The Day The Earth Stood Still: Three Things You Might Not Know About The SF Classic
Klaatu barada nikto.
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It Spawned Countless Pop Culture References
The Day the Earth Stood Still has numerous elements which have lodged in the pop culture consciousness and inspired references and homages over the years, from the imposing robot Gort to the words “Klaatu Barada Nikto.” In the movie, that’s the phrase the alien Klaatu (Michael Rennie) gives to Helen Benson (Patricia Neal), and which later saves her bacon when Gort’s about to vaporize her. The phrase has been particularly popular when it comes to slipping a sly nod to the movie into other places, having turned up in Tron, The Rockford Files, Farscape, and many more. George Lucas even borrowed the words for his Star Wars universe, with Klaatu, Barada, and Nikto appearing in Return of the Jedi as the name of two background characters and their species, respectively. (That’s Nikto Jedi Master Di up top, as he appeared in The Clone Wars.)
And, of course, any geek worth their salt will remember that Ash couldn’t quite recall the phrase when it came time to retrieve the Necronomicon in Sam Raimi’s Army of Darkness.
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