Forbidden Planet, anything else like it?

[The Squire of Gothos]

What I mean is, are there any films from the 50s or 60s that match its visual aesthetic? Something that may be one of those hidden gems, something that didn't receive a wide release or re-release problems that keeps it hidden in modern times?

I just fancied dabbling in a period movie or two and a rewatch of FP sprang to mind.

 

[Admiral Buzzkill]

There's really nothing that compares to it, no.

 

[Nerdius Maximus]

What I mean is, are there any films from the 50s or 60s that match its visual aesthetic? Something that may be one of those hidden gems, something that didn't receive a wide release or re-release problems that keeps it hidden in modern times?

I just fancied dabbling in a period movie or two and a rewatch of FP sprang to mind.

Have you seen "When Worlds Collide?"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VXeT-yHNcFI


How about "This Island Earth?" Not as intelligent as FP or WWC, but it's decent, and fun to watch.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hR7e3StbXoU&feature=related

 

[Greg Cox]

Agreed. "This Island Earth" isn't nearly as good, but it's fun and has a similar feel.

 

[The Squire of Gothos]

I'd caught those two before, but forgot them, especially "When Worlds Collide".

I've not seen the un-MST3K'd version of "This Island Earth" for ages either.

Thanks for the recommendations, I had hoped for something FP like, but I kind of knew that it wasn't really likely something like that would stay hidden,

 

[Forbin]

^Yes, good ones too.

A little less so are George Pal's Conquest of Space, Destination Moon, and their 50s kin. Mainly B movies, but they featured fairly well-researched tech of the time. I sure wish we had single-stage nuclear rockets working today.

 

[RandyS]

What I mean is, are there any films from the 50s or 60s that match its visual aesthetic? Something that may be one of those hidden gems, something that didn't receive a wide release or re-release problems that keeps it hidden in modern times?

I just fancied dabbling in a period movie or two and a rewatch of FP sprang to mind.

Have you seen "When Worlds Collide?"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VXeT-yHNcFI


How about "This Island Earth?" Not as intelligent as FP or WWC, but it's decent, and fun to watch.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hR7e3StbXoU&feature=related

Personally, I like all three of these. And I'd like to see a movie version of the novel "After Worlds Collide", written I believe, five years after "When Worlds Collide".

 

[RAMA]

Several Russian/Eastern European movies show exceptional imagination from this time period, possibly even beyond the American big budget "Forbidden Planet", one of these would be Ikarie XB-1. Also Silent Star, and Planet of Storms.

Video:

http://boingboing.net/2009/09/15/the-planet-of-storms.html

Includes a rather remarkable robot for the time period, possibly the best in cinema till Star Wars.

http://teleport-city.com/wordpress/?p=883

 

[Zachary Smith]

I believe the 1953 "War of the Worlds" was every bit as spectacular for its time.

 

[milo bloom]

The original Trek pilot: The Cage.

 

[Admiral Buzzkill]

I don't think that any of those come close to the level of Forbidden Planet in terms of visual design. This Island Earth is a particularly poor comparison. When Worlds Collide is a little more ambitious, but still pretty pale, visually, next to FP. That's understandable, given that Forbidden Planet cost nearly 5 million dollars to make.

"The Cage" is certainly extremely derivative of FP.

 

[RAMA]

I don't think that any of those come close to the level of Forbidden Planet in terms of visual design. This Island Earth is a particularly poor comparison. When Worlds Collide is a little more ambitious, but still pretty pale, visually, next to FP. That's understandable, given that Forbidden Planet cost nearly 5 million dollars to make.

"The Cage" is certainly extremely derivative of FP.

I don't know, the Eastern European movies really seem to have an eye for detail that didn't exist in Hollywood...they didn't respect the product they were making back then, even with the level of talent we had over here creatively(like Disney animators working on FP). SF just wasn't on the "serious" menu. Movies like Destination Moon and When Worlds Collide, while more sober and serious, just don't have as elaborate a production design as FP or the other films I mention. Silent Star was made on an even bigger scale than FP..a cast of many hundreds, and a really alien looking world created on sets.

RAMA

 

[Mr. Adventure]

Lost in Space(TV) seems to me to have been influenced a lot by the visuals of Forbidden Planet.

A film with an interesting visual style from the pre-70's is Planet of the Vampires, an Italian production directed by Mario Bava. It has some cheese but it's different.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vt7PvTwYF3E

 

[Greg Cox]

Lost in Space(TV) seems to me to have been influenced a lot by the visuals of Forbidden Planet.

A film with an interesting visual style from the pre-70's is Planet of the Vampires, an Italian production directed by Mario Bava. It has some cheese but it's different.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vt7PvTwYF3E

I haven't seen it in ages, but I remember PLANET OF THE VAMPIRES terrifying me as a kid. (Of course, I was alone in the house in the night.)

It's also an obvious inspiration for the opening scenes of ALIEN . . . .

 

[Gojira]

What I mean is, are there any films from the 50s or 60s that match its visual aesthetic? Something that may be one of those hidden gems, something that didn't receive a wide release or re-release problems that keeps it hidden in modern times?

I just fancied dabbling in a period movie or two and a rewatch of FP sprang to mind.

Have you seen "When Worlds Collide?"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VXeT-yHNcFI


How about "This Island Earth?" Not as intelligent as FP or WWC, but it's decent, and fun to watch.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hR7e3StbXoU&feature=related

I purchased a DVD that had the original War of the Worlds and When Worlds Collide on it. I had never seen When Worlds Collide and I must say that I really enjoyed it much more than I thought it would.

 

[FalTorPan]

Although I agree with Dennis that Forbidden Planet can't be matched by other fare of the fifties, Destination Moon is very enjoyable.

 

[Mysterion]

Although I agree with Dennis that Forbidden Planet can't be matched by other fare of the fifties, Destination Moon is very enjoyable.

Agreed.

My three favorite 1950s science ficiton movies are Forbidden Planet, Destination Moon, and The Day the Earth Stood Still. If you're ever stuck indoors with the DVD player, you can do a lot worse than those as a triple-feature.

 

[RAMA]

Quick heads up, an update on the Forbidden Planet script by JMS:

http://www.newsarama.com/film/JMS-Week-Movies-TV-100220.html

 

[Harvey]

Although I agree with Dennis that Forbidden Planet can't be matched by other fare of the fifties, Destination Moon is very enjoyable.

I don't mean to speak for Dennis, but since he's not around, what he said was in terms of visual design, not enjoyment. And I think he's probably right. I can't think of any film off hand that approaches the audacity of Forbidden Planet's look. Kegg rather nicely described it as if the covers of pulp science fiction were alive in another thread (or something along those lines).

 

[js]

The three that immediately came to mind for me have already been mentioned but bear repeating: This Island Earth, When Worlds Collide, The Day the Earth Stood Still.

Also maybe the 1960 version of The Time Machine had a great look as I vaguely recall. And I believe there's a newly restored version of Metropolis floating around - much older movie, but also one of the most influential early SF films.