Cheap Forbidden Planet (DVD) (Walter Pidgeon) (Fred M. Wilcox) Price

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Customer Reviews of Forbidden Planet

Forbidden Planet is essentially a Shakespearean play, The Tempest, set on a distant planet and in the far future. And that's what I liked best about the movie--it made relevant for me an ancient play that I had never really understood.

Several elements of the movie influenced modern science-fiction films. The first was the use of serious, state-of-the-art, special effects to create major characters in the movie. There's a robot who plays a pivotal character, and there's the evil creature that's born of alien technology and human frailty.

And there's a willingness to deal with serious subjects like the nature of the human subconcious, jealousy, the will to survive. The characters are real, and well-acted. Though for folks used to seeing Leslie Nielsen in comedic roles it may take some getting used to in this serious role.

All around a well-crafted, thoughtful, and influential piece of cinema. Highly recommended. END

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!

Great Sci-Fi
Like all good film science fiction, "Forbidden Planet" keeps its concepts simple but their ramifications grand, which is just one of the reasons it is a timeless classic. Made at a time when sci-fi was the junk that kept restless kids in theater seats on Saturday afternoons, this ambitious take on Shakespeare's "The Tempest" nonetheless also aims for adults that grew up on the pulp fiction of the 1920s and 30s. (Its delightful production design is a seamless mix of colors, forms, and shapes familiar from those imaginative magazine covers.) The premise is Star Trek a decade before Star Trek, as a military cruiser commanded by the hard-nosed but humane J.J. Adams (Leslie Nielsen doing an effective melodramatic turn) visits a world populated by a secretive scholar (a wonderful Walter Pidgeon), his curious daughter (a sometimes grating Ann Francis), their robot butler (the epitome of mechanical men) and a mostly unseen terror (illustrated by topnotch Disney animators). Beyond great special effects and an innovative musical score, the film also engages a firm--if now familiar--science fiction plot, unlike so many of the noisy and expensive but ultimately overwrought and empty-headed sci-fi movies of today.