Forbidden Planet - 4K Blu-ray Review

[Michael Scott]

Forbidden Planet



Movie:
4K Video:
Video:
Audio:
Extras:
Final Score:


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Movie
Back in the 50s MGM was undergoing a lot of internal turmoil, as they were on the verge of bankruptcy (wait? This feels like dejavu) and were desperate to get ticket goers back into theaters to see their films. So out of desperation they funded a sprawling Sci-fi film that would forego a lot of the pulpier and “serials” style science fiction films out there, and go into space. Back in the 50s we did have some space stuff, but that relegated to Buck Rogers style movies, while a lot of the more serious stuff was a post nuclear landscape where nuclear annihilation was the main focus. Here they started to figure out that they could make a good story set in space, just without the gimmicks and cheesiness that was prevalent in that genre at the moment. So they booked a fairly unknown actor by the name of Leslie Nielsen and and gave Forbidden Planet an A-list budget (of about $2 million, which was ENORMOUS back then) and set out tdo things right.

And they really did things right. Forbidden Planet may seem a bit cliché and quaint by modern standards of science fiction, but back in 1956 this was a jaw dropping experience. By the year 2200 mankind has overcome a lot of its hurdles, and we now had the ability to colonize other planets after developing a hyper drive that could send us to the furthest reaches of the galaxy. And star cruiser C57D is out on a mission to check in on the planet Altair, whose colony crew have seemed to have stopped reporting years ago. Under the command of Commander J.J. Adams (Leslie Nielsen) the crew arrives and is greeted by one lone survivor. A man by the name of Edward Morbius (Walter Pideon) who adamantly warns the crew not to approach as he can not guarantee their safety. Refusing to violate his orders, Commander Adams sets down only to find that Morbius is the lone survivor of the colony, having buried his friends and colleagues decades ago. All that is left is himself, his beautiful daughter and a self aware robot that can create anything you want, but can not hurt human kind in any way.

But the real find is what Morbius is hiding there. The remains of an ancient civilization who was so far beyond our comprehension, that we would be as ants to their intellect and scope of power. But while they are no longer with us, they left behind an underground world of wonders, filled with technology that has laid dormant for thousands of years, and weapons and power sources that could quite literally revolutionize earth. But not everything is as it seems either. Morbius’s reluctance to leave the place is suspicious enough, but as soon as Commander Adams decides to contact Earth to see what their next order is, mysterious things start to happen. Their communications relay is sabotaged by an unknown force, and soon things begin to escalate. Now Adams has to figure out what is REALLY going on, and if they can escape the planet and the legacy of the ancient Krell before its too late.

Forbidden Planet doesn’t devolve into the “damsel in distress shoot-em-up” that some many of the pulpy sci-fi serials did back in those days, instead approaching it with a more serious and contemplative approach. The film seems like it may be a shoot-em-up at first, that fades once Morbius opens up their eyes to the technology at home under the planet’s surface. Then we start to see a much darker and more mysterious force at work here, and themes of power, humanity’s readiness for said power, and greed come into play. The story instead of violence, captures your attention with extraordinary set design, and contemplative themes in a world where space lasers were seen as the norm.

And lets not forget that while most of us know Leslie Nielsen as the gray haired comedian, THIS was his first breakout role that shot him up the ladder to stardom, in a role that was as mirthless as you could get. It’s strange looking at him as something other than Detective Frank Drebin, but the man is in charge and absolutely kills it as the straight laced Commander Adams. Character actor Walter Pedigeon is delicious as the morally ambiguous Dr. Morbius, and Anne Francis is wonderful as the impulsive Altaira Morbius. And while the acting may seem cliched and simplistic by modern standards, this was a game changer for 1950s sci-fi and one of the most seminal works of the period.




Rating:

Rated G for General Audiences




4K Video: Video:

Like usual, Arrow’s remaster is impeccable, and according to the info included with the disc the film was restored by Arrow via the 35mm OCN at 4K 16bit at Warner’s MPI studios. Then restored and color graded at silver salt. And finally, QC was done at Pixelogic (pretty much the standard for these 4K remasters from Warner). And the results speak for themselves really. The old Warner Blu-ray we’ve had for years was a stunner back in the day, but this new 4K UHD disc absolutely blows it out of the water. It was originally misframed at 2.41:1 instead of the theatrical 2.55:1, and that has been corrected here. The film looks less brightened and whitened, but given a richer and darker burnished look that fits right in line with the original photographs that I’ve seen of the negative. Fine details are superb, though some of the softer focus special effects shots (such as going into the massive energy bunker, or with the blaster special effects) look a little weird with today’s 4K UHD screens, but that’s something that they would have seen in the theaters back in 1956 as well. Black levels are rich and deep, adding a lot of pop to those underground sequences, and the Dolby Vision adds some punch to the phasers and various effects of the aliens that come up in the latter half of the film. Basically, this is as close to perfection as I’ve seen in a long time, with picture perfect grain, no banding or artifacting, and this is probably the best the film has ever looked.








Audio:

Arrow’s 4K UHD disc sports three different audio mixes. The first being the original theatrical mono in LPCM losslees, the second a 3.0 DTS-HD MA mix (which is meant to mimic the Perspecta Stereo mix some theaters had) and the final being the modern day 5.1 DTS-HD MA mix that was made for home video years ago. Honestly, the 5.1 mix is my least favorite, even though it IS the most dynamic of the 3 mixes. Personally I really like the 3.0 mix as it gives it that vintage feel, while still separating things a bit more for the front soundstage over the Mono mix. That being said, the 5.1 track IS a good bit more dynamic, especially with that space ship landing in the first few minutes of the film. It’s got a bit of rumble from the bass, and the surrounds get some cool ambient usage here and there. Weirdly enough, I noticed more mid range bass in the 3.0 track than the 5.1 mix, and I’m not sure why. All I know is that it is probably my favorite out of the 3, but luckily fans can choose what they like.

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Extras:

Disc One - 4K UHD

• Brand new audio commentary by film historians Kim Newman and Barry Forshaw

Disc Two - Blu-ray Special Features

• Unearthly Aura, a newly filmed appreciation of Bebe & Louis Barron's pioneering electronic score by historian and composer Neil Brand
• Watch the Skies!: Science Fiction, The 1950s and Us, an archival documentary
• Amazing!: Exploring the Far Reaches of Forbidden Planet, an archival documentary
• Robby the Robot: Engineering a Sci-FiIcon, an archival featurette
• Deleted Scenes
• Lost Footage
• The Invisible Boy, a bonus movie featuring Robby the Robot in his second feature film
• "Robot Client," an episode of The Thin Man TV series featuring Robby the Robot
• Two excerpts from MGM Parade
• Original Shooting Script
• Theatrical trailer
• Image galleries

Final Score: ​

Forbidden Planet is one of the most seminal classic Science Fiction movies of all time, acting as one of the focal points for how modern space sci-fi was scene in the 1950s. Back then there was so much nuclear war fear that it had devolved into fear mongering and limitations being based on earth. At the time (while it may seem quaint or outdated today), Forbidden Planet was a huge step forward, with a massive budget (at the time) and a non campy take on inter dimensional travel. And while I still find stuff from the 70s and 80s more trans formative, there is no denying just how seminal this film really was to the genre. Arrow’s 4K UHD disc is stunning, with perfect video, amazing audio, and a whole plethora of extras to enjoy. HIGHLY recommended.


Technical Specifications:

Starring: Walter Pidgeon, Anne Francis, Leslie Nielsen, Warren Stevens, Jack Kelly
Directed by: Fred M. Wilcox
Written by: Cyril Hume, Irving Block, Allen Adler
Aspect Ratio: 2.39:1 HEVC
Audio: English: DTS-HD MA 5.1, English DTS-HD MA 3.0, English LPCM Mono
Subtitles: English SDH
Studio: Arrow
Rated: G
Runtime: 99 Minutes
Blu-ray Release Date: September 29th, 2026

Recommendation: Highly Recommended