Jim wrote: I've never read DO ANDROIDS DREAM OF ELECTRIC
SHEEP, so I can't speak to how Dick fans may respond to BLADE
RUNNER.
Personally, I always wished that BLADE RUNNER wouldn't have
eliminated the entire plotline from ANDROIDS involving the
whole "electric sheep" angle. But that's me, I guess. Dick
loved it, from what I've heard. Aldrich's KMD
rocks--especially the close-ups of Hammer's face as he gets
off on administering pain. Rob
----- Original Message ---- From: jimdohertyjr <
jimdohertyjr@yahoo.com> To:
rara-avis-l@yahoogroups.com Sent: Wednesday, November 7,
2007 11:38:36 PM Subject: RARA-AVIS: Re: Chandler's The Lady
in the Lake
William,
Re your comments below:
> Are you amazed that Spillane fans *might* like
the
> film version of "Kiss Me, Deadly" or Philip K
Dick
> fans *might* like "Bladerunner" ?
Despite Robert Aldrich's assertion that he intended KISS ME
DEADLY to
be an "anti-Spillane" film, it was faithul to Spillane's
vision in
more respects than it was unfaithful. Meeker's version of
Hammer,
though something of a brute rather than a driven
avenger,
nevertheless brought out Hammer's determination, his skill at
combat,
his loyalty to friends, and his affection for Velda. Hammer
may have
been depicted in less flattering terms than Spillane
intended, but he
wasn't ransformed into an inconsequential nebbish like
Gould's
Marlowe was. Ultimately, according to those who knew Spillane
well,
even Spillane eventually admitted that Meeker's was the
best
depiction of his character.
So, no, it doesn't amaze me that Spillane fans might like
Aldrich's
version of KISS ME DEADLY, but I don't think the two cases
are
comparable.
I've never read DO ANDROIDS DREAM OF ELECTRIC SHEEP, so I
can't speak
to how Dick fans may respond to BLADE RUNNER.
> My take is this:
> "Chinatown" is a great film because it wasn't
a
> derivative costume drama or a faux noir. It
ain't
> neo-noir. It's a period piece that loses all
the
> predictable tropes of hard-boiled and finds its
own
> expression. Altman for once got it right in "The
Long
> Goodbye." His rambling reinvention of the PI
(with
> only the car as an anachronistic hint) replaced
what
> could easily have become parody. And it works for
me.
> I started the film expecting to hate it. Most
Altman
> films don't have much of a shelf life. But "The
Long
> Goodbye" cut itself off from the clutter of the
novel
> and got to the heart. That is a rare
adaptation.
I'm not sure what CHINATOWN has to do with this discussion,
but no
doubt that's because I never actually read what you
write.
As for Altman, he really DID intend to make an anti-Chandler
picture
and succeeded far better than Aldrich did in making an
anti-Spillane
picture. And it's precisely because he succeeded so well that
I so
thoroughly dislike the film.
JIM DOHERTY
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