Forbidden Planet (1956)
89%RT Audience Score: 85%
Awards & Nominations: Nominated for 1 Oscar
1 win & 3 nominations total
Shakespeare gets the deluxe space treatment in Forbidden Planet, an adaptation of The Tempest with impressive sets and seamless special effects.
Forbidden Planet is a classic sci-fi flick that’s campy, imaginative, and full of suspense. It’s like Shakespeare’s Tempest meets Star Trek, with monsters from the id and gadgets galore. The special effects and creatures are amusing, and the acting is superior. It’s an ingenious script that’s both endearing and ground-breaking, being the first sci-fi film in color and CinemaScope. No wonder it’s been cited as an inspiration by so many sci-fi writers. It’s a must-see for any fan of the genre, and even for those who just want some fun and creative entertainment.
Production Company(ies)
Miramax, Shooting Gallery
Distributor
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Criterion Collection
Release Type
Theatrical
Filming Location(s)
Sony Pictures Studios – 10202 W. Washington Blvd., Culver City, California, USA
MPAA / Certificate
G
Year of Release
1958
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Color:Color
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Sound mix:Dolby
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Aspect ratio:2.55 : 1
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Runtime:1h 38m
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Language(s):English
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Country of origin:United States
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Mar 15, 1956 Original
Release Date (Streaming): Apr 18, 2000
Genre(s)
Sci-Fi
Keyword(s)
Worldwide gross: NA
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): NA
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): NA
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): NA
US/Canada gross: NA
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): NA
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): NA
US/Canada opening weekend:
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): NA
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): NA
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): NA
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): NA
Production budget ranking: NA
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
ROI to date (est.): NA
ROI ranking: NA
Anne Francis – Altaira Morbius
Leslie Nielsen – Commander John J. Adams
Warren Stevens – Lt. “Doc” Ostrow
Jack Kelly – Lt. Jerry Farman
Richard Anderson – Chief Engineer Quinn
Director(s)
Fred M. Wilcox
Writer(s)
William Shakespeare, Irving Block, Cyril Hume
Producer(s)
Nicholas Nayfack
Film Festivals
Awards & Nominations
Nominated for 1 Oscar
1 win & 3 nominations total
Academy Awards
All Critics (47) | Top Critics (9) | Fresh (45) | Rotten (2)
An engaging 1956 science fiction gloss of Shakespeare’s Tempest.
July 26, 2011
Dave Kehr
Chicago Reader
TOP CRITIC
Classic ’50s sci-fi flick is campy fun.
December 24, 2010 | Rating: 4/5
Nell Minow
Common Sense Media
TOP CRITIC
Imaginative gadgets galore, plus plenty of suspense and thrills, make the production a top offering in the space travel category.
June 5, 2007
Variety Staff
Variety
TOP CRITIC
Offers some of the most amusing creatures conceived since the Keystone cops.
March 25, 2006 | Rating: 5/5
Bosley Crowther
New York Times
TOP CRITIC
An ingenious script, excellent special effects and photography, and superior acting, make it an endearing winner.
January 26, 2006
Geoff Andrew
Time Out
TOP CRITIC
Intriguing, perhaps overrated sci-fi classic that borrows from The Tempest and anticipates ‘Star Trek’ — but its driving fears are the ‘monsters from the id.’
October 10, 2005 | Rating: B+
Steven D. Greydanus
Decent Films
TOP CRITIC
“Aladdin’s lamp in a physics laboratory!”
October 16, 2021
Anton Bitel
BFI
Episode 37: Edge of Tomorrow / Forbidden Planet / High Life
October 4, 2021 | Rating: 96/100
Taylor Baker
Drink in the Movies
The final revelations are grand, yet they take far too long to arrive.
August 18, 2020 | Rating: 5/10
Mike Massie
Gone With The Twins
The film takes its time to expose, or discover, the real heart of the matter, to fully present its cards, something that would become a role model in future films of the genre. [Full Review in Spanish]
April 15, 2020
Alberto Abuín
Espinof
Forbidden Planet (1956) is one of the more influential, classic and ground-breaking science-fiction space-opera adventures ever made – it was the first science-fiction film in color and CinemaScope.
September 29, 2019 | Rating: A+
Tim Dirks
Filmsite
No wonder so many sci-fi writers have cited it as an inspiration, I can see how this film would spark a lot of imagination back then, or even now. Great stuff.
February 7, 2019 | Rating: 4/5
David Hogan
hoganreviews.co.uk…
Plot
When Commander Adams and his crew are sent to investigate why there were no communications from a previous mission to a planet explored 20 years earlier by scientists, he finds only two survivors, Dr. Morbius and his daughter. Unknown to Adams, Morbius has made a discovery, a discovery of great power, and has no intention of sharing it with anyone.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
NA
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