Now Screening - What Are You Watching Right Now?

[struth]

Tonight's movie is Robert Wise's si-fi classic The Day The Earth Stood Still (1951). Based on Harry Bates novella of the same name(originally called Farewell to the Master) and starring Michael Rennie and Patricia Neal.....oh, and GORT (Lock Martin)

Thought to be a "just another saucer movie" by most including Pat Neal, who stated that she thought is so silly that she could barely say her line without laughing (you can actually see that she is often stifling the desire to laugh out loud). Pat had a short affair with Gary Copper and always loved him saying he was a lovely man(something Gary's wife did not appreciate ). she married Roald Dahl and had 5 children, one of whom died of complications due to measles.

The seamless opening was produced by puttying up the cracks and over painting so that the door appeared from nowhere..closing it was just a matter of reversing the film. Music for the film is scored for 2 Theremins among other instruments. The Theremin is a hands free instrument that has 2 attenna that the musician waves his hands at to produce the sounds. one is for volume and the other for pitch. both were tuned slightly different to achieve the eerie effect.

My dvd is the Cinema Reserve tin box version with all the knobs on. PS: none of the cast were ever in Washington DC. Body doubles and backdrops were used instead.... The speeding up of the scene when the saucer lands was done because the extras could not run away properly (and people say dont work with animals)

Enjoy.......... well, I will.

[Macca]

A film I first watched age about five with my father who was a big sci-fi fan. It scared me so much I couldn't bring myself to watch it again until I was in my twenties. I think it was mainly GORT plus those Theramins - nothing sounds weirder than a Theramin.

[struth]

Fine film, and Gort scored with Patricia AGAIN..lucky robot.....God, she was a sexy beast.

I can understand that Martin at age 5 in those bygone days it must have been a shock kids of 5 usually did not see films like that..it still has a 12 rating . Think I would likely have been a teenager first time.. he was 7' 7" although quite weedy and not at all strong. He found the suit too heavy and hot and could not pick up or carry Pat Neal unaided. they used wires and dummies . he had 2 suits as well...one that laced up the back and the other up the front. Was a very tender guy apparently who loved kids.

[Barry]

"Klaatu barada nikto"

[Spectral Morn]

Tonight's movie is Robert Wise's si-fi classic The Day The Earth Stood Still (1951). Based on Harry Bates novella of the same name(originally called Farewell to the Master) and starring Michael Rennie and Patricia Neal.....oh, and GORT (Lock Martin)

Thought to be a "just another saucer movie" by most including Pat Neal, who stated that she thought is so silly that she could barely say her line without laughing (you can actually see that she is often stifling the desire to laugh out loud). Pat had a short affair with Gary Copper and always loved him saying he was a lovely man(something Gary's wife did not appreciate ). she married Roald Dahl and had 5 children, one of whom died of complications due to measles.

The seamless opening was produced by puttying up the cracks and over painting so that the door appeared from nowhere..closing it was just a matter of reversing the film. Music for the film is scored for 2 Theremins among other instruments. The Theremin is a hands free instrument that has 2 attenna that the musician waves his hands at to produce the sounds. one is for volume and the other for pitch. both were tuned slightly different to achieve the eerie effect.

My dvd is the Cinema Reserve tin box version with all the knobs on. PS: none of the cast were ever in Washington DC. Body doubles and backdrops were used instead.... The speeding up of the scene when the saucer lands was done because the extras could not run away properly (and people say dont work with animals)

Enjoy.......... well, I will.

Fabulous film and one Holywood should have left alone - the recent remake is a travesty of the quality original.



Regards Neil

[Barry]

Fabulous film and one Hollywood should have left alone - the recent remake is a travesty of the quality original.



Regards Neil

+1! It was doomed from the start by casting Keanu Reeves!

IMO most Hollywood remakes are a travesty: 'Psycho'; 'The Lady Killers' (what were the Coen brothers thinking of?) and 'Wings of Desire', to name a few.

[struth]

I think if you took the remade one on its own, and had not known of its connection to the classic then it is a well enough made film. I actually have it, although did not buy it.cannot think of a remake of a classic that was anything but a poor relation up to dire. The ones mentioned are great examples of this. The Old Dickens films are a case in point also.

[Macca]

Scarface, The Thing, Invasion of The Bodysnatchers (1979). All pretty good remakes. I actually prefer the remake of The Thing to the original version. Most of them are lousy though, I'll give you that. Ever seen the Michael Winner remake of The Big Sleep? Robert Mitchum takes the Bogart role and it is set, bizzarely, in London. Really lame.

[struth]

I,ll give you Scarface and Body Snatchers . the Sutherland one is rather good actually. Still prefer the Muni version of Scarface though, and I have both. Nearly watched the original Body Snatchers last night actually. Not seen The Thing for years, either version . I never really liked either of them that much

[struth]

Quite fancy a thriller tonight and there was no one better at it than Alfred Hitchcock, so it will John Steinbeck's The Lifeboat (1944). Set in a life-raft, the survivors of a torpedoed ship struggle with more than survival, having taken onboard a German sailor played by Walter Slezak (who also played the role of Stossel in The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm in the 60's). Although playing a German, he was actually Austrian.

Tallulah Bankhead, who would have been in her early 40's always climbed the ladder up to the water tank (the set) every morning and it was noted by the crew with much pleasure that she never wore any underwear. They used to give her a round of applause every time When Hitchcock was informed of this he stated "I don't know if this is a matter for the costume department, makeup, or hairdressing."

A much underrated Hitchcock film, and tends not to get shown much, it is possibly one of his best. The cast all suffered dreadfully especially Tallulah, who got pneumonia twice.
....Looking forward to watching this along with the extras. my copy is the Cinema Reserve 2 disc tin box version.