Film/TV May 12, 2010 at 1:52 pm

Comments

1
Don't forget A Scanner Darkly. that was a pretty good adaptation.
2
That was a awesome trailer.
3
Let's face it, most of the adaptations have been shitty movies. Blade Runner is a classic, but even that had to be re-cut to more closely reflect the source material.

Hollywood likes PKD's ideas, but his voice and idiosyncrasies are scrubbed from the final product.

@arbeck definitely. Linklater did a good job, probably because of his respect for the work he was adapting.
4
"Just remember, we tried to reason with you" can never be said in a reasonable manner by authoritarian regimes. Hobsian choices are NOT choices.

Anyway, back to the topic at hand :-)
5
Severely circumcised Dick is a distinct probability.
6
Still waiting for "The man in the high castle". The I-Ching will determine it.
7
@3 I'd give you half and half for the adaptations.
In the good column:
Blade Runner
Minority Report
A Scanner Darkly

Bad column:
The Nick Cage one
The Ben Affleck one
Screamers

And of course Total Recall which was an awesome movie, despite being totally different than the short story.

I guess even the good movies don't have the same focus as the source material, but what adaptations do? plus, are there other PKD sourced films out there I should(n't) bother to check out?
8
Total Recall > Blade Runner (unpopular opinion)
9
The thing that always seems to be missing from Hollywood adaptions of PKD is his unique paranoid relationship with reality. Dick's best stories always leave you wondering, was the protagonist crazy? Does it matter if he is?

Because of this, I don't think we're going to see "Flow My Tears the Policeman Said" or "Valis" on the silver screen anytime soon.
10
I'd love to see a good treatment of Ubik. So many of Dick's short stories are prone to the Hollywood treatment: one or two of the more surprising but less interesting ideas is taken and made the basis of a film, while the really challenging themes are left behind. But I think it would be hard to do Ubik without embracing the source more completely.
11
Westside forever @9: Agreed. I wonder if they know their audiences, though. The only movie that I've seen that I really thought explored the intersection of bizarre reality and mundane insanity in a way that resembles Dick's writing is Vanilla Sky, and that wasn't received well. There are probably more examples and no doubt some good counter-examples, but I can't think of any.

The Matrix is the closest I can get to a counter-example, and while its central conceit is a Dick-style challenge to our fundamental assumptions about reality, the Matrix immediately gives you a new reality to adopt, while Dick was a master at keeping you guessing. He'd sweep the rug out from under you to reveal not a floor, but a gaping abyss.
12
Skit @8, you are totally wrong. Blade Runner is the best sci-fi movie ever made. Period.

I like Matt Damon and I like Terrance Stamp too. This has potential.
13
I've been reading quite a few Philip K Dick novels in the past year, trying to get their appeal. So far, his regular fiction has been the best. In general, however, I find him booooooooooring.
14
@13: His novels are frequently boring. Read his short stories instead. About the same amount of plot, 1/20th of the pages.

Please wait...

Comments are closed.

Commenting on this item is available only to members of the site. You can sign in here or create an account here.


Add a comment
Preview

By posting this comment, you are agreeing to our Terms of Use.