The Day the Earth Stood Still
G

The Day the Earth Stood Still

From out of space...A warning and an ultimatum.

1951 • 92 min • Science Fiction · Thriller · Drama

Synopsis

An alien and a robot land on Earth after World War II and tell mankind to be peaceful or face destruction.

Our family guide

Best from age 8
90
Movie Knight Score
1270 reviews
  • 100 Reviewers · 4 · 60%
  • 75 Audience · 1266 · 40%

An alien visitor and his powerful robot arrive on Earth with a crucial message for humanity: live peacefully or face annihilation. As fear and mistrust grow, a kind single mother and her son try to understand the alien's intentions.

Violence & peril
2/10
Language
1/10
Drinking, drugs & smoking
0/10
Romance & sensuality
0/10
Scary moments
4/10

Heads up

  • Discussions of global destruction
  • Mild peril involving military and the robot
  • The powerful robot Gort can be imposing

What it models well

  • Peace over conflict
  • Understanding differences
  • Seeking cooperation

Talk about it after

  • Why the alien chose this method to deliver his message
  • What would you do if an alien landed today?
  • The importance of respecting others

Written by the Movie Knight editorial team for The Day the Earth Stood Still. Our own words, our own scoring — always double-check against your family's standards.

Where to watch

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Top billed cast

Director: Robert Wise • Crew: Edmund H. North

Trailers & clips

The Day the Earth Stood Still ≣ 1951 ≣ Teaser

The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951) Trailer

Mick Garris on THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL

Reviewer notes

RecommendedTrusted family reviewers

**What an excellent movie..** Although this movie is from 1951, not many movies made today can hold a candle to this one. It's a great story with great camera play, and great suspense and thrills as well. If you haven't seen it yet, please do so shortly, but nothing i write here can do it true justice.\ \ I was a star wars fanatic, and I couldn't stop talking about the matrix either, oh and by the way.. if yo...

RecommendedTrusted family reviewers

This is probably Michael Rennie's best cinema role here as he lands his spaceship in the middle of Washington DC. Of course, the Americans panic and surround the thing with tanks and machine guns, and when he emerges looking as human as the rest of us, only clad in a silver suit, they go and shoot him! Luckily, "Klaatu" isn't a man to bear a grudge and from his hospital bed informs the powers that be that he wants...

Recommended

**An excellent sci-fi film.** This is one of the best and most influential films from the early days of sci-fi. The theme was not new, there were several films about aliens and flying saucers, but this is one of the best and most impactful. The script is simple: the atomic arms race was threatening the world with yet another war and the hypothetical insertion of nuclear weapons into rockets led to an alien spec...

RecommendedTrusted family reviewers

I'm impatient with stupidity. My people have learned to live without it. The Day the Earth Stood Still is directed by Robert Wise and adapted to screenplay by Edmund H. North from the story Farewell to the Master written by Harry Bates. It stars Michael Rennie, Patricia Neal, Hugh Marlowe, Sam Jaffe, Billy Gray and Frances Bavier. Music is by Bernard Herrmann and cinematography by Leo Tover. Classic sci-fi...

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Details