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MMD > Archives > July 1999 > 1999.07.06 > 06Prev  Next


Theremin in SciFi Movie "Forbidden Planet"
By Rich Marschner

Hi to all,  On the high level of interest in keeping open the Theremin
subject (a little weird, eh?), I'll add an item of my own:

To the list of several movies using the Theremin in their soundtracks,
add the mid-'50s SciFi classic, "Forbidden Planet."  Dr. Morbius,
Robbie the Robot (no relation...!), the beautiful Altera and an assort-
ment of spacemen play out a pretty good story line.

It's about a long-dead race of super-beings -- the Krell -- and their
incredible underground power system which has long outlived them,
performing just as well at the time of the story as it did centuries
earlier.  It turns out that Dr. Morbius is more than a little involved
in Krell trivia, and the story devolves around his slow discovery of
his Dark Side, which is dark, indeed.

Throughout the film, beginning with the opening credits and running
right on through the closing ones, the soundtrack is layered with
Theremin effects and some music, very much helping define the eerie
atmosphere of the forbidden planet itself (I think it is called
Alderon), as well as the ever-entertaining mechanical workings of
Robbie the Robot.

The special effects in this film were path-breaking, as far ahead
of their time as were those of the first of the Star Wars movies.
It's well worth a rental if you enjoy SciFi.

Rich Marschner


(Message sent Tue 6 Jul 1999, 16:06:13 GMT, from time zone GMT-0400.)

Key Words in Subject:  Forbidden, Movie, Planet, SciFi, Theremin

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