Movie: The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951)
Both TODS and I had seen this movie many years ago (separately, before we met). We wanted to see the new one, but also wanted to rewatch the old one since neither of us remembered it very distinctly.
What a great movie! The choice to design the spaceship and the robot with stark simplicity and a minimum of special effects means that the visuals haven't dated much. I love the idea that the female lead is a thirty-something working single mom, and the relationship between her and Klaatu isn't exactly romantic; the movie avoids a lot of sci-fi clichés. It's also a lean movie, fast-paced without any wasted scenes. Very enjoyable.
TODS says that he really appreciated, when Klaatu doesn't have success with the politicians, he asks to speak with a philosopher. I liked that too!
The DVD (from Netflix) came with a bunch of extra features, mostly on the other side. There were two theatrical trailers for other movies: One Million Years B.C., which might be so-bad-it's-fun to rent sometime, and Journey to the Center of the Earth, which we watched last year. It also had the theatrical trailer for The Day the Earth Stood Still, which made me very happy that we had both already seen the movie, because it gave way too much away.
There was also a newsreel from 1951. It was presumably included because it featured a clip about the movie winning an award, but the lead story was about a gathering of nations--including some Communist countries who were criticized and even mocked by the narrator--to sign a peace treaty, which is very topical given the message of the movie.
And there was a fascinating DVD extra with pressbooks that were sent out to movie theaters featuring suggestions on how they could promote the movie, including sound effects records to be played in the lobby and robot masks, possibly to be worn by the theater staff or perhaps to be given away to patrons.
I feel compelled to mention here that about three or four times over my Latin-teaching career, a first-semester student has come up to me and asked me to translate "that Latin phrase from Army of Darkness, the one they use to open the book." I always have to control myself not to laugh in the poor kid's face as I gently explain that Klaatu barada nikto isn't Latin, it's from The Day the Earth Stood Still.
What a great movie! The choice to design the spaceship and the robot with stark simplicity and a minimum of special effects means that the visuals haven't dated much. I love the idea that the female lead is a thirty-something working single mom, and the relationship between her and Klaatu isn't exactly romantic; the movie avoids a lot of sci-fi clichés. It's also a lean movie, fast-paced without any wasted scenes. Very enjoyable.
TODS says that he really appreciated, when Klaatu doesn't have success with the politicians, he asks to speak with a philosopher. I liked that too!
The DVD (from Netflix) came with a bunch of extra features, mostly on the other side. There were two theatrical trailers for other movies: One Million Years B.C., which might be so-bad-it's-fun to rent sometime, and Journey to the Center of the Earth, which we watched last year. It also had the theatrical trailer for The Day the Earth Stood Still, which made me very happy that we had both already seen the movie, because it gave way too much away.
There was also a newsreel from 1951. It was presumably included because it featured a clip about the movie winning an award, but the lead story was about a gathering of nations--including some Communist countries who were criticized and even mocked by the narrator--to sign a peace treaty, which is very topical given the message of the movie.
And there was a fascinating DVD extra with pressbooks that were sent out to movie theaters featuring suggestions on how they could promote the movie, including sound effects records to be played in the lobby and robot masks, possibly to be worn by the theater staff or perhaps to be given away to patrons.
I feel compelled to mention here that about three or four times over my Latin-teaching career, a first-semester student has come up to me and asked me to translate "that Latin phrase from Army of Darkness, the one they use to open the book." I always have to control myself not to laugh in the poor kid's face as I gently explain that Klaatu barada nikto isn't Latin, it's from The Day the Earth Stood Still.