The Day the Earth Stood Still

The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951) is Robert Wise's science-fiction landmark, and you can watch it online on iFILM. A flying saucer settles onto the lawn near the Washington Mall. Out step two visitors: the alien Klaatu and a towering robot named Gort. The first thing the jittery soldiers do is open fire.

Wounded, Klaatu slips out of a hospital and rents a room in an ordinary boarding house under the name Mr. Carpenter, trying to figure out what kind of creatures these humans really are. He carries an ultimatum: the other worlds will not let mankind drag its quarrels and nuclear tests beyond the Earth. A young widow named Helen and her son become his one window into anyone worth saving, while the silent Gort waits for a signal that could level a city. The phrase "Klaatu barada nikto" has echoed through pop culture ever since.

Made at the height of the Cold War, the film turned the invasion picture into a parable about fear and responsibility, and Bernard Herrmann's spare score, built on the eerie theremin, set the sound of screen sci-fi for decades. It's quiet, smart classic moviemaking that's older than most of its viewers yet hasn't aged a day. Stream The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951) online on iFILM.