The film tells the story of a flying saucer landing in our nation’s capitol. The US government greets the ship with an army of scared soldiers. Alien Klaatu greets the soldiers with a mission of goodwill. However, before he is able to share his intentions a nervous trigger happy soldier shoots Klaatu and wounds him in the shoulder. A large robot by the name of Gort appears from the space ship and proceeds to disarm the soldiers. Klaatu is taken to Walter Reed Hospital for treatment and is later visited by not the President, but his secretary. The secretary eventually explains it is impossible for Klaatu to meet with all the world leaders to hear his message. Klaatu soon escapes and begins his quest to find a way to be heard. The Day The Earth Stood Still is a cautionary tale about the destructive nature and the deadly path people on Earth have taken among themselves and the very planet they live on. It’s a story that sadly is as true today as it was back then.

The film having being restored looks amazing on blu-ray. If there’s any questions on whether it’s worth picking up older films on blu-ray it has been answered with the brilliance of the black and white tonality. It's surprising on a film that was really a B-Picture in it’s time is truly such a great looking film. None the less, the film looks gorgeous and I guess one shouldn’t be surprised since it is from director Robert Wise a prodigy of the great Orson Welles.

Along with the film there are several bonus features included as well. There are two commentary tracks including one with the director and fellow director Nicholas Meyer. Anyone who is a Star Trek fan will recognize these two as each being a director of the first two Star Trek films. An all-new commentary with film and music historians is available for listening as well. There are also several featurettes on the original writer and the making of the film.

The more unusual bonus feature is the one that starts when you put in the disc. You are privy to a sneak peak to the new remake of the film. It’s unusual because it doesn’t appear to be an option in the bonus features and only seems to play when the blu-ray first loads up into your player. It of course makes you think the disc is more of a elaborate teaser of their new film then actually on the 1950’s original. Still with that said, the studio has gone a long way to give the fans of the film plenty of material to satisfy.

The Day The Earth Stood Still was ahead of it’s time. The themes although a bit preachy, are still issues we are dealing with today. The original may be low on special effects but was a milestone in its day. The film also feels a little short clocking in on just a little over an hour and a half but is still very affective. If you are a fan of Science fiction then make sure you pick up the beautiful new transfer of the film on blu-ray.

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