent and innovative score by Bernard Herrmann help keep this 35-year-old film just as relevant today as it was the day it was released.

Full Review Source: TV Guide's Movie Guide | comment 1 Comment
06/04/07
TV Guide's Movie Guide
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Cast, although secondary to the story, works well.

Full Review Source: Variety | comment Comment
06/04/07
Variety
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

The naivete of some of the film's thinking is trumped by the virtue that it's thinking at all, and that it asks us to do likewise.

Full Review Source: DVDJournal.com | comment Comment
04/15/06
Mark Bourne
Mark Bourne
DVDJournal.com

No review available.

comment Comment
11/10/05
Frank Swietek
Frank Swietek
One Guy's Opinion

Very good, but slowish and slightly high-minded.

Full Review Source: Combustible Celluloid | comment Comment
09/18/05
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Combustible Celluloid

still fantastic

Full Review Source: sbs.is | comment Comment
07/08/05
Stefan Birgir Stefansson
Stefan Birgir Stefansson
sbs.is

No review available.

comment Comment
07/08/05
Philip Martin
Philip Martin
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

No review available.

comment Comment
07/03/05
Brandon Judell
Brandon Judell
Critics Inc./America Online
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 3 >> >|
all

Latest News for Day the Earth Stood Still

December 12, 2008: UK Critics Consensus: The Day The Earth Stood Still, Still Stinks
With Christmas looming large, and no Potter on the schedule, we have two fantasy flicks in the UK cinemas jostling for your hard-earned galleons. We have sci-fi remake The Day... More...

March 24, 2008: Kim Newman on... The Invisible Boy
RT Obscura, the exclusive column by renowned critic Kim Newman, sees the writer plumbing the depths of the RT archive in search of some forgotten gems. In his 14th column, Kim... More...

November 06, 2007: Jennifer Connelly Joins The Day the Earth Stood Still
Variety reports that Jennifer Connelly has signed on to star in 20th Century Fox's Scott Derrickson-directed The Day the Earth Stood Still. More...

August 27, 2007: Keanu Making New Earth Stood Still
Time to set the "Days Without a Remake Announcement" counter back to zero, folks -- and this time around, Keanu Reeves is getting in on the action: Variety reports that Reeves... More...

See All

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