Two great films of the 50': War of the Worlds and The Day the Earth Stood Still. Fabulous special effects, great heroes, and a message for the times. The director made it believable and appealing to all ages of viewers. What kid back then or today doesn't wish he was Bobby?

Rightfully called one of the greatest Science Fiction films ever, and certainly the #1 to come out of the 50's, this is well acted, well directed and has a great story. Unlike the incredibly lame remake, which will not be mentioned again, this is watchable again and again. Featuring state of the art effects for it's time, and one of the great robots of SF cinema history, Klattu and Gort are, at least among science fiction fans, icons. Even Ringo Starr payed homage to this film using a scene from it as a cover on his album. Brilliantly directed by Robert Wise, who also did the Andromeda Strain, Klattu a visitor from an alien alliance has come here with a warning (one of the few things the garish posters got right). He is a soft spoken man, but Michael Rennie gives him a sense of gravitas. Patricia Neal is great as the heroine who basically saves humanity from it's own foolishness. Not an alien invasion film per se, it is a movie about a first contact and even today, is still watchable.

The movie was made one year before I was born. I remember seeing it for the first time when I was very young. It enthralled me. It still does. It installed a sense of the important of science and of the greater universe. It launched me in the direction of loving space and I ended up becoming a doctor. I am serious. It did exactly what a movie is supposed to do change our minds.

I'm not sure if this a true "classic" but it's certainly excellent.As kid in the 1960s I saw this multiple times on the syndicated "Saturday Night at the Movies". I loved it then and still enjoy it now. The special effects look very weak today and it's bit preachy but the performances, dialog and pacing are top notch. The characters and setting come across as genuine representations of the era without any maudlin melodrama or contrived romantic distractions.The benevolent desire expressed by Klattu for Earth to join in peaceful interplanetary relationship is strangely offset by the warning of "And if don't do it our way we'll smash you like a bug". I suspect a more nuanced approach would ring more comfortably in our ears today.In any case, the acting is superb and the movie well-directed. Definitely in the top echelon of film-making.