THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL

THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL - 1951

RATED - G (Some fairly mild violence by today's standards)

RATINGS - 360 Amazon (4.5/5), 25,714 IMDB (8.1/10), 366,729 Netflix (3.9/5).

AWARDS - AFI TOP 100 THRILLS, 1952 GOLDEN GLOBE 'Best Film Promoting International Understanding' and nomination for 'Best Musical Score'.

STARRING - Michael Rennie, Patricia Neal, Sam Jaffe, Hugh Barlowe and Billy Gray.

THEMES - Peace, justice, understanding, nuclear war.

STORY - This classic science fiction, the defining film of the genre for many people, is about a humanoid that travels 250,000,000 miles from another planet with a message for the people of our planet. He lands in Washington, D.C. with his guardian robot and attempts to connect with world leaders to make his message known. There is mistrust by those in power of someone they are unfamiliar with and powers they have not seen before. They are not willing to give him the opportunity to speak so he must attempt to get his message out through other channels. Are there people who will listen to his message of how to prevent Planet Earth from self destructing or being destroyed from outside forces? Will anyone take him seriously? You have to remember that this was made during the height of the Cold War and nuclear war was on the radar screen of almost every citizen. Watch the newsreel that coincides with the release of the movie to see what was going on in the world at that time and it will help to put the movie into context. While there is action and some violence this is also a movie of relationships and how people react to something/someone they're not familiar with. A classic still worth watching today with good entertainment value as well as plenty of food for thought. You can play it online at Netflix. Lu G. for Lu's Reviews. 12/28/2008.

LINKS - AMAZON, IMDB, TRAILER, TCM

THE SHOES OF THE FISHERMAN

THE SHOES OF THE FISHERMAN - 1968

RATED - G

RATINGS - 52 Amazon (4.5/5), 800 IMBD (6.6/10), 10,050 Netflix (3.7/5)

STARRING - Anthony Quinn, Laurence Olivier, Oskar Kern, David Janssen

THEME - Cold war, papacy, faith.

AWARDS - Two Academy Award nominations & two Golden Globe awards.

STORY - The story begins with Ukranian Archbishop Lakota (Quinn) being released after being a political prisoner for 20 years in a Siberian prison camp. He is sent to Rome to be an adviser to the Vatican on Russian & Eastern European affairs. The pope dies unexpectedly and they must go through the process of selecting a new one. Who will be the new Pope? Who can best lead the church through this perilous time known as the 'Cold War'? Once the Pope is elected a nuclear crisis of potential world wide proportions breaks out and can the person who walks in the steps of the fisherman from Galilee rise to the occasion? The scenes from Rome are actually in the Vatican and give you a real feeling of being there as it happens. Fascinating look at the inner workings of the Roman Catholic church and how much political influence it has in the world. Lu G. for Lu's Reviews 11/30/2007.

LINKS - AMAZON, IMBD

THE IRON GIANT

THE IRON GIANT - 1999

RATED - PG for fantasy action & mild language.

RATINGS - 415 Amazon (5/5), 25,008 IMBD (7.8/10), Roger Ebert (4/4).

AWARDS - 19 wins & 14 nominations.

THEMES - Friendship, loyalty, sacrifice, justice.

STORY - It's 1957 in Maine. The Cold War is heating up and people are getting paranoid about Russia especially with Sputnik orbiting the earth. Hogarth lives in a wooded area outside a small Maine community with his single mother who works long hours in a restaurant. This gives Hogarth plenty of time to explore and develop his imagination. There is a crash nearby in the woods and rumors start about some giant creature. When Hogarth is watching TV alone at night the picture suddenly turns to snow. Hogarth climbs up on the roof to adjust the antenna only to find part of it missing. He sees a trail of destruction and follows it to the nearest power station where Hogarth finds the unconscious Iron Giant, a 50 foot tall robot like character who must find metal and lots of it to eat to survive. Trying to eat a chunk of the high voltage tower was bad for indigestion. Hogarth saves his life and the adventure begins of trying to protect this friendly giant from the community and a very paranoid government agent determined to destroy first and ask questions later. Unfortunately, many people will skip this wonderful film because it is animated. Don't make that mistake. It's as entertaining for adults as it is for children, particularly if you remember the days of Sputnik, the Cold War, etc. Lu G. for Lu's Reviews. 11/17/2007.

LINKS - AMAZON, IMBD, TRAILER, ROGER EBERT