Director: Robert Wise
Genre: Science
Fiction/ Drama
Runtime: 88
minutes
Year: 1951
Starring: Michael
Rennie, Patricia Neal, Hugh Marlowe, Sam Jaffe Billy Gray, Francis Bavier, Lock
Martin
I WATCHED THIS MOVIE FOR MY 2021 MOVIE CHALLENGE.
WEEK 43: A MOVIE FROM THE YEAR YOUR DAD WAS BORN
Description: An alien
(Michael Rennie) lands in Washington D.C. and tells the people of Earth that
they must live peacefully or be destroyed as a danger to other planets.
Review: Director Robert Wise is known for classic musicals like “The Sound of
Music” and “West Side Story”, but before that he made the classic science
fiction film “The Day the Earth Stood Still”. A film that is more a political
drama than science fiction, however, has a message that is still relevant
today. The film was remade in 2008, which was more of a popcorn action movie,
whereas it was the content and suspenseful build-up to the finale that made the
original so strong.
Even though the film starts
off with the landing of a fake-looking UFO and an even less convincing-looking
robot, as of that moment the story takes on interesting implications and the
message and theme become more and more prominent.
Mankind is driven by fear
and known only the language of aggression and violence in a situation like
this. Everything foreign is hostile, and is therefore best eliminated. Even in
the face of uncertainty, it is best to assume this.
The way the tension is
generated in the film is very effective. The emphasis on drama, dialogue and
atmospheric setting makes for a fascinating film.
Rating: 3,5/
5
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