Forbidden Planet [HD DVD]
by Fred M. Wilcox
![Forbidden Planet [HD DVD]](/images/Forbidden-Planet-HD-DVD-B000I2J2W2-L.jpg)
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Anne Francis, Jack Kelly, Leslie Nielsen, Walter Pidgeon, Warren StevensDirector: Fred M. Wilcox
Cinematographer: George J. Folsey
Editor: Ferris Webster
Producer: Nicholas Nayfack
Writer: Allen Adler
Writer: Cyril Hume
Writer: Irving Block
Writer: William Shakespeare
DVD: Region Code 0
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Subtitled); French (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled); English (Original Language); French (Dubbed); Spanish (Dubbed)
Format: AC-3, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, Subtitled, Widescreen
Picture Format: 2.40:1
Running Time: 98 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2006-11-14
Audience Rating: G (General Audience)
Studio: Warner Home Video
Movie Reviews of Forbidden Planet [HD DVD]
Movie Review: Ahead of its time -- by many decades
Summary: 5 Stars
Get this: A great sci-fi film with a plot based on Shakespeare's The Tempest, in ultra-wide screen (2.40:1), electronically created soundtrack, dazzling color. AND MADE IN 1956!
I would love to see this re-released for the big screen, but while waiting forever for Warner to issue the Blu-day disc I decided instead to opt for an already available 1080p disc in HD DVD which was released in November, 2006, for the true 50th anniversary.
Unless you have spent your entire life on Pandora, you probably know the story of the space ship, United Planets Cruiser C-57D, under the command of Commander J.J. Adams (a dark-haired Leslie Nielsen) sent to rescue survivors on an earlier mission to Altair IV, which is rebuffed by the sole survivor. Dr. Edward Morbius (Walter Pidgeon), who lives with his daughter, Altaira (the beautiful Anne Francis), born on the planet, and his articulate, handyman robot, Robby. Morbius warns Adams not to land because an invisible monster eliminated all members of the earlier Bellerophon crew, and that Adams's crew could meet the same fate. Of course, Commander Adams rises to the challenge and the film begins.
The film was shot entirely indoors on M-G-M Culver City sound stages. Special effects for the landing sequence and the monster were created by an animator, Joshua Meador, on loan from Disney, and are incredible for 1956. Some matted frames (e.g., Altaira and the tiger) are a bit crude by current standards but Lucas reworked the original Star Wars a few years ago because his were not much better in 1977. The extras show deleted scenes -- crude, but amazing they exist at all -- and lots of interesting tidbits that will engage you. Robby the Robot (which cost an expensive $125.000 to build) had a career outside Forbidden Planet, particularly on the TV show The Twilight Zone, but it is documented in the extras by the film The Invisible Boy and by a The Thin Man TV episode in crystal clear black and white.
The Blu-day disc, though four years late, should be as feature-filled as the HD DVD disc, and I recommend it highly.
There is talk of a Forbidden Planet remake. It is truly unnecessary, much as the terrible remake of The Day the Earth Stood Still. The 1956 version stands the test of time quite well.
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