I'm not sure if this a true "classic" but it's certainly excellent.
As kid in the 1960s I saw this multiple times on the syndicated "Saturday Night at the Movies". I loved it then and still enjoy it now. The special effects look very weak today and it's bit preachy but the performances, dialog and pacing are top notch. The characters and setting come across as genuine representations of the era without any maudlin melodrama or contrived romantic distractions.
The benevolent desire expressed by Klattu for Earth to join in peaceful interplanetary relationship is strangely offset by the warning of "And if don't do it our way we'll smash you like a bug". I suspect a more nuanced approach would ring more comfortably in our ears today.
In any case, the acting is superb and the movie well-directed. Definitely in the top echelon of film-making.
As kid in the 1960s I saw this multiple times on the syndicated "Saturday Night at the Movies". I loved it then and still enjoy it now. The special effects look very weak today and it's bit preachy but the performances, dialog and pacing are top notch. The characters and setting come across as genuine representations of the era without any maudlin melodrama or contrived romantic distractions.
The benevolent desire expressed by Klattu for Earth to join in peaceful interplanetary relationship is strangely offset by the warning of "And if don't do it our way we'll smash you like a bug". I suspect a more nuanced approach would ring more comfortably in our ears today.
In any case, the acting is superb and the movie well-directed. Definitely in the top echelon of film-making.