Short Ties, High Pants: Sci Fi movies of the 1950s

I'm not always a person who needs things to be literal but there are certain things I stand firm on.

An example was a few years ago when my book club read a Zombie novel called Zone One by Colson Whitehead. Whitehead has won a Pulitzer (not for this novel) so the man is no slouch. We knew going in that this was going to be a well written book. Still - one expects at least ONE character to be bitten by a Zombie. I mean, it can be a well-read Zombie if that makes everyone feel better.

Anyway, after reading the book, I felt robbed. Not one nibble.

So guess what doesn't happen in The Day The Earth Stood Still? Hmph.

As followers of this blog know, my dear friend Beth honors her late father's birthday by watching a film that he loved on that day. This has been dubbed "White Buffalo Day" because White Buffalo was one of his all-time favorite films. Last year we watched They Might Be Giants which is not at all about the band. So, true to form, this year we stocked up on a lot of wine and cheese and watched another favorite.

The Day the Earth Stood Still - released in 1951

So I think if the Earth ACTUALLY stood still, wouldn't we all fly off into space? I mean, gravity would be gone, right? I'm no scientist but I'm pretty sure I'm right, or at least on the right track, about this one...

There is really almost nothing not to like about sci fi films from the 50s. They typically have very interesting production design and almost always directly point at the political climate of their time. McCarthyism was running rampant in the 50s; there was a lot of fear about Communist invasion or a nuclear holocaust. People were scared and although filmmakers were discouraged to directly criticize or point this out, they still did and they weren't all that subtle. Mutant bugs, aliens descending from other planets, you name it, it's in there.

This film is no different. A lovely gentleman alien, Klaatu, comes to Earth with his massive robot. (No, this is not a euphemism. Stay with me.) 

Klaatu and Gort, a match made in the heavens

He says he comes in peace and the military's response is to shoot him. Later we find out (in an "I told you so" moment) that those that live on other planets think the Earth's inhabitants are weapon-loving jerks (I'm paraphrasing) and they are worried about what we'll do.

Wait. When was this made? Sigh.

This film was directed by Robert Wise who started his career as an editor on films like Citizen Kane. He went on to direct some big budget, iconic films - West Side Story and Sound of Music. TDTESS was an early directorial effort (his debut as a director was on Curse of the Cat People which is a great film!). The cinematography is gorgeous - a bit Noir, a bit Expressionism, a lot of artistic shadows.

(Quick note about German Expressionism and Film Noir - in film (similar to the art movement), Expressionism was about depicting inner turmoil. This genre came to life in 1920s Germany, highlighting the post WWI atmosphere that was full of anxiety and distrust. And the Noir genre created feelings of pessimism and menace with their moody lighting effects. So this is a totally FUN movie!) 

Also, many films clearly are influenced by TDTESS. Just for a start, I noticed that two animated films, Monsters vs Aliens and Iron Giant pull heavily from this film. 

But really, let's give a shout out to Gort, the 8-foot robot that is only trying to protect Klaatu. In real life the actor was 7ft 7in, so this was some true method acting. His robot suit looked like it was made of neoprene and, irritatingly, kept folding at the knees. I mentioned that he was "moving all fabric-y". I blame the wine.

Honestly, this film could have been made right now. The same fears are relevant in our current political climate. 

The only differences I see is that the soundtrack made heavy use of the Theremin (Of course. All 50s sci fi films did.) and all the men wore short ties and high pants. That shit wouldn't fly today.

(My drink pairing for this film is a Manhattan. Not the project, just the cocktail.)

On the flip side, Beth and I decided to round out our experience by watching the remake.

The Day the Earth Stood Still - released in 2008

A short message to Keanu Reeves who plays Klaatu:

Keanu. Dude. For some reason I always want to give you the benefit of the doubt (I mean, you are the impetus of my motto "One doesn't have to be good at one's job for me to want to have a fling" Well, my motto is nastier, actually, but sometimes my aunt reads this) but you never deliver. What is with the ONE expression for the entire film? Was your director really okay with this?

Keanu as Klaatu - note the expression

In the hospital - same expression

Doing math - SAME EXPRESSION

So, the remake. It's a pretty good film, actually. It's much more like what you'd expect a sci fi film of the Aughts to be. Good, solid effects. Good, solid acting (well, mostly). Good, but kind of unremarkable, in my opinion.

Here's the thing. The 50's version is a lot more hopeful and uplifting. The Aughts are way more about telling it like it is. A perfect example is the single mother storyline. In the 50's, the kid is of the tie-wearing, polite, "gosh, golly" variety. Annoyingly so, actually. And the mom, Patricia Neal, is just looking to get remarried. The '08 version's kid is played by Jaden Smith (that's right...heir to the Fresh Prince's throne) and the stepmom/scientist is played by Jennifer Connolly. Since she's a stepmom, they don't really have a connection at the outset but eventually - when humanity is literally being wiped out by the nano bot aliens - they have a moment and realize they're cool. Well, phew. Just in time.

My favorite moment, though - and in true Beth/Sue style - is when Jaden hopes Keanu can bring his long dead father back to life. When Keanu woodenly lets him know that's impossible, Jaden reacts by crying while Beth and I immediately and simultaneously launched into our very best Zombie impressions. Braaiiiins.

There are a couple stand-out cool things - 

1) We see the alien's origin story of why he has a human body (spoiler - they take a DNA sample). Keanu is basically "born" out of this awful looking placenta-type material when he enters our atmosphere. Beth kept calling it "Tilapia". Thankfully not my favorite seafood.

2) 2008 Gort has this really cool looking texture (not a man in a neoprene suit!) - it looked a bit grainy and had some shimmery movement. Turns out it was foreshadowing Gort dissolving into the little nano robot bugs that were destroying all of humankind. LOTS of particle animation (think the big sand face in The Mummy). 

In the end, though, the '08 version of TDTESS was pretty bleak. One reviewer at the time summed it up perfectly: This remake of the 1951 genre classic might have better visions and visuals than the low-budget original, but it lacks the heart and sense of wonder the first film had.

And the Earth never stopped spinning.

(My drink pairing for this film is a Fuzzy Navel in honor of Beth's dad. If you remember from last year, he was so amused by this drink that he bought all the ingredients but ultimately thought it was terrible. So let's make one, toss it and have a glass of wine instead!)

My takeaways:

#1 - Sci fi movies of the 50s are really fantastic.

#2 - Robots of the 50s are also pretty fantastic even when their costumes are...less than fantastic.

#3 - Happy birthday Jim Masse!

xoxo...hashtagSueslife

Small Booze

Happy Week between Western Easter and Eastern Easter, everybody!

I'm not sure if I've mentioned this before but my take on Easter (either one) is that if Christ rises from the grave, he's a Zombie. This is plain and simple math in my book. 

Logical consequence:  

When one rises from the dead, one is classified as a Zombie.

Jesus rises from the dead.

Therefore, Jesus is a Zombie.

Thanks to David Fitzgerald for posting this on FB.

This was kind of a banner year for my traditional Easter gathering. Not only zombies but it was also April Fool's Day AND my cat's birthday. Amazing.

But the cherry on top of this monumental day was the once-in-a-lifetime event - NBC's live performance of Jesus Christ Superstar, starring John Legend, Sarah Bareillis and Alice Cooper. WHAT??? Sign me up.

If you know me at all, you know I live for these train wreck events. They almost never fail to deliver in their absurdity - although The Wiz was pretty "meh" (see my thoughts on it here:   ) I think I've seen every one of them except A Christmas Story. I guess I just didn't have it in me last December to brave it.

I admire that NBC tries their hardest to bring a bit of Broadway to television - I mean everyone has to have goals, right, no matter how lofty?  So here goes.

Jesus Christ Superstar - aired April 2018

Too bad you can't see Alice's shoes.

I had been seeing the commercials for this show for weeks and every time I thought, "Alice Cooper looks NUTS". So of COURSE I was going to watch.

This year's Easter gathering was no less boozy than any other year so my NBC live event partner-in-crime, Beth and I tipsily cleaned up the party detritus and sat down to watch the spectacle. Beth's husband Todd was a hard NO on this one so he left before it even started.

I'm going to start by saying that I'm not a big fan of Andrew Lloyd Weber. It's not like Sondheim where his music actually pisses me off, but it rarely resonates with me.  There was a tribute to him on NBC for his 70th birthday last week (and to garner interest in the show, I imagine. Sorry Andrew - HBD!!) so I learned a bit of Weber history. JCS was originally created as a concept album and, once it gained popularity, it became a stage production, debuting in 1971 with Ben Vereen playing Judas! Essentially, it's a rock opera.

So, picture this. Beth and I are sitting on my couch, a bit drunk. Neither of us are religious so we are kind of spotty on the events leading up to the crucifixion and it had been a long day of brunching so our attention span left a bit to be desired.

In one of the first songs the lyric is "Cool your face down". Beth looked at me and said "What the fuck does that mean?" I raised a knowing brow and said "The 70's" like that explained anything at all. Apparently this was good enough for Beth and set the tone for the remainder of the musical. 

Let's be honest - musicals that have no spoken dialog are tough even when you are 100% paying attention so you all can imagine how this went.

I think the set designer and costumer were both trying to make the look updated and relevant. The set design ended up looking a lot like the sets for Rent - industrial stripped down scaffolding. And the costumes were, I think, trying to invoke the feeling of the flower child era with an updated feel. In the end, I kept thinking it looked like JCS meets Mad Max and Beth called it Jesus Christ Burning Man. Which is decidedly singable, actually.

The next batch of costuming that caught our eye was Caiaphas and his gang. They are mean guys so they look like they belong in the Matrix with long, black, plastic-looking coats and interesting hairdos. 

Don't even get me started on Pontius Pilate and his purple pleather. He's an alliteration gone bad.

Our final comment on costuming were the lepers. Beth dubbed them "Lepers by Hot Topic".

About an hour out from the end, past Blogguest Linda texted me, asking if I was watching. This was a blessing in disguise because she was able to clarify some plot points for us. Plus, we could commiserate on feeling like Jesus was being portrayed as really whiny and a bit douchey, quite frankly. There was one odd bit in the middle where Mary Magdalene was bringing all the disciples white scarves. We asked Linda what the significance of the scarves were, but she could only offer that perhaps they were on sale?

Please note that I've refrained from discussing the acting but I can remain silent no longer! John Legend is lovely to look at and I really like that one song about his wife, Chrissy Teigen (who is amazing - check out her Twitter posts) but I'm not going to give it to him as an actor. After Jesus had been whipped by the crowds I turned to Beth and mentioned that he had the same facial expression as he did at the beginning of the show. Also, much of his "acting" was breathing in a staccato rhythm and hunching over.

But most disappointing? Alice Cooper. As King Herod, he only had one song and the most we could say about it was Linda texting "Check out Alice's shoes!" Yup.

(My drink pairing for this production and any dead-rise-from-the-grave party is the aptly named Zombie cocktail.)

My takeaways:

#1 - I named this post Small Booze because I did an adult Easter egg hunt and that's what I was calling the airplane-sized bottles of hooch.  

#2 - Even though I am constantly disappointed by NBC's live shows I will continue to give them a chance. That must be true love, right?

#3 - As far as rock operas go, give me Tommy any day of the week.

xoxo...hashtagSueslife