The Day the Earth Stood Still- 1951- Directed by Robert Wise

The Day the Earth Stood Still- 1951- Directed by Robert Wise

This is a very cool movie, felt a bit long in time but still really enjoyable. The promise of this film is interesting as well; a spaceman (Klaatu) comes to earth to warn the earthlings about our destructive ways in regards to our use of atomic weapons. The space man claims that we are a threat to the safety of the entire universe and therefore must be stopped or be destroyed.

Opening scene, a flying saucer descends onto a Washington DC park, the spaceship door slides open and a man in a spacesuit walks out and in a matter of moments he is shot by a soldier. Soon after a huge robot walks out of the spaceship and begins to melt the military’s firearms and tanks. Klaatu asks the robot to stop and then is taken to a hospital. His gunshot wound is completely healed by the following morning; the doctors are stunned and baffled. Meanwhile the robot (Gort) is as still as a statue in front of the spaceship. This spaceship is very smooth, seamless, shiny and very solid it also makes up for the bulk of special effects used in this film. The U.S military can't even get into the spaceship at all, they chip, they weld and bang but nothing seems to work, unmovable the spaceship and Gort remain in spot and are under constant military supervision. Under questioning Klaatu reveals he has a message that must be told to all of the earth’s leaders but only at the same time as to not give any one country leverage with his message. Klaatu is informed by a US government official that his request is impossible due to political tension all over the world. Klaatu escapes his containment in search of Earth’s most intelligent beings, meanwhile Klaatu blends right in with the natives, which delivers a bit of comic relief because Klaatu is eventually seen at a dinner table with other normal people discussing the alien’s potential reasons for coming to Earth, All the people at the table are suspecting of Klaatu’s true identity, he is even trusted enough to babysit one of the other tenant’s child. Klaatu and the boy spend the day with each other sightseeing, they unbelievably visit the spaceship site and oddly no one can tell that he is the alien from another world that everyone is on the lookout for. Klaatu eventually meets a scientist and explains the reasons for his Earth visit. Klaatu asks the scientist to organize a meeting of the world's smartest scientists and inventors to help deliver his message of the Earth’s potential destruction; he also offers a demonstration of his powers by shutting down all mechanized objects for 30 minutes around the world. If that were to happen in our modern day I’m quite certain mass hysteria would ensue after about five minutes, twitter withdrawals would follow. So everything is building up to Klaatu’s meeting to deliver his message and as he is on his way to the meeting his secret location is compromised and he is shot down in the middle of the street. Gort is signaled to retrieve Klaatu and bring him back to the spaceship where Klaatu is temporarily brough back to life so he can address the masses assembled outside the spaceship. Klaatu tells the people of earth that they are in danger of being destroyed if they continue their explorations into weapons and space. It feels like Klaatu is not just speaking to the characters in the movie but the viewer as well, leaving us with something to think about in regards to our own actions and decision.