DVD Review HTF REVIEW: "The Day The Earth Stood Still" (guest review by Jack Briggs) (1 Viewer)

[Barry_B_B]

Always looking to add more science fiction, especially with a message!

 

[TonyD]

javier said....

Jack, sorry to come out so harsh, but you should *at least* have told us you would actually describe the entire plot and ending of the film by reading your review.

i agree. i have seen the movie but it has been a ton of years since i saw it.
and i know several people who have not seen it and have no idea that what was described in the review takes place.

i even mentioned that i thought it revealed too much of the plot in the 5th post in this thread. but no one else even replied to that. so i figured no one cared.

my opinion is that a review should never give away any important or surprise plot details. it doesn't matter that "everyone" has seen the movie before., because there is always someone who hasn't.

a good review doesnt need to give away the details of the plot.

ron is not a seasoned, veteran reviewer but he never gives away one singler plot element if it would take away from the watching of the movie.

giving up the end of a movie is a huge problem in any review.i think.

 

[KC Alewine]

It was in the early 60's when I saw 'The Day The Earth Stood Still' for the first time on 'NBC's Saturday Night At The Movies'. I must have been 4 or 5 years old at the time and had snuck (sneeked?) out of my bedroom to hide in my favorite spot slightly behind the living room couch (where the folks were) and where I still had a pretty good view of the TV. I had just settled for the evening when that damn Gort came down the ramp (accompanied by that creepy Theramin) and started vaporizing guns, tanks, etc. It LITERALLY scared the p_ss out of me :frowning:

I never snuck (sneeked?) out of my bedroom EVER again!

I will always remember 'The Day The Earth Stood Still' as my first really scary movie! I've seen it a zillion times since, but I can't wait for the DVD.

KC

 

[DaViD Boulet]

Another must buy. I'm sure my dad has this ordered too!

BTW, I went on a house tour in Logan Circle here in Washington CD...walking into one of the homes I started noticing lots of framed prints of the movie poster for this film hanging on the wall.

Turns out it was the house where the professor lived in the movie! I got to walk through the room where the chalkboard had been.

Pretty cool!

dave

 

[Douglas R]

Just got this disc and the picture quality really is excellent. I found the stereo soundtrack very disappointing though. It adds very little and lacks spaciousness. I think the original mono track is better, possessing better clarity. There's a confusing error on the disc because one side says "widescreen" and the other "full screen". In fact the side marked "widescreen" contains the extras. The disc includes a really good and funny THX trailer which I'd not seen before.

 

[Jeff_HR]

That must of been one of those blanks that are used to hold dual versions of widescreen films. Hmmm!

 

[Randy A Salas]

There's a confusing error on the disc because one side says "widescreen" and the other "full screen". In fact the side marked "widescreen" contains the extras.

To clarify (or confuse things), my disc does not have this mistake. It is clearly marked Side A and Side B.

 

[Matt Simpson]

Excellent review 0f an excellent movie. It'll be mine asa it's available locally!!!

 

[Tom Vet]

Good Review Jack I had to straighten out one of the online dealers, I said on your page you have Color: yes. I said unless you want some angry fans you better change to B & W. He said right on I see it yes that was B & W thanks.

I then ordered it and JTTCOTEarth for a double 04/03 release date. Ron I'll bet some face was 'red' when the webmaster was told to change to B & W.

 

[Richard Smith]

Post Edited By Administrator - Please, Do Not Name Retailers that break Street Dates. Thank you.

Douglas,

Did you order your copy from a retailer? I just received my copy from them and it has the same Widescreen/Full screen printing error. Seen as Play only sell Canadian verions of R1 discs I presume that its a printing mistake on the Canadian batch. Anyhow its no biggie. I've sampled a little bit of the movie and it does indeed look gorgeous. I can't wait to watch it tonight!

 

[SteveP]

Had the privledge to do a telephone interview with Mr. Robert Wise in late 1978. What a charming, gracious and kind man--and a master craftsperson.

Always regretted that I didn't spring for the special edition autographed laser disc, but will definately pick up this DVD and share the film with many friends.

 

[andrew markworthy]

Well, I've watched the movie, the extras, and listened to the commentary. All excellent, and I concur 100% with Jack's review. [I'd have preferred just Robert Wise on the commentary, but this is a small quibble]. The restoration is superb, BTW.

For those worried that the plot's been given away, I'd say that this is an advantage. The beauty of TDTESS is the subtext, not the plot (to be honest, you can see most of it coming a mile off - you *genuinely* haven't missed much by being told it), and if your mind is liberated from the basic plot, it's far more enjoyable IMHO.

Don't know about it being among the greatest SF movies, however - surely that honour belongs to Ewoks: Battle for Endor?

 

[Randy A Salas]

[I'd have preferred just Robert Wise on the commentary, but this is a small quibble].

Nicholas Meyer is clearly there to keep Wise on track and talking about the film. Wise was 81 at the time, and I'm sure there were concerns about that. Meyer's questions and prodding might serve the laserdisc/DVD. But he clearly doesn't know the film as well as he should (the gaffe about Gort that I mentioned earlier being a prime example), and he asks many of the same questions that were addressed in the interview segments (although I don't know which was done first).

The first thing that comes up on the commentary is Wise's story about wanting to cast Claude Rains as Klaatu. It's the same story he tells at the beginning of the interview segments. And, ironically, when I interviewed him last week, it was the first thing he wanted to talk about then, too, even though it had nothing to do with my first question.

He's 89 now!

 

[Mike Soltis]

I had hoped they would have used the 'Backstory' episode on the movie which aired on AMC several months ago. Oh well, this movie is on its way to my house anyway.

 

[Randy A Salas]

I had hoped they would have used the 'Backstory' episode on the movie which aired on AMC several months ago.

I agree. One criticism of this AMC special was that it spent too much time on the Red Scare and Hollywood blacklisting. Ironically, the extras on the DVD--copied directly from the laserdisc--don't really cover these areas at all, so the Backstory segment would have been an ideal complement. At only 22 minutes long, the AMC program should have been easily accommodated on Side B with the other extras.

Speaking of which, I've now seen a second copy of the final DVD, and it also does not have the widescreen/full-screen labeling mistake that others have posted about. Like my first copy, it is properly labeled Side A and Side B.

 

[Jan Strnad]

Very nice review of one of my favorite films. My 12" Gort and Klaatu figures greet everyone who steps into my office.

How hard would it be to put spoiler tags around the plot synopsis? No matter how old a film is, how often it's been reviewed, written about, and satirized, there's somebody out there who doesn't know who Rosebud is, that the girl is a guy, or the nature of Bruce Willis's corporeal existence.

Looking forward to this DVD!

Jan

 

[Robert Crawford]

I don't know how much the LD cost? For the cost of less than $12.00, I have purchased a very fine dvd and I appreciate Fox's effort in giving their consumers a great dvd at a very reasonable price.

Also, my dvd is labeled Side A and B too.



Crawdaddy

 

[Nelson Au]

I paid over $100 dollars for the Day The Earth Stood Still laserdisc box set I bought new in 1995. This is the special edition box set with the signed and numbered sheet inside, a book on Wise's films and a CD soundtrack to TDTESS. It is numbered 124 of 2500. I will treasure it next to my Star Trek-The Motion Picture DVD that Wise also signed.

Nelson

 

[Jack Briggs]

Not hard at all. But I did everybody one better simply by rewriting the section that has apparently upset a few members. So, perhaps there are those who don't know the deal about Rosebud or the truth about that falcon statuette or about Norman's mother, etc., etc.

 

[Ray H]

There's something about the falcon statuette?! I really need to finish watching that movie!