Wikipedia
In the classic 1956 science fiction film Forbidden Planet, the extinct race of advanced beings of the planet Altair IV are known as the "Krell". The Krell had reached a stage of technological and scientific development so advanced that they were able to construct a vast underground machine with virtually unlimited power — a machine that could turn thoughts into reality and project that reality anywhere on the planet.
Another Krell device that played a prominent role in the movie was their plastic educator, a device able to create a three-dimensional visualization of the operator's thoughts while acting directly on the brain to measure intelligence and impart knowledge. Although previously demonstrated to be fatal to humans, its use by Dr. Morbius had boosted his IQ such that he could understand some of the basic science of the Krell (allowing him, for instance, to "tinker together" the amazing Robby the Robot.) When Lt. "Doc" Ostrow tried it he gained the ability to infer the cause of the Krell downfall – "Monsters from the Id" – but it also caused fatal injury to his brain.
Dr. Morbius, the lone researcher studying the extinct Krell, did not know exactly what happened to them; nor did he know what they looked like. No record of their physical nature survived except in the form of their characteristic arch which served as the doorway between rooms. This doorway, much wider at the middle than at the top and bottom, suggests a being of enormous girth.
Morbius discovered that in a single day and night, over 2,000 centuries past, the entire Krell race disappeared. In the time since all above-ground evidence of their civilization has vanished. Later in the film we learn that the Krell's machine was so advanced that it gave physical form and life to their Id. Even for the advanced Krell this Freudian personality characteristic, although long forgotten, had not been eliminated. When combined with the power of their machine, the unbridled emotions of their Ids were all at once let loose to eradicate the entire Krell race.
Krell may refer to:
- Krell (surname)
- Krell, an extinct race of aliens in the 1956 science fiction film Forbidden Planet
- Krell Industries, manufacturer of audio systems
- Krell Institute
- Krell Hill, a peak in Washington State
Krell is a surname. Notable people with the surname include:
- Nikolaus Krell (c. 1551–1601), chancellor of the elector of Saxony
- William Krell (1868–1933), ragtime composer
- David Farrell Krell, professor of philosophy