Klaatu Barada Nikto

[giza]

The first person who says, "Army of Darkness" gets tailslapped.

I just watched The Day The Earth Stood Still. It's been released into the Public Domain and can be found on Google Video:

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-3232643887050775784

It was fascinating to watch a movie from 55 years ago and see what people thought of advanced technology. They got the lifespan thing half right, and I think they're on the right track with atomic power. Could do without the robots though.

Why can't they make more movies like this? Movies that actually convey something intelligent to think about, rather than being the latest "shiny thing"?

Comments

[patchoblack.livejournal.com]

I don't know. I think we could maybe use a couple of robots that go around vaporizing tanks. It would liven up a dull afternoon...

[ionotter.livejournal.com]

"Klaatu....Barada....N!...........Necktie...Nicturn...Nickel......it's DEFINITELY an 'n' word..."

[thraxarious.livejournal.com]

A lot of those movies were borne out of the "God what terrible people we humans can be!" Ideas that have been floating around a while. You get a movie where the various big organizations are always the bad guys, do the most stupid things (though its very much open to debate on weither this is accurate enough or what) and the end has the Morale where someone is reflective of the tragic hero character.

Not that this is a terribly bad thing... Quite a few of these are very enjoyable to watch.

[boixboi.livejournal.com]

Army of Darkness!

[kinkyturtle.livejournal.com]

Because moviemaking is a business.

[greenreaper.livejournal.com]

I have the same opinion of popular music. Love and hate get so boring as topics.

[drzarron.livejournal.com]

"The Day The Earth Stood Still" is still one of the finest films anywhere, let alone Science Fiction. It holds up amazingly well. I love the landing scene, and I love how Klaatu introduces himself to Prof Barnhart.

And I think the overall message is just as valid today as it was back then.

As to why we don't get films like that today, many reasons. First of all, its actually a very subtle film in many ways. Wise knew how to use silence and when's the last time you saw a big Hollywood film that had along silent scenes?

If you get a chance, watch "Good Night and Good Luck", a lot of the same moodiness and subtlties. While that film did good, no one would put up with a SF film with the same subtlness.

And with that in mind, "people" couldn't handle big flying saucer films that isn't about special effects, a film about message not action.

[orca-and-mommy.livejournal.com]

LOL, I just watched that a few months ago with Orca and his dad. LOL, it was kind of a neat movie. I agree that movies are not near as good as they were in the :good old days". They seemed to have a lot more substance (well some anyway!)

[sirfox.livejournal.com]

why don't we see more movies like that?

Easy.

Most people don't like being challanged. It's the same reason that nearly any good TV series gets shitcanned, and yet crap and dross goes on for year after year after year. The marketing folks know that most of their audience wants more of the same, anything different or neat or unusual or heaven FORBID... thought provoking... just makes their audience uncomfortable. It creates this itch in that atrophied tissue between the ears. We can't have that.

[billroper]

How did the film manage to get into the Public Domain? I would have thought that was virtually impossible under the current laws.

[giza.livejournal.com]

The copyright holder always has the option of releasing their work into the Public Domain.