Considering that this was filmed in 1951, I find it lovely that there were people of different ethnicities in the crowds.

All these decades, and it's still one of the best sci-fi films ever made.

The Day The Earth Stood Still is my favorite movie of all time, of any genre. The message Klaatu brings isn’t to stop fighting. He even says the other planets aren’t concerned with Earth’s petty squabbles and no rights were to be given up, except the right to bring war off of Earth. In that event the Earth would be “reduced to a burned out cinder”. And Minty, you’re correct; sadly we haven’t learned.

One of my all time favorite films. I can recall playing trivial pursuit with my sister about 18 or 20 years ago, and she hesitated in asking me a question, saying: "This is just stupid, nobody would ever know this"! The question was: "What three words did Helen have to say to Gort the giant robot to stop him"? I, of course, immediately replied "Klaatu barada nikto" Great movie!!!

I watched this as a kid and was always blown away by how well made and prescient it was. It was the first 'old' film that made me realise age doesn't matter when the writing is on point.

Klaatu and GORT need to make an emergency appearance now.

Firmly in my top ten movies of all time. Patricia Neal doesn't get enough love for her role in this flick. She (and Sam Jaffe) are the sensible stand in for all humanity when others are freaking out. It's a great role and she plays it so well. And thanks for mentioning the score. Nothing has prompted the sales of Theramins like Herrmann's score for this movie, and the whole effect is brilliantly atmospheric. Young film makers take note; a good story is more important than flashy effects.

As a 10 year old, I saw this at a cinema within the decade it was made. It had a profound effect on me that I will never forget. Over time I saw it on TV and demanded my parents to let me watch it, even if it was past my bed-time. They found out why I loved this movie.

Is it just me or do we REALLY need Gort and Klaatu to make an appearance right about now???

I love this movie. The haunting theme, GORT the Robot, and Michael Rennie were great. Mr. Rennie was also good on an episode of Lost in Space.

Saw this as a 12 year old in 1970, and was blown away by it. Has always been one of my all time favorites. I'm a huge sci-fi fan, and am certain this was the movie that put me on that path. Timeless classic.

First saw this at summer camp in the mid-60's. It has aged well and I still love watching it. Surprised though, ,that it was not mentioned that "The Day The Earth Stood Still", is a reference to the moment in the film when Klaatu stopped all electrical and mechanical devices all over the earth, to get the attention of world leaders and to display the power that he had to effect the distruction of the earth if they brought war to other planets. BTW: Why re-make a classic film? No one could have bested Micheal Rennie as Klaatu.

The Day the Earth Stood Still had just about the best UFO effects prior to Close Encounters. Other Sci-fi movies of the 50s had absolute crappy UFO effects. And this wasn't a B movie. No. It was a grade A masterpiece

Michael Renee had that wonderful "otherworldly" persona that served him so well in several other sci-fi roles. He was MAGNIFICENT as "The Keeper" in the memorable two-part episode of the same name in the first (and best) season of "Lost In Space," and also had an eree bit part as an alien in the underrated series, "The Invaders."

Having fought in combat in a useless war, the message of Klaatu resonates powerfully with me. I was 3 years old in 1951 so I only saw this on TV. I wish someone would release it again in theaters. I consider it to be the best movie ever made.

I saw this as a 13 y.o. in junior high in 1959., and it made a lasting impression on me. Our school had a program of showing movies in the auditorium during recess. Each day, they showed the movies in 15 minute segments. They sold movie passes good for 10 segments for 25 cents. This film really caused a lot excitement and some upset among us kids that we’d often bring back to our classrooms after recess. The teachers complained about the behavior, and the next film, Creature from the Black Lagoon, marked the end of recess movies. That film had scared so many kids that they stopped showing it half way through. No more recess movies for us!

I think the set design was amazing for the inside of the space ship. When you think this was made in 1951, over 70 years ago. The minimalist interior and controls that react when you run your hands over them and the seamless opening of the ship and also the design of Gort. A really visionary depiction of an alien and his craft.

In the original story Klatuu dies and the man who befriended him pleads with Gort to tell his master’s countrymen not to judge humans on this, that it was an accident. He’s left dumbfounded when Gort replies, “you misunderstand. I am the master.”

This was one of my favorite movies. I grew up in the 50s and it was so apt.

I always loved the doctors discussing how Klaatu had said he was 75 but seemed so young and healthy as they were all smoking, in the hospital! Seriously, this is one of my all time favorite movies because of it's well written story, great acting, and decent effects. It truly did pave the way for movies to come. Think "Starman" in the 50s.

This is one of my favourite films, I hated the remake but I love that they quoted this in Evil Dead 3 army of darkness. Klaatu barada nikto that Ash could not remember and got it wrong.

2 interesting points to add. #1 Frances Bavier played Mrs. Barley and Aunt Bee Taylor in the The Andy Griffith Show. #2 Sam Jaffe was in Lost Horizon as the High Lama, Gunga Din as Gunga Din, Gentleman's Agreement as Prof. Fred Lieberman and Ben Casey as Dr. David Zorba.

I was born in 1955. My parents first let me watch this on TV when I was probably six or seven. Scared the daylights out of me. When Gort was walking towards Patricia Neal, I wanted to rip a hole in the floor and get into the crawlspace. It is amazing how well this film has stood up over the decades. Great video.

One of my favorite childhood movie. It freaked me out but I couldn't look away. I personally feel it was the greatest Sci Fi movie ever made. It's one I can watch over and over again and never get tired of. It is truly a "Must See" masterpiece.

One of the all-time classics.

This is my most favorite sci-fi moving of that genre. The "message" I got regarding the general plot line was that Klaatu came to earth to warn them. There was a line toward the finale that Klaatu had said to the scientific community. He explained what GORT actually was ... a race of robots who patrolled the galaxies to make sure each planet was not aggressive towards another (willingly or unwillingly). Then the next line was something like, we do not concern ourselves with your petty squabbles, but if you extend that beyond your planet, we will reduce the earth to a cinder.

"The Day the Earth Stood Still" is a classic and one of my favorite films of all time! I love Klaatu's message at the end, which I agree is a very important message for humanity, which I wish more world leaders and people in power would take seriously!

My most favorite sci-fi movie! It fascinated me and I wanted to go on the spaceship....however, "War of the Worlds" scared the begeesis out of me, and for a long time! Thank you for this video........"The Day The Earth Stood Still" is truly a classic!!

I've always loved the old 50s Sci-fi films and this one is in my top 5 along with Invasion of the Body Snatchers, War Of the Worlds, The Quatermass Xperiment and Fiend Without A Face

There was a Twilight Zone episode with the exact opposite message called "A Small Talent For War". Aliens told humanity to fix it so they signed peace treaties and destroyed all nukes, WMDs etc. only to find out their talent for war was too small, they needed to be more violent, but the aliens wiped them out for being wimpy.

I saw this on TV probably in the late 50s. I was 1 when the movie was made. Michael Rennie was great in the role of Klaatu. The movie was really the best Sci Fi I can remember ever seeing. It was far from the usual. Alien lands, starts killing people and we have to kill it. This was an intelligent Sci Fi story with meaning and message. I saw Rennie a few years later in something where he played a Cyborg, part machine. That was a good one as well. Left me wanting to see more of Rennie. Everyone was great in "The Day The Earth Stood Still." As much as I like Reeves, that remake Sucked. Great video, really enjoyed it. The trip back in time was informative and fun, Thanks.

The Day The Earth Stood Still was a great movie. I enjoyed the remake as well but once again, the original with Michael Rennie and Patricia Neil was the best. It changed science fiction movies to what we enjoy today, including special features and effects.

Hey Minty, Thank you for a Serious Review of an Absolute Classic, Game Changing Movie. Much Appreciated. There is something just wonderous about this Film. From the Cast and their Performances, to the Trivia behind the Production. A short, simple story that produces such a long lasting effect.

One of my all time favorite sci-fi films!

I'm not the biggest fan of sci-fi, but this is one of my favourite films! I actually really like the pacing of it. I've always admired films that don't feel rushed and take their time to tell their story and build the characters. This is a masterpiece.

One of my favorite sci-fi films. War of the Worlds creeped me out, though I liked it too, I was more intrigued by this for the message and particularly enjoyed the exchange between Klatuu and the professor, because he was so curiously fascinated to learn, rather than the 'kill it, because we don't understand it and that frightens us' mode most others were in. And yes, that music added nicely to the outer worldly vibe. Thanks for posting.

Great review of a classic. Two more trivia bits. Sam Jaffe played Dr Zorba in the Ben Casey series. Patricia Neal suffered a devastating stroke. She was instrumental in the use of physical & other therapies to help people recover from effects of strokes.

the thing minty didn’t know about this movie: the title “earth stood still” refers to when power was cut off across the globe (not when the saucer arrived on earth). 😅

(@12:42) ..."that usual, weird, alien humming music" was electronically generated by an instrument called a Theremin and predates the Moog synthesizer by at least 2 decades. Even though he did not invent it, Bernard Herrmann's vision to incorporate this futuristic sound along with orchestral accompaniment was a master stroke. There is no keyboard on a Theremin as it responds to the natural capacitance of the performers hands to alter radio frequency (RF) oscillations radiating from a pair of antennas, one at each end of the electronics cabinet. It is somewhat difficult to play, but well worth the effort.

One of the all-time great SF flicks and one I enjoy re-watching again and again.

Patricia Neal was married to Roald Dahl, her likeness to her granddaughter Sophie is remarkable. She also won an Oscar for ‘Hud’ (1963) with Paul Newman.

So glad you Minty'd this film, really drew me in when I discovered it as a kid...since then my appreciation for it has grown ! Please continue sharing background and your impressions of standout productions of all stripes!

I watched this about a week ago. Never tire of it. The remake was pretty much just a throw away 2 hours.

I've always been amazed at the ship and it's telescoping ramp scenes, and after retiring from over twenty years as a movie set carpenter, I'm REALLY amazed they did that in the early '50s!

Another Fact that should be mentioned, Minty, is that, along with Claude Raines, Micheal Rennie was mentioned amongst a list of actors from the movies of this era in the song "Science Fiction Double Feature" from the soundtrack of "The Rocky Horror Picture Show", specifically in the Opening line, " Michael Rennie Was Ill The Day The Earth Stood Still", which Michael Rennie was indeed under the weather when he'd filmed his scenes in this movie

What I love about this movie is the unit that shoots at the alien is 3rd ACR. I served in that unit in 2005 when I was in Iraq.

If you grew up in the sixties like I did, there are a couple things you missed. Sam Jaffe was famous for playing Dr. Zorba in the TV medical drama “Ben Casey”. One actor you failed to mention was Frances Bavier. She was one of the tenants at the rooming house. She created the iconic character of Aunt Bee on the Andy Griffith Show. During the early 60s, TDTESS was shown several times in prime time on NBC’s Saturday Night at the Movies. It certainly blew our minds as grade school kids back then.

Great facts Mark... I loved learning about them. Especially why the spaceman said what he said, and the actors where they all are now and who that Robot was. I think if people actually knew the robot was a person in it and who he was then it wouldn't have stayed as popular as it was. It still made a great point.

Thanks for all your videos Minty, we love you!!!

I disagree with your interpretation of the end message. Klaatu didn't care how we ran our planet, BUT if we went out into the intergalactic community and acted with violence or aggression, THEN Earth would be wiped out.

I was 5 or 6, back in the mid fifties, I can't remember exactly. We went every summer to my uncle's house by a man-made lake. NBC aired a new show, Saturday Night at the Movies. The first movie they showed on this new show was The Day The Earth Stood Still. I was blown away, as were my parents and my uncle. Great movie.

One of my favorite old sci-fi movies! Got to love the robot.

As usual Minty, you fully entertained me. Love your show brother, keep them coming and thank you for entertaining me so much.

Another fantastic job, Minty. This movie resonates with me as I am older and remember the cold war. Thank you, sir, for this trip down memory lane.

My favorite movie of all time. I love this movie and watch it every time it’s shows. Great movie!

I've always liked this film, but I like it more now as an adult. It's definitely a classic, and one of my top 10 favorite sci-fi movies of all time

One of the best & important movies ever regardless of genre. One of the films that I truly enjoy that inspired & aspired me to have a passion for sci-fi/ space / horror films. A classic obviously. The remake is slightly watchable but misses point somewhat…rather dry & by the book. The 50s atomic age & 80s were the golden age of sci-fi .

Minty you forgot the number one thing about the Day The Earth Stood Still :-( Three Return of the Jedi characters in Jabba's palace and sail barge were named Klattu, Barada and Nikto. I still have all my Star Wars figures from when I was a little boy.

Loved this video. TDTESS is my all time favorite movie. I have to say though for your list of famous robots, you forgot Robby the Robot from Forbidden Planet.

I'm usually impressed by the research in these entries, but I have an issue with one statement made in this clip. That eerie wailing sound in this film was not invented by the composer. It was invented in 1919 by a Russian physicist named Lev Sergeyevich Termen, whose Westernized name was "Leon Theremin" -- thus the instrument was (and still is) called the Theremin. The inventor moved to the US and patented it in 1928, long before "The Day The Earth Stood Still." That sound has been used in countless movies (and even in the Beach Boys song "Good Vibrations"). But Bernard Herrmann had nothing to do with its invention/development.

I like that you did an older classical movie. Please do more of them!! In your list of cinematic robots you didn’t mention Robby the Robot, which was really big back in the day. Which leads into a good movie to do next, “Forbidden Planet”. You also might consider “Ben Hur” , “The Ten Commandments”, “The Guns of Navarone”, & “The Dirty Dozen”.

Nice one, Minty.

This is one of my favorite films, thanks for covering it.

It was a favorite for me as a child and It made an impression. So much that it was one of those movies that I never forgotten. I later watched a lot of Lost in Space and then went on to become a real Star Trek fan but the one movie that started it for me was The Day The Earth Stood Still. These things were inspirational in my future success and now retired from the I.T. field.

It's videos like this and Minty's video on Metropolis that reminds me he really does have an eye for cinema. Good one minty, love the videos ✌🏻

Probably the best science fiction film from its era. It was my Dad's favorite movie. I also like how the ending is unsettling - the human race must evolve because a higher order of life not only exists but it also isn't going to tolerate our primitive nonsense. It's not a good thing or a bad thing, it's just the way it is, and humans now have to deal with that whether they like it or not.

Stumbled upon this post, liked it so much, especially because this movie is in my top five favorite SF movies of all time, I subscribed with notification. Cheers.

What a great, classic flick! Released when I was an impressionable type of 9 years old. Thanks!

It's been one of my two favorite films since I first saw it so many years ago...great script, wonderful cast. And the message has only grown stronger and more poignant with each passing year. I sat through about 20 min. of the sequel, then had to bail...all it did was remind me that the original is untouchable.

Thank You Minty...yes this story is very timely. God (or Aliens) save us all !

This musical score is just the best.!!! Gosh I love this movie.

One of my all time favorite movies, I remembered this as a kid. Good video.

That’s one of the best movies for sci-fi, and that generation 👍🙏

most people forget Klaatu's story at the end, he said they used to have violence and wars, until they built Gorts, the A.i. became so powerful that they went rouge and started killing everyone, so they dared not to have any kind of violence or any thing that could be construed as a weapon, so no lightsabers or kitchen knives, for fear that they would be incinerated by Gort who had no off switch or moral compunction

The best . Watched it at least 10 times over the years. It is still relavent in 2022 .

Remember seeing this as a ‘50’s kid, & just loved it! Still do. Michael Rennie was my first movie-star ‘crush’

Hey Minty? Could you do a Top Ten on Solvent Green since we are now 3 months into that year?

An excellent job Minty and very apt for the current times. You should do a few more videos on older films like this. I'm surprised you missed out that Patricia Neal later married the author Roald Dahl. And sadly Michael Rennie diied very suddenly whilst attending his brothers funeral. Very tragic. My late father wasn't a big fan of science fiction films but he got me to watch this when I was a kid in the early 1980s as he himself had seen it when he was a teenager on its release and he had really liked it . Since then I have seen Sam Jaffe in loads of movies, from Lost Horizon made in the late 1930s to Battle beyond the Stars in 1980, a film notable for its visual effects being done by w certain James Cameron. I also agree with you that the remake isn't terrible but it lacks the bite of the original. Michael Rennie was pretty much unknown in Hollywood at the time so maybe that freshness worked to the advantage of the original. Personally I think the late Alan Riickman would have been more suited to the role than Reeves but that's just my opinion.

I must have watched this flick 100 times, and I still love it!

Just watched a few of your videos. Thanks bro! shout out from "Santa Carla" !

klaatu is actually jesus...he comes down with a message of peace, is betrayed and murdered and resurrected ...his female friend is mary, her boyfriend is judas, and gort is the golem. there are several things rennie says that indicate he is actually a human from earth. and yes, it's true.

I strongly disagree with you on Keannu as Klatuu, is lack of emotion was intentional, as his character was meant to be a partly synthetic partly humanoid construct based on a mountain climber that the prime orb absorbed he didn't understand human emotion and only gradually learns what it is, and how to better understand emotions like love and kindness, to develop a kind of "connection" with the woman scientist and her child, IMO and the CGI looked excellent for the time it was made, it was etherial and almost supernatural looking on purpose to show how way beyond advanced the technology of the sphere and it's nanites and Gort was... I think your being a little too hard on the CGI and Keanu's intended portrayal of Klaatu

FANTASTIC! GOD BLESS

Gort scared the crap out of me when I watched this movie in 1962. I was 7 years old. One of my favorite movies ever!

I agree with your opinion of the remake. Let us never speak of it again

Definitely a favorite…(and yes, the remake fell very flat). Thank goodness for this film. Without it, our sci-fi might still be stuck in the “giant mutated creature” trope that was the go-to in the 50s.

Kathy Bates terrific. Great line: “You want our planet.” Keanu’s response: “It’s not your planet!”

Still in 2022 the greatest sci fi movie ever made, nothing modern can even compare as far as the message and mystic of the alien visit. Just so well done without cgi and big explosions.

KLATU VERATA NI...COUGH COUGH 1:48 I never made the connection with Army of Darkness???

One of the greatest films ever made! IIRC GORT/GNUT was actually the one in charge, not Klaatu. I think the excellent supporting cast deserves mention. The film was also a comment on the Red Scare tearing at the nation at that time. I thought the re-make could have been great, Keanu was perfect casting IMHO, but the radical change to GORT (esp making his name a earthbound army's moniker) & the ship was unfortunate as was the overbearing ecological message, they were here to save the planet from us, not save us.

This epic movie, and "The Forbidden Planet" are my science fiction favorites. "The Day....." is a milestone of the genre. BUT, one point has always bugged me about this movie. When Klaatu is convalescing in the hospital, after a trigger-happy GI shot him, he asks to see the President. However, Klaatu is told that the President is much to busy, as a low-level bureaucrat is sent to ask why he is here! Are you kidding me?? Every Pol in Washington would be climbing all over each other to get a photo-op with Klaatu and Gort!

Still one of my absolute favourite movies. Farewell to the Master is amazing.

Very interesting! This movie is as old as my parents, and Epic! I saw it a few times as a kid. I can probably find on DVD now? EBay or something.

I saw this movie when i was very young, and i loved it, i also like the remake, hey, any movie featuring Jennifer Connelly is a good one. You should make a video about a very good movie that i like a lot, Quatermass and the pitt. I have the blue ray of it, and it's the only movie that deserve a remake in my opinion.

Great Video, as usual, Minty. I can't believe I'm only seeing this now, since it states that you put it out 4 years ago.

A REALLY great analysis. Of one my favorite films. I'm 71 I saw it when I was 10 years old. I still watch the DVD sometimes. I'm an old "fan boy", I guess.

Enjoyable video with lots of facts about this great film. I’m grateful you’ve shared them with generations unaware of its existence. As a septuagenarian who was raised on this film, however, I must add some facts/opinions missing from your video. George Pal’s groundbreaking Destination Moon (1950), a year before TDTESS, is the film which actually launched modern science fiction cinema while it’s Miklos Rozsa’s use of the theremin in his 1945 score for Hitchcock’s Spellbound which inaugurated the “space sound” Bernard Herrmann (whom I worship!) later utilized so skillfully in TDTESS. You also omit mention of Patricia Neal in Hud, Sam Jaffe in Ben Casey, and Michael Rennie in Pal’s late masterpiece The Power. Lastly, the TDTESS remake’s major fault isn’t Reeves but its disastrously chaotic script.

Thank you Minty!! Love this one! Didn't know the Robert Wise connection which makes my day..The Haunting is probably one of my favorites of his. We all love Keanu, but I do agree the remake was a bit of a dud..

This is the film that introduced me to SF films and science fiction in general. Back in the 1970s one of our local stations ran older films grouped by genre on Sunday afternoons. The Day the Earth Stood Still was the film that started off the SF segment, followed by This Island Earth. I fell in love with the film and started devouring everything Science fiction I could get my hands on. Sadly a lot of what was available to me in the juvenile section of the local library was very bad. I wore out the paperback copies of HG Wells, Jules Verne, and Andre Norton's Lord of Thunder (which I didn't know was a sequel to The Beastmaster until I was in college.). Fortunately, my parents agreed with the librarian that I was mature enough to pick out my own books in the adult section and they had a lot of classic science fiction writers including Issac Asimov, Arthur C. Clark, and Robert Heinlein. And a lot of books on SF films and television, both criticism and the making of. I still watch and read voraciously and have been writing in the genre for over thirty years now. (Sadly, I'm still unpublished but self publication on the internet may change that.) Thank you for this piece--and the one on Metropolis.

Look at the talent involved! Damn! Patricia Neal, for one, an absolutely brilliant, Oscar winning actress. Michael Rennie, brilliant, as all the players were.