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The Day the Earth Stood Still [VHS]

Michael Rennie (Actor), Patricia Neal (Actor), Robert Wise (Director) Rated:

Format: VHS Tape

2,154 customer reviews

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The Day The Earth Stood Still (1951)

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The Day the Earth Stood Still [VHS]

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VHS Tape
$25.99

Product details

Actors: Michael Rennie, Patricia Neal, Hugh Marlowe, Sam Jaffe, Billy Gray
Directors: Robert Wise
Writers: Edmund H. North, Harry Bates
Producers: Julian Blaustein
Format: Black & White, HiFi Sound, NTSC
Language: English, French, Hindi
Rated:
G
General Audience
Number of tapes: 1
Studio: Fox Home Entertainme
VHS Release Date: June 30, 1998
Run Time: 92 minutes
Average Customer Review: 2,154 customer reviews
ASIN: 6302168465
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #224,193 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

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Editorial Reviews

Product description

Alternate cover, great condition

Amazon.com

A hallmark of the science fiction genre as well as a wry commentary on the political climate of the 1950s, The Day the Earth Stood Still is a sci-fi movie less concerned with special effects than with a social parable. A spacecraft lands in Washington, D.C., carrying a humanoid messenger from another world (Michael Rennie) imparting a warning to the people of Earth to cease their violent behavior. But panic ensues as the messenger lands and is shot by a nervous soldier. His large robot companion destroys the Capitol as the messenger escapes the confines of the hospital. He moves in with a family as a boarder and blends into society to observe the full range of the human experience. Director Robert Wise (West Side Story) not only provides one of the most recognizable icons of the science fiction world in his depiction of the massive robot loyal to his master, but he avoids the obvious camp elements of the story to create a quiet and observant story highlighting both the good and the bad in human nature. --Robert Lane

Customer reviews

2,154

4.8 out of 5 stars

5 star		83%
4 star		12%
3 star		3%
2 star		1%
1 star		1%

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Top customer reviews

Plato Verado Nick to !

ByDan Wright Near Biglerville, Pa. Who'd Guess?on July 13, 2015

Format: Amazon VideoVerified Purchase

This is one of "them" movies that will never grow old, at least not to me. How anyone, except, a person with an exceptional mind, way back then (1945-1949), come up with the IDEA of "Artificial Intelligence" is so awesome ! And with a Prime Directive as "Destroy" "The Aggressor With Extreme Prejudice" IS ALMOST TOO COOL FOR WORD ! Check it out !

0Comment 6 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you?YesNo

Pretty decent film making.

ByRaisuli the Magnificenton April 5, 2017

Format: Blu-rayVerified Purchase

This classic scifi film will not play on my computer for some reason. I'm assuming there's some anti-piracy software running, which is odd since where I do have two external bluray drives, I don't actually have any copying software, and both bluray drives are read-only. Oh well.

The movie is about as I remember it from way back when. One of the guys on the "making of" documentary included on the disk states that the film has a documentary feel to it. Eh, maybe. I got more of a sense that it had more of a film noire vibe going visually with all the harsh shadows and high contrast shots.

The acting is on par for an early 1950s offering--a kind of natural yet comported behavioral norm when people were a little more polite. The message, however, now that I'm a middle aged dude, doesn't strike me as being very sound; i.e. "We'll kill you if you stir any trouble" kind of thing. Well, okay, that's kind of what all international policies are guided by these days, but Klaatu's race promises annihilation, and not just simple conquest. I mean, wow. Is that really how a superior species or race greets newcomers on the interstellar scene?

It is a 1950s film, and so it has a somewhat hokey feel to it with the theramin music going on combined with the stereotypical flying saucer and giant killer robot. It's a window into science fiction film making from another period. It has some good messages, but it also has some messages that maybe you should think about for a bit before agreeing or disagreeing.

Either way it's slower paced and enjoyable. No massive battles, no intricate action scenes with lots of derring-do, none of the usual stuff that unfortunately pollutes a lot of scifi made for today's pre-to-post teen audiences. Take it for what it's worth, relax and enjoy on your day off from work.

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First and best

ByWoodsy Nileson July 14, 2017

Format: Blu-rayVerified Purchase

This is one of the first of the 1950s flying saucer movies and arguably the best. The many extra features on the Blu-ray disc alone justify the purchase. According to the "making of" feature, the producers ultimately decided against casting Spencer Tracy and Claude Rains as Klaatu, preferring to use an unknown Michael Rennie which time has proven to be the right choice.

The smooth simplicity of the saucer rendered it timeless even as much more recent, highly detailed movie spacecrafts appear much more dated. Combine a compelling script, flawless direction, excellent acting and effective special effects and you have the perfect template for the 1950s sci-fi movie genre.

I showed it to my young nephew and he loved it, especially the part where Gort's ocular death ray predated the metal robot in "Thor" by over 60 years. This film also helped him to develop a more mature attention span that doesn't require constant explosions and special effects to hold his interest. He got into the acting and the building tension, and really related to the Billy Gray character.

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One of the best sci-fi movies of all time

ByMatthew Irvinon May 6, 2016

Format: Amazon VideoVerified Purchase

For me, this movie is the standard by which all other Sci-Fi films of the era should be judged and, frankly, very few come even close to meeting the quality of "The Day The Earth Stood Still." The theme is idealistic; the writing is compelling; the production values equal the best of the early 1950s; and the cast is magnificent, especially Michael Rennie and Patricia Neal. Even the special effects are quite good for the times (and should not at all be judged by today's standards, though aren't terrible if they are). I have never seen the remake; not sure I want to. I'm sure the CGI is fantastic, but I cannot imagine any other way the original could be topped.

0Comment 3 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you?YesNo

Don't Panick!

ByCheri Armstrongon September 20, 2015

Format: DVDVerified Purchase

I have grown to love the Day The Earth Stood Still with Keanu Reeves but this version with Michael Rennie is still the best in this little old lady's opinion. This movie was shown (and reshown) on television when kids were instructed to "drop, duck and cover" under their desks during school drills at a time when the threat of nuclear holocaust was greatest. The only purpose of said drills I can figure was to keep the kids from panicking in the event the situation had become an actual emergency. Who knows? Maybe the message movies like this brought influenced world leaders to refrain from pushing that red button!