The Day the Earth Stood Still was decades ahead of its time and being made in 1951 truly makes it so.



Not like the cheap junk that followed being stupid looking, jerky, monster aliens that ate, killed, enslaved or mind controlled every human, this movie has a believable story line with real actors, actresses, acting and a plot.



I saw this movie with my Dad and although he's gone now remember being a kid and liking what my Dad liked and that was a good thing.



My father served in WWII and only talked of it when he recalled a funny or interesting story that never contained the death or grossness of war. He was able to put that behind him and see this movie as entertaining. As you can read in the inside jacket info the US military (then the War department) would have no part of the movie so the tanks and other military equipment was loaned by the Virginia National Guard.



Remember there was no CGI (computer generated images), heck there weren't even any computers and special effects were extremely limited. So when and if you watch The Day the Earth Stood Still keep this in mind and don't expect a display of 2000+ technology when this was made in 1951 and before color movies were a must, it is in black and white. However, you will see real actors, a mostly believable plot and of course remember it was the Winner of the Golden Globe 1951.



The decency of SciFi was not returned to until as far as I remember Star Trek. Also you'll learn where and what "Klaatu Barada Nikto" means. My son had heard it many times but didn't know where it came from or what it meant until he watched watch The Day the Earth Stood Still with me. Three generation can't be all wrong, this is a timeless creation if you can let loose of your must be today stuff to be good intolerance.