From the first warbling strains of the soundtrack, The Day The Earth Stood Still is 100% sci-fi, at a time when sci-fi movies were in a sort of heyday.  The use of the nuclear bomb on Japan in World War II had the whole world fearing destruction at the hands of science, and the weapons it helped to create.  But the simple message that sci-fi tried to make clear was that nuclear energy doesn't make animals grow to huge size and attack towns by itself.  It takes humans doing experiments, or humans testing weapons.  On its own, nuclear power doesn't kill anyone...until humans turn it into a weapon.  This is an often overlooked viewpoint, and no where has it ever been made so clear a lesson than in The Day The Earth Stood Still (TDTESS).

When a spacecraft lands in Washington, no one quite knows what to expect.  The first inclinations of the human populace is to panic and flee from the unknown.  But the next, as it usually happens, is to respond with weaponry.  The army surrounds the craft with tanks, soldiers, cannons and all manner of aggressive tools, but the craft doesn't stir.  As the people of the world begin to come out of hiding, curiosity taking over for fear, tensions relax and anxiety begins to fade.  But never rule out the natural inclination of humans to be violent and dominant.

As the door to the craft opens and a humanoid alien emerges, the eyes of the entire planet are fixed on the coverage; ears glued to radios.  The first words from this alien being are spoken: "We have come to visit you in peace and with good will."  Only moments after these words are spoken a misinterpreted movement causes a soldier to get a little jumpy and a shot rings out.  The alien grunts in pain and falls to the ground, grievously wounded.  Thus ends the first contact of humans with an alien race.

The wounded individual is Klaatu, and he has traveled a long way to get to Earth.  Far too long of a journey to be simply shot when he arrived, especially given the message he is delivering on behalf of a great many other intelligences that share the universe with Earth.  It seems that our blue planet has been monitored by these other beings, and they are concerned with what they have seen.  As Earth enters the space age, and there have been advances in rockets and a look forward to space travel, the others who call space their home are a bit concerned.  

Humans are so destructive after all.  What can be expected of a people who brutalize each other and are in a constant state of war across the face of their planet.  Now they have harnessed the power of nuclear energy and prepare to work their destructive way into the cosmos...this can simply not be allowed.

And so it is that Klaatu brings an ultimatum.  Humankind must cease its continuing struggles and warlike ways, or in an attempt to save themselves, the united alien peoples will destroy the Earth entirely.  But a message of such importance cannot be delivered so easily.  With a hostile government seeking to detain Klaatu and a world full of those who would "kill the messenger", so to speak, it will be up to one single mother and her young son to save the future of mankind.

This movie is of a special importance in today's world, as it delivers messages eerily similar to those delivered by our own country.  We have begun a War On Terrorism and have issued the ultimatum to the world that those who promote violence or harbor those who do, will suffer the wrath of our civilization.  Strange that it would make such sense in this old film, yet be so foreign a concept in today's politically-correct yet morally upside-down world.  Regardless of the timing however, the message contained herein is one for the ages.  Humans are violent and selfish creatures and eventually it will spell our doom.  ALL of our doom.

This dread consequence is foreshadowed in TDTESS through the use of the movies look itself.  A large amount of the movie, mostly those scenes dealing with Klaatu (the messenger of our doom) are delved into shadows, in a style similar to noir.  This works brilliantly because we are all afraid of what is in the shadows, in this case Klaatu, but also the things that he stands for in this film: we are all afraid of the unknown, afraid for our children, afraid of change.

There are so many powerful moments in the movie that I am sure were fully appreciated in the post war 1950s, just as they can now in a country on the brink of war again.  When Klaatu shares with the young boy Bobby (Billy Gray) that he comes from a place with no war, it is so simplistictly laid out for us all when he turns his freckled face upwards and says "Gee, that's a good idea".  Or the message to the paranoid, narrow minded crusaders of the world, when Klaatu explains that nuclear power is not just for bombs...it's "for lots of other things too".

In fact, this film delivers an amazing array of one line antidotes that are timelessly relevant and profoundly more intelligent than one sees when taken at face value.  Look a little deeper into the writing of this movie and you will see that there are lessons here that need to be expounded on.  I enjoyed the clever line of Prof. Jacob Bernhardt (SamJaffe): "It isn't faith that makes good scientists; it's curiosity."  But I think the single phrase that sums up the message contained here was spoken by the concerned Klaatu when he is being accused of impatience: "I'm impatient with stupidity, my people have learned to live without it".  To many this is simply a humorous line, but in reality, how "stupid" would most of our actions on Earth appear to an alien people?  Think about smokers.  Think about gang-bangers killing people for their Nike shoes.  Think about the cutting of school days and police forces to save money...for the government.  We are a stupid people, and it is like a refreshing slap in the face when a film can come from so long ago telling us the same thing...because it means we aren't listening.

But there is more here than just messages and lectures.  As I said, TDTESS is 100% sci-fi, and this includes space-men, lasers, flying-saucers, and a giant robot.  All of which is pulled off with a flair that went far beyond 1951.  Whether it is the saucer landing which doesn't look like it was hung from a string, or it is the HUGE spacecraft set piece built in a Washington park, the effects all look very good; good enough that you don't even remotely think about the fact that this movie is vintage.  Some of the sets, characters and technology themselves remain influential in today's sci-fi, such as motion-sensitive automatic doors, a lit medical bed aboard the spacecraft, voice activated robotics and controls, and even the designs of such beings as the Cylons from Battlestar Galactica.  

But no matter how believable the technology is or how realistic everything looks, the most important part of any film is the actors.  Michael Rennie is really the only actor that stands out in my mind (although there were no stand-out bad performances either), but it is in such a dramatic way that I may have simply overlooked the other wonderful roles.  As Klaatu, Rennie brought a wonderfully complex persona to life, complete with all the nuances necessary.  He made you believe that he was familiar with Earth culture but had never set foot on the planet before.  My favorite example of this would be the way he is so bemused with the simple mechanisms of a music box.  Looking as if he is half-amused, half-amazed at its simplicity.  Throughout the film, a great deal is conveyed thru his knowing smirk or unsympathetic eyes.  Not bad for a newbie to Hollywood.

If it is for the great acting or the timeless message, you simply must go out and purchase this movie immediately.  There is really no other option.  It is time we all remembered that some of the best movies don't come in color.  Expand your horizons, your awareness of human behavior, and your DVD collection all at the same time.

-aaron-