Released only six years after the end of World War II, The Day the Earth Stood Still is widely considered one of the best science fiction films ever made. Director Robert Wise’s 1951 plea for world peace still resonates after all these years. Producer Julian Blaustein set out to make a film that illustrated the fear and suspicion that characterized the start of the Cold War and the dawn of the atomic age. After reviewing over 200 science fiction short stories and novels in search of an idea, he settled on a short story by Harry Bates titled, “Farewell to the Master.”
Screenwriter Edmund H. North (Patton), fashioned a human drama that Wise managed to film as realistically as humanly possible. Now almost sixty years later, the story continues to pack a punch, especially as not a lot has changed regarding the tensions in the world, with terrorism replacing Cold Wars and missiles replacing bombs.
In the film a spacecraft lands in Washington, D.C., on a mission of peace. Predictably, the military surround it immediately, and when its lone living occupant, Klaatu (Michael Rennie), emerges, he is shot on sight. Klaatu recovers and it’s not long before we learn he’s come 250,000,000 miles to offer Earth an ultimatum. Clean up your act, he tells us, or face total annihilation. Klaatu is part of an intergalactic police force that makes sure aggressive planets like Earth, which have recently discovered the destructive potential of atomic power, don’t disrupt other, more tranquil planets in the universe. And to back up his mandate, Klaatu has brought with him a gigantic robot named Gort (Lock Martin) that has the power to destroy all mankind.
Klaatu wants to meet with representatives of every nation on Earth, but, proves difficult since the world leaders are too busy fighting over petty issues to meet and discuss anything seriously. Before meeting with anyone, Klaatu decides to get out among Earth’s population and find out firsthand why they’re such a suspicious and unreasonable group of people. He escapes a holding area the military has put him in and takes up residence in a local boardinghouse, where he meets some of the planet’s common people. In a veiled reference to the pacifist Christ, he calls himself “Mr. Carpenter,” an allusion furthered later in the movie when he comes back from the dead.
Living at the boardinghouse is Helen Benson (Patricia Neal) and her young son, Bobby (Billy Gray). Also in the cast are Hugh Marlowe (All About Eve) as Tom Stevens, Helen’s boyfriend, who embodies all of the worst traits of Mankind–ego, pettiness, selfishness, fearfulness; Francis Bavier (The Andy Griffith Show) as Mrs. Bailey, another resident at the boardinghouse; and Sam Jaffe (Gunga Din) as Professor Barnhardt, an Einstein-like scientist whose aid Klaatu seeks out. (Jaffe is made up to look like Einstein, so the comparison is unavoidable.)
Barnhardt is stunned when Klaatu declares that, if his message is rejected, “Planet Earth will be eliminated”. The professor pleads for Klaatu to first provide a small demonstration of his power as a warning. The film gets its title when Klaatu proves his strength by neutralizing all electric power throughout the world for thirty minutes. The question still remains, will Earth take heed or be subjected to Klaatu’s ultimate threat?
Despite the passage of so much time, The Day the Earth Stood Still remains in a class by itself. The message of world peace is universal, no matter the time or place. Director Robert Wise and screenwriter Edmund H. North developed a story that worked for the Cold War atmosphere the film was made under, but could easily be an allegory for modern times.
Fox presents The Day the Earth Stood Still on Blu-ray Disc in a re-mastered 1.33:1 1080p transfers encoded with AVC MPEG-4. This is a surprising crisp and clean presentation for a film shot almost half a century ago. The specks and dirt found on previous DVD releases are almost entirely removed yet the original grain is intact as it likely appeared on film so many years ago. Detail is astounding for a black-and-white presentation. From the slight folds in Gort’s armor to individual strands in Klaatu’s hair, the benefit of 1080p is clear. Contrast is smooth and deep enough to discern between the lighter and darker areas without muddying the picture.
There is some slight haloing in select scenes, especially around Klaatu’s dark suit against a light background. Given how everything else looks, this is a very minor issue.
The original 1.0 mono soundtrack and an all-new 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio track are available to choose from. Most of the dialogue and sound effects come straight from the center channel and are equally mixed so one doesn’t overpower the other. The other two front channels are used less frequently but further extend the soundtrack, while the surrounds receive a gentle replication of what’s going on in the front to fill out the room.
The 5.1 mix is especially aggressive and satisfying in its treatment of the score. The deep bass combined with the Theremin create a great eerie atmosphere that extenuates the viewing experience.
This edition has plenty of special features:
Gort Command! Game (HD, Blu-ray exclusive) – This BD-J interactive game requires using the arrows on a remote to move an aiming reticule around screen in order to target and shoot army soldiers and police officers. It starts relatively easy and then quickly grows progressively hard by the third level. The game is simple but fun, only hampered by pre-set movements for the aiming reticule instead of free movement anywhere on the screen and a lack of accompanying audio.
Sneak Peek at the 2008 The Day the Earth Stood Still: (7:49, HD)
Starting off the disc is an expanded trailer-like peek into the 2008 remake of The Day the Earth Stood Still, starring Keanu Reeves and Jennifer Connelly.
Commentary with Robert Wise and Nicholas Meyer:
Starting immediately out of the gate with textual information, this is a highly informational and exceedingly dense commentary. It’s not overly scene-specific as far as the flow goes, only reminding us here and there that they’re actually going along with the film, but all the information that Wise regurgitates with Meyer moderating is astounding. It’s more like listening to an interview instead of a commentary, but it’s fascinating none the less.
New Commentary with Host of Film and Music Historians:
Part of the big focus for this new special edition is concentrating on the music from the film, which gets intense focus here from John Morgan, Steven Smith, William Stromberg, and Nick Redman. They blend together music-specific material — tones used in the score, specific instruments, etc — with generic film-based impressions that they share, which offers a nice change of pace from straight musically-geared material.
Isolated Score Track:
As mentioned in the commentary, there’s not an overwhelming amount of music present in The Day the Earth Stood Still. Because of this, there are very lengthy gaps of silence in this isolated track. However, when the musical elements kick into gear, it’s hard not to get swept up in the entrancing nature of their eeriness and moody flutters. Moods match so well in this score, from the tracks present around the cemetery to the full-throttle tension pieces near the end of the film.
Making of The Day the Earth Stood Still: (23:53, HD)
This featurette covers conceptualization and actor impressions regarding the film. There is the standard footage/interview/still shot material, but it also incorporates some archival recorded interviews.
The Mysterious, Melodious Theremin (5:39 HD):
Peter Pringle gives us the low-down on the Theremin, the signature musical instrument used to make that eerie high-pitched noise in ’50s science fiction flicks. The best part of this featurette is the fact that the Theremin that Pringle is playing is the actual one used to compose the tracks for The Day the Earth Stood Still.
The Day the Earth Stood Still Live Performance (2:17 HD):
Peter Pringle then goes on to play the two-minute introduction piece that starts out The Day the Earth Stood Still.
Interactive Theremin: Create Your Own Score (HD, Blu-ray exclusive) – This is the perfect exclamation point to the Theremin after watching Peter show off on it. You “play” the Theremin by selecting from eight one-second notes and one one-second rest to create 30 seconds of music. Once previewed, edited and completed, you can insert your composition on top of the scene where Gort exits the spaceship.
Farewell to the Master (41:27 + 29:32 + 25:59):
Harry Bates’ short story as it originally appeared in publication is narrated by Jamieson K. Price in dramatic fashion.
Also included are a MovieTonewsNews Reel (6:51) , a Teaser Trailer, a Theatrical Trailer, and a Trailer for the 2008 Remake of The Day the Earth Stood Still.
Decoding “Klaatu Barada Nikto” (16:11):
Probably the most memorable words from the film, this featurette deciphers the symbolism and meaning behind the words uttered from Klaatu in the film. Instantly, it kicks into a USA/Soviet discussion, as it starts to analyze the themes present regarding aggression and war in our world.
A Brief History of Flying Saucers (34:00 HD):
Exactly as it says, this featurette hammers through the history of UFOs, the reports, and the types of people who report reported both false and true events. A slew of historians and scientists dive relatively deep into some of these occurrences, which feeds some of the curiosity sparked during the film to research some of the real events that have taken place. One interesting tidbit comes in a research project conducted at Harvard regarding hypnosis and the sensation/memory of alien abduction.
Edmund North: The Man Who Made the Earth Stand Still (14:43 HD)
Edmund North, typically an anti-war film writer responsible for Patton as well, becomes the focus in this featurette. It slides through his history all the way to his younger years, chronicling his achievements and unique style via interview time with friends, colleagues, and family
The Astounding Harry Bates (11:02 HD)
Considering that a lot isn’t really known about Harry Bates, the interviewees find plenty to discuss in this featurette of the author of The Day the Earth Stood Still’s short story inspiration.
Race to Oblivion: A Documentary Short Written & Produced by Edmund North (26:52)
Rounding out the featurettes, North’s anti-war piece Race to Oblivion is included here. The quality’s pretty rough, but you’ll get the idea.
Interactive Pressbook:
Here, we’ve got a series of posters, newspaper clippings, and advertisements that can all be accessed by way of clicking with the remote to interact with each element. Textual information and photographs pop up at each click, which makes for a VERY lengthy, dense amount of reading regarding the film. It’s a stellar design and extremely thorough.
Galleries:
Also included are a host of galleries, most of which come from the previous Studio Classics release. Here’s a list of the categories: Advertising Gallery, Behind-the-Scenes Gallery, Portrait Gallery, Production Gallery, Spaceship Construction Blueprints, and Shooting Script.
