I Watch Films: The Day The Earth Stood Still (1951)

 

The Day The Earth Stood Still (1951)

A flying saucer comes to Earth and lands in Washington DC. From inside emerges a man and a robot. The man is shot by accident and then locked up in the hospital, where he asks to speak to all of Earth’s leaders at once. The Americans pass this on; the Russians insist it must take place in Moscow, the British in London etc.

The man escapes, goes into Washington where he enters a boarding house and befriends a widow and her son. Another man is courting her and is suspicious and jealous. As the world gets more paranoid about the alien, the man contacts the world’s greatest scientist and gets him to arrange a meeting.

It’s a classic science fiction film, whose obsessions with paranoia and power continue to be relevant.

Watch This: A deservedly classic alien encounter that is extremely well know and rewards returning to the source
Don’t Watch This: It’s so well known that you probably know the parodies too well to be able to take it seriously