DVD Review : The Day The Earth Stood Still

"Tell GORT "Klaatu Barada Nikto"". These are some of the most famous words in science fiction. And I had never heard them before last week. "The Day The Earth Stood Still" on DVD was simply one of the best DVDs I had seen all year and probably one of the best science fiction films I had seen ever.

For those of you not familiar with the plot it's about a spaceship that lands in Washington DC, which captures the attention of the world. But soon an alien emissary appears from the ship. But it refuses to talk to any one person. Leaving the military, the politicians, and millions of ordinary people to wait in fear. Soon their fear turns to violence, leaving one young woman and her son to befriend the alien...and stand between him and our total destruction.


For a film that was shot in 1951 there are a ton of parallels to today. From our increasing tension with Russia to the lock down and mistrust of foreign people in the US today. This movie screams Cold War tension but when you look deeper you can see it's the classic disruptive nature of people in general. No matter what the time period or the level of technology the human species has always been violent. The film really brings this home through the great acting, amazing special fx (for the day) and an amazing radass musical score. Not many films can rest on their amazing soundtrack but this one could if it needed to. In fact it even comes with the isolated score track. Meaning you can have the film run and hear nothing but the great music.

Speaking of DVD features this one comes packed. For a movie from 1951 they have a ton of info from old photos to Fox Movietonews and more. The DVD comes with commentary from the director, film and music commentary, The History of the Thermin, A Live performance of the thermin main titles, A reading of the original short story, Science Fiction as Metaphor, A Brief History of Flying Saucers, Still Galleries and more. Truly a shining example of what a DVD can and should be. Simply amazing.

All in all I give this DVD a A+. This one is a must buy for fans of any genre.

P.S. And yes you can skip the remake. This is the real deal.