Forbidden Planet | Rotten Tomatoes (2024)

94% Tomatometer 51 Reviews 85% Popcornmeter 10,000+ Ratings

In this sci-fi classic, a spacecraft travels to the distant planet Altair IV to discover the fate of a group of scientists sent there decades earlier. When Commander John J. Adams (Leslie Nielsen) and his crew arrive, they discover only two people: Dr. Morbius (Walter Pidgeon) and his daughter, Altaira (Anne Francis), who was born on the remote planet. Soon, Adams begins to uncover the mystery of what happened on Altair IV, and why Morbius and Altaira are the sole survivors.

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Forbidden Planet

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Critics Consensus

Shakespeare gets the deluxe space treatment in Forbidden Planet, an adaptation of The Tempest with impressive sets and seamless special effects.

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Critics Reviews

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Forbidden Planet | Rotten Tomatoes (1) TIME Magazine [A] nifty interstellar meller. Jul 26, 2011 Full Review Forbidden Planet | Rotten Tomatoes (2) Dave Kehr Chicago Reader An engaging 1956 science fiction gloss of Shakespeare's Tempest. Jul 26, 2011 Full Review Forbidden Planet | Rotten Tomatoes (3) Nell Minow Common Sense Media Classic '50s sci-fi flick is campy fun. Rated: 4/5 Dec 24, 2010 Full Review Forbidden Planet | Rotten Tomatoes (4) Alan Jones Radio Times An enthralling eye-popper. Rated: 5/5 Sep 13, 2024 Full Review Forbidden Planet | Rotten Tomatoes (5) Pat Padua Washington City Paper What <em>Forbidden Planet</em> lacks in iambic pentameter, it makes up for in highly saturated mid-century colors and special effects that may seem primitive but give a painterly elegance to the space-age journey. Apr 17, 2024 Full Review Forbidden Planet | Rotten Tomatoes (6) Bob Freund Miami Herald The film abounds in sound and color. Electronic tonalities and odd spectrum graduations make it a treat for eye and ear. The actors come off better than you'd think, too. Mar 21, 2024 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Audience Member One of two films from the 50's along with "The Day the Earth Stood Still" that legitimized science fiction, with the lovely Anne Francis spicing things up considerably. This was recurring Saturday afternoon Creature Feature fare for years back in the 60's, but it stands head and shoulders above the others. Rated 5/5 Stars • Rated 5 out of 5 stars 10/08/24 Full Review George L This movie gets better every time you watch it. Rated 5/5 Stars • Rated 5 out of 5 stars 09/18/24 Full Review Blu B All Time Classic. This is what Star Trek the Motion Picture was clearly trying to go for but just completely botched. (To defenders of it, this is Exhibit A for how you do a "Pure" Sci-Fi Story) Any fan of Sci-Fi will see bits and pieces of major influence taken from this. The blasters and Leia Hologram from Star Wars, The literal inspiration of the Star Trek TV show, Imagery of Blade Runner, Solaris, and even ones like iRobot (maybe not the highest quality one) and Interstellar. It's all done in a 50's Golden Era style and it's masterfully done. This is a slow burn the entire way that relies on a mixture of atmosphere, complex ideas, and visuals rather than action, laughs, and realism. It can feel a bit dry at times but stay with it. Eventually it's ideas build to some really creative stuff so just stay with it and be patient. Walter Pidgeon was amazing in this and did a great job making the boring science expose actually interesting consistently. It's weird to say but the acting is a bit wooden and dry but it just works extremely well over time as you warm up to it because of the ideas this builds really weigh. I don't really know how else to describe it. The characters all unique takes on The Tempest play of old and one of the most unique if not the most unique modern twist I've ever seen. (This is how you take old ideas and repackage them Hollywood. You used to know this before franchsies and Shared Universes made you lazy) It's visual effects for the time of course are amazing and still hold really well and are very clean. Some of the stuff honestly I don't know how they did and it looks amazing especially the lasers and the Eid monster. The sound is super haunting and one of the most unique soundtracks to a film I've ever heard. Super haunting and atmospheric stuff. Everyone should give this a try once. Rated 5/5 Stars • Rated 5 out of 5 stars 07/17/24 Full Review Dave B A real science fiction treasure, especially for being produced in the 1950's. Way ahead of it's time on multiple fronts. Rated 4.5/5 Stars • Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 06/10/24 Full Review Aldo G A marvel of its time. Hugely influential. Still holds up for those interested in sci-fi cinema history. The acting is better than expected and the love interest between actors Leslie Nielsen and Anne Francis stimulates. Rated 4/5 Stars • Rated 4 out of 5 stars 05/11/24 Full Review Nol P As I try and watch many of the older classics these days, this movie was interesting but it is just so weird and does not stand the test of time like many other classics do. I did try and watch by relating to 1956 and that did not help much. I have seen many good classics, many of which were even older than 1956, and this one is a one and done deal. 2.5 of 5 stars at best is all I can give Forbidden Planet realistically. Was also interesting to see Leslie Nielson as a 30 yr old in a film. I thought of his other silly movies at times while watching, like Naked Gun. Rated 2.5/5 Stars • Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 03/25/24 Full Review Read all reviews

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Cast & Crew

Fred M. Wilcox Director Walter Pidgeon Dr. Edward Morbius Anne Francis Altaira Morbius Leslie Nielsen Commander John J. Adams Warren Stevens Lt. "Doc" Ostrow Jack Kelly Lt. Jerry Farman
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Forbidden Planet

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Synopsis In this sci-fi classic, a spacecraft travels to the distant planet Altair IV to discover the fate of a group of scientists sent there decades earlier. When Commander John J. Adams (Leslie Nielsen) and his crew arrive, they discover only two people: Dr. Morbius (Walter Pidgeon) and his daughter, Altaira (Anne Francis), who was born on the remote planet. Soon, Adams begins to uncover the mystery of what happened on Altair IV, and why Morbius and Altaira are the sole survivors.

Director
Fred M. Wilcox

Producer
Nicholas Nayfack

Screenwriter
William Shakespeare, Irving Block, Cyril Hume

Distributor
Criterion Collection, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

Production Co
Metro Goldwyn Mayer

Rating
G

Genre
Sci-Fi

Original Language
English

Release Date (Theaters)
Mar 15, 1956, Original

Release Date (Streaming)
Aug 25, 2008

Runtime
1h 38m
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