The Film: Breaking a heap of genre traditions within its opening third - this is the first sci-fi flick to be set on another planet and also to feature a robot complete with a personality - Forbidden Planet remains an immensely watchable treat. Tracking a jarringly straitlaced Leslie Nielsen as he commands a rescue mission to planet Altair IV, the film soon unravels as Nielsen and co realise this planet isn't all that it seems. The film builds to a thrilling close and it's worth mentioning that if the Academy was giving out Best Supporting Actor awards for sentient hunks of metal, Robby The Robot would have been a shoe in. Classic Moment: Forbidden Planet is all about isolation and build up and they don't come better than the film's finale, as the Id Monster emerges from its lair, causing all chaos to break loose. Kudos should also go to Disney animator on loan, Joshua Meador, for bringing this beast to life in such vivid fashion.
Shaun is a former contributor for a number of Future Publishing titles and more recently worked as a staffer at Imagine Publishing.
He can now be found banking in the daytime and writing a variety of articles for What Culture, namely around his favourite topics of film, retro gaming, music, TV and, when he's feeling clever, literature.
