Jaden Jordan
- Apr 4, 2019
- 3 min read

The Day The Earth Stood Still (1951)

Updated: Aug 3, 2021

The Breakdown: When a man from space comes to give earth a message, the entire planet is sent into a frenzy.

Watch If: You like classic Sci-Fi

Not If: You require octane to keep you invested.

SECONDARY FACTS

Overall Rating: 3.4

Length: 1:32

Language: English

Related Media: 1940 science fiction short story "Farewell to the Master"

Radio play on January 4, 1954 for the Lux Radio Theater

2008 Remake By the Same Name

REVIEW

THE QUICK AND DIRTY

An excellent installment in any classic horror/Sci-Fi collection, and one that deserves recognition for the place it holds in cinema history.

PREMISE: 4

The Day The Earth Stood Still is one of those films that need to be acknowledged in the context of its creation. It came out in the 1950s, when the world powers were still recovering from WWII. The concept of paranoia and petty competition coming in the way of the survival of the earth as a whole was very much a hot-button topic. While this film doesn't really feel like horror by modern standards, the ultimate purpose of horror is to force people to ask the questions they don't want to ask, to face the realities they don't want to face. And The Day The Earth Stood Still managed to do just that.

ACTING: 3

According to stories, young Patricia Neal had a hard time keeping a straight face while filming certain parts of the film. I must say,brava, as it certainly doesn't show in the final product. It is rare, however, to see a film that relies more heavily on the writing and what is happening than how the actors interpret that story. The acting certainly doesn't feel like acting, which, for a lot of older movies is a remarkable feat.

VISUALS: 3

The effects are simplistic, and over all don't hold up particularly well to modern standard, but the costume and set design is an excellent example of less is more. While some of the imagery may seem silly, none of it is so outrageously bizarre dumb looking that the movie suffers for it. It plays like an older movie that kept itself together well.

ATMOSPHERE: 3

Modern media has spoiled up with action pack story lines that rescue the writers from having to come up with any real story lines. The Day The Earth Stood Still does no such thing. It is the drama alone that propels it. This has two real outcomes: the first is that the film itself doesn't need to rely on genre tricks or gimmicks to make its point, the second is that a lot of modern viewers may have trouble sitting through the film as a whole.

DELIVERY: 4

The Day The Earth Stood Still is widely regarded as one of the best Sci-Fi films of all times, and is the birthplace of Klaatu Borada Nikto, a phrase that has been handed down for cinema generations:

Now, whether or not the film is 'exciting' by modern ideologies, for me at least, is only relevant in terms of its survival, and The Day The Earth Stood Still is certainly emblazoned on the hearts of Sci-Fi and classic Horror fans alike.