I agree that this is a great movie. But I’m not sure I’d call it steampunk, unless you consider Verne the first steampunk writer. I like it because it was so true to his work, which so few people have been.
I caught this late one night - hilarious.
I’ll mention movies that I like that haven’t been mentioned:
The Running Man
Soylent Green
The Last Action Hero
For me liking movies is more important than proving why these are great sci-fi. I have no great argument to justify my choices as great science fiction. They just are - to me.
12 Monkeys
Alien
Silent Running
The Alien Factor, by the legendary Don Dohler.
Um…what skinless thing do you refer to?
When that came on tv years ago, I had never heard of it, and I thought it was a completely laughable cliche of a 50s low budget drive in shlock. I’m not sure I can get past the horrible production values still. Is it really that deep?
Capt. Pinbacker…I don’t want to elaborate too much…for fear of spoiling. And I haven’t figured out how to do the little spoiler box yet.
Hmmm…the best ever? That’s a hard one.
Top five would be easier, but if we’re going best ever, I am going to have to go with Blade Runner.
It’s easy. Type {spoiler} text you want to hide {/spoilier}, except that you put [ in place of the { and ] in place of the }.
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I still cannot recall anything skinless in Eternal Sunshine, though.
Horrible Production Values?
I’m really confused. Regardless of whether or not you liked the film, what made you think the production values were poor? This was as well-made as any other 1950s movie. It wasn’t even a “B” picture (which is a measure of how much money they were willing to spend, not a value judgement on the quality of script, director, or actors). The print I have on DVD is clear and crisp, with excellent sound quality. The acting is top-notch, and the effects were state-of-the-art for when it was made.
The poster is referring to Danny Boyle’s Sunshine, not Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.
Stranger
Ah! I thought i’d gone mad there for a moment.
Well, there is the Christ allegory, and addressing the underlying fear that drove the defining nuclear arms race of the Cold War, long before that thinking was in the mainstream, even among strategic thinking. (The choice of nations abandoning their arsenals or being destroyed was levied by Klaatu in the film, but eventually became reality by the spectre of nuclear deterrence itself.)
I’d agree that the film hasn’t held up that well–the two soldiers left guarding the spacecraft always makes me laugh–but it is far better than B-grade schlock in both intent and execution. It certainly differs from the archtype of alien invaders who want to eat our brains or steal our women, instead offering peace and enlightenment (or annihilation in prior restraint). Thematically, 2010: The Year We Made Contact is essentially derived from it.
And while the special effects aren’t on par with later efforts, they were quite good for the day. It’s not Earth Vs. The Flying Saucers or *It Came From Outer Space* (though those films have their own charms).
Stranger
ahhh…that’s where the confusion lies. I wasn’t talking about Eternal Sunshine…I was referring to the movie Sunshine . The recent Danny Boyle movie about a team attempting to jumpstart the sun. Sorry if I wasn’t clear.
Michael Rennie was ill
The day the Earth stood still
And he told us
Where we staaaaaand . . .
Wouldja believe there’s a remake in production?!
Thx 1138
Logan’s Run
After Star Wars, we were spoiled by effects, and missed the lack of ideas.
Primer was pretty good.
But, the ideas in Logan’s Run were retarded.
Yes, but for Jenny Agutter changing into bear-skins, a lot can be forgiven. 
The day the earth stood still, for showing us how childish the pompous and self important Washingtonites were then and are still now.
**
2010** for show ing us that command is more than just following orders that you know are stupid, wrong, and that fly in the face of overwhelming evidence otherwise. Funny, but I never loved the sound of a woman’s voice with a Russian accent before then. (Guess I’ve gotten into more of my ‘Bourbon from Kentucky’. 
)
Robocop, for further showing that ruthless detail to the bottom line does not lead to a better world, just to an insane one. “I’d buy That for a dollar…!”
Of course, Darkman. It was sheer briliance if only for the lines:
“Oh, god! Don’t! I’ve told you everything!”
"I know, Rick. I know you did. *But let’s pretend you didn’t! * "
And lastly, Real Genius.
"To quote Socrates, ‘I drank What…!?’ "
I teach high school, and I’m tired of kids acting like anything before 1990 didn’t happen, but I hadn’t seen much in the genre from that time, and the chinzy spaceship and horrible spaceman suit just spoiled the whole thing for me. I’m willing to admit it probably has a deep point, if you all say so, but the B-movie production just strangled it for me.
I can’t call them anything but B-movie production values. I know that there probably weren’t any better FX at the time, but whereas I thought Rebel Without A Cause was a marvelous piece of film and commentary when I saw it in 1986, The Day the Earth Stood Still has production that makes it almost ripe for Mike and the bots.
I like this movie, and I agree it is far better than most of the time, but I can’t forgive them for chickening out and not using Harry Bates’ ending.