Forbidden Planet BD

Forbidden Planet (1956), an American science fiction film that is such a classic, so influential, such a pioneer, and still quite watchable, definitely one of the best science fiction films of the 1950s and arguably the best. Set in the 23rd century, the movie is about a United Planets mission to the distant exoplanet Altair IV. A survey expedition on the ship Bellerophon sent there 20 years ago vanished without further contact, and Commander John J. Adams (Leslie Nelson, looking younger and a bit different if you all you know him from is Airplane!) is charged with commanding starship C-57D on a mission to find out what happened to the crew of the Bellerophon. In short order they contact seemingly the only person on the barren desert world, a Dr. Edward Morbius (Walter Pidgeon), who first warns Commander Adams from even landing, insisting everything is fine (despite apparently being the only survivor on a lonely world) but reluctantly giving landing coordinates to Adams’ ship when Adams insists. Upon landing, Adams and his crew find out that indeed Adams is the only official survivor from the crew roster, though there are two others, his daughter Altaira (Anne Francis) and the robot that Morbius built, the now famous Robby the Robot (played by Frankie Darro, voice by Marvin Miller, both uncredited in the film). Oh and whatever unseen force ripped limb from limb all the planet’s human visitors except Morbius and Altaira, who somehow are immune. Things seem fine at first, with Altaira growing to like several of the crewmen, first other humans she remembers except for her father, and Adams and crew eager to know the secrets the planet holds, such as what Dr. Morbius is so intensely studying away from the eyes of others, the vast scientific advances that are embodied in Robby, and what exactly happened to the rest of the crew of the ship Bellerophon. Oh and a couple developing feelings for Altaira. Then things aren’t fine, as the horrible, invisible force is back, ripping crewmen apart limb from limb and Adams and his men determined to stop this creature, thinking the solution is tied to the mysterious work Dr. Morbius does. Good film, good pacing, loved the alien scenery, the otherworldly UFO music, the movie is noteworthy for so many reasons, including being a loose adaptation of Shakespeare’s The Tempest, being a huge influence on Gene Roddenberry’s creation of Star Trek, the introduction of Robby the Robot, the first film to have a robot be an integral character to the film, arguably the first big budget science fiction film ever made, the first science fiction film that depicted humans using faster-than-light technology to visit a planet outside the solar system (up till that time, movies always showed humans visiting the Moon or some planet in our solar system), and the first film to ever have an electronic musical score. Effects and production values definitely aren’t bad, brilliant for the time. Read more

The 1950's saw an explosion of science fiction movies unlike anything that had occurred before. In fact, in the two preceding decades science fiction had been relegated to Saturday afternoon serials aimed at kids: fare such as Buck Rogers and Flash Gordon. Elements of science fiction otherwise migrated to essentially supernatural horror fare like Frankenstein, Dracula,The Wolf Man and The Invisible Man. But the late forties had seen the advent of the Atomic Bomb in 1945 followed by the twin events of Kenneth Arnold's original sighting of "Flying Saucers" and The Roswell Incident in 1947. When Robert Heinlein's Destination Moon, a relatively big budget feature, proved a big success in 1950, the race was on for the Science Fiction market. The success of The Day the Earth Stood Still in 1951 proved that serious minded films were really possible within the genre. By the time Forbidden Planet came along in 1956, there were easily twenty or more sci-fi releases per year, many of them of the attack by space invaders or giant mutated creatures variety. 1956 also saw The Invasion of the Body Snatchers, Earth vs Flying Saucers, 20 Million Miles to Earth and Godzilla King of Monsters. Forbidden Planet took a different tack: the Earth isn't in the film at all and the "creatures" are not the usual atomic mutation. it has become in retrospect one of the most famous and beloved of science fiction films. The good news is that it still holds up, as fascinating and intense as ever. The film was given quite a big budget and boasts a cast of solid actors, glorious if obviously man-made sets and animated special effects and an innovative electronic score. Oh yes, and Robbie the Robot's premiere, too. the acting mostly focuses on a stentorian-voiced Walter Pigeon as the intense Dr. Morbius who seems to be hiding something and a young, up and coming Leslie Nielsen, in those days a leading man, as Commander Adams, leader of a mission to find out what happened to the crew who were exploring the fourth planet of the star Altair. Anne Francis provides a love interest for the Commander and Earl Holliman, who became a fixture in Westerns, is the mission's cook and provider of comic relief. The film divides itself into three parts. In the first part the crew ignores Dr. Morbius's plea not to land, and their encounters with Dr. Morbius, his daughter Altaira and their faithful robot, Robbie. Viewers with today's heightened sensitivities to various cultural and political issues need to be advised that the first part is full of 50's attitudes that would be considered sexist today. One needs to notice that all of this was intended as a basically humorous setup and that there is no usu in criticizing the mores of past times from a future standpoint. The second section is the heart and soul of the film, where Dr. Morbius takes the Commander and ship's Doctor Ostrow on a tour of the immense underground machine left by the Krell, the previous occupants of the planet who died out eons ago. Morbius explains the entire history of the Krell as they wander through an animated set that retains its awesomeness today. It's an enthralling scene. The third section begins with a series of attacks on the crew and their ship and the resolution of everything. Forbidden Planet was far more than the usual attack by giant bugs or saucers (in fact, the crew's ship is a saucer and not a rocket). It ultimately leads to thoughts about the fragility of life on any planet and the fitness of beings who claim to be its rulers or stewards. it neatly takes on the underlying anxieties of the Fifties, the Atom Bomb and Cold War, and questions whether mankind is ready for power of this destructive capacity. A very fine and worthwhile film. Read more