"The Earth Stood Still" in two movies

Movies today are more glitzy than in an earlier time.

Look what "CGI" can do with movies. Think how much cheaper the movie "Cleopatra" would have been with CGI. There would have been shortcuts to creating "mass spectacle" scenes. You wouldn't have had to create real mass spectacles.

I suppose it was good work for the extras.

All the new tricks do not create better movies. Believe it or not, CGI can get tiresome. There truly is no substitute for story.

The old craftsmanship of drama survives. The new tricks are so much frosting that can be applied. It tastes sweet but is no substitute for the main course.

We want stories with twists and turns and characters that engage us.

"The Day the Earth Stood Still" was a science fiction classic made in 1951. It was chosen in 1995 for preservation in the U.S. Film Registry. It was a story about flying saucers and aliens.

So the special effects must have been gripping, right?
It would seem the special effects were just good enough.

I'd guess the moviemakers were nervous about whether the special effects might be too flimsy. It was a black and white movie and I think that helped.

I'm sure many movie aficionados wonder if color is really a step up. Isn't an Alfred Hitchcock movie more compelling in black and white than in color? Wouldn't the "film noir" genre lose an awful lot if these flicks were in color?

"The Day the Earth Stood Still" appeared on network TV in the 1960s. The boomer generation became captivated. We also liked "War of the Worlds" and "The Time Machine."

These science fiction stories have been re-told (or "re-imagined") in new versions. Most recently we got "The Day the Earth Stood Still" in 2008 with Keanu Reeves in the role originally played by Michael Rennie.

I have read that one of the reasons the original was so successful is that Rennie was an unknown. It was easier to imagine his character ("Klaatu") as genuine.

One of the most striking scenes has the Rennie character silhouetted at the entry to the boarding house where he inquires about a room. The lighting leaves his figure totally in shadow, accenting the mood of fear and uncertainty gripping everyone as news of the flying saucer gets out.

Might there be danger around every corner?
But the Rennie character steps out of the shadow and becomes immediately ingratiating. He's downright disarming. At no point in the movie to we ever really fear him.

More foreboding, it seems, are the raw and unrefined impulses of all us earthbound humanoids. We retreat into closed-mindedness. Perhaps the Cold War, in full flower, built that up.

The gentle "Klaatu" has a mission to help earth. We need only to take a sedative and listen.
The most thought-provoking aspect of the movie is how the alien approaches us like we're mass brethren on our planet, not separated by national or political boundaries. At least, that's how we ought to view ourselves.
This is elementary for Klaatu. Alas, not for us.

The storyline is much the same in the 2008 "re-imagining" with Reeves.
In each movie, the earth's inhabitants need a very assertive reminder about being sensible custodians of their planet.

Nuclear weapons were the specter in the '51 movie. Global climate change was the focus for the 2008 version.

One wonders on how many fronts these aliens might approach us and tell us to shape up.

Wouldn't "Gort" the robot be helpful preventing a state government shutdown in Minnesota? Or, preventing a similar impasse at the national level, where "liberals" and "conservatives" seem increasingly on a path of mutual destruction?

But the aliens might see these conflicts as too parochial. We need to be concerned about the human race and earth. We have to be prepared to set a good example for our fellow inhabitants of the universe.

Boomers were young in the 1960s when an assortment of cinematic sci-fi classics became imprinted on their (our) consciousness. As kids we could literally get scared.

While we weren't scared of "Klaatu," we were definitely scared of "Gort." I think I'm speaking for my generation here, as the mute and hulking Gort was one of those movie characters that might make you keep the light on in your bedroom for a few nights.

The same with the "Morlocks" in "The Time Machine."

Re. Gort: The '51 movie never showed us just how powerful this character might be. Klaatu informed that his companion could wreak unimaginable destruction. It was left to our imagination how.

This is very powerful storytelling: allowing the viewer to fill in blanks via the imagination.

Gort had an unmistakable ominous nature that we just knew could be bad news. He disarmed military weapons and tanks.

He apparently killed a couple of soldier/guards with a technique much like Mr. Spock's "Vulcan death grip." We didn't see the moment when the soldiers went down; at that moment we just saw the astounded look on child actor Billy Gray's face.

You know, Billy Gray, who went on to play "Bud" in "Father Knows Best." The movie also included the actress who went on to play "Aunt Bea" in "Andy of Mayberry."

All in all, the creators of the original "The Day the Earth Stood Still" were masters of instilling fear by just suggesting scenarios, planting thoughts in our heads.

The 2008 remake ("re-imagining") by comparison wasn't subtle. We saw how Gort could inflict mass death. He did it by turning into a cloud of "nanites."

It was more disgusting than scary to see this unfold on the screen.

If I may offer a brief movie review, I'd say the Reeves version started out very well and very promising. It seemed like a big budget spectacle that would take us for a ride.

I was greatly impressed by the scene where Reeves as Klaatu meets in a fast food restaurant with "Mr. Wu" (James Hong), an alien who has lived on earth as an observer.
Mr. Wu sees the hopeless side of our grappling with environmental issues. But, he has seen "another side" that makes him feel affection for us. He refuses to leave.

This decision would appear to spell death. Klaatu, upon consulting all relevant information, sees no hope. The planet's fate for life-sustaining purposes is the overriding priority.
Klaatu sees the need to "pull the trigger," as it were. While the '51 version suggested this scenario, it never happened, so maybe this is why we might find the Rennie portrayal of Klaatu more endearing.
Rennie finds us to be primitive but he mixes with us comfortably. Reeves complains about his human body which he at first finds completely unacceptable.

Rennie issues a stark warning at the end of the '51 classic. It seems likely his Klaatu will be heeded.

In the 2008 movie, we see all hell break loose with those disgusting nanites made "real" by CGI. Thanks but no thanks to CGI.

The '08 movie was not a step up from its predecessor. The re-imagining was compelling for about the first one-third, and after that it flattens out and becomes largely forgettable.

The reviews were mixed. Typically they said this movie was "heavy on special effects but without a coherent story."

Ah, story. It's so basic to appreciate the need for a compelling story and characters we care about. It's so fundamental but it can get overlooked.

The original movie had substance along with being truly scary. In all its black and white splendor, it captivated a generation from the small screen.

The remake/re-imagining came at us with the idea that an audience was ready-made, i.e. all of us who fell in love with the original.

The original had Klaatu tote around diamonds which became a giveaway for his being an alien. I'm sure Newt Gingrich's eyes would've popped open wildly (LOL).

I'm not sure Newt's "revolving account" at Tiffany's would have covered these other-worldly gems, or come close.

There are times when Gingrich's political ideas seem to be coming from outer space.

Could Gort the robot neutralize the political "tea party?" Only in my dreams, I guess.

But I proclaim the original "The Day the Earth Stood Still" as a distinct classic, deserving of a position in any "Top 10" of cinema.

The wavering tone of the melodic instrument in the theme music sends a chill down my spine.

Never forget: "Klaatu Barada Nikto."

- Brian Williams - morris mn Minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com