I missed it last night, seeing about 10 minutes, but for future reference. What did you think of the movie?
Of the different characters?
Most of the Ex Islers seemed to like it, but they tend to be easy on some shows.
Posted by First of Two (Member # 16) on :
I liked it. Is it a series pilot, to be based on the books?
I haven't read the books, so I don't know the whole story, although I've read the plot blurbs. The movie seemed not to cover a whole lot of ground, so I assume it was a pilot. Actually the movie made me more interested in reading the books, as well.
They only named 3 historical figures I could recognize: Nero, Samuel Clemens / Mark Twain, and Alice Liddel (some other last name), who was the little girl Lewis Carrol wrote the "Alice in Wonderland" stories for.
Posted by Sol System (Member # 30) on :
It was a pilot, but I think it's almost a certainty that it will never turn into a show.
Posted by Middy Seafort (Member # 951) on :
I didn't get to see it. I saw the previews when they first came out and wasn't too interested for one reason.
After going on about so-and-so director who is brining you a new look at the afterlife, the preview never mentions once Philp Jose Farmer's name. I Guess, Farmer was just that bloke who wrote a book that give an opportunity of a great director to give us "his vision" of the afterlife.
Posted by The_Tom (Member # 38) on :
SciFi thinks Kari Skogland is a "name" director? Yikes.
Posted by Sol System (Member # 30) on :
I think he was refering to Alex Proyas, who produced, I guess, and who is a "name," in the sense that he directed one movie that was stylish if boring and dumb, and one movie that is one of my favorites.
Posted by Vogon Poet (Member # 393) on :
So has anyone seen it who's actually read the books? How did it compare? I'm guessing nudity didn't feature a great deal.
Posted by Kosh (Member # 167) on :
quote:Originally posted by Vogon Poet: So has anyone seen it who's actually read the books? How did it compare? I'm guessing nudity didn't feature a great deal.
I going to try to talk to a guy here at work, who has read the books and saw the movie. Kind of busy right now, but I'll let you know what he says.
Posted by Treknophyle (Member # 509) on :
I thought the book's main protagonist was R.F. Burton. Wasn't he even in it?
Posted by Kosh (Member # 167) on :
quote:Originally posted by Treknophyle: I thought the book's main protagonist was R.F. Burton. Wasn't he even in it?
I've never read them, but I've seen some comments about thatr. People wishing thet the character had been Richard Burton.
I talked to the only person I know who has seen the film and read the first book. I had forgotten how confusing he can be.
If I understood him, he was saying that they did a lot of things from the book, but changed a good bit as well. He was telling me what all happens, and switching form movie to book and back to movie, so I'm not clear on what happened where. Over all he liked both.
I've been watching a thread at Ex Isle, but so far I haven't seen anyone say they read the books. I'm interested now. I don't know when I'll get a chance to read them. My new computer was delivered today, and I'll be setting it up this evening, and hooking up the cable modem.
Posted by Matrix (Member # 376) on :
Is this the prequel to Waterworld or something?
Posted by Vogon Poet (Member # 393) on :
*smacks him upside the head*
The Riverworld saga was written by Philip Jose Farmer and comprises:-
Riverworld (short story)
To Your Scattered Bodies Go
The Fabulous Riverboat
The Dark Design
The Magic Labyrinth
Gods of Riverworld
Basically, everyone who's ever lived is reincarnated along the banks of a wide river that meanders all over the planet. A bunch of characters both historical and fictitious attempt to find out why. That's it, really.
Posted by Treknophyle (Member # 509) on :
And it is one of the most thought-provoking examples of Science Fiction. Everyone should read it once.
Posted by Vogon Poet (Member # 393) on :
Well. . . Maybe. But only once. Repeated readings only highlight how dependent he is on nostalgia in place of character development: people spend far too much time telling each other the story of their earth-bound lives. I mean, Christ, if we really want to learn the life stories of Tom Mix, Jack London (both heroes of PJF, incidentally), Aphra Behn, whoever, we'll look it up ourselves - don't take up half a chapter with it.
Posted by Sol System (Member # 30) on :
I think I've read the short story that came before the first novel, but never the books. What I hear from most people seems to be that the first one is super neat, the second OK, but things completely fall apart after that.
But, consider, I read (and own!) all of the Dune novels. So, what do I know about series that have outlived their usefulness?
Posted by Vogon Poet (Member # 393) on :
I suppose the saga for the most part retains its course, but it jumps around too much between characters and, if not for the endless potted mini-biographies, would be a lot shorter.
Posted by Treknophyle (Member # 509) on :
I think the first and the last ('Gods') are the best - and stand alone fairly well. I do like his philosophizing regarding technological metaphysics -(if a soul is an synthetic artifact, do the creators of your soul own 'copyrights'? - up to and including recreation, editing and deleting? - is the reincarnated v2.0 of you really 'you'? What about v56.0 (Burton commits suicide several times - either to escape present captors or to travel). Actually, I like the last one best of all. The middle ones spend there time watching various persons attempt to reach the polar region (north or south, I don't remember) where the control system for the Riverworld is located. And we get to see their petty human failings get the better of them. The most maddening is Sam Clemens - whose belief in predestination (and guilt over the death of his child) is pedantically (and boringly) regurgitated over and over again.
Posted by Sol System (Member # 30) on :
quote:Originally posted by Treknophyle: -(if a soul is a synthetic artifact, do the creators of your soul own 'copyrights'? - up to and including recreation, editing and deleting?
I don't think this is that much of a quandry. Putting aside the issue of whether a soul seperate from your body exists, "you" as an individual (regardless of your substance or essence) are created by your parents, and we all, for the most part, recognize that the parental role is a priviledged but not infinitely so.