Forbidden Planet: 50th Anniversary Edition (Dbl DVD) (Multi-Title)

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.

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.

I bought Forbidden Planet on blu ray after getting a new TV. I am a huge sci fi fan and have every other movie out there including Star Wars/Star Trek. I was a big fan of the Lost in Space TV show and other old sci fi flicks so I thought I would give this one a try. I'm 22 years old, my 75 year old dad loves this movie and I see him watching it on TV when it's on so I took a shot and bought it on blu ray. Number one, AMAZING movie, especially for the 1950's. The funky sound effects, set design, story, acting, very excellent for such an old movie. If you want more on the movie alone you can go on wiki or IMDB for more on the movie. Regarding the blu ray disc, I LOVE IT! Superior, crystal clear picture and sound. I'm amazed how well it looks for the old cameras. Some older movies/shows I have on blu ray do not have widescreen, but this does, and it looks good. Also, the whole film has that "film grain" sci fi quality. It's not too over the top and it compliments the feel of a classic sci fi movie well. The surround sound is great, deep thumping bass, channels mixed fairly well although it's not going to sound like a new movie. Some parts you can tell the recording/mixing equipment wasn't up to where it is today, but it is still very good for the 1950's. Also, this came with "The Invisible Boy", a whole second movie in black and white with Robby the Robot. I only watched bits and pieces so far but its interesting. I don't know/think this add-in was remastered in anyway although it was in widescreen and the quality was excellent. $13 bucks? You can't beat it, I say this is a must have for your blu ray collection. Now if you are one of those people that own this movie in six different formats of DVD/VHS/whatever maybe you are skeptical and if you like what you have you don't need to waste more money. But I will say if you don't own this movie already it's definitely worth checking out whether you like sci fi movies or not.

If ever there was a movie ahead of its time its gotta be this one, even the name is cool Forbidden Planet... This is one of those movies where they did everything right and were only limited by the technology of the day. When I say everything right I mean that they had a combination of good story, good casting and good visuals. One thing I like is that it was shot in color. Many people like black and white movies, I'm not one of them... There's so much more to see when a movie is in color for example the animation for the space ships engine as it lands on Altair-4, the colors of Dr. Morbius" house and cast wardrobe, the colors of the lasers used to defend the spacecraft from the id monster. How else would you get all of that without color? Robby the Robot, you gotta love his almost cynical way of speaking to his human counterparts. Leslie Nielsen, I'm not used to Leslie in a serious leading man role, he did it well but it took a little getting used to. Then you have Anne Francis playing Dr. Morbius' nineteen year old daughter prancing around in miniskirts and no shoes most of the time, she certainly was a looker in the day. For extras we have Watch the Skies!: Science Fiction, the 1950's and Us, a 55 minute video with directors like Spielberg talking about sci fi movies of the fifties and the influence they had on them. Amazing!: Explaining the far reaches of Forbidden Planet, a 26 minute video talking about the making of Forbidden Planet. Robby the Robot engineering a Sci Fi Icon, a 13 minute video that talks about the creation of Robby the Robot. There are a couple of trailers for Forbidden Planet and Invisible Boy (another movie with Robby the Robot in it from 1957 but one serious yawner of a movie...). You have 13 minutes of deleted scenes, 9 minutes of lost footage. The Invisible Boy movie 1hr 29minutes of black and white yawnville, the follow up to Forbidden Planet. The Thin Man: Robot client a 25 minute tv episode featuring Robby the Robot. There are also a couple of 2 minute excerpts from MGM Parade featuring Walter Pidgeon. Here's a brief synopsis of Forbidden Planet. Dr. Morbius (Walter Pidgeon) is living on Altair 4 with his lovely knockout teen daughter Altaira (Anne Francis) the only survivors from a previous mission to study the planet twenty years earlier. Morbius discovers the knowledge left by a superadvanced race of beings known as the Krell that vanished over night centuries before without explanation. All of the sudden a spaceship full of twenty something year old guys from Earth shows up investigating the disappearance of the previous mission's crew. Morbius tries to dissuade the newcomers from landing on the planet but fails, disaster ensues and poor Morbius and Altair 4 suffer an early demise. Love the krell underground laboratory set, the look of the quadrupple lab doors closing from two different directions (made of indestructable krell metal) has been repeated many times in scifi movies since. The sets of Forbidden Planet really stand apart from other fifties era scifi movies like War of the Worlds and The Day the Earth Stood Still. This movie is my favorite among the fifties era space movies and a perfect candidate for a modern remake. The Blu-ray is chock full of extras and for the price you can't beat it so buy it!

I saw this movie when I was a kid and have seen it dozens of times since then. It’s a great story with fantastic special effects for the time and the soundtrack/sound effects are unique and memorable.

In 1956 MGM released Fred Wilcox's Forbidden Planet. Originally conceived as a B-movie the film has taken on a personality and a cult status that brands it as one of the most unique American films made. The film has been the inspiration for Star Wars and Star Trek and just about every modern space opera references it. The story is not a simple one and a great deal of Cyril Hume's screenplay is exposition that manages to take somewhat complex themes and make them accessible to a Saturday afternoon audience. A space cruiser piloted by Commander J.J. Adams (Leslie Nielsen) lands on the planet Altair 4 and meets the mysterious Dr. Morbius (Walter Pidgeon) and his daughter Altaira ( Anne Francis). Morbius is studying the artifacts of a strange civilization called the Krells. The Krell civilization was incredibily advanced. It had wiped out war, disease and had explored the universe 2000 centuries ago before it was itself wiped out. The story is a reworking of Shakespeare's The Tempest and the story hold up quite well after 52 years. The special effects were amazing for the time period and the matte paintings used for the backgrounds still look fantastic. The film was nominated for the 1957 Oscar for best special effects. If there is a problem with Forbidden Planet it is that the story of Monsters of the Id is somewhat dated. The film needs to be seen for the special effects production that it was. It does not need to be analysed for its story telling ability. The edition I viewed was the single disc released by Warner Brothers. There have been at least two editions released since mine came out and I understand are much more complete. The picture, while not perfect, is quite good. There are scratches and abundant markings for reel changes and the like but they do not really mar the viewing experience. The sound is a standard mono mix but is easy to understand. The disc does not feature any special features other than the trailer. The trailer features a floating yellow scroll that was duplicated to great effect in the Star Wars movies. Get yourself some popcorn pop this one in and enjoy the golden age of sci-fi moviemaking.

Good old movie

One of the best sci-fi classics ever. Is it campy? Yeah sometimes, but that is also part of its timeless charm. This was a pretty influential film for its day. Robby the Robot was very cool for the day. Even Spielberg's "Gremlins" used him in it. No other horror movie used monsters of the mind before. It was written and directed almost flawlessly. Sure, there were some campy scenes but what movie of the period didn't have campy scenes? I think a lot of horror sci-fi owes homage to this gem. No swearing, No nudity. I was going to say no CGI but there was animation, which was almost CGI for the day. This is a great film for most ages. I would not let small children watch this as I think it could cause a lot of nightmares for the young crowd. However, considering what kids watch now days, they may find it more humorous than scary. Given the time period of when this was made, I think it holds up very well.