One of the greatest Sci-Fi films ever made comes home on Blu-ray. 

The Flick

Released in 1956, Forbidden Planet was a groundbreaking Sci-Fi film.  It was the first film of its kind to take place on an alien world as well as the first to feature humans traveling in a flying saucer that they created.  Modeled after William Shakespeare’s The Tempest and featuring similar characters and plot ideas, it was a huge undertaking when MGM studios originally produced it. The screenplay, originally written by Irving Block and Allen Adler was later re-written by Cyril Hume and given its current name.  The plot across both screenplays remained largely unchanged but the location and era were altered. 

Sent to investigate an expedition that was started 20 years ago, the crew of the United Planets Cruiser C-57D travels 16 light years to the planet Altair Four, a planet with an oxygen rich atmosphere.  Warned not to land on the planet by Dr. Edward Morbius (Walter Pidgeon), the team disobeys. Led by Commander John Adams (Leslie Nielson) they are met by the classic Sci-Fi icon, Robby the Robot, and taken to Morbius’s home.  He explains the fate of the expedition team at the hands of some unknown enemy with himself, his now deceased wife, and his 19 year old daughter Altaira the only survivors.

With the introduction of Altaira (Anne Francis), we discover that she hasn’t had any interactions with men during her lifetime other than her father.  She wants to learn about human emotions and relationships and the team on the C-57D Cruiser, comprised completely of men, are more than willing to show her.  After several advances from the other crew members, Commander Adams steps in and takes her for himself. 

Morbius reveals that the original expedition team discovered the existence of an ancient race called the Krell that died thousands of years ago.  The Krell were a technologically advanced race that, upon creating their greatest triumph, perished.  Morbius reveals a device they used called a plastic educator that was responsible for the deaths of some of the crew members in the original expedition.  Morbius was able to successfully use the device which helped him create Robby.

As the team remains on the planet, an unknown force begins destroying their equipment and killing members of the team.  Commander Adams and Lt. Ostrow (Warren Stevens) confront Morbius on the attacks.  Ostrow uses the plastic educator and it destroys him.  As he dies, he reveals that the Krell machine is capable of materializing thoughts.  Morbius’s use of the device has created an invisible creature from his mind.  When Altaira professes her love for Commander Adams, he becomes the target of Morbius’s beast. 

Ultimately, the film resolves itself as you’d expect.  It produces a similar cliché that often plagues many Sci-Fi and horror movies to this day.  Considering that this film is the classic that it is, I’m betting it wasn’t a cliché at the time.  Regardless, it won’t offer any surprises but is solid entertainment nonetheless.

Audio and Video

1080p High Def widescreen presentation features a heavy amount of grain throughout that only mildly distracts from an otherwise great transfer.  This is the best version of this film you’ll ever see. The English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track works well but the music and sound effects used during the 50s certainly left something to be desired.  Luckily, it does the job and offers just enough to keep you watching.

Special Features and Packaging

Forbidden Planeton Blu-ray comes as a single-disc collection in a standard recycle case with the following extras:

• Full-Length film: The Invisible Boy featuring Robby the Robot
• The Thin ManTV Series Episode: Robot Client featuring Robby the Robot
• Watch the Skies!: Science Fiction, the 1950s and UsTCM Original Documentary
• Amazing! Exploring the Far Reaches of Forbidden Planet featurette
• Robby the Robot: Engineering a Sci-Fi Icon
• Excerpts from the MGM Parade TV Series
• Theatrical Trailers of Forbidden Planet and The Invisible Boy

The addition of The Invisible Boy as an extra feature makes the purchase of the Blu-ray altogether worth it.  This sequel to Forbidden Planet has 10 year old Timmie receiving superior intelligence from a super computer.  That same computer turns him invisible and then uses him as collateral in an attempt to take over the world.  It has a healthy dose of cute humor mixed with elements of certain doom. It’s an interesting film that fans of the main feature will certainly want to watch.  

The excerpts from the MGM Parade TV Series are just short advertisements of Forbidden Planet dated back when it originally released. The Thin Man TV Series Episode: Robot Client features Robby the Robot as a murderous version of himself.  Watch the Skies!: Science Fiction, the 1950s and Us runs about an hour and goes in depth on what science fiction was influenced by during the 1950s.  It focuses heavily on the Cold War and what the threat of the atomic bomb caused.  It features relevant input from Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, James Cameron and a few other Hollywood names.     

The Amazing! Exploring the Far Reaches of Forbidden Planet featurette is the only real behind the scenes addition on this disc.  Robby the Robot: Engineering a Sci-Fi Icon runs about 14 minutes and provides details on how much effort went into creating Robby.  Costing $125,000, it was one of the most expensive props made at the time.  Since it appears that he ended up being the biggest star of Forbidden Planet, it’s worth a watch.
Overall

Forbidden Planet was a groundbreaking, iconic film when it released back in 1956 and it still holds up pretty well today.  With a great transfer and a copious amount of watch worthy extras, this is one polished classic that fans won’t want to miss.

ComicsOnline gives Forbidden Planet on Blu-ray 4 out of 5… forbidden planets.

Buy Forbidden Planet on Blu-ray at Amazon.com now.

 
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