KAMN Show #24: The Day The Earth Stood Still
Welcome to Show #24!
The Ninjas discuss the 1951 classic scifi feature, The Day The Earth Stood Still. Once again, the Ninjas disagree.
Both David and Joe were disappointed and displeased with the story, leaving Summer alone to defend it’s merits. She also adds a little bit more historical perspective, in terms of it being the film to create what would later become the “standard” for B-movies of the 50s and 60s, and also of it’s thematic message, especially given that Fox made this film in a political climate that was increasingly suspicious and fearful of everyone, and with a cast member who would later be blacklisted after this film’s release.
Listener Feedback: Give us some! You can leave comments here for the show, or at the Kick-Ass Mystic Ninjas Forum. If you want to leave a voicemail comment on anything we’ve discussed, you can call us at 206-666-5266.
Movies mentioned:
Promo: The Signal: Songs from the Black
Promo: Mighty Seek Podcast
Link: Wikipedia: The Day The Earth Stood Still
Link: IMDb Robert Wise
I don’t know if it’s iTunes, but this isn’t downloading for me, which stinks because I have nothing else to put on my iPod. I’ll have to actually listen to people on the way to work.
Um, nevermind. Figures that 10 seconds after I complain about not getting it…
The one thing I don’t like about iTunes is the lack of options in telling it how often to automatically check for updated feeds.
You can choose to have it check every hour, or every 24 hours… and you have to be careful with that every day thing, because if you ever do a manual update, it’ll continue to do automatic daily checks evey 24 hours FROM THE LAST TIME YOU MANUALLY CHECKED.
How frakking stupid is that? Why isn’t there an option to check every 6 hours? If that was there, I don’t think I’d ever need to manually check anything, outside of troubleshooting.
Jeezopete, can’t wait to hear this one! I love this movie. It scared the crap out of me when I was a kid. (I think it was mostly the scary theremin music, and the giant robot.) I’ve love Michael Rennie and Patricia Neal forever because of this movie.
Well Juice just tried to download a bunch of old episodes so not only itunes that has problems.
i’m a nursing student and was lucky enough to be able to take a sci fi literature class last summer. we watched The Day the Earth Stood Still, or as the author once called it, the day the electricity went out for half an hour. i think one of the points you missed was that while yes, patricia neil did have to give to give the obligitory damsel scream, carpenter trusted her enough to tell her the whole story, because she was the mother of someone he came to care for, and knew she’d protect her son, and by extention protect the world. plus, in the end, he didn’t get the girl.
also, in the short story, the robots arn’t the policemen, they’re the masters.
thanks for the great shows.
heather
Please leave the stupid political comments out of your show. It just shows ignorance and shallowness. If there was a real danger of you losing your freedom, then wouldn’t you be under arrest now.
Since politics and governmental behavior was a central part of the story we were discussing, comparing the content of movie to the political situation of then and of other times was bound to come up. I don’t think of it as stupid at all.
To not discuss the film in the context that it was made would be a disservice to it’s place in history, and, as we’ve seen, simply the veiled threat of being investigated (or as was the case in the 50s, being blacklisted) is sometimes more than enough to achieve the desired behavior modification.
See the scientific oppression by the Church during the Inquisition, the massacres of “traitors” during the French Revolution, the silencing of voices against segregation in America and apartheid in South Africa as examples. Given human nature, it’s likely we could see repeat bouts in the future. Pointing out those facts and it’s impact on people’s lives is merely a history lesson.
But not to fear, true political discourse is not something Dave, Joe or myself want to ever pursue here. At the same time, we shouldn’t be afraid to talk about it when it’s an integral piece or scenario of the movie or book we’re talking about. We all have different opinions about everything, and and sometimes those opinions are reflected in our perceptions of what we read and watch… especially the older SF tales, which is what we’re all about here.
I’m probably going to regret asking this, but what exactly about the Ninjas’ comments were stupid? They sounded absolutely accurate to me.
Keep on telling it true, guys.
We watched the movie last night (I got the DVD for Christmas). It had been a while since I saw it, and it was a little more didactic than I remembered. For the first time I noticed the “Carpenter” name. I still love the movie, but it probably doesn’t hold up real well over time.
Love this movie; can’t wait to hear the episode. Hooray, I just posted a pointless comment on your site! I’ll post again after I’ve listened.
I found myself mostly agreeing with Summer.
I think that most of characters’ reactions and actions were believable — for the time. I’ve heard occasionally calls for a modern-day remake, but I think a remake would have to be a complete “reimagining”; no one in contemporary times would react that way to any of these circumstances. And the modern military sure as hell wouldn’t just bring the ALIEN to whoever was on duty at Walter Reed – with no quarantine – and just post two guards at the door.
My only negative criticism of TDTESS is the slow pace. I can get through it, but good luck watching it with a kid.
Last point: in some of the Christian-based interpretations I’ve read, Klaatu is seen as the Christ figure while Gort represents the wrathful, smite-your-unrepentant-sinner-ass God of the Old Testament. Gort-God; not such a stretch. Interesting that Wise and the producers say they were unaware of the parallels.
Very good show, guys.
I’m often concerned that some folks are thoroughly unable to effectively critique media produced at an earlier time, in tune with earlier sensibilities. Just as it is a mistake to attempt to evaluate novels like ‘Vanity Fair’ in the same way as you’d evaluate a current post-modern novel, or to evaluate the plays of Aeschylus in the same way you’d evaluate the plays of Stoppard, it is a mistake to evaluate a film like TDTESS in the same way as you’d evaulate, say, ‘Army of Darkness’.
That being said, I agree wholeheartedly with Summer, but then, Summer actually researched the film. This movie is deservedly a seminal work in the cinematic pantheon, not just the American cinematic pantheon or the 50’s cinematic pantheon or the science fiction cinematic pantheon. It is an important film in terms of the history of cinema, the history of science fiction film, the history of cold war / post WWII films,
I could go on, but this is getting long, and I’m getting perturbed.
Take a good course film history. Heck, take a good course in history. You guys aren’t stupid. You can do better.
I think it is still a classic and would like to take issure with some of the points that you did not like about it. 1st He needed to get all the leaders in one place if for no other reason then to have a story. If while safely in his in his spaceship he just beamed transmissions who would have heard maybe all of the leaders would have had tv and or radiobut would they have been on.. and the show would have lasted 5 min you see a spaceship you hear the broadcast thats it. That is why it was not a novel I believe.. I also believe the boarding house was necessary for 3 reasons: 1) it gives him a chance to get to know us a bit as a race 2)tommy is the conduit how else would he have learned about the scientist and gotten to him without tommys help.. Oh I am sure he could have with advanced technology but this adds a bit to the story line 3) by making the b/f the bad guy it gives him an addition obstacle to overcome when trying to get to the scientists. Also remember it was the 50s the cold war and census when viewing a movie or reading a book from a different period take into account it is not the same as today.. It was a time of Mccarthy hearings when you had our leaders arguing. Each leader would have wanted it to take place on their territoy. thanks I enjoy the show. Sam
summer…..i stand with you on this one.
As far as the rest of you guys, you really have to stop judging a film based upon what is here today. In the fifties, films did have a different pacing. The Tingler scared the bejeezus out of people then and watch it now and what happens? The most important thing to do with older films is gather the overall essence of the time. This was a scary time. People thought the world was going to end at any day or time. The Twilight zone started much later than this. I have the same argument with you about The Omega Man. Car Chases, Action, they were all different then. This is 1951. You Instead of judging films against now, you should compare them with what was being made at the time..
I’m with Summer. Joe, especially, seems to have trouble appreciating works of an earlier time. Apparently, he’s just too young to appreciate the kind of cherished crap we had to grow up with.
Anyway, I’m a big fan of the film. I think it was a very huge advance at the time.
I agree with Summer in her rebuttals to the guys’ objections. Of course they were kind of silly objections to begin with. The guy being jealous of another guy spending time with her boyfriend? That would be obvious I think. It’s obvious that Summer saw this movie more than once and thought about the details as well. The guys just saw it once, recently, and basically dismissed it as being boring. But a lot of movies seem ordinary at first, but it stays with you and grows on you. This film has proven itself over the years and I think it would be wise for Michael and Joe not to dismiss it so quickly. Another great SF movie (better than this I think) is “Solaris” (the 1974 Tarkovsky version). It is so deep and touching on so many levels. Also I’m sure many people seeing it today for the first time would think it was the most boring thing in the world…
Sorry, please substitute “his girlfriend” for “her boyfriend” in my post above…. ha..ha.. ha.
First of all, I’ve taken film criticism classes. And the way I learned it, one important way of approaching a film is with as much of a blank slate as possible. Judging it solely based on its own internal logic, its own rules, etc. That’s how I go after the films we discuss on KAMN. If it seems illogical to me now, I point that out whether or not it wouldn’t have seemed illogical to someone in the fifties. And if it bores me now, ditto. Sure, there are other, more contextual ways to appreciate cinema, but I don’t think the way I approached this film betrays a massive amount of ignorance of film criticism on my part.
Just saying.
Horror of horrors, they’re actually going to remake it, and it’s going to star Keanu as Klaatu.
Okay fox, similarity in name should not qualify one for a role.
Unles you’re Tony Danza.
Hey, just came across the site after coming across a link at mmmcommentaries.
This and Colossus the Forbin Project are the first two reviews I’ve listened to and…………… thank goodness for Summer! The guys come across as pretty ignorant of much of sci-fi film history (”Why isn’t his clothing bulletproof? His clothing would be bulletproof!” or “that actress isn’t very good” (cough, cough, Patricia Neal, Best Actress Oscar 1964).
Oy.