Rating: 4/5
Cult Movie Challenge 2018 | 14/52 | 50s Sci-Fi
Through the cosmic void, something arrives on our planet. A military station picks it up on radar at 200,000 feet going 4,000 mph. Cut to a radio station in Calcutta making a similar report of a sighting. All around the world, people are tracking this object and reporting it to the world via radio. An eerie hum fills the National Mall in DC as the object, a glowing saucer, makes a landing. The people present run away in terror as it touches down. The military assembles in preparation, cordoning off the ship. After two hours, a plank emerges from the side of the saucer. The dome pulls apart, and a humanoid alien exits the saucer.
We have come to visit you in peace and with goodwill.
Still, the army men hold close to their weapons, and closer still as the alien pulls a small device out of its outfit. When the alien shakes the device, a nervous officer shoots and injures the alien. A thick robot emerges from the ship, sending the onlookers fleeing. The robot opens its visor, and a glowing beam emits as it disintegrates all of the weapons and tanks. The alien, Klaatu, stands up and stops the robot, Gort. Klaatu picks up the remnants of what he held — a gift for the President to study life on other planets.
Klaatu barada nikto!
The military takes Klaatu to the hospital, where the President’s Secretary comes to visit him. Klaatu requests a representative from every nation on Earth, so that he can relay an important message to them. The Secretary assures him that it would be difficult, considering the nations don’t all, um, get along. Klaatu doesn’t care about Earth’s petty squabbles and will not show favoritism to any country or group, intentional or otherwise. So, they lock Klaatu away, insisting he doesn’t interact with the world.
So, Klaatu escapes, putting the military into panic, and that panic transmits across the world. What message does Klaatu bring? Can the people of Earth put aside their childish conflicts to receive it?
The film uses Klaatu as a stand-in for the return of Christ. That is, if Jesus were to return to the Earth as it is, would Earth hear him out? Lucky for Klaatu, he only tried during the Cold War. Imagine what would have happened to him if he had tried to land in Washington Mall today.
The film does a tremendous job of building atmosphere, putting us in the heightened alert state that the other Earthlings are in just as the credits stop rolling. Through radio transmission, we see how messages reach everyone, visiting various living rooms, street corners, and other places where people gather. Through this, we gain a sense of the scale and can connect with human faces to empathize.
The film’s biggest flaw is its blatant pro-USA and Christian bias — Klaatu, disguised as “Mr. Carpenter,” gets a tour of the Washington Mall and immediately believes Lincoln was a great man. Also, it’s hella pro-police state.
Still, the structure and pacing have that icy 50s sci-fi feel that I dig. After watching a trillion terrible 50s sci-fi movies, it’s reassuring that I still find the good ones so captivating.
** Stray Thoughts **
- Love the opening credits over the space matte paintings.
- The score is incredible! Bernard Herrmann has to be an influence on Danny Elfman, among others.
- I love how it goes to so many locations to show people listening to the radio — it globalizes the community.
- I don’t think I’ve seen Frances Bavier in anything other than Andy Griffith.
- The lighting and set design on the ship are so sick. I love how they only play score in there, no foley.
- Tom is the worst!
- Thanks to Owen for the DVD! The DVD menu is fantastic.