Remy Dean 🏴☠️'Forbidden Planet' (1956) • 70 Years Later
looking back on the development & legacy of the Shakespearean #scifi classic that brought the Golden Age to the screen & changed everything, maybe inspiring #StarTrek
Orion Ussner kidder@remydean More than maybe! Roddenberry saw it and was inspired. I don't have a link to a source, but I recall reading it many years ago. This is a long episode of STAR TREK as far as I'm concerned.
(I read about this while prepping a lecture on THE TEMPEST, which this film is based on: planet = island, alien tech = sorcery, Caliban = invisible beast.)
The "lived in" quality of the human ship is also 100% a reflection of many American men's experiences serving on warships in WWII, as well.
AlsoPaisleyCat 🇨🇦Absolutely! Roddenberry acknowledged that the original pilot for Star Trek *The Cage* was inspired by *Forbidden Planet.* More, he pitched Star Trek as a show that would offer, for television, the kind of high quality special effects and drama that *Forbidden Planet* did for movies.
What’s more, it’s also clear that George Lucas also borrowed a few ideas from *Forbidden Planet* for *Star Wars* — right from the scrolling opening text that set the stage for the story.
@AlsoPaisleyCat @OrionKidder Yes, it seems quite obvious once you know, doesn't it. Thanks for reading the review!
@OrionKidder Yes, I had trouble finding that mention for corroboration, too. But there were memos, for sure.
@remydean I just did a quick search, and I can't find it either, which means it *could be* a myth that's been repeated, but the resemblance is so very strong that I cannot believe there was no influence.
@OrionKidder Yes, I certainly remember reading (some time ago) something along the lines of Roddenberry enquiring about taking up the rights of 'Forbidden Planet' while 'Star Trek' was in development. I think it may've been apocryphal, though, and as you say misquoted a few times since. But they do really feel like the same universe and there was certainly an influence there!