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FORMAT: Blu-Ray
UPC: 0-24543-55466-0
RELEASED: 2008-12-02
TITLE: The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951) • G • 1:32:11
Michael Rennie, Patricia Neal, Hugh Marlowe, Sam Jaffe
Robert Wise (Director)
The ORIGINAL thinking-man's science fiction movie. Those of you that have seen it KNOW what I'm talking about (and can skip my rather long-winded musings and go directly to the "VIDEO" and "AUDIO" portion of this review). For the rest of you: please, read on.
If you are one of those people who was raised on the action-oriented, extremely loud, special-effects driven, "sci-fi" movies of the last twenty, or so, years (hey, I ain't hatin', I liked most of them too), AND you have yet to see this movie, then probably EVERYTHING that you see and hear ABOUT it will make it seem like another potentially huge waste of time — a waste of time, that the old-timers (like your mom and dad), for reasons known only to them, are always ranting and raving about how YOU should drop everything and watch it NOW, because of how great THEY think it is. Yes, it is a black-and-white movie from the fifties (the poodle skirt wearing, tail-finned car driving, pipe-smoking father-knows-best NINETEEN-FIFTIES(!!!), for heaven's sake). Yes, the special-effects are dated, and, in some cases, even kinda cheesy looking. And, yes, it does star a bunch of people that you have probably NEVER heard of. However, every "serious" science fiction aficionado (i.e.—someone who READS science fiction, as well as, WATCHES it) that I have EVER met LOVES this movie. Heck, every self-professed non-sci-fi person (young or old) that I've ever corralled into watching this movie, has — at the VERY least — liked it (and usually LOVED it). The main reasons being: that it is very well written, it is very well directed, it has very good acting, and (for its day) it has high production values (In fact, this movie (along with "
The Thing from Another World
" [commonly known as The "original" Thing]) were the first "modern" science fiction movies that were released by a major studio [Fox for this movie and RKO for "The Thing" — also, because of their HUGE popularity, they helped to quickly usher in the 1950's science fiction "craze"]). Also, its main plot points, regarding paranoia and fear, are still VERY relevant today.
I think, if you keep an open mind (and focus on the message of the film) while watching it, that you will be VERY pleasantly surprised at how much you actually like this movie — plus, you'll finally know what the old-timers are talking about when they say things like "Gort! Klaatu barada nicto!" around you. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
See the other reviews for more detail and/or other opinions regarding the plot of the movie.
VIDEO: 1.37:1 • B&W • 1080p • MPEG-4 AVC (35.3 Mbps)
Fox Home Video is to be commended for its first-rate results in the re-mastering of this classic 1950's sci-fi gem. Because, this transfer exhibits very-good to frequently excellent picture quality — due, I'm sure, to its MUCH higher than average bit-rate (particularly for an "old", 4:3, B&W, movie). Another reason for the commendation is, that there were virtually NO artifacts such as black specks, white dots, hair-lines or dropped frames (though there was some weird fluttering for a few frames starting at approximately 1:10:50 into the movie, which is very likely because of the source elements used). In addition, sharpness and detail (except for some rather obvious stock footage, and some (probably) second-unit outdoor shots) are usually EXCELLENT throughout most of the film — with the textures of hair-styles, clothing and furnishings being readily apparent and natural looking. (In fact, the sharpness in this version is so good that, for the first time ever, in my 18 or 19 viewings of this movie, I could CLEARLY see black support wires holding Patricia Neal as Gort carried her into the spaceship!) Also, contrast and gray scale are VERY good overall, and in the outdoor daytime scenes, and in most of the well-lit indoor scenes, even excellent; however, there is almost NO shadow detail (and LOTS of black crush) in nearly all of the outdoor nighttime scenes (which, given the age of the film, is acceptable [at least, to me]). The only major issue that I find with this restoration and transfer of the film is that, it is SO GOOD that you see just how BAD and dated most of the special-effects are in the movie — which, all things considered, is a very nice "problem" to have. Overall, this movie's presentation on blu-ray has VERY good picture quality, and should satisfy all but the VERY pickiest of viewers.
AUDIO: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (48kHz, 24-bit)
Fox Home Video has also done extensive clean-up work, and a 5.1 re-mix, on the film's soundtrack. First-off, the good news is that there are no loud bumps nor objectionably high levels of hiss to be found anywhere. In addition, the dialog is very clear and all voices are easily understood — however, dynamic range is quite limited, and there isn't very much bottom-end nor any top-end to speak of (which makes the few sound effects contained in the movie seem a little harsh and constrained). Finally, although the soundtrack has been redone as a "5.1" re-mix, it is still essentially a MONOPHONIC soundtrack; yes, there is music (surprisingly good sounding music, considering its age) in the surrounds — but there is VERY little else there (aside from VERY infrequent crowd-noises and RARE environmental street-sounds). Overall, considering the age of the source elements and the fact that this is (despite proclamations to the contrary) still a monophonic, dialog-driven, movie from the early 1950's, its soundtrack has more than acceptable sound quality.
EXTRAS: Director's commentary
Commentary by several Film and Music Historians
Several 'Making Of' videos
Several Featurettes
Newsreel
Interactive Games
Trailers
None of the extras were reviewed.
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Customer reviews
Still a classic; The Day The Earth Stood Still(1951)
Reviewed in the United States on January 20, 2017
I first watched this excellent movie in the early 60's in black and white and it was a classic then as it is now.The remake is not exactly the same but is also good because of the special affects.About 11 years later I was 21 and went into the U.S. Secret Service and I got to see some of the actuallocations where that film was made. Especially since I worked at the White House and I could see theEllipse just south of the White House.Billy Gray is an excellent actor and played Jim Thorpe(later Burt Lancaster) when Thorpe was a young boy.Michael Rennie is the perfect Klaatu as is Patricia Neal as Mrs. Benson and all the others.Being former law enforcement I sometimes wondered what it would be like if we had a GORT too?I know there are Aliens here, but I don't think they woudl want to harm the Earth as it is a plethora of Life thatwe still know nothing about.
Reviewed in the United States on January 20, 2017
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Top reviews from the United States
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They're Real... We Are Not Alone!
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A B&W lesson in human nature
Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on August 12, 2020Robert Morris
Great film... but not a "steelbook" edition
Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on March 20, 2019Brian Lucas
Great Classic of Sci-Fi.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on August 2, 2016
Great Classic of Sci-Fi.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on August 2, 2016
Okay, this film produced post WWII sparked other Sci-fi films down this road, despite it's age the underlying story remains good, and if you like black & white film with all it's shades of colour, and great angle shots, this will make your evening viewing worth it... and leads you on, to an interesting plot, that today may seem stinted or under played; however the acting is truly good and in character too, not overly played if you understand the political situation of it's time 1951. Gort the robot is in a rubber suite, but all-in-all works well for this NO CGI film, however the UFO landing is a true art-form of the production house, the animation is amazing for it's day; my only niggle is the crowd seen, by cranking-up the speed it spoils this shot; but costs to produce or re-shot was not an option... by-the-way, the remake of this classic was a disaster ? in my option; re-makes NEVER give the same sense of adventure once your hooked on the original; otherwise take a viewing of this film, I be surprised if you don't like it, that is unless your not a Science Fiction fan.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on August 2, 2016
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The narrative is a relatively simple one, but the message is powerful.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on March 31, 2016
