The Day The Earth Stood Still (1951) | Keeping the Score Series

Name: The Day The Earth Stood Still (1951) | Keeping the Score Series
Start: 2025-09-24T19:00:00-04:00
Location: 108 E Butler Ave, Ambler, PA, United States, Pennsylvania 19002

Schedule

Wed, 24 Sep, 2025 at 07:00 pm

UTC-04:00

Location

108 E Butler Ave, Ambler, PA, United States, Pennsylvania 19002 | Ambler, PA

Our year-long Keeping the Score series continues on September 24th with one of the most iconic sci-fi films ever made-THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL!𝗚𝗲𝘁 𝗧𝗶𝗰𝗸𝗲𝘁𝘀: amblertheater.org/specials
𝗔𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗠𝗼𝘃𝗶𝗲:Considered one of the most influential science fiction films of all time, THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL is a timeless story about first contact. A mysterious humanoid alien lands in Washington, D.C. with a warning to Earth’s people to cease their violent behavior. Panic erupts when a nervous soldier shoots the messenger, and his robot companion responds. A sci-fi hallmark that offers wry commentary on the political climate of the 1950s.
𝗔𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝗰𝗼𝗿𝗲: If you associate a particular kind of music with space-invasion movies of the 1950s, you likely have this Bernard Hermann score to thank. THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL incorporates numerous instruments to give the score its sound: vibraphones, organs, and even glockenspiels. But it is certainly the theremin, an electronic instrument that emits a woozy and synthetic-sounding whistle, that viewers will most easily notice. Hermann’s liberal use of the theremin brings an unnerving and alien quality to this film’s soundscape. Even when we start to trust Klaatu as he sues for peace on a planet ever on the brink of war, the score unmoors the viewer, never allowing the imposing power of unknown extraterrestrial forces to entirely exit the mind. The result is an abstract one: though Klaatu’s people won’t ever truly threaten our world, we nonetheless end the movie feeling humanity truly is, for good or ill, the agent of its own fate. Hermann’s aural contributions contribute to this.
𝗔𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀: Be it a gentle piano interlude or a glorious orchestral fanfare, no element of filmcraft sets a movie’s tone and identity quite like the musical score. Film music has the power to underline a filmmaker’s narrative ideas, forge our bond to a heroic character, and move us to the point of tears. Join us all year long as we showcase cinema’s iconic composers whose musical talents enrich the images we see on screen and have us humming their unforgettable melodies as we exit the auditorium. See what else is playing this year at amblertheater.org/score