The Day the Earth Stood Still

"This was the first major film to depict a benign extraterrestrial visiting Earth since the postwar flying saucer phenomenon began in June 1947. Few alien visitation films have surpassed it for suspense, narrative economy, acting and a just plain good story." ―Portland Oregonian

When a UFO lands in Washington, D.C., bearing a message for Earth's leaders, all of humanity stands still. Klaatu has come on behalf of alien life who have been watching Cold War-era nuclear proliferation on Earth. But it is Klaatu's soft-spoken robot Gort that presents a more immediate threat to onlookers. A single mother and her son teach the world about peace and tolerance in this moral fable, ousting the tanks and soldiers that greet the alien's arrival.