The Lathe of Heaven

As the die-hard science fiction fans know, special effects are great, but without a great story, it won't stand the test of time.

Based on Ursula K. Leguin's book, this is (I hear) a very faithful adaptation. And easily one of the very best made for t.v. movies ever.

The effects are low budget, but that's not important, the story is amazing. Great science fiction takes us away from the familiar structure of life we understand, and stands reason and convention on it's head. It makes us see the things that are so close to us they are invisible. Great science fiction frames the familiar, in a new context and sheds truth on things we were unable to recognize in their mundane form.

This story moved me, in the way the book Stranger in a Strange Land did. Like the first time I read 2001 (The movie is meaningless without the book).

It is a story about reality, how we perceive it, how we shape it. How we are important to everyone and every thing, as our actions shape not only our own sphere of existence, but ripple outward effecting everything. This is of course told in an abstracted way, but the message is clear.

If you are looking for crazy robots and sleek starships, move on.

If you are looking for a thought provoking story, that will stick with you for days, or as I see with myself and others here, decades, then this is a cult classic that you simply can not miss.

I would have given it a 10, but the effects are low budget, though that does not make it any less amazing.

I found this during late-night channel surfing. I thoroughly enjoyed it. The effects were sometimes cheesy but often cool. The direction was creative and quite effective in bringing Ursula K. LeGuin's classic story to life. But BE WARNED: this is a WEIRD MOVIE. You have to be wanting a weird movie in order to really enjoy it. It takes quite a bit of thought to really follow the plot if you haven't read the book, but it's worth watching several times. It is not an action flick (there is very little action, and some people find it boring, possibly with good reason) but it brings up all kinds of interesting ideas and possibilities that sent my mind racing. Every situation is presented in a way that makes you really look at it and ponder it. And the emotional aspect is powerful at times and made me smile more than once. The camerawork, acting, and electronic background music are artistic and place the viewer in another world, one which I personally found beautiful, exciting, and awe-inspiring. If you like artsy, strange, contemplative film, you might want to check this out.

To those who came to this one expecting the A&E remake, don't worry. You've come to the right place. Although the A&E version has all the glitz and glamor, this 1980 PBS production has all the rest (which the A&E is sadly missing).

1. It is fairly loyal to the material, Ursula K. Le Guin's novel.

2. It is well acted, arguably very well acted.

3. Characterization is loyal to that in the novel.

4. It communicates the somewhat convoluted plot quite effectively.

5. It carries the message forward. (No spoilers here.)

(The A&E remake accomplishes *none* of these.)

So snag this one on DVD while it's still available. Watch it. It's a little treasure. Although the glitz and glamor of the A&E remake are missing, it has everything else.

"Antwerp"

Last night I got a chance to see one of my favorite SF movies, and it only took 20 years.

Back in 1978, I was working at a mom-and-pop bookstore in Dallas called Taylors. One day one of the customers bought a book by Ursula K. LeGuin: "The Lathe of Heaven". I told her that she was one of my favorite authors, and that I loved the book. She said that she was involved in the production of a film of the book that was to be done locally.

Early in 1980 it was aired. Bruce Davison (recently the Senator in "X-men") played the protagonist, George Orr. And various Metroplex locations stood in for Portland in the near-future year of 2002. City Hall (later the OCP HQ in "Robocop"), Reunion Arena and the Water Gardens in FW (previously used in "Logan's Run").

George Orr has a problem: dreams. He doesn't want to have any. He takes drugs to try and thwart his unconscious so that he can sleep but not dream. Because if he does dream a special kind of dream, an "effective" dream, it changes reality "all the way back to the Stone Age".

Dr. William Haber is an oneirologist: a dream specialist. He doesn't believe George's story, of course. He thinks that George is sick, not cursed. He eventually comes around to the realization that George is right. A power struggle ensues to decide who will be in charge of deciding who gets to make the decisions of how to use this power.

The story touches on race relations, psychology, Taoism and more. And all on a miniscule budget of 250K.

An added bonus was the addition of interviews with Bruce Davison and Ms. LeGuin, the latter with Bill Moyers. She rarely does interviews, and it was wonderful hearing her add little behind-the-scenes details and commenting on the story and film. Since my understanding of Taoism is limited to readings of "The Tao of Pooh", I didn't realize the use of Taoism until I heard UKL mention it.

If I had had 90 bucks to blow on a KERA membership, I could have gotten the video from them. In fact, the on-air weasel said that the tape was "only available through public TV". If you check amazon.com, as I did last night, you will find that this is a bald-faced lie: TLoH will be released on VHS and DVD later this month, with the interviews and all.

The only thing that burned my butt about the film that I saw last night was the one change they made. Originally, they used Ringo Starr's version of the Beatles tune "A Little Help from My Friends". The new version has a different cover version. One of the reviews on amazon.com stated that this was because it would cost too much to get the rights from Michael Jackson, who now owns the entire Beatle catalog. This doesn't work. IMHO, MJ would get money no matter who did it.

Uncle Steve says check it out.

The Lathe of Heaven has just been re-released. It's being shown on many PBS stations, and is also now on video. This was all due to high fan demand.

This is a dreamy, scary sci-fi flick with strong moral lessons. It's almost like a play: set mostly in one place, with only three characters involved. The special effects aren't stunning, but they're perfectly effective. The story is wildly original: what would the world be like if your dreams all came true- not your daydreams, but the uncontrollable ones at night?