The Day the Earth Stood Still April 1, 2004

(Robert Wise, 1951, 92 min.)

7:00 pm

Introduction/discussion by Professor Sheila Murphy, Assistant Professor, University of Michigan Program in Film/Video Studies.

A spaceship lands near the White House in Washington, DC and panic ensues. Out walks Klaatu, an interplanetary traveler and his ?bodyguard? Gort, a huge robot who spews forth laser-like death rays when danger threatens. Klaatu delivers an anti-nuclear message and preaches peach for all mankind, but his message is greeted less than enthusiastically by some and leaves others in a state of fear. Sent to the hospital to heal his wounds, Klaatu is befriended by a kindly young woman and her son who show him that not all humans are bad. One of the most intelligent and well acted science fiction films yet made.