Blog Directory CineVerse: Back to the future...

Back to the future...

Thursday, April 18, 2013

"Forbidden Planet" offered 1956 audiences an interesting glimpse at man's potential for progress as well as devolution as he reaches for the stars. CineVerse reached for answers regarding this Cold War futuristic classic last evening, and here's what we found:

HOW WOULD THIS FILM HAVE BEEN CONSIDERED GROUND-BREAKING, INNOVATIVE AND AWE-INSPIRING FOR ITS TIME, ESPECIALLY AS A SCIENCE-FICTION MOVIE?
·       Unlike contemporary sci-fi flicks, this one didn’t look cheap: It was the biggest budget science fiction film ever attempted to date, and its lavish production values, CinemaScope widescreen canvas and cutting-edge special effects shamed many sci-fi pictures of this era, which were very popular in the 1950s.
·       The story is also quite intelligent and adult, unlike many of the kiddie-minded, cartoonish and comic book-like tales being made into popular sci-fi cinema at this time: this is a narrative that combines the best elements of Shakespeare with Freud and even Greek mythology:
o   The tale is a loose retelling of “The Tempest”: Morbius is like the magician Prospero and daughter Altaira is like Miranda; Robby is like Ariel; the Id monster represents Caliban; and the Earthmen soldiers stand in for the play’s shipwrecked Milanese dignitaries. In the play, one of the shipwrecked men falls in love with Miranda.
o   The movie espouses Freud’s theories on the Id, which is one of three parts of our psyche, the one that represents our basic, most instinctual drives and urges
o   The story also harkens to the Greek myth of Bellerophon, the demigod son of Poseidon who commits hubris by trying to fly Pegasus to Moutn Olympus to reach the Gods, only to be thwarted and broken by Zeus. Morbius was a crew member of the Bellerophon, the first ship to visit Altair IV.
·       This film takes us away from our familiar frames of reference and indulges our species’ collective sense of wonder:
o   This is the first sci-fi movie in which human beings are shown traveling in a space ship that they made and that is set completely on another planet far away from Earth.
o   The sets, costume designs, and props are also not derivative of earlier sci-fi films—even down to the robot, which is much more detailed, visually fascinating and personable than any robot previously depicted in cinema.
·       The movie employs a musical score that is entirely electronic and experimental; there is no classically constructed music performed by an orchestra.
·       This movie had a direct influence on landmark science fiction entertainments: without the influence of Forbidden Planet, it’s possible Gene Roddenberry wouldn’t have conceived of “Star Trek,” Kubrick would not have created “2001,” and George Lucas may not have made “Star Wars”.

IN WHAT WAYS DOES FORBIDDEN PLANET APPEAR DATED AND AS A PRODUCT OF ITS TIMES, THE MID 1950S?
·       Like many other sci-fi stories and films of the Atomic age and the Red Scare 1950s, it’s meant to be a cautionary tale: a lesson about what could result when humans meddle in God’s affairs; the overreaching of the Krell and Dr. Morbius, who tamper in knowledge and powers that are God-like, are meant to echo the creation and dangers of the nuclear bomb.
·       The film is not very socially or culturally progressive: there are no minorities cast, and the nubile young daughter is really more of a sex object who is expected to be an obedient daughter or love interest than an independent woman
·       Unlike future science fiction movies, like 2001: A Space Odyssey, Forbidden Planet is at its root pessimistic in its outlook: yes, it is encouraging that future generations here visit the stars and distant planets, but the overarching theme seems to be that mankind may be overstepping its boundaries and doomed to the same fate that befell the Krell race; the advanced science of the Krell is seen as blasphemously worshipping false idols, which God-fearing mortals should have no purpose for.

WHAT THEMES DOES THIS PICTURE ATTEMPT TO EXPLORE?
·       Can man responsibly wield his tools—whether it be magic or technology?
·       If you could command absolute power, how would you use it against your enemies?
·       How far has mankind truly progressed from the jungle, despite his inventions, innovations and scientific discoveries?

BESIDES “THE TEMPEST,” WHAT OTHER WORKS OF FILM OR LITERATURE COME TO MIND WHEN VIEWING “FORBIDDEN PLANET”?
·       Joseph Conrad’s story Heart of Darkness
·       Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, a split personality as personified by Dr. Morbius, who can create Robby the robot and a scenic oasis in the galactic wilderness, but also conjure up the Id monster
·       The TV show Lost in Space

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