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d. Robert Wise; pr. Julian Blaustein; scr. Edmund H. North; ph. Leo Tover; m. Bernard Herrmann; ed. William Reynolds; cast. Michael Rennie, Patricia Neal, Hugh Marlowe, Sam Jaffe, Billy Gray, Lock Martin (92 mins)

The 1950s saw the sobering realities of the Cold War. The threat of nuclear catastrophe was ever-present as both the United States and the Soviet Union increased their weapons stockpiles and their antagonism.

Amidst this uncertainty, science fiction and horror movies responded with trenchant, paranoid visions. In the field of science fiction, Cold War concerns surfaced in a number of works about alien invasion, beginning with the classic Howard Hawks / Christian Nyby version of The Thing and followed almost immediately with another bona-fide genre classic, Robert Wise’s The Day the Earth Stood Still. These films and the many that followed them have been since subject to much analysis and appreciation as a body of work with distinct historical, social and cultural importance. Wise’s film in particular was one of the first to use the supposedly escapist popular genre to make a blatantly political and even anti-militarist statement. This ushered in a nationally self-critical sentiment that Wise would return to sporadically throughout a subsequent career that saw him become one of Hollywood’s most respected craftsmen: a true veteran. Blending a concern for the future of humankind under the dominance of nuclear technology, the film also managed to be a careful evocation of trust in human nature and government as well as an unusual Christ analogy that remains potent and timely to this day.

The Day the Earth Stood Still takes place in then contemporary America. A strange object is seen in space around the Earth and is commented on by radio and television broadcasters.

The spacecraft lands in an American city. Immediately, the public and the army surround the mysterious saucer. A ramp emerges and an alien (Michael Rennie), apparently human, steps out. The military ready themselves and when Rennie offers them an object in some kind of initiating gesture he is shot. From hospital, he says that he has an urgent message for the leaders of the world and that he wants to deliver it to a joint assembly. However, the Cold War is such that the nations of the world refuse to come together for such a meeting. Rennie escapes custody but is now hunted by troops and considered a major threat to the security of the US nation. He takes residence in a house where he meets a woman (Patricia Neal) and a young boy. The boy bonds to this male role model immediately, eventually taking Rennie to a scientist for whom Rennie leaves a message. Rennie soon contacts the scientist and hopes to deliver his message to the scientific community instead; however, a demonstration of his power is warranted in the first instance. The boy follows Rennie around and soon discovers his secret, telling Neal and her boyfriend (Hugh Marlowe), who wants to turn Rennie in to the authorities, betraying him for fame and fortune.

The Day the Earth Stood Still is tensely plotted and slyly cynical. Its premise – that Earth is in danger not only from itself but from other forces in the universe if it continues its nuclear technology – was clearly a Cold War symptom.

However, it is on subtler planes that the film really enthrals: in its depiction of the military, its implications about US foreign policy and its assessment of the decency and trust in everyday people amidst a communication revolution. Radio is everywhere, television is beginning to have a major sociological influence and Wise repeatedly stresses this notion of communication technology within a nation (the US but also the Soviet Union by extension) that is unwilling to listen to and heed a message that affects its very existence. Although Rennie says that he is here on goodwill, he is nevertheless shot by an anonymous soldier. The implication is clear – the US government will only ever rely on the threat of the use of force to respond to any perceived danger and will thus treat any situation “alien” to itself as an immediate threat. When Rennie is loose, commentators and the military thus call for his elimination as a means of preserving the national security. Wise implicates the US government and its foreign policy as hence based on armed intimidation rather than any attempt to understand and negotiate differences or alternatives. The US will simply not listen to reason and so thrives on paranoia.

However, when Rennie becomes a boarder and starts to associate with humanity, in an effort to understand them better, he finds that the “ordinary” people are warmer and far more welcoming than their leaders and is driven to appeal to scientists as perhaps the intermediary representatives of reason in this hierarchy.

The discrepancy between the American people and their militaristic government is depicted as an insurmountable obstacle in the preservation of world peace. It is ironic in such a world of increasing mass media communication that the leaders of the world are so unapproachable and intent on threatening force as a means of stability. Wise then shows how easily the threat of force can turn into armed aggression as a paranoid reaction to perceived “invasion”, implying that nuclear aggression is inevitable in a world that believes the threat of armed force will impose global stability. This was a radical position to take and Wise would in the later film of The Sand Pebbles return to this sombre assessment of the use of force doctrine in American foreign policy. The Day the Earth Stood Still ties its nuclear paranoia to the theme of the fear of the unknown, in the process implying the media’s responsibility to spread truth rather than fear – a responsibility that Wise implies has not yet been met. The difference between the scientist and the militarist is that between curiosity and fear.

Vision
The 4:3 fullscreen transfer preserves the film’s original Academy aspect ratio. Although it has some grain occasionally in evidence it is a restored and far cleaner print than expected: whites look radiant; black levels are deep and the many grey areas are suitably ambiguous.

The transfer here thus accurately preserves the original’s stark sense of both urgency and authenticity in its details, revealing Wise to possess an inconspicuous style that makes for a convincingly documentary feel at times – the second unit work in the city streets with military vehicles is most effective as a tension builder in this regard. The sense of infiltrating and even contaminating paranoia runs through this movie. The repeated referencing of radio and television (and hence film itself) emphasizes the film’s thematic concern with the beginnings of the modern communication revolution. Much is thus made of the irony of a world immersed in constant communication and conversation but unwilling to listen to reason. Wise’s use of shadows is often striking and indeed was always a feature of his still under-rated film work in black and white, the legacy of his early days as editor and director with the legendary horror producer Val Lewton. Likewise, notions of constriction and the freedom of movement inform the movie and night shots add a film noir sense of foreboding regarding Rennie’s fate, making for an engrossing pace and immediacy.

Sound

Director Robert Wise leapt at the chance to direct the classic 1950s science fiction film of The Day the Earth Stood Still. What attracted him, in the wake of World War Two and the developing Cold War between the USA and the Soviet Union, was the film’s fresh, overtly humanistic message. He felt that it was timely and appropriate. However, not everyone felt that way and the film ran into problems when it came time to film certain scenes involving a military presence. For this hit film, the director needed actual Army troops and equipment (jeeps, trucks, etc) for these scenes. At that time in the 1950s, the place to get this done was through the co-operation of the US Defence Dept. Securing the Defence Dept. co-operation ensured both a legitimacy and an authenticity to the project. To secure such co-operation, procedure demanded that a copy of the script had to be sent to them for their approval before co-operation was given. When the script for The Day the Earth Stood Still was submitted, co-operation was denied on the basis the film was anti-military (and pacifist). Co-operation was eventually secured by the National Guard, who had no such objections to the subject matter or to Wise’s approach to it.

The sound transfer is efficient enough in Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo. It both preserves the intent of the original film and technologically enhances the quality of the source recordings to serviceable home theatre effect.

Much of the film’s aural design is deliberately subdued, stressing voices (again tying into the film’s dominant communication motif) and with everyday sounds broken by a suitably menacing score by Bernard Herrmann, famed for his work with Alfred Hitchcock. Here, Herrmann creates a fine sense of mounting unease and danger ably complementing Wise’s study of paranoia. The innate dignity and urgency in Rennie’s voice is used effectively to convey a genuine sense of compassion for humanity as he discovers it (especially for the boy) despite seeing its fearful, reactionary worst – hence, decent people respond to him in kind rather than with suspicion. As mentioned, Wise stresses the idea of communication – hence the emphasis on radios, etc – as, ironically, the military represent a silent, oppressive force, forever ready with a gun. Thus, the gunfire serves as a reminder of the constant threat of such violence that lies behind the US’ reliance on military forces as the supposed best first response to any event. The transfer may not compare to contemporary home theatre possibilities but more than adequately gets the job done: Wise has voiced his displeasure for artificial sound enhancements.

There are numerous special features including an original trailer, a Movietone Newsreel from 1951, which reveals the political events of the day and mentions the reception given the movie, and a “Restoration Comparison” that shows the different print quality of the various masters – the 1995 master and the print used for the laserdisc followed by a comparison of the 2002 restoration with the 2002 Film and Video Aided restoration. This reveals just how improved and clear the look of this DVD is. There is a notable commentary track by Wise and Nicholas Meyer in which Meyer asks many questions and Wise responds. They cover how Wise came to be involved, how he chose Herrmann, his use of stock shots and contemporary radio commentators and the casting of newcomer Rennie. They talk of the film’s anti-nuclear message and the fear of nuclear proliferation, with Wise calling himself an “anti-militarist”. Mentioned is the growing influence of television on film, Wise’s approach as a director, the importance of coverage and his dislike of contemporary Surround technology as an unrealistic distraction from the image. They talk of Hugh Marlowe’s character as petty, of the theme of claustrophobia and of the director’s fondness for shadows.

Of major interest is their detailed discussion of the film’s Christ analogy, the resurrection aspects of which aroused the furore of many religious leaders and may have led to a dialogue addition.