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When Forbidden Planet greeted audiences in 1956, moviegoers familiar with a steady diet of B-grade science-fiction cinema were hardly prepared for this imaginative, exquisitely produced film which set new standards for the science-fiction genre. Forbidden Planet extended beyond mere entertainment and expressed a foundation of provocative ideas that both reflected and influenced the thinking of the day. Similar to its contemporary The Day The Earth Stood Still and more recently Blade Runner, Forbidden Planet is a hubris-inspired story solidly constructed around a timeless core of universal ideas. But in addition to its powerful philosophical underpinnings, Forbidden Planet flexes its prowess beyond thematic structure with its stunning visuals of space travel and an alien world, reference-setting special effects for the day (and many years to come), and potency as a fear-inducing suspense-drama. I remember as a child being frozen with terror during the climatic battle near the end of the film. Much like Star Wars did in the late ‘70s, Forbidden Planet changed the face of its genre by changing moviegoers’ expectations about what science fiction could be.

If you’ve never seen this film but enjoy classic science fiction then you need to watch this disc without hesitation. Those sci-fi fans out there already familiar with Forbidden Planet need no convincing; you’re reading this review to ascertain whether Warner has done justice to all that this film, and its fans, deserve. They have.

Note: There is also a collector’s box set available with a tin case and a miniature Robby the Robot figurine. However the DVDs within that collector’s edition have exactly the same content as this dual- DVD release, so this review applies to either purchase. Also the HD DVD edition of this film has been reviewed by Dan and deserves your attention as well. Note that the special features on the HD DVD edition are identical to those contained on this  SD DVD 2-disc set.

The Video: How Does The Disc Look?

Stunning. And just what a DVD ought to be: faithful to the film source in every way.

After first procuring this classic on VHS in the early-‘90s, then on widescreen laserdisc, then on Warner’s earlier anamorphic DVD, I had the privilege of viewing a restored 35 mm print projected theatrically two years ago at a sci- fi film festival at the restored Lafayette Theater in Suffern New York. Aside from enjoying the bliss of viewing this classic film projected via a pristine 35 mm print just as audiences would have enjoyed in 1956, my objective was to discern how the actual print was really intended to look. It’s all too easy to make assumptions when watching low-resolution home video formats about how the original source may or may not have looked behind the haze of telecine, downrezing, and digital processing issues we see projected on our home cinema screens. By taking great care to consider these questions during my privileged viewing of the restored film print, I can assure you that this DVD disc is doing an exceedingly faithful job of communicating an accurate facsimile of the film source-material as transparently as the 720 x 480 standard-definition DVD medium will allow.

The somewhat warm and often subdued color palette is exactly as it appeared projected from film. Hues reveal a striking range on this DVD without any hint of banding in large-field regions (like skies) and colors do indeed come across boldly and vividly in appropriate scenes as dictated by the film elements (within Morbius’ home of, for example).

The slightly soft character of the visuals is also consistent with look of the projected print that I saw screened. I remember that distinctly because I had felt slightly disappointed by the 35 mm projection; the film lacked the sharpness and snap I had seen with other 35 mm films like The Day The Earth Stood Still and Planet Of The Apes that same day. I can’t wait to see this film on HD DVD (already available) or Blu-ray Disc (soon to be released); I know there will be gains in both color-expression and detail in the 1080p transfer compared to what DVD can offer. But this DVD should satisfy those of you who have yet to invest in HD hardware (although undoubtedly you’ll want to upgrade to an HD copy when you do).

HD Note: If you currently own HD DVD hardware you owe it to yourself to skip past the SD DVD altogether and go directly to HD DVD (reviewed by Dan here). If you have the ability (or plan) to watch Blu-ray, bear in mind that Warner has committed to release all their HD DVD titles on Blu-ray Disc as well as utilizing the identical VC-1 encoded 1080p image file authored on the HD DVD edition.

The DVD also preserves the occasional presence of fine-film grain, which is refreshing as it maintains the picture’s natural film-like character and demonstrates that technician-hands haven’t succumbed to the temptation of over-filtering detail or of applying destructive DNR algorithms to “videoize” this gorgeous image. I see no distracting edge halos to mar the experience for wide-angle viewers (such as those viewing on front-projection systems). Outside of 35 mm projection or 1080p HD, this DVD is as good as Forbidden Planet has ever been seen. Excellent work, Warner Home Video.

The Audio: How Does The Disc Sound?

Warner has produced some controversial soundtrack-presentations on DVD in the past which have often seem more focused on providing audio presentations that are optimized for home-theater listening than in preserving the character and integrity of the historical sound. And while some studios (such as Disney) make a practice of providing both original and new audio presentations on the same DVD to give listeners a choice, Warner has typically presented only one English soundtrack option when remixing is employed. This is a situation that causes dismay among many serious film-buffs who often prefer historically faithful audio presentations regardless of what improvements a studio technician might deem possible.

In the case of this new Forbidden Planet DVD, Warner has provided a single Dolby Digital 5.1 English track. I’ve read online how the lack of the original mono mix has upset many enthusiasts and I counted myself among them . . . until I listened to this outstanding and historically accurate 5.1 presentation.

Let me preface my praise of this mix by addressing a misconception I’ve seen rampant on the Web and in many reviews; my best information indicates that Forbidden Planet was not recorded and mixed in mono, but was actually originally recorded and mixed in four- track stereo. And listening to this 5.1 mix, my ears confirm that assertion. In fact, this new mix sounds so appropriate to my ears that it prompted me to question the mono origins of the film’s recording and that led me to discover the truth.

The 5.1 mix sounds as if the Warner technicians have merely lifted the historical 4-track stereo mix and encoded it into a 5.1 matrix preserving the original channel-balance with respectful transparency. The most noteworthy characteristic that demonstrates this is the directional dialogue and sound effects which follow on-screen actors as they walk, talk, and even just change orientation on the screen. This sort of hard-panning across the front soundstage was common with many cinemascope classics from the ‘50s and ‘60s and is often the very first thing that modern home theater remixes (by Warner Brothers and other studios) try to eradicate. Hats off to Warner for preserving this marvelous characteristic of the historical soundtrack. I don’t know if the sound team has taken on new management or just revised their remastering guidelines, but the results with the 5.1 mix on this disc are exemplary.

Surround use and bass response are limited as one would expect from a soundtrack recording of this era but they don’t leave the listener feeling sonically cheated; the frequency response is satisfyingly full. Noteworthy for film buffs is that this is the first film with a musical soundtrack to make use exclusively of “electronic tonalities” . . . there is no symphonic score. One account has it that the decision to use all electronic tonalities for the musical track was a pragmatic choice to avoid paying fees to the music guild. But whatever its motivation, this artistic decision serves the film appropriately and is one of the hallmarks that sets this film apart from its contemporary company of sci-fi flicks. (The Day The Earth Stood Still comes in as a close second with its evocative musical score incorporating the Theremin into the otherwise orchestral composition.) The electronic tonalities (as they are even referred to in the film’s credits) sound marvelous in this audio mix.

Supplements: What Goodies Are There?

Warner has dug deep into their archives and unearthed some real historical gems on this set, along with some newly produced documentaries. Disc one contains about 12 minutes worth of Deleted Scenes, which are not in anamorphic video though some are widescreen. Sadly, these deleted scenes appear to be sourced from video archives rather than directly from actual film elements that I suspect may no longer exist. But video-quality qualms aside, the clips themselves are extremely interesting for any fan. Some of them reveal alternate scenes to what is contained in the feature film; some of them reveal extended scenes with additional dialogue or scenes that were omitted (in some cases, these additional snippets would have benefited the theatrical cut).

It’s fascinating that Warner was able to assemble this degree of excised material for a film over 50 years old. My only frustration is that the scenes are streamed together in a “play all” fashion that doesn’t allow you to access any scene directly or even skip to the next scene once you’ve started play. Also, similar in image quality and style to the Deleted scenes are about 10 minutes of Lost Footage, which doesn’t have direct-scene access either but does allow the user to skip chapters using the remote. The lost footage is just as interesting as the deleted scenes material. Every fan owes it to himself or herself to thoroughly investigate both of these features.

Forbidden Planet was Robby the Robot’s first film- debut and so Warner has provided some nice Robby-related extras including The Thin Man: Robot Client (television episode) which is a very enjoyable watch. The entire episode is presented and the image quality of this 1.33:1 television show is beautiful (looks to be film-source). Jumping to disc two for a moment to keep with the Robby theme is the 89-minute feature film The Invisible Boy presented in anamorphic video in its theatrical aspect ratio of approximately 1.85:1. While the film reveals story and production flaws to an adult viewer, it’s not hard to imagine how the targeted child-audience of the ‘50s would have been mesmerized by this story. Its premise is a boy who’s misunderstood by his parents but manages to activate a forgotten Robot discovered in his father’s science-workshop. Once activated the Robot obliges the boy’s bidding as his all- powerful servant—including that of helping him avoid parental punishment.

Back to disc one, there is a host of Theatrical Trailers for the films: The Thing, Beast from 20,000 Fathoms, THEM!, The Black Scorpion, The Invisible Boy, The Time Machine (anamorphic 1.85:1), and Forbidden Planet (anamorphic 2.35:1). Bravo for Warner offering not only the theatrical trailer for the two feature films presented in this DVD edition, but also for providing trailers for many other sci-fi classics from the same era; that’s are sure to please fans. Two segments from the television series MGM Parade relating to the Robby theme are also included.

Disc two contains the full feature film of The Invisible Boy as mentioned earlier, plus three marvelous documentaries. The first is Watch The Skies!: Science Fiction, The 1950’s and Us which is more than 55 minutes long. It’s divided into 12 chapters, which can be individually accessed (selecting any one plays that chapter and all following chapters, so selecting chapter one is equivalent to a “play all” option). Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, Ridley Scott, and James Cameron share their insights about the history and genesis of the sci-fi genre during the ‘50s given such influences as the atom bomb and the cold war. Every sci-fi fan should set aside the time to enjoy this documentary. Focusing on Forbidden Planet itself is the 26-minute (anamorphic widescreen) feature Amazing!: Exploring the Reaches of Forbidden Planet. This featurette is an equally worthwhile viewing.

Robby the Robot: Engineering a Sci-Fi Icon is a 14- minute featurette that details the design and evolution of this much- loved Robot character, as well as the popularity surrounding him, marketing, memorabilia and more. I couldn’t have imagined a studio putting together a finer collection of bonus material for this science-fiction classic. I think you’ll be impressed.

Note: The current HD DVD edition (and presumably the forthcoming Blu-ray Disc edition) contain the same bonus material as this Standard Definition DVD set.

Exclusive DVD-ROM Features: What happens when you pop the disc into your PC?

There are no DVD-ROM features on this DVD set.

Final Thoughts