4/4  Forbidden Planet Quick Review
One of the best, if not the best 50's sci fi movies. It has a great story (pre Star Trek) with the typical fifties feel (bad acting, beautiful women, bold colors and no sense of future technology or style). True sci fi fans will appreciate.

5/5 "Would sixty gallons be sufficient?"
  by Jake Kincaid (Intellectually Underrated Deep South, USA)
If you're a sci-fi fan, it's hard to have not already seen this at some point in your life (and it could well be the REASON you're a sci-fi fan), and it would be even harder not to love it.

This movie isn't called a classic for no reason; it's clear upon watching the vast influence it has had on virtually every science fiction film made since. Especially telling is the "Star Trek" inspiration: from the attitudes and behaviors of the crew (more akin to the original "The Cage" pilot) to the viewscreen and use of communicators, one can feel what young Gene Roddenberry must have taken with him from this movie. Also, the special effects were AMAZING for the early fifties; and yes, the "monster" is animated (although for the purposes of the story, it's VERY fitting that it would be)...but if you gotta have an animated monster, you couldn't ask for a better one than one done by a Disney animator.

All the conventions of sci-fi are represented, and the storyline is a very cerebral and provocative one...and seeing a very young Leslie Nielsen in a heroic and romantic role is great...and Anne Francis is very easy on the eyes as well, made all the better by being a strong and intelligent foil, not just there for the scenery...something else ahead of it's time and a template for the Ripleys and the Uhuras that were to follow.

All of this depth and thoughtful story, and Robby the Robot too! The great-grandaddy of R2-D2 and C-3P0 (George Lucas had to have had this guy in mind) adds cerebral value, some amount of menace, and even comedic relief to this overall staple of the genre.

All in all, if you're an old school sci-fi fan like me, or someone new to the genre wanting to see where a great deal of it all began, you cannot go wrong with this absolute classic.

Highly, highly recommended.

5/5 Forbidden Planet - The Id of Your Life
  by Peter Karsten (Australia)
The 1950's was the golden age of science fiction, many great films were made, that even now influence our lives and thoughts today. One such film is Forbidden Planet, and for me. It is still one of the best films-and perhaps the only film that has a unique sound track which can not be beaten. Not only that but it introduced one of the best great robots of all time - Robby, this robot is so iconic, it-or he is instantly recognisable.

Before I go on, I just have to say that the music for the film was and still is ahead of its time, and if you watch the credits it comes under `Electronic Tonalities' by Louis and Bebe Barron, this inspiring couple used no musical instruments to compose the weird and wonderful music of Forbidden Planet; and if you look at the theatrical posters of the time, this couple's names are not mentioned - the Academy didn't even recognised the film score as music-how ignorant is that? Because no actual musical instruments were used, Louis and Bebe used tape and electronics to compose the now unforgettable haunting sound for the film. In my mind both Louise and Bebe Barron should receive honorary Oscars for original film score-its well overdue.

Now as for the acting skills of the performers, Walter Pidgeon is perfectly cast as Dr. Edward Morbius, you did know wether to love him or pity him in his struggle with his Id, and over developed intellect. Then there's the lovely Anne Francis as Altaira, Morbius' daughter, beautiful, naïve, and bright. Leslie Nielsen as Commander J. J. Adams, strong and heroic. Warren Stevens as Dr. Ostrow-unusual name, wise, intelligent, a close friend of the commander. It seems there are shades of the Kirk and McCoy between these two men, as the characters/actors work well together. Jack Kelly as Lt. Jerry Farman, another friend of Adams, a likeable easy going guy, obviously a ladies man. Plus two other recognisable actors early in their careers are Richard Anderson (Six Million Dollar Man/Bionic Woman), as Chief Quinn, and Earl Holliman (Police Woman), as Cook, giving a light comedic touch to the film. A well balanced cast in my opinion.

Okay, let's look at this 50th Anniversary Edition of Forbidden Planet, first when it states that it is the Ultimate Collector's Edition, you must never use the word `Ultimate' because it implies it contains everything and anything-well this edition-doesn't-of course thus you'll end up scrutinising it no end-and yes you guess it, I'm going to do just that; let's have a look at what you get anyway:

1] Forbidden Planet (Widescreen)
2] The Invisible Boy (Widescreen-bonus movie feathering Robby)
3] 17 Lobby Cards (reproductions 5A size-approx of both films)
4] Forbidden Planet - Deleted Scenes and Lost Footage
5] Excerpts from `The MGM Parade' TV series with Walter Pidgeon
6] `Client' episode with Robby from the TV series `The Thin Man'
7] 3 Documentaries: `Amazing! Exploring the Far Reaches of Forbidden Planet', `Robby the Robot: Engineering a Sci-Fi Icon', and `TCM Original Watch the Skies!: Science Fiction, the 1950s and Us'
8] Science-Fiction Movie Trailer Gallery
9] 3.5" figure of Robby the Robot

All the above is presented to you in a tin case-which is itself worth getting.

Now in regards the Robby the Robot figure, which was one of the main reasons I got this DVD Edition. I am really disappointed because there is a little false advertising involved, if one looks at the back of the box, the figure of Robby is about 21cm tall, compared to the other merchandize shown, but in reality it is about 9cm (3.5" inches tall), even though it states in small print that the figure is 3.5" Actual Size. (Even on the Amazon website picture shows what I mean) It is obvious that the Marketing Department wanted to sucker us in-well it worked with me, and looking at the metal box it came in, you can easily fit a 6" inch Robby figure. So the point is don't be fooled-seeing is not believing.

So is this really the Ultimate Edition-well no, because there's no such thing, I mean if we are featuring Robby as a bonus in what he has done over the years, then two more acting skills should have been included in this 50th Anniversary Edition: 1] the Lost in Space episode, "The War of the Robots" and 2] the Ark II episode, "The Robot", (this episode showed Robby with a different look than what we are used too) and there are more, of course like than appearance in Wonder Woman for example.

Plus there are two other things I would like with this edition, a booklet, describing the movie, some production notes, cast & crew listing, and any trivia, as well as a CD of the original Film/Music sound track. Why is it that special, anniversary or collector editions don't have CD sound tracks, I'm sure the collector would like to hear the musical score-wouldn't you?

All in all this 50th Anniversary Edition of Forbidden Planet is cool, and the film is my third all-time favourite sci-fi film, and it's easy to see why. You can get just the double DVD without the Robby figure, but if you go that far-go the extra, you won't be disappointed.

One final point, Forbidden Planet is pure science fiction at it's best for the era, and it still hold up today, this is science fiction as it was meant to be, this film set standards for future films to follow. Today's science fiction is dead-film wise, there is no imagination left-ok-ok, what about Star Wars? What about it? Its in a different league of science fiction and it and it successors are really merchandize driven, (today's generation are of a different mind-set) as with all other sci-fi/fantasy films.

Thanks to www.imdb.com for additional information on the cast.


5/5 Forbidden Planet Movie Review
  by William H. Losch (Rochester, MA)
This science fiction movie is one of the top five made in the 1950's and is even superior to the original "War of the Worlds" made in the 1950's. The story is truly a superior work as the events portrayed are possible in theory.

5/5 Very pleased with purchase
  by Rod
Got what I wanted, at a price lower than anywhere else.
Item was received within a couple days.

5/5 A Classic Seen With New Eyes
  by Glenn Porter
I've been a fan of Forbidden Planet since I was a kid in the 60s. But while I've seen it hundreds of times, I've NEVER seen it as crisp, clean and beautifully displayed as in this HD-DVD version. That includes the special edition anniversary version on DVD, which was remastered from original material just for that edition. High definition really lends itself to this sort of visually oriented film, and it's just wonderfully done on this disc. Bravo!