The day the Earth stood still.......

[R1Geezer]

The 1951 version was a classic, wonderful film made in the days when there where very few special effects, it get's 8/10 on IMDB. I have just had the misfortune of watching the remake, oh dear! 5.5 on IMDB, not very good at all. Despite all the modern film making techniques, special effects etc why are the originals of these films invariably far better?

[squarebear]

Because they are always viewed with the rose tinted glasses of the past.

[yogi-bear]

Hi R1Geezer

I agree....the Michael Rennie 1951 classic original is FAR superior to the "pants" remake.

It just ooozes class, and style in film-making, and is genuinely frightening at times, for the year made......especially the excellent Gort robot................every time i see it on schedule....try to catch it.

:0)

[AB Editor]

Not only that - restrictions make better art. This is my general concern for CGI-laden films; they have no weight. If you look at the scrunginess of a film like The Fly (The 80's one) and compare it to any modern film which uses gruesomeness in a similar way, but with CGI, it simply doesn't compare.

Although Spike Jonze may have hit on something with Where The Wild Things Are - Animatronics/men in suits with CGI faces. Sublime stuff!

Spare Ed

[R1Geezer]

Oddly enough I like the new Gort but he was only on screen for about 10 minutes, pity because I think he could have saved the movie!

Squarebear, not true I rewatch the originals before the remakes and in this case at least, the class of the original shines through.

[Stephen_G]

I couldn't agree more, R1. It was a vehicle tailor-made for Keanu Reeves and his wooden, alien acting style.

The original is far superior because of the timing of the film - post World War II and the threat of the Cold War. Americans possibly being invaded on their own doorsteps, rather than travelling to Europe to help push back an army that had invaded another country. It's like HG Wells and the War Of The Worlds radio series. The fear factor.

I'm really glad I didn't buy it on DVD during the Christmas sales. I was deeply disappointed with it. Did Al Gore have anything to do with the script? Strangely though my mate said he enjoyed it.