It’s strange — by not owning a television, I sometimes find myself behind the curve on some things that everyone else seems clued-in on.  Movie previews are an excellent example of this curious TV-less lifestyle effect. Earlier today, my girlfriend happened to mention that she’d seen trailers for a remake of the science fiction classic The Day The Earth Stood Still, a movie I count among my all-time favorite flicks.  As this was the first time I’d heard about a remake, I rushed to go find an on-line copy of the trailers currently airing on television (try YouTube if you haven’t seen any of the trailers). Needless to say, as in the case of most movie remakes, I wasn’t exactly thrilled with what I saw.

If you’ve never seen the original movie, stop what you’re doing now and go buy or rent a copy of this classic film.  Trust me — you won’t be disappointed.  The Day The Earth Stood Still is a landmark in early sci-fi cinema.  Neatly avoiding the usual ‘monster from space’ theme common in the early days of science fiction films, the original 1951 movie stood out by offering movie-goers an insightful and often disturbing look at what first contact with an alien race might really be like.

In director Robert Wise’s feature film, the most terrifying monsters we see on-screen are the frightened Earthlings surrounding the newly-arrived spacecraft — there are no bug-eyed monsters eating human brains in this thoughtful film.  What we do see is a fearful public and a legion of soldiers quickly encircling the silvery flying saucer as soon as it touches-down in Washington DC.  Guns, bazookas, tanks and artillery are brought in and readied to fire, seemingly at the slightest provocation.  The moment the alien descends from his ship his first words are, “We have come to visit you in peace and goodwill.”  In the crowd of men and women surrounding the ship we soon see soldiers lifting their rifles and cocking their pistols, as if in response to these words.

Seconds later, a shot rings out as an over-egger solider fires his gun when the alien pulls-out a vaguely cylindrical object from his spacesuit.  Just then, an 8-foot tall robot lumbers out of the spaceship and begins firing what looks like a disintegration beam, reducing the guns, tanks and artillery — but curiously not the men holding them — into piles of molten metal.  The wounded spacefarer recovers from the initial attack and soon calls-off the robot’s assault.  At the end of the brief battle, no one has died but blood has been shed.  It’s an ominous sign and all-to realistic depiction of mankind’s first meeting with an ambassador from outer space.

It’s hard to imagine how Hollywood expects to top this classic film.  I have no doubt we’ll see new and improved special effects, but the most dramatic moment in the movie, reflected in the title, requires not a single FX shot from the studio.   There’ll likely be spectacular explosions this time around — there were none in the original film — but eye-popping death rays were never the point anyway.  The original film’s central message, that human beings haven’t yet come to grips with the power of our weapons vs. our propensity towards fear and violence, still rings true more than half a century later. I’m of the opinion that Robert Wise nailed it the first time around in the original movie; no remake is liable to change that fact and I’m dubious that today’s Hollywood will improve upon this classic story. Keanu Reeves may deliver a stellar performance reprising Michael Rennie’s role as Klaatu, but in the end I predict we’ll have little more than a cheesy retelling of an already exquisitely well-told tale.