Review: 'Forbidden Planet' Limited Edition Blu-ray

There have been many, many Shakespeare adaptations, but one of the most creative picked up the relatively obscure Tempest and plopped it down on some distant planet in the future. There doesn't seem to be any evidence that screenwriter Cyril Hume or director Fred Wilcox ever copped to the origins of Forbidden Planet, but come on! You have a mad genius daddy and fetching daughter living in isolation only to have a crew of travelers invade their paradise and turn their relationship upside down. Daughter wants to make off with one the ship's captain. Daddy wants to rain down holy hell by commanding the elements. Sure Shakespeare probably never considered an interstellar angle, nor did he conceive of a zany animated Id Monster or Anne Francis in a series of miniskirts short enough to get his play banned in Spain, but the parallels are undeniable.

Everyone always leads with the Tempest connection when discussing Forbidden Planet, but there's a lot more to recommend it, such as its Weird Science visuals, weird sexual dynamics, great cast, and groundbreaking electronic score. Those qualities are what got it placed on the Library of Congress' National Film Registry in 2013. 

Now in 2026 it's getting honored again with a deluxe Blu-ray presentation from Arrow Video. This double-disc addition comes loaded with goodies, including a full bonus disc of documentaries, deleted and lost scenes, image galleries, and the original script. There's also a special focus on the film's true star: dome-headed Robby the Robot, who like Francis and Leslie "Frank Drebin" Nielsen, would go on to a long career. Just a year after Forbidden Planet, he was back on screen in The Invisible Boy, and that film is included in its entirety on Arrow's new set. So is an episode of the Thin Man TV series featuring Robby and a featurette devoted to a droid who'd surely be cinema's most beloved if George Lucas never managed to get Star Wars off the ground.

This is the extent to which I can comment on the extras since the promo I received only contained the film and its accompanying commentary track by the always charming film historian Kim Newman and author Barry Forshaw. No matter. Extras are fun, but it's the presentation of the feature that really matters, and Arrow delivers a new restoration from the original 35mm negative, and in its original 2:55:1 Cinemascope aspect ratio, which is a home video first. Following a touch of edge enhancement that makes the opening credits especially eye-popping, the picture settles in for a pretty natural presentation. Grain is very evident if you've got your nose against the screen, but not especially distracting from a normal watching distance. The image is a touch soft, and there are a couple of shots that seem to be pulled from inferior sources (such as the first appearance of Altaira's tiger), but it generally looks good without being mind blowing.

Arrow's set also offers several audio options, including original mono and stereo mixes, as well as a DTS-HD surround option. The mono or stereo options seem to be the way to go as they offer stronger dialog and there isn't too much action in the surrounds.