Ancient #movie #review: "Forbidden Planet" (1956)
This is one of those #classic science fiction movies that was on my "must watch someday" list for decades but I never got around to it until this week.
In general: it's a high-budget, sincere production of true #scifi, as opposed to the "guy in a rubber costume kills people while young women shriek" monster movies that were billed as scifi in US #cinema all through the 50s and 60s. The writers and director took it seriously - it's not just exploitation junk - and it shows.
It has a good, dramatic story that has some depth to it. The cast is excellent, especially Walter Pidgeon and Leslie Nielsen (in his first or second film role, after much TV work). Interestingly, both of those actors were #Canadian. Sets, costumes, and props are good, as are the effects and matte paintings. It feels remarkably #modern for a scifi film made 70 years ago.
There are a couple of things that let it down somewhat. One is some comic relief the studio insisted on including, one character in a few short scenes. This is downright stupid and embarrassing to watch, but luckily it's all pretty short. MGM studio head: the cook is bad, and you should feel bad. Too bad you're dead.
The other is difficult to overlook. There's one female character in the movie, and the moment she turns up, the male characters from Earth all turn into idiot horndog bumpkins and lose all professionalism. Try to get by this to see the rest.