The Day the Earth Stood Still at MISFITS Movie Night by Tim Wick
I know that a bunch of movies opened this week. I know that I could have
gone to see Small Time Crooks or
Dinosaur or something that was actually
NEW. But I didn't. This was a weekend for old (pre-2000) movies. In
addition to The Day the Earth Stood Still, I watched the Bela Lugosi
Dracula for the read the book/see the movie club and rented Bringing out
the Dead and For Love of the Game.
I should explain that the reason I don't see every new film is because I
just don't have the time (like just about everyone else). I tend to put off
watching the movies that look merely "OK" until they come out for rental.
Both films I rented this weekend fell into that category and I was about
right. Neither one actually sucked, but there was nothing of particular
note to remember them by.
Why that is relevant to this review is because The Day the
Earth Stood
Still is remembered (as is Dracula, but I'm
not reviewing that here) as a
classic. I had actually <gasp> never seen the film
before this weekend and
was told that I could not call myself a true science fiction film fan if I
had not seen the film. OK, maybe that is overstating it a bit. Point is
that I felt compelled to see this movie when we offered it for MISFITS movie
night this month.
Now let me be clear, I would have gone if I had thought the film we were
showing was complete crap. I love
MISFITS movie nights. The experience is
more than just the chance to see great (and not so great) films on the big
screen again. It is a movie party on a grand scale. The perfect fusion of
social interaction and movie watching.
Most people would observe that I don't do a ton of socializing before the
movie starts, which is true. I tend to stand around in a daze due to the
fact that I'm about to be up until some very whacked out time of the morning
watching this film. Then I'm going to sit in the lobby of the theatre and
talk about movies with whoever has stuck around until Nathan kicks us out.
Given my kid now wakes up about six in the morning, one could observe that
this plan is not too bright. I agree. So I stand there before the film
shaking my head and wondering why the hell I'm doing this again.
It's all part of a ritual, though. I have to spend some time wondering how
I will stay awake for the film or I'm not doing it right. Then I go into
the theatre and sit down and enjoy the "pre-show",
which typically consists
of Jeremy Stomberg, Perrin Klumpp and Nathan Block doing strange trivia
contests and other weirdness. Though long, this serves to bring together
everyone in the theatre so you sort of feel like you are all watching this
in someone's really big living room. Then we get to watch a few trailers.
Nathan has a pretty extensive collection and though
I rant about trailers, they are fun
to watch once I have seen
the movie.
Finally the movie starts. It takes a while to get there, but that's fine.
The lead in is part of what makes the movie nights fun.
That and I strongly fell that any movie is better on the big screen. Even
the films that are not the blockbuster effects movies. Fact is that the
movie theatre is something like a sensory depravation chamber that focuses
you on the film. I'm rarely blown away by movies that I first see on video
or DVD because of all the distractions. The can wants to be petted, the
baby wants to be fed, the phone rings, the dishwasher is running, and so on.
They are all missing in the movie theatre (unless some moron answers their
cell phone).
So I would guess I'm pre-disposed to enjoy a MISFITS movie just because I'm
there and I'm already having a good time. That didn't save Legend for me.
I thought it was long, boring, and fought to stay awake. But I sure gave it
a fairer shake than I would have had I rented the film and watched it in my
living room.
That said, there is a reason why The Day the Earth
Stood Still is a
classic. The film stands as more than a period piece, which is not true for
so many other science fiction films of it's era. Why does this film rate as
a classic?
Frankly, I won't do a good job of comparing this movie to other 50's science
fiction because I have watched very little of it. As I've mentioned before,
I'm a Star Wars baby. My knowledge of science fiction
film of the last 23
years is far superior to my knowledge of the films that preceded May, 1977.
Still, I can note that in the height of the red scare, science fiction
aliens were typically presented as analogies for the "red menace"
that was
on the other side of the ocean. People knew so little about the Soviet
Union that it could easily have been run by aliens.
What The Day the Earth
Stood Still did was play on that hysteria that would have so obviously been
there had a space ship landed in Washington DC at that time. Everyone
thinks the aliens are there to destroy the earth. The fight or flight
reflex kicks in, but it's not as if these people can go anywhere. So they
fight someone who has come in peace. We know this from the moment we see
him, but the people of the world he has come to haven't the ability to
discriminate. Alien equals communist equals evil in their minds.
Of course the simple fact is that the greatest enemy the human race has ever
had was themselves and this movie goes to great pains to remind us of this
fact. Despite the fact that this alien (Klaatu) has never acted to hurt
anyone in any way, he is perceived as a threat. He holds in him the power
to save the planet from their own juvenile bickering, but they seek to
destroy him instead. Once again we are shown that for all our belief that
we are advanced race, we would destroy Christ today just as we did 2000 (or
so) years ago.
Despite using religious imagery, the message is not a religious one. Moral,
yes, but not religious. in fact, it is not to the church that our alien
goes for aid, it is to the scientists.
Some of the subtle digs at American society are wonderful. While two men
discuss why it is that the aliens have such long life spans, they light up
cigarettes. The film does not focus on this fact, it simply allows it to
happen. It looks perfectly natural, yet when placed in the context of the
conversation they are having it becomes something more.
At another point, Klaatu shows his power by stopping all the electricity in
the world for 30 minutes. Despite the fact the Hospitals, planes in flight
and other similar things that hold human lives in the balance are not
affected, the army decides that they must now destroy Klaatu. Thus the film
perfectly demonstrates how intentions that are clearly not warlike or
destructive and interpreted to be destructive because of a pre existing
assumption.
The fact is that the human race hasn't changed all that much. We have
different "enemies" and we continue our
"petty bickering" as Klaatu so
rightly calls it. The reason this film stands the test of time is because it
is a voice of reason that was made during a time when very few people were
listening. The tragedy is that even though this film has passed into the
realm of being a classic, we still are not paying attention to what it
really has to say.
This is a five beaker film because it stands out as a wonderful example of
what filmmaking is capable of. Sadly, you have missed your chance to see it
on the big screen. Take the time to
catch it on the small one.
If you want to know more about upcoming features as
MISFITS movie night,
check out the information on this site. It rates five beakers as well.
And a special note -- as part of the June 2000 Movie, The Matrix, we're encouraging people to come out in costume, and we'll have prizes! Ok, you might not need you sunglasses at midnight, but hey, why not!
|
