{"id":1102,"date":"2008-12-08T22:11:22","date_gmt":"2008-12-09T03:11:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.soundadviceblog.com\/?p=1102"},"modified":"2009-01-06T02:17:47","modified_gmt":"2009-01-06T07:17:47","slug":"blu-ray-review-the-day-the-earth-stood-still","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.soundadviceblog.com\/?p=1102","title":{"rendered":"Blu-ray Review: The Day the Earth Stood Still"},"content":{"rendered":"

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The Day the Earth Stood Still
\n20th Century Fox Home Entertainment
\nBlu-ray Disc Review By Don Lindich<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Day the Earth Stood Still, <\/em>released in 1951, is one of the two great and seminal science fiction films of the 1950s, the other being MGM’s Forbidden Planet<\/em>.\u00a0 A full color production, Forbidden Planet<\/em> has seen high definition release on HD DVD and is due for release on Blu-ray sometime in 2009.\u00a0 The HD DVD version of Forbidden Planet<\/em> was exemplary and I was anxious to see how the black-and-white The Day the Earth Stood Still <\/em>made the transition to high definition disc.\u00a0 I am pleased to report that 20th Century Fox has done an amazing job in every respect, from the image and sound quality to the special features. Even the menus are reason to celebrate!\u00a0 Just in time for the remake starring Keanu Reeves (opening this week) The Day the Earth Stood Still<\/em> has come to Blu-ray.<\/p>\n

Most sci-fi buffs have seen The Day the Earth Stood still, but if you haven’t, here’s an introduction.\u00a0 A flying saucer is tracked flying 4,000 mph through Earth’s atmosphere.\u00a0 It lands at the National Mall in Washington, DC and a crowd (including the military with a lot of firepower) gathers.\u00a0 A man in a spacesuit emerges, saying he comes in peace and goodwill and advances towards the crowd.\u00a0 The reaction is anything but peaceful, and the enigmatic robot Gort (Lock Martin) emerges from the spaceship to neutralize the threat.The visitor’s name is Klaatu (Michael Rennie) and he has an urgent message for the leaders of the world.\u00a0 The government is not cooperating, so he must find another way to deliver the message as he melts into society, hiding and learning about humanity from a young boy, Bobby (Billy Gray) and his family.\u00a0\u00a0 Whether he will get his message out before he is harmed and humanity perhaps dooms itself as a result, you will have to find out by watching the movie.<\/p>\n

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Image credit: Wikipedia<\/strong><\/p>\n

1951 Sci-Fi, meet Blu-ray<\/strong><\/p>\n

One would naturally wonder if a 1951 black-and-white film shot in 4:3 pillarbox aspect ratio would have much to gain from the high-def Blu-ray treatment, and the answer is an emphatic YES.\u00a0 Fox has done a beautiful job transferring this movie to high-def and the look is crisp, clean and consistent throughout the film.\u00a0 Besides having the sharpness and depth to match today’s HDTVs, new details are apparent, such as Klaatu’s transparent helmet.\u00a0 It looked mostly opaque on the DVD, but in the Blu-ray version you can make out facial features and his hair underneath.\u00a0 Klaatu’s spacesuit’s spongy texture is easy to make out and you can also see imperfections in the Gort costume worn by Lock Martin, as well as see differences between the stationary prop and the costume.\u00a0 For example, the costume has small air holes under the chin of the helmet.\u00a0 The stationary prop Gort statue is solid throughout without air holes, and it shows fewer rough edges and imperfections than the Gort suit does.\u00a0 It’s almost like being on the sidelines as the movie is being made.<\/p>\n

Masterful Menus <\/strong><\/p>\n

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Main Menu <\/strong><\/p>\n

Even the menus add to the experience, even more so than they usually do with Blu-ray Disc movies.\u00a0 The imposing image of Gort and his eye beams looks awesome on a big high-def screen.\u00a0 They are even done in black and white (save for the golden glow), true to the movie experience.<\/p>\n

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Pop-Up Menu.\u00a0 Gort lives!<\/strong><\/p>\n

This disc also has the coolest pop-up menu I have ever seen… a Gort with flashing eyebeams, complete with sound effects.\u00a0 It makes nice use of screen space that would otherwise be wasted on this 4:3 presentation formatted with pillarboxes (vertical bars on the side.)Extras<\/strong>When you put the disc in the player, the first thing you will see is a high-def trailer for the new movie.\u00a0 It’s well done and one of the few color features on the disc.The Day the Earth Stood Still Blu-ray Disc has a comprehensive, high-quality set of extras, including wide variety of commentary from historians and artists.<\/p>\n