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The Day the Earth Stood Still on DVD
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Great Science Fiction Movie Posters and
images! SCI FI Movie posters for all the Science Fiction Fans of the world. |
The Day the Earth Stood Still is a 1951
black-and-white science fiction film that tells the story of a humanoid
alien who comes to Earth to warn its leaders not to take their conflicts
into space, or they will face devastating consequences.
Produced in the aftermath of World War II, the start of the Cold War, and
the development and use of the first hydrogen bombs, the film strongly and
iconically addresses issues of violence, politics, and the fear of global
annihilation.
The film stars Michael Rennie, Patricia Neal, Sam Jaffe and Hugh Marlowe.
The supporting cast includes noted journalist Drew Pearson. Screenwriter
Edmund H. North adapted Harry Bates's short story "Farewell to the Master"
for the film, with the direction of Robert Wise.
The movie is ranked seventh in Arthur C. Clarke's
List of the best Science-Fiction films of all time, just above Stanley
Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey, for which Clarke himself wrote the
screenplay. In 1995, The Day the Earth Stood Still was selected for
preservation in the United States National Film Registry as "culturally,
historically or aesthetically significant". In 2008, it was voted as the
fifth best science-fiction ever made as part of the AFI's 10 Top 10.
The Day the Earth Stood Still 2008 science fiction film is a remake
of the 1951 film of the same name. Directed by Scott Derrickson and
starring Keanu Reeves as Klaatu, the film updates Cold War themes like
nuclear warfare to more contemporary ones, such as "humans vs. nature" and
humanity's generally violent nature toward itself.
Cast
* Keanu Reeves as Klaatu, an alien messenger. Derrickson felt Reeves could
portray a lack of humanity, but he would not be "doing things that are
highly unusual or highly quirky. He’s not performing an alien like Jeff
Bridges in Starman." Producer Erwin Stoff had Reeves in mind for the role
when he had the idea to remake the film around 1993. Klaatu in the remake
is not as warm or human as Michael Rennie's interpretation in the
original, and is an alien contained in a human body, rather than an alien
with a humanoid form.
* Jennifer Connelly as Helen Benson, a microbiologist who works at
Princeton University and inducted by the government into investigating
Klaatu. Connelly was Derrickson's first choice.
* Kathy Bates.
* Jon Hamm as Dr. Granier, a NASA official who recruits Helen into a
scientific team investigating Klaatu.
* Jaden Smith as Jacob, Helen's rebellious eight-year old stepson.
* John Cleese as Dr. Barnhardt.
Production
Director Scott Derrickson admired the original film's director Robert
Wise, whom he met as a film student. He liked the idea of remaking the
film as he felt it could explore modern issues as well as it did for
concerns of the 1950s. Filming took place in Vancouver from December 12,
2007 to March 19, 2008. The film was originally scheduled for release on
May 9, 2008, but it was delayed to December 12, 2008 because filming
commenced later than scheduled.
For the film's version of Gort, Derrickson explored many possibilities for
depicting the character, but realized making a faithful homage to the
original was best. However, his form has a biological basis rather than a
mechanical one, as Derrickson theorized not all alien races would be
interested in developing machines. One script draft depicted the robot as
a four-legged "Totem" that stands upright after firing its weapon beam.
Weta Digital is creating the character.
The modern era poster for The Day the Earth Stood Still |
