The Day The Earth Stood Still │ Klaatu Barada Nikto

 

"The Day The Earth Stood Still (1951)", is probably the greatest Sci-Fi movie ever made, but somehow, it has been lost from our collective consciousness.  But even fewer people know, that it was actually a thinly disguised story of the life of Jesus Christ, or you might say, a parable of the life of Christ.  The name that Klaatu takes when he assumes the identity of a civilian is Major Carpenter.  Jesus was a carpenter.  There is a boy who stars in the movie Bobby (played by Billy Gray), who gets close to Klaatu.  In the New Testament, it is John the Apostle, who was a teenager at the time that Christ lived, who also was a close companion to him.  At the end of the movie, Klaatu rises from the dead and ascends into the heavens, much as Christ did on the Mount Of Olives.  These are just a few examples of the parallels between Klaatu and Jesus Christ.  There are many more subliminal clues in the film.  Much has been made of the cryptic phrase  "Klaatu Barada Nikto".  That is the command that Klaatu gives to Bobby's mother Helen, to say to Gort (who is St. Michael the Archangel, the avenging angel), in the event that he dies.  The phrase will stop Gort from destroying the earth.  By-the-way, it is Billy Gray's excellent performance as Bobby that makes the movie so believable.  Michael Rennie, the late British actor, gave an outstanding performance as the other-worldly Klaatu.  Robert Wise was the director of "The Day The Earth Stood Still", and  he later went on to direct such cinematic blockbusters as "West Side Story" and "The Sound Of Music".  In 2008, a remake of "The Day The Earth Stood Still" was released, but it certainly did not have the emotional and mystical impact of the original.  Klaatu Barada Nikto to all the fans of Endyr's Movie Theater, wherever you may be.

Bobby Driscoll │ The Greatest Child Star Of Them All

 

Robert Cletus "Bobby" Driscoll was born on March 3, 1937, and had an untimely death on March 30, 1968 in New York City.  He was 31 years old.  Bobby is buried in an unmarked grave in Potter's Field, Hart Island, New York.

Boy Dancers From The Al-Amyn Model School

 

The boy dancers in the videos below are students from the Al-Amyn Model School, Gulmit Gojal, Hunza, which is part of Gilgit Baltistan (Pakistan).  It was filmed in the courtyard in front of the school.  It is an excellent private school, and the headmaster is the esteemed Sir Nazir Ahmed Bulbul, who is a noted poet, composer, and scholar.  The dancers are Shahid Din (Shaideen), and Muhammad Raza.  The "Kary Kary (Sometimes)" song was performed by Salman Paras who is from Gilgit Baltistan.  Needless to say "Kary Kary (Sometimes)" is a monster hit in Gilgit Baltistan.  Safe journeys to all the fans of Endyr's Movie Theater, wherever you may be.

Skaterdater │ A Blast From The Past

In this edition of Endyr's Movie Theater I am featuring "Skaterdater".  This is the classic film-short from 1965 that the won the Palme d'Or for Best Short Film at the 1966 Cannes Film Festival.  It was also nominated for an Academy Award in the Best Short Subject category, and won First prizes in international film festivals including Moscow and Venice. This is a great coming-of-age film.  One thing that is really unique about this movie is that it has no dialogue, but to compensate for that, the visuals are astonishing and it has a terrific soundtrack.  Incidentally this was the first skateboard movie ever made, and it is probably still the best of the genre.  By-the-way, Carroll Ballard, the director of "The Black Stallion" was one of the camera-persons on this project.  I must say that watching "Skaterdater" made me feel so young and nostalgic for days gone by.  There are parts of "Skaterdater" that captures the mystical and carefree nature of youth perfectly. "Skaterdater" is really about the Zen of skateboarding.  Safe journeys to all the fans of Endyr's Movie Theater, wherever you may be.

Merry Christmas!

 Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year from Endyr's Movie Theater.  Safe journeys to all the fans of Endyr's Movie Theater, wherever you may be.

Kalikiana

A Me Ke Aloha Pumehana.  Safe journeys to all the fans of Endyr's Movie Theater, wherever you may be.

Trick or Treat

Have a safe, and a Happy Halloween!  Safe journeys to all the fans of Endyr's Movie Theater, wherever you may be.