Forbidden Planet

Forbidden Planet (1956)

  • 98% of critics liked it
    (42 reviews)

  • 82% of users liked it
    (19,290 ratings)

Shakespeare's "The Tempest" is transformed in this landmark science-fiction film with groundbreaking special effects. Space men travel to a planet ruled by expatriate Pidgeon who has built a kingdom with his daughter and obedient robot Robby. There the good doctor is plagued by his mad quest for… More

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G, 1 hr. 38 min.
Directed By
Fred M. Wilcox
Written By
Cyril Hume
Genres
Drama, Mystery & Suspense, Classics, Science Fiction & Fantasy
In Theaters
Mar 15, 1956 Wide
On DVD
Apr 18, 2000
MGM Home Entertainment

Critic Reviews

  • , TIME Magazine

    [A] nifty interstellar meller.

  • Dave Kehr, Chicago Reader

    An engaging 1956 science fiction gloss of Shakespeare's Tempest.

  • Variety Staff, Variety

    Imaginative gadgets galore, plus plenty of suspense and thrills, make the production a top offering in the space travel category.

  • Bosley Crowther, New York Times

    Offers some of the most amusing creatures conceived since the Keystone cops.

  • Rob Humanick, Suite101.com

    The tragicomic tone would have done the Bard proud, and at even only 98 minutes, Forbidden Planet is positively epic.

Read all 19 critic reviews

Critic ratings and reviews powered by RottenTomatoes.com

Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)

Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)

Featured Audience Ratings

  • Ken S


    Come for the awesome production design, stay for a young Leslie Nielsen and Robbie the Robot!

  • Spencer S


    Forbidden Planet is revolutionary for its time, a cinematic innovator for decades of sci-fi, and one of the funniest films I've seen lately. The humor is broad, most diegetic dialogue amongst the crew, but there are scenes that may be unintentionally funny on Nielsen's part.… More

  • Melvin W


    This is one of the best sci-fi films of all time, and definitely my favorite. It's so much fun to watch, and Robby the robot is the best robot of all time. The plot, although somewhat slow at the start picks up and begins to be very interesting.

  • Lewis C


    "Anywhere in the galaxy this is a nightmare." Forbidden Planet is a science fiction movie from the 50's, involving a spaceship crew that encounters danger after journeying to a far planet to search for an expedition that disappeared there twenty years ago. It largely… More

  • David L


    It's the year 2200 AD and a spaceship has been dispatched to the planet Altair 4 to find out how the mission that were assigned to colony of scientists is going. Led by Commander John Adams, the crew find out that there are only two survivors and that being Dr. Morbius and his… More

Read all 20 featured audience ratings

Cast

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Trailers & Clips

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