General Summary: The film begins with the US government tracking an incoming object from space. Yup. Its a bugger of a space ship and it heads straight for Washington (because obviously the US is THE place to get things done and done right, right? Uh, yeah. Right [
Okay, long summary but for this film, very much needed. And as always, my summary does this film no justice. It is too simple and too short. Yes, too short. TDTESS is about many things. First, its about communism. On the most basic level, its a warning to the 'REDS' (1950s for Russia) that should they try anything, we will remove them from the map. Why do you think Klaatu came to Washington. It was,to paraphrase him, the only logical place for intelligent people to gather. And the speeches in the middle to the boy about Lincoln and great men and what not, did you think those were just to fill space? Nope. Its to send a message. Mess with the US (and any of our allies ie. the Universal Brotherhood ie the good guys) and we will f&*^ you up beyond repair.
But there is also another message here. You will never defeat us. You can't kill Klaatu just like you can't kill the US. Klaatu is essentially the US in this film, even though it is the US military who is on his ass. I suppose it would be better to say that Klaatu is the kind hearted, peace loving, yet tough as nails and kick ass spirit of America. You do everything you can to be cordial, peaceful, and trustworthy and when that doesn't work, you bring out the big guns (see giant, massive, huge, tall, lurking robot). In the end, the military are stand ins for aggressors, Klaatu the victim, and Gort (the much aforementioned giant, massive, huge, tall, lurking robot) the response. Yeah. Its deeper than just the surface sci-fi of alien vs. mankind.
Now there are some who argue that Klaatu is in fact communism. And he does speak of giving up certain freedoms and essentially being part of a collective. However, I would argue that this is still about America, freedom, and democracy. The giving up of certain freedoms is about McCarthyism and protecting the US from outside forces ie the Russians and communism. The brotherhood of planets or collective refers to the 'peace' loving US allies. Just like all democratic nations, peace is achieved through the threat of ultimate doom ie Gort who also happens to be a metaphor of nuclear bombs. Also, Klaatu's people have turned their collective protection over to one force, the robots (see giant, massive, huge, tall, lurking robot). This is a metaphor for the 'nuclear umbrella'; nations allied to the US but not holding nuclear weapons. See. Simply complex. But fun if you start dissecting it.
There are other allusions that point to Klaatu as a representative of the US. The US during the 1950s adopted the phrase, 'under God' to much of its effects. As a nation, we were God fearing while the Reds were godless. Thus, and yet again, why Klaatu chose to conduct business with the US. We understood God and Klaatu assumes a near Christ like standard. Consider the following: Klaatu, in disguise amongst the ordinary, chooses to call himself 'Mr. Carpenter'. Subtle. He is peace loving, kind, wants to heal the sick (see destroyed cancer cure at beginning of film), performs miracles (as aforementioned, he literally makes the world stand still), comes from the heavens, is betrayed by someone who knows him, sacrifices himself to save the world, dies, and is resurrected after being placed away from all things living (ie the ship). you could also argue that Helen is a Mary Magdalen stand in. Klaatu even ascends to the heavens in the end, promising to come back and take care of business if we don't straighten up and fly right. Insert your End Times/Armageddon allusions here. Interestingly, he also is 'crucified' by the media and killed by a gunshot to the side. The very people he comes to help turn on him. He even (paraphrasing) tells Helen that the people are not evil, they just don't understand. Yup. That's right kiddies. The Day the Earth Stood Still is also a conservative Christian film. Bet you never thought of that one.
And there is so much more and I've droned on enough to all of you out there who aren't reading this. For the one or two who are (Hi Jeff and Ted), I think you should go find a copy and check it out. The remake did this no justice, and not that it did not try. I just couldn't match up to what I would refer to as the ultimate period piece. It worked during a specific time period for a specific audience. Today, we can only look back and marvel at the brilliance of Robert Wise's direction, and the great acting by Michael Rennie, Patricia Neal, Hugh Marlowe and Sam Jaffe.
Overall, I give this film a 10+++ out of five stars because it is awesome in its awesomeness. Brilliant. Good story. Good acting. Good shot composition (for the time), brilliant messages within the script, and even excellent special effects. Some of which were not reproduced until the current age of blue screen. Definitely check this film out and then the remake, which is a little less effective but warrants a watch all its own, for different reasons, which I'll address at some point in another blog.
Toodles and keep watching the skies (Yeah, I know. That's from 'The Thing from Another Planet. So sue me. It's applicable here as well)
Okay, so here is the long summary that didn't make it in the text:[<insert mental sarcastic tone here]). The ship lands in a large public park and is met by the Army. A figure emerges and is pretty much shot immediately by an idiot soldier with a rifle. The object the space suited man (who is named Klaatu) was carrying and is now destroyed, would have cured all forms of cancer (Go ARMY! Whoot!). A giant, massive, huge, tall, lurking robot appears and burns away all weapons but doesn't hurt anyone because Klaatu utters an inaudible phrase and the giant, massive, huge, tall, lurking robot becomes immobile (did I mention he was giant, massive, huge, tall, and lurking? Yeah. He is BIG.). So they carry off the alien to be patched up, with no worries about contamination or alien physiology or the such. Anyway, they want to contain him but he tells them he needs to see all the world leaders at once and will not talk to just the US (The NERVE!). When they refuse, he escapes into the city. General panic ensues as the media reports (via radio. Its the 1950s after all) general warnings and descriptions. We also learn that the sleek 35 year old looking (mind you this is a 1950s 35 year old looking) alien is actually in his late 70s. Obviously, he's been drinking the good stuff. Klaatu assimilates himself into normal crowds. He takes a room, meets a nice girl and her son, makes some speeches to the boy, admires the statue of Lincoln in Washington, and goes to see a Professor Barnhardt, the worlds smartest man (A cheap Einstein stand in, frizzy white hair included). Klaatu now wants to see the scientist of the world as opposed to the politicians because they are more reasonable (this point becomes really ironic in the end, but hold that thought for now). Barnhardt agrees gut thinks the world needs a demonstration of his power. He agrees to make the 'world stand still' for one hour, but not cause any harm. this goes off and the world freaks. Amongst all this, there is a psuedo love affair triangle between Klaatu, the woman and her son. No, scratch that, that's another movie. Between Klaatu, the woman, and her ass of a boyfriend. There is also some diamond exchanges (No, not in the engagement sense) and the jealous boyfriend turns in Klaatu. Klaatu tells the woman, Helen, that if anything happens to him and a giant, massive, huge, tall, lurking robot comes around destroying pretty much everything, look it straight in the eye and say, 'Klaatu Barada Nicto' and then go change your underwear (okay, I made the last part up, but you get the picture). The plot follows as you would think from there. The Army once again blast away Klaatu, the robot comes for the body, takes it, but not before almost killing Helen, who remembers the words that she heard just once and no one else in the generations of movie goers that followed could remember. The robot takes her and Klaatu to the ship, resurrects Klaatu, and then frees Helen. Klaatu comes out to address the gathered scientist, military, and public and tells them essentially that if Earth doesn't get it butt in gear and stop nuclear proliferation, a brotherhood of outer planets will wipe our sorry asses off the universal map. He gives a quick look to Helen boards the craft and heads away. Ahh. End of story.
ReplyDelete