Average Rating: 
Rating:  - A "hand-crafted" masterpiece of science fiction.
Forbidden Planet is easily one of the finest science fiction movies ever made. Although released in 1956, it still compares favorably with much flashier movies from more recent years. The film is not a "blast-fest" in the Star Wars style, but blends modest action and beautiful hand painted special effects with a fascinating study of basic human nature. Those expecting 1950's B-movie special effects will be pleasantly surprised, as top quality hand rendered artwork abounds, as well as a flying saucer with no strings attached! Also, one of the more memorable big-screen automatons, Robby the Robot, appears in much of the film. The movie also contains some of the best sci-fi film music ever recorded, as it rises and falls to the mood of the scenes. To complement the attractive visuals and sounds is excellent casting, with Walter Pidgeon perfectly suited to the imperious Dr. Morbius. Fine performances by Leslie Nielsen and Anne Francis, among others, help create a dramatic tension you can feel as the film nears its climax. Monsters, mystery and a little humor make Forbidden Planet a genuine classic, which any sci-fi fan should take time to enjoy!
Rating: - 10 STARS! My Favorite - Classic/Classy Sci-Fi Movie - BEST!
OOOhhhh! Fliping through the channels...surfing the cable and ...WOW! What is this? Cool! C57D, a flying saucer with, YES it's Leslie Nielsen as ever-so-serious Captain. Forbidden Planet, was MGM's high-budget, risky venture at making the one of the finest Color Sci-Fi classics in the 50's. Unlike many of the low budget movies of the genre, FP remains to this day a very entertaining and captivating film. I have to say, that it changed my life as a kid, because it gave me the desire to explore more books about Sci-Fi. Now, I am a Software Engineer with thousands of video tapes. Monster movies are my favorites, and speaking of monsters, the one in FP is on the top of my list of BEST MONSTERS (those you really don't want to ever meet in a dark...even a well lit alley). The story: Based on a screenplay by Irving Block and Allen Adler (Fatal Planet), it takes its inspiration from Shakespears's THE TEMPEST. In a nutshell, Spacemen come to rescue a lost group of colonists, only to find that most have died long ago. Only Dr. Morbius (Walter Pidgeon) and his daughter Altaira (Anne Francis) remain. They tell Commander Adams (Leslie Nielsen) that 20 years ago, when they first landed, some invisible power killed everyone but Dr.Morbius and his wife (now deceased from natural causes). Soon, we find that the good Doctor has discovered that the KRELL, a once powerful race of aliens, lived below the surface of Altair-4 (where they are) and they created a machine that is 20x20x20 miles square (thats 8000 cubic miles of Klystrons and Relays...and they never stop self repairing themselves!). Well, before you know it, the Monster is back...and people are dying...and well, the big, bad disintigrator beams from the ship's main weapons are NOT stopping it! I must mention that this was the first movie with ROBBY THE ROBOT. ROBBY was based on Asimov's Robots Rules of order, and for the most part was just a big lovable teady-bear. He could never hurt anyone, but watch how Morbius proves this by having Robby point a "BLASTER" at the Commander! The way Nielsen clinches his fists was so telling!. The sets were beautiful, the saucer flys perfectly (notice the shadows and the dust when it lands). So much here that you simply must watch very closely to the detail, it really is worth it. Speaking of detail, the Monster was pretty easy...because it was MOSTLY invisible. Joshua Meador (on loan from Disney Studios) made the animation of the monster. It is Crude by comparison to the new Computer Generated Animation (CGA), but for its time it was AWESOME! The monster, by the way, is powered by 2700 thermo-nuclear reactors, and can recreate itself, microsecond after microsecond! NO! IT CANNOT BE DESTROYED! (You thought ALIENS were tough! HAH!) Well, there is a little love story going on with the Commander and Altaira, and Daddy doesn't like it. Go Figure! Anyway, I won't give it all away, just GET IT AND ENJOY! For a SNEAK PREVIEW, Surf the Web and go to http://www.planetario.it/fbhome.htm, this is an unofficial Forbidden Planet webpage and will give you some more details that I can give here. END
Rating: - "It will remind us...after all...that we are not God..."
"It will remind us...after all...that we are not God..."
--Leslie Nielsen as Commander J.J. Adams in the final scene of FORBIDDEN PLANET. SENSATIONAL SCREENPLAY!!! FANTASTIC MUSIC!!!
EXCELLENT ACTING!!! The producers of FORBIDDEN PLANET took Shakepeare's "The Tempest," teleported the play on the flying saucer C 57-D in the year 2200 AD past the speed of light to the planet Altair 4, threw in a mad scientist, Dr. Edward Morbius--veteran of 100 movies, Canadian Walter Pidgeon--played him opposite a young, rugged handsome space commander--another Canadian, Leslie Nielsen as J.J. Adams, an unusual blend of leading man, space captain, military man, and detective--gave the mad scientist a beautiful daughter named Altaira--21 year old beautiful blonde with a mole Anne Francis, the rumored model for the Barbie Doll--surrounded the leads with terrific character actors like Jack Kelly, Warren Stevens, Earl Holliman, and Richard Anderson (best known as THE SIX MILLION DOLLAR MAN's Oscar Goldman), and then created the GREATEST ROBOT EVER, Robby, master of "187 languages and a variety of subtongues" who serves Morbius and his daughter as security guard, chauffeur, chef, butler, and even occasional dressmaker!--lines by Marvin Miller, the classic voice for the 1950s tv show, "The Millionaire"--mixed in Freudian Psychology, a murder mystery, ray guns, THE HOUSE OF THE FUTURE, an invisible Monster From the Id, OUT OF THIS WORLD BACKGROUNDS, and the result is FORBIDDEN PLANET is a boy meets girl, boy loses girl, boy gets girl science fiction story with a white hot finish! Or as Leslie Nielsen says in the final scene,
"It will remind us...after all...that we are not God..." Chari Krishnan
RESEARCHKING
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