Plot Details: This opinion reveals minor details about the movie's plot.

I first saw "Forbidden Planet" several years ago, and recently watched it again...to see if it was really as good as my Younger Self remembered. Happily, as is rarely the case with movies, it's even BETTER than I remembered it.

This 1956 film is the culmination of various threads that had been working their way through science fiction films for decades: the hope of a better future, the use of science to "save" humanity, the robot as assistant instead of a menace, and the token girl as a hottie who wears very skimpy clothing and falls in love with everyone. Tramp.

As an ultimate expression of these ideas, "Forbidden Planet" became very influential to the films (and television series) that would come after it. The starship that is manned by 50 or so men who are on a mission of exploration is impossible not to associate with that later ship, the Enterprise, crewed by James T. Kirk and his technicolor-clad officers. The idea of a peaceful mission of exploration, going out from Earth as scientists and colonists, was a fairly new one...and the conventions like Warp Drive to get them to Strange New Worlds were ones that would be picked up by others.

More than the "sci-fi" gimmicks though (and there are many, from the talking assistant "Robby the Robot" to Dr. Morbius to the lightning-fast groundspeeder that transports Morbius) the SCRIPT is what really sets this apart from what comes before and after, and becomes really Star Trekky. Trekky like the moralizing of Gene Roddenberry about what's best for humanity's future...what that future will be, and how our humanistic ideals can shape it. Do we want a future of suppressed emotion and scientific discovery, or one of enhanced emotion and free will?

The key to the mystery of this "Forbidden Planet" is Dr. Morbius, who, like the wizard Prospero in "The Tempest" is in sole possession of this place that he has essentially forged in his own image. His daughter, Altaira, has been raised by him alone, and all other residents of the planet wiped out.

Walter Pidgeon plays the ultimate in intelligent, haunted, scientist-despots...it's difficult to tell (even at the end of the movie) if he truly wants what's best for himself and the planet he rules, or if he simply wanted power. He brings a cold intellelect and dignity to this role, which could have become a hammy villain that would have crippled the entire movie.

Anne Francis is incredibly hot as Altaira, and her blossoming in the presence of men besides her father is both amusing and very becoming. And her skimpy little outfits. Mmmmmm. The innocence of this child, so long marooned with her father, is also a driving force for the crew of men who want to alternately seduce her and protect her.

The captain of the visiting starship is none other than Leslie Nielsen, and although the role (or maybe his acting) is fairly bland (you might call it wooden), it's actually an excellent counterpoint to Dr. Morbius. Commander Adams, like later starship captains, would use his ship's doctor and other officers to consult with and act as his own intellect and conscience.

The effects in "Forbidden Planet" still stand up very well, in my book...Disney did the animation for the various attacks on the planet, and those and the live-action effects were all believeable and realistic. The sets are amazing...especially those at Dr. Morbius' home and his surrounding laboratories.

If you're in the mood for some classic sci-fi, look no further. This is a film that has many layers of mystery, from beginning to end. I've tried to give away none of them, but remember that things aren't always as they seem. You'll enjoy "Forbidden Planeet," but you won't want to stay there.

Recommended: Yes

Viewing Format: VHS
Video Occasion: Fit for Friday Evening
Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children up Ages 8