mem@sii.UUCP (Mark Mallett) (01/29/84)
b Re: Lathe of heaven. There was the question "did they actually manage to turn that mess into a good movie?" I didn't read the book. I saw the movie, though. Twice. I had to see it a second time because the first time I saw it, my brother brought over a sausage pizza and we saw it together; I couldn't decide if it was the pizza or the movie that made me sick. It turned out to be the movie. It was one of those pretentious, "I think I'll be confusing so they'll think I'm intelligent" stories. The only thing I liked about it was the name of the main character, George Orr, pronounced "Jor Jor". Mark E. Mallett decvax!sii!mem
myers@uwvax.ARPA (01/30/84)
I saw the movie a few years ago and was really quite impressed. It did a good job creating a sense of confusion and chaos. Even followed the book closely, which is unusual for a movie. Jeff Myers@wisc-rsch
stevens@inuxh.UUCP (01/31/84)
> I saw the movie a few years ago and was really quite impressed. > It did a good job creating a sense of confusion and chaos. Even > followed the book closely, which is unusual for a movie. It followed the book closely because LeGuin worked with the people that made the movie. -- Scott Stevens AT&T Consumer Products Laboratories Indianapolis, Indiana, USA UUCP: inuxh!stevens The difficult didn't get done yesterday, so the impossible will have to wait.
jel@digi-g.UUCP (John Lind) (02/03/84)
Though I had the (perhaps) misfortune of seeing the movie first and reading the book second, I thought that the dreams in the movie were more creative and symbolic than those in the book. Whoever devised the dreams of the movie is to be congratulated. ------ John Lind, DigiGraphic Systems Corp. 10273 Yellow Circle Drive, Mpls MN 55343 news, mail: ihnp4!stolaf!umn-cs!digi-g!jel USnail : 1515 Brook Ave SE, Mpls MN 55414
lewis%Shasta@spider.UUCP (02/07/84)
Mark Mallet's problem is that HE is confused. The ideas presented in
Lathe of Heaven are genuinely confusing. Le Guin has no need to put
on a pretentious intellectual pose, the problem of reality is a genuine
problem. I should probably reread the story and see the movie again
before I say this but I BELIEVE that the story LEAVES IT UP TO THE
reader/viewer whether to interpret the whole business as a dream in
one or more minds in Seattle after the bomb drops.
The big problem in the movie was how to distinguish the "dream" sequences
from the "real" sequences. They finally decided that since the idea was
that the participants couldn't distinguish which was which (at least until
afterwards), and any "effect" they could use would be hokey and distracting,
they decided NOT TO DISTINGUISH THEM. This does make the film confusing.
The point of the story, however, is that distinguishing between reality
and dream IS confusing and sometimes not possible. Perhaps Mallett is
really objecting to the chaos this kind of idea does to the PLOT. Depending
on what you think was REAL, you get a different plot:
The bomb dropped on Seattle and destroied everybody there.
The bobmb dropped on Seattle and two survivors changed history because
their minds WOULD NOT accept this horrible thing.
The bomb dropped on Seattle and one survivor made such a paradoxical mess
out of time with the mental abilities this created in another survivor,
the these good guy aliens had to come and straighten it all out.
Et cetera.
What do YOU think happened?
- Sufordjdb@qubix.UUCP (Jeff Bulf) (02/09/84)
Ok, Ok, mike.
I *didnt* say the book was such hot sh*t, just that I kinda liked
it.
The MOVIE, on the other hand, deserves checking out in its own right.
(objective evaluation there, natch <-:)
This is one of those cases like "Slaughterhouse 5" where a book with
mixed strengths and weaknesses got turned into a generally strong film.
--
"Tough Grid, Mac, that's who I am!"
Dr Memory
...{decvax,ucbvax,ihnp4}!decwrl!qubix!jdbajw@hou2h.UUCP (A.WIENERS) (09/04/84)
<sorry about posting - i never did learn how to send mail to an ARPA addr> hmm...i'd like a copy too... I've seen it twice on PBS and found it VERY accurate to the book (refreshing, what?) - 'twas good enough I'll (Finally!) have to break down and buy a VCR! (of course, then i'll have no excuse NOT to buy all the StarTrek tapes :-) is anyone SELLING LoH commercially? PBS? PLEASE???? -art ...ihnp4!hou2h!ajw HO1B612 201/834-1142