It's considered to be one of the best science fiction films ever made, a classic masterpiece from the golden years of Hollywood, which still resonates with fans even today. Released in 1956, the film was unique for being set outside the solar system on a completely alien world. Yes, we're talking about Forbidden Planet, and this is Side 5. Forbidden Planet was originally written in 1952 by Alan Adela and Irving Block, under the name of Fatal Planet when it was to be set on Mercury. It was then rewritten as a screenplay by Cyril Hume, where its location was moved to a far-off distant world. The film's story focuses on the crew of the United Planet's spaceship known as the C57D, who arrive on the distant planet of Altair 40 to determine the operating status of a previous expedition. However, they soon discovered that there are only two people present on the world. Dr. Edward Morbius, who was part of the original expedition, and is daughter El Tera who was born afterwards. Consequently, as the crew commends their who-done-it-investigation regarding the fate of the other colonists, things start to take a precarious turn as they discover something sinister and dangerous about the world. Despite the fact Altair 4 is barren on the surface, as we soon learn it wasn't always like this. In one of the surprising reveals of the movie, we discover details about the world's original inhabitants, the Quill. Without doubt, the Quill are one of science-fiction's greatest mysteries, especially as there are no images of them at all, and only speculation as to what they might have looked like. Of particular significance is that they were a peaceful and benevolent alien species who all died out in a single day 2000 centuries prior, whilst the question of what happened to the Quill on that fateful day becomes a key plot point for the film. One of the major themes of the film deals with the power of the mind, in this case the subconscious, which is described along the same vein as the Yin and Yang principle, and that you cannot have light without dark, and by extension a person cannot, in essence, have the power of God without there being any substantial consequences, which in the film is represented by the power to create and to destroy. With that in mind, one of the more interesting curiosities of the movie is where do all the animals come from. After all it's hard to imagine a spaceship traveling to a distant world, taking a tiger with them. Although it's not mentioned in the movie, it is apparently covered off in the novelisation, in that Morbius himself has the power to create all the animals as a companion to Altera, which of course is an ominous sign of things to come. Featured in the film are its main protagonists, which include Captain John J. Adams played by Leslie Nielsen, long before he embarked on his comedy career, Dr. Morbius portrayed by Walter Pigeon, and Altera played by Anne Francis. Among the supporting characters are Dr. Ostro and Jerry Farman who is a self-indulgent wise-cracking ladies man. Despite forbidden planet featuring some spectacular scenery, wonderful special effects and great casting, there was one aspect of the film which became its signature image and why the film is so well remembered after all these decades. Whether it be by accident or design, he became the film's most bankable star, and of course that's Robbie the Robot. Robbie was completely unique for science fiction films of the era. Aside from having a visually impressive and highly intricate design, unlike anything seen before, he also featured an individual personality with a slight sense of sardine acumen sarcasm. However, what was truly significant about Robbie was his ability to make an audience believe he was in fact a real robot. The unfortunate side effect of the movie's success was what happened after he was released. Because the film featured so many originally designed costumes and props and vehicles of really high quality, naturally MGM was going to reuse them in other productions. Robbie the Robot himself appeared in different movies and TV series for decades to come, whilst the United Planet's crew uniforms appeared in different movies and TV shows which was a little jarring to see for forbidden planet fans. Under the outstanding direction of Fred M. Wilcox, the film featured the world's first fully electronic music film soundtrack by Baby and Louis Barron, which was credited as electronic tonalities due to an issue with the musician's union. Ultimately, forbidden planet was a massive success upon release, which was important for MGM considering it was an expensive film to make. So who should see the film? As it was made in the 1950s, the film makes for excellent family viewing, even though a couple of shots were omitted for mid-day TV screenings as it was feared their scary nature would frighten young children. Fortunately, the film was shot in cinemasco with a stunning color palette, so it looks wonderful on a modern TV or cinema screen. So if you haven't seen the film before, then you're in for a treat. For forbidden planet is one of those movies the whole family can enjoy. But be aware, it was made in the 1950s, so some of the show Vanistik and sex as sensibilities may be considered a little outdated by today's standards. Either way, the film is an absolute classic revered by fans far and wide, and for that reason alone, it's well worth watching.