Classic Movie Review:
Forbidden Planet
By Josh Spiegel
September 28, 2010
BoxOfficeProphets.com
There’s no question that we take special effects for granted these days. I don’t just mean that we take them for granted in that we use them all the time, and often for stupid reasons. Every movie doesn’t need special effects, but most studio films have them even when they’re completely unnecessary. There was a time when special effects were either a rare commodity in films or relegated to B-movies. So, when Forbidden Planet used them, and used them relatively well, people sat up and took notice. Whatever else I’ll say here about Forbidden Planet, I will not ignore the special effects: now, they look less than daring, but for a 54-year old movie, the work is pretty damned impressive. I wish I could say the same for the rest of the proceedings.
Most people my age who have not yet seen Forbidden Planet but are mostly familiar with popular culture of the past 30 years will probably be taken a bit aback by the appearance of Leslie Nielsen in the film. I knew he was going to be in the movie (for all intents and purposes, he’s the lead of the film), but man, did he look young. Freakishly young, honestly. Even his voice didn’t sound as deep as it’s sounded ever since the first Airplane! film. He looks much younger, he sounds much younger, and his role is meant to be taken completely seriously. Self-seriousness is, unfortunately, the first and biggest problem in Forbidden Planet. The plot is kind of minimal, despite being based on Shakespeare’s The Tempest, so all there is are the visuals and the slow, plodding romantic subplot. What’s left just isn’t that entertaining.
The story focuses on a mission to Altair IV, a planet that was meant to be colonized by Earthlings hundreds of years in the future. Unfortunately, the mission to colonize has gone, essentially, AWOL. The new mission, headed by Nielsen’s Commander Adams, is trying to figure out what went wrong. The team finds only two human survivors: Dr. Morbius and his fetching young daughter Altaira. The doctor appears to be the only survivor of the initial colonization, and says that some strange phenomenon destroyed every other member of the colonization team, but he doesn’t know why he was spared. As Adams and the rest of the male crew get close to Altaira (and it’s a lot closer to what you might be thinking), the truth about Morbius is revealed as an invisible monster attacks the crew.
So, yeah, Forbidden Planet is not a great movie. Visually, it’s impressive for its time and the all-electronic score was also a breakthrough at the time. What I’m left with, however, is a movie that’s only slightly removed from being a great candidate for an episode of Mystery Science Theater 3000. When, for example, in a tender moment between Adams and Altaira, she proclaims that he’s clearly not interested in her because he doesn’t hug and kiss her like all the other men on his ship do, you can only try so hard not bust out laughing. What is the intent of the filmmakers here? Adams is understandably put off, but still…Altaira’s been sleeping around and essentially thanks to the male crew? This is not a question of making sense—a male crew presented with a beautiful young woman who knows nothing of human ideals—but why is it in a movie that’s supposed to be all cool sci-fi?
What’s worse, Forbidden Planet is a movie that’s filled with plenty of gee-whiz gadgetry and only supposed substance. When your science-fiction film is taking its inspiration from William Shakespeare, your noble goals may end up strangling any of the wonder or excitement to be had from some of the great science-fiction stories. Nielsen, Anne Francis (as the comely Altaira), and Walter Pidgeon (as Morbius) all play things so seriously, without any awareness that, yeah, this is kind of a silly story, that it kills any momentum the film has. The main conflict is between Adams, who is portrayed as all brawn, no brains, and Morbius, whose brainpower has been heightened by the mysterious properties of the planet. The only intrigue comes when the aforementioned monster begins its attack.
It’s in these attack scenes that some of the more practical effects shine. Except for one shot that was surely dazzling back in the 1950s but is pretty silly nowadays, this behemoth is the film’s major way of not using special effects. When we see the monster plod near the Earth ship, we only see the outlines of its tracks, in effects that are a) very obvious and b) kind of cool. In the same way that we marvel when we see real stunts pulled off in action movies, it’s pretty awesome to watch this long tracking shot, with the footsteps appearing and disappearing, even if we know it’s fake. That all sorts of work was put into making it happen is a triumph unto itself.
These are small victories, unfortunately. The performances are all relatively flat; the only ones with any life to them are minor roles and played for laughs. The truly notable performer here is the one who’s probably most identifiable to people, even if it’s only the name that rings a bell: Robby the Robot. Robby the Robot is essentially Morbius’s butler, bodyguard, and jack of all trades. He is also the prototypical 1950s robot: bright metal, heavy, robotic voice, rigid movements, and so on. And still, Robby (as voiced by Marvin Miller and performed by stuntman Frankie Darro) is the most charming element of this movie, if only because he’s the most out of place. Having a pet robot is a cute idea, and Forbidden Planet is trying very hard not to be cute.
I haven’t seen the Blu-ray transfer, but like some films I’ve seen, there’s no question that you should see Forbidden Planet on this format if you can. Why be so negative about a movie and do an about-face? Some movies should be seen; I am absolutely not saying that you will like Forbidden Planet; you might get a kick out of its 1950s-era vision of what the future holds, or you might find it as stodgy and unintentionally hilarious as I did. That said, the visuals in the film are the reason why people still hold it in high regard, and any Blu-ray transfer is likely to be worth the time and potential money you put in. Don’t go into Forbidden Planet expecting the great science-fiction film from before 2001: A Space Odyssey, and who knows? You might be pleasantly surprised.