Forbidden Planet

IMDB
First time viewed: No
Current Release: No
Watched With: Myself

Just got back from Return to the Forbidden Planet and that's the perfect excuse to check out my new bluray of the original classic. I have such love for this film, that many people look at as a funny 50's sci-fi B-movie but never seem to realise that at the time of it's release there was NOTHING  b-movie about this. This is a top notch production, a widescreen production with great actors and every crew member, the top of their field. They spared no expense with this film and whilst there are the occasional hammy lines there's some astounding intellectual concepts at the heart of the story(very loosely based around The Tempest). The Destruction of the Krell, the idea of a subconscious monster manifested unwittingly from someone blows my mind to this day. The idea's been used many many times since, but this is where it all began.

This really is where a lot of core sci-fi concepts were created and visualised. The electronic score is infamous. The teleporter beams and handheld communication devices pop up again later in Star Trek. Robbie the Robot is the original and the best. And their ship is a friggin Flying Saucer! So awesome. This film paved the way for countless others. It's influence is still seen in modern movies.

Now I don't much care for the drama with the girl and the officers. Although it is a bit of 50's fun, as is some of the bad humour with the Robot making Alcohol for a crew member. But that monster from the ID scared the CRAP out of me. They "borrowed" some animators from Disney to create that thing and it's damn impressive work. (The Lazers, not so much). I couldn't really comprehend why that monster existed when I was younger but Just knew when you heard those footsteps, you were in serious trouble. Invisible monsters were not good for my very active young imagination. Predator gave me nightmares for months.

Oh and I love love love the matte paintings and the way they create the interior of the planet and those impossibly massive spaces. On the bluray you can seethe slight changes in brightness where matte lines appear but I love that about it too. Everything about these films are hand crafted. That giant landscape background on the ship set is impressive.

Man it looks amazing, they've done a brilliant job making this looks it's best in HD. This film and films like The Day the Earth Stood Still made sci-fi legitimate. They are fun and fantastic and also very thought provoking. They both have pretty dire messages too but nevertheless, they were massively popular at the time of their release and there's no reason they shouldn't still be though of in such high esteem today in my opinion.