1. "The Day the Earth Stood Still" - 1951 2. "Attack of the 50 Foot Woman" - 1958 3. "The Fly" - 1958 4. "On The Beach" - 1959
Perhaps these movies are boring to some people because there's not a single explosion in any of these films.
Science fiction isn't about stuff blowing up; it's about thinking about hypothetical scenarios and what the human response to them might be.
On those grounds, of these four, three are decent science fiction films, but "Attack of the Fifty Foot Woman" is just a bad B-picture, but it is so bad that it is enjoyable. And it has a fantastic poster that has been satirized many times.
Every single one of those 4 movies was remade / reimagined.
1. "The Day the Earth Stood Still" - 2008 2. "Attack of the 50 Foot Woman" - 1993 3. "The Fly" - 1986 4. "On The Beach" - 2000 (a 3h 15m Australian TV film)
The remakes are all very good. The remake of "Attack..." is even more campier than the original with a wonderful twist ending.
The remake of "The Fly" is what put Jeff Goldblum on the map.
The remake of "The Day..." was controversial. I liked it except for Will Smith's annoying son. The scene in the restaurant between James Hong's and Keanu Reeves' characters is both chilling but heartwarming. I think it is among Hong's best moments in his very long career. I think Reeve's performance as Klaatu was actually rather good. And, let's face it, Jennifer Connelly is in this movie, so you know you have to watch it.
The remake of "On the Beach" is very very good. I recommend seeing it - it has a slightly different ending than the original.
Back to the originals from the 1950's...
You don't need to see "Attack..." and "The Fly" (although the ending is pricelessly famous).
But, "The Day the Earth Stood Still" and "On The Beach" are important science fiction films. They are 2 of the handful of serious science fiction films from that time that should be seen.
By the way, Robert Wise directed "The Day..." which is why he was selected to direct 1979's "Star Trek: The Motion Picture".
Other serious or otherwise good SF from that era:
The George Pal movies: "Destination Moon" - 1950 "When Worlds Collide" - 1951 "War of the Worlds" - 1953 "The Conquest of Space" - 1955 "The Time Machine" - 1960
"Them!" - 1954 (which is being remade) "The Blob" - 1958 (which has a sequel and remakes), Steve McQueen's first film. "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" - 1956 (a few remakes; 1978's is excellent) "The Incredible Shrinking Man" - 1957
and, of course, these two classics:
"Forbidden Planet" - 1956, which should be seen by everyone. Without "Forbidden Planet", you don't have modern science fiction films including robots or Star Trek.
and
"Gojira" ("Godzilla") - 1954, the Japanese film that started it all. It's actually a darker more serious movie in its original Japanese form with English subtitles. It's a must-see, not just for Godzilla fans, but for fans of science fiction and filmmaking.
Frankly, it is somewhat astonishing that "Forbidden Planet" was never remade. But, perhaps that's in part because 1) it would very expensive to remake it in modern times and 2) the original is still so fantastic.
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Forbidden Planet is one of my favorite movies to this day, and I watch it at least once a year. Production values are incredibly high given the time when it was made - it was the "Star Wars" of its era, with incredible sets, ground-breaking electronic musical score, and featuring some parts animated by Disney animators. The plot of the story was based around Shakespeare's The Tempest, so it's got a universally understood and applicable theme.
in my opinion, it's head and shoulders above, say, Marvel movies, with possible exceptions for Iron Man and Deadpool.
The Day The Earth Stood Still doesn't have nearly the production values, but it's still got a quality story that's just as relevant today.
Yes, there were lots of cheesy monster movies (usually with some kind of nuclear accident theme), but there were a few quality Sci-Fi and dramas that still hold up well today.
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Some are classics. War of the Worlds, The Day the Earth Stood Still, Forbidden Planet, The Attack of the 50 Foot Woman and The Three Stooges in Orbit are classics. Some of the others are really lame.
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