- A dutiful robot named Robby speaks 188 languages. An underground lair offers evidence of an advanced civilization. But among Altair-4′s many wonders, none is greater or more deadly than the human mind. Forbidden Planet is the granddaddy of tomorrow, a pioneering work whose ideas and style would be reverse-engineered into many cinematic space voyages to come. Leslie Nielsen plays the commander who
A dutiful robot named Robby speaks 188 languages. An underground lair offers evidence of an advanced civilization. But among Altair-4′s many wonders, none is greater or more deadly than the human mind. Forbidden Planet is the granddaddy of tomorrow, a pioneering work whose ideas and style would be reverse-engineered into many cinematic space voyages to come. Leslie Nielsen plays the commander who brings his spacecruiser crew to the green-skied world that’s home to Dr. Morbius (Walter Pidgeon), his daughter (Anne Francis)…and to a mysterious terror. Featuring sets of extraordinary scale and the first all-electronic musical soundscape in film history, Forbidden Planet is in a movie orbit all its own.This 1956 pop adaptation of Shakespeare’s The Tempest is one of the best, most influential science fiction movies ever made. Its space explorers are the models for the crew of Star Trek‘s Enterprise, and the film’s robot is clearly the prototype for Robby in Lost in Space. Walter Pidgeon is the Prospero figure, presiding over a paradisiacal world with his lovely young daughter and their servile droid. When the crew of a spaceship lands on the planet, they become aware of a sinister invisible force that threatens to destroy them. Great special effects and a bizarre electronic score help make this movie as fresh, imaginative, and fun as it was when first released. –Amazon.com
On the DVDs
On disc 1 of the colorfully designed 2-disc 50th Anniversary Edition of Forbidden Planet (also available in a collector’s box), the movie is presented with a new digital transfer from restored picture and audio elements, with soundtrack remastered in Dolby Digital 5.1, offering considerable improvement over the film’s previous DVD release. A selection of deleted scenes were taken from a faded and scratchy 16-millimeter “work print” that had originally been viewed by composers Louis and Bebe Barron as they were creating the film’s unique electronic score; they consist of full or partial scenes cut from the final film– mostly for good reason, but collectors (and those who first saw this rare material on the original Criterion Collection laserdisc) will welcome their inclusion here. The “lost footage” is crude special-effects test footage, primarily of interest to sci-fi historians and aficionados. Given the fact that the original “Robby the Robot” cost over $100,000 to build in 1955, it’s easy to see why MGM wanted to get their money’s worth: An excerpt from the 1950s TV series “MGM Parade” shows Forbidden Planet star Walter Pigeon appearing briefly with Robby, and the popular robot gets even more attention as a guest star in “The Robot Client,” an episode of the Thin Man TV series (starring Peter Lawford and Phyllis Kirk) that originally aired on Feb. 28, 1958. Disc 1 also includes a gallery of seven science-fiction movie trailers dating from 1953 (The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms) to 1960′s The Time Machine.
Disc 2 begins with 1957′s The Invisible Boy, a still-enjoyable B-movie that served as Robby’s post-Forbidden Planet showcase. Here, filmdom’s favorite automaton plays sidekick to a young boy (Richard Eyer) who turns invisible when he gets caught up in a super-computer’s scheme of global domination. Also included are three documentaries, ranging from very good to excellent: In addition to reuniting the surviving cast members of the ’56 classic (including Leslie Nielsen, Anne Francis, Richard Anderson, Warren Stevens, and Earl Holliman), “Amazing! Exploring the Far Reaches of Forbidden Planet” is an appreciative tribute to Forbidden Planet with some of Hollywood’s foremost sci-fi fans including special effects masters Dennis Muren and Phil Tippett, SF movie expert Bill Warren, and others. “Robby the Robot: Engineering a Sci-Fi Icon” is a featurette about the robot’s design, creation and pop-cultural history, featuring original “Robby” designer Robert Kinoshita, Bill Malone (current owner of the original Robby), and Fred “The Robot Man” Barton, a lifelong robot fanatic who now sells fully authorized, full-scale replicas of Robby for sci-fi fans with deep pockets. Closing out disc 2 is “Watch the Skies!: Science Fiction, the 1950s and Us,” a 2005 documentary from Turner Classic Movies, written and directed by Time magazine critic Richard Schickel. It’s a thoroughly comprehensive survey of ’50s sci-fi and its influence on the next generation of film directors, including engaging interviews with George Lucas, Steven Spielberg, John Carpenter, Ridley Scott and James Cameron. –Jeff Shannon
Buy “Forbidden Planet “ For Only $14.99
March 5, 2010
#1
I ordered the movie Forbidden Planet (NEW) through Amazon.com, when I received the DVD the disk inside was not the DVD I ordered, isted, the titled DVD that was in the factory sealed Forbidden Planet pakage, was “THREE TO TANGO”, I cannot find a proceedure or a method to resolve this situation on the amazon.com web site. I am out $14.99, and I still do not have a copy of Forbidden Planet. My sudgestion, is do not buy this DVD online anywhere, but rather, buy it from a local store, where you can take it back, if you are unlucky enough to get stuck like I did.
March 5, 2010
#2
There are a handful of 1950′s sci-fi movies that have a big reputation – “When Worlds Collide”, “The Thing From Another World”, “Forbidden Planet”, and “The Day the Earth Stood Still”. Unfortunately, only “The Day The Earth Stood Still” really stands up (except the robot).
This movie has big concepts, and none of them work anymore, if they ever did. Part thriller, part drama, part mad-scientist melodrama. There are just too many things going on, and all of them “supposedly” explained in long-winded speeches that answer nothing.
“Forbidden Planet” starts off looking much like Star Trek TOS, including the transporter. In reality, ST:TOS creator Gene Roddenberry admits this movie formed part of the basis for Star Trek. In a nutshell, a United Planets space cruiser captained by Leslie Nielsen lands on Altair, against the wishes of its inhabitant, Dr. Morbius, a remnant from a previous expedition. He and his 25 year old daughter (Anne Francis) are the only humans on the planet. There is also a robot called “Robbie”, of course, similar to that of the “Lost in Space” series. The doctor reluctantly shows the others his discovery about an ancient extinct race called the Krell. The “big” ending is too weird and funny to be described.
The entire robot aspect and the tasks he performs is just silly (in the “Lost In Space” vein). Earl Holliman’s character of “Cookie” was put in for comedic effect – unfortunately most has to do with his dealings with the robot – including getting the robot to make bourbon – which only adds to the silliness.
The actors are quite serious and for the most part are OK. Leslie Nielsen plays it straight. Anne Francis is entertaining as the daughter who is initially somewhat innocent and ignorant of sex. As might be guessed, the captain ends up with her.
The sets are incredibly hokey. The all-electronic score does not help. Ambitious, atrociously fake special effects that probably were OK in 1956. Possibly the goofiest sci-fi movie ever. Don’t get me wrong – this is a well-made and well-intentioned movie, but as with “When Worlds Collide” and “The Thing…”, it is recommended only for a laugh.
A further insult is that the robot is not accurately depicted on the DVD cover and he never holds anyone in his arms.
March 5, 2010
#3
I received the DVD. It would not play on my DVD player. Thinking that the HD DVD would not play on the older DVD player, I purchased an HD DVD player only to find out the DVD was actually BAD – NOT IN PLAY MODE.
March 5, 2010
#4
ATTENTION! MY RATING SHOULD BE 3 STARS BUT IT SEEMS I CAN”T CORRECT RATING, ONLY THIS TEXT.
Sci-fi pulp fiction. Good effects for the time (and not bettered for several years). Story is a bit dated but still holds up fairly well. Loaded big name stars of the day!
March 5, 2010
#5
All the other reviewers were perhaps too upset about the image quality, to note that *gee* this story is long on technology exposition, free of character, and story telling cohesion. This movie stinks. Who in their right mind would recommend this movie to another sentient being?
1. It’s so god awfully boring. Most of the movie is Walter Pidgen explaining outrageous(not really) technology in a professorial monotone in a single camera shot. Apparently they spent all their money making Robbie the Robot’s gyroscopes motorized instead of hiring a director with even a kindergartener’s understanding of composition. Also the director really wants you to get how amazing techonology is! Even it means this movie crawls at a snail’s pace unrelieved by true wonder, or a glimpse of an alien tentacle. See the five minute shot of the flying saucer’s landing gear- an homage to a stainless steel column stool a la a fifties diner.
2. The first third of this movie is a nerds-only sex farce wherein various corn-pone nineteen fifties types try to teach Virgin Anne Francis how to kiss. Anne Francis on the other hand is too busy taming the inexplicable tigers that roam planet Altair with her Virgin powers. That or the space cook trying to get Robbie the Robot to make him up some Kentucky Bourbon. And then suddenly this drops and Anne Francis doesn’t say another line until the last five minutes of the movie. Because Walter Pidgen has to come back on and do more exposition the wonders of Krell technology, a long dead alien race we haven’t glimpsed or known about until the second act.
3. Just in case you weren’t going gaga over the blinking lights, and far-out techno sounds that accompany them *don’t worry* there is a big ole monster that comes along. Again due to budgetery concerns this monster is INVISIBLE. We do however get to see a vewy scawy plaster cast of a claw.
Were this a Star Trek episode, it’d be succinct and succulent. Instead the only thing worth seeing in this movie is Walter Pidgen’s totally swank Jetson’s pad, Anne Francis’s perky little bod, and Leslie Nielson when he had brown hair. Apparently it inspired Star Trek which is perhaps the only reason in a million years you might want to watch this forgettable trash.