The Lathe of Heaven 1980 Movie Review Deep Dive
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- Опубликовано: 30 июл 2024
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I had read the book as a child and was super excited to have seen the movie as well. Despite the minimal budget, I was happy with the result. Remains one of my favorites to this day.
i was in junior high when this was made in 1980. we talked about it for *_days_* in school; students and teachers were both fully absorbed. i got the dvd years ago, still watch it around 4 times year and have long in depth discussions with my teenager about the subject matter. i always find something new when i watch. fantastic movie! i'm still trying to find the entire KTEH interview, from what 2002, 2003(?), of bruce davidson, kevin conway and ursula leguin. i can only find bruce davidson's initial part. anyway, just wanted to share my 2 cents. i wasn't happy when they remade it a few years back. haven't watched it; fully dedicated to the original. i gave it more points than you due to the fact that the makers were able to convey / produce so much with that practically nonexistent budget, AND sought feedback from the author during production whose advice and participation was heeded - that never happens! 9.6/10 again, fantastic movie! ☺
Oh wonderful! Thank you for sharing your rating and experiences. It's now one of my favorite movies for sure. I hope we'll get some posting on RUclips of more interviews and comments of the behind the scenes in the future. :)
Thanks for the review. Lathe is Heaven was so mind blowing when I saw it as a kid on PBS. Keep up the good work Retro Nerd Girl
Yes!!! Mind blowing is definitely the term for this film! It still freaks me out. :)
Thank you so much for reviewing and reflecting on his PBS film. I saw this upon the initial broadcast (when the original "With a little help from my friends" track was the original Beatles song) and it was a very transformative experience for 1980 televised sci fi. Stuck with me for decades, and the DVD release was such a treat.
As you can see, I don't have much objectivity, but I sure enjoyed and appreciated your observations and review. Still one of my most favorite PBS films of all time. Keep up the good work.
I saw it when it premiered on PBS. Bought the VHS when PBS offered it for a contribution. I often think about this movie a few times a year since it was released. I wondered about the ending when I first saw it. But, after repeated viewings, I think Haber discovers that Orr's original dream of the nuclear war was actual "reality" and that the world Haber knows and is a part of is the "dream". That's why Haber loses his grip on "reality" as he is not and never was "real".
So interesting! I love that explanation and I can see how it could work.
It's also interesting that Le Guin chose the name "Haber" for her character. In real life Fritz Haber was both a savior of humanity and the father of chemical warfare.
So underrated, I really loved this movie when I watched it on PBS.
Really enjoyed this review. I was also in highschool when it came out, and it really stayed in my mind after. Was very excited when I found it on youtube and could watch it again.
Your review made me curious to know if you liked the film 'Dark City'... there are some similar themes in it.
I have never seen Dark City. But, you reminded me that I need to watch it soon, so thanks. I heard it's amazing and it would totally be up my alley.😊
One of the rare examples of me seeing the movie and not having read the book. I watched it on PBS when it premiered and was totally blown away.
This was the kind of movie that PBS was excellent in making. No giant space battles or robots or anything like that just a guy going to sleep and waking up to a new reality. The kind of movie that wouldn't be a summer blockbuster but instead an intellectual exploration that science fiction excels at. The concept of someone trying to do good by doing a little bit of bad is such a deep concept that often doesn't get properly explored or is just simplified.
I haven't seen it since it's showing on PBS many years ago but have since read the book and found it to be a fairly accurate adaptation.
One thing you said in your opening is kind of off. A lathe is a machine for shaping wood by carving the unwanted parts away. So a person's soul or being is being shaped by heaven having parts of it carved away to reveal its true or essential form.
BTW Another film where an individual becomes unhooked from reality is the 1972 adaptation of Kurt Vonnegut's Slaughterhouse-Five you might want to check that out.
Honestly, if this review does not sell it, find the movie and watch it. There are so many things left out in this review, and I respect that. This is a no spoilers review. But I gotta warn y'all that it gets weird. I'm not gonna say what happens, but if you know seventies sci-fi, it has a chance of happening. When dreams can become reality, a lot can happen, and it does. Beware.
Best line in the movie: "You should be... brown." Such that I remember it from seeing the movie in 1980. Unless its a false memory because I can't find that line in the shorts from the movie I've run across.
Yes, that line is in the movie.
Yes, when everyone in the world is a monotone gray, and then George plays "With a little help from my friends" off a 45 RPM. He then wakes up to find he has dreamt skin tones back to normal and he is married to Heather.
Watched this when first broadcast on PBS and loved it.
I never cared for Ursula K. Leguin, but this was a good movie. Your review nailed it. I saw this movie when it first came out in the early 80's when I was young. It was one of the first creepy, weird, adult themed movies that affected me.
Watch this movie late at night.
Yeah, the ending is unclear. George was supposedly cured, but could still dream effectively. Then Dr Haber was dreaming effectively and George fought a dual with him and won.
I've always wanted to watch this film, but I'll admit its age has made me wary of investing the time (not that I do much better with my average 90 minutes). I found out about this story from the 2002 A&E remake starring Lucas Haas, James Caan, and Lisa Bonet. It was a made for TV production as well, and though it was a bit a bit hokey, the story and characters really grabbed my attention and I enjoyed it a lot. The music by Angelo Badalamenti was really good as well. In any case, it got me to read the book, which I also enjoyed a lot. The 1980 movie is apparently much closer to the book, so I should really give it a go at some point. Anyways, thanks for the review - the movie seems to have been largely forgotten today so its nice to see it get some attention!
I have yet to see the 2002 version. It's not easy to get a hold of.
Otherwise, thanks for your kind words about my review. 😊
@Retro Nerd Girl
read tha book 20 years and have read tha book half dozen times since ...
tha 1980 film follows tha book fairly well , though tha acting does not convey or express tha emotional depth needed to depict tha Way tha nature of tha characters are written ...
tha 2002 film does not follow tha book as closely and details of reality changes are left out ...
tha acting definitely portrays tha nature of tha characters , with emotional depth and is more accurate to tha mood and behaviour of tha characters , as written by Ursula ...
and tha 2002 film resonates tha message of tha book
review tha 2002 film ...
a comparison could be fun
I would rate the movie a 9.0. I agree it is a wonderful, low budget movie.
I saw it on PBS in 1980 when it first and only time it aired. It had a huge effect on me and I ran out to read the book. Yes it’s rough at places, but it was the First feature that PBS made in the US. Apparently the original film was thrown away immediately after editing and all that survives is the broadcast standard def and interlaced version. So if you track it down on DVD, just expect it. After a short time you can tune it out of your mind. If anyone reading this hasn’t seen it, get it, watch it, it’s worth your time and $10. This movie turned me to her books as well and I should revisit some of Ursula K. Le Guin’s books.. hmm looking at amazon the DVD is out of print again, so only scalpers selling it for $54..... ouch... well maybe my $10 DVD didn’t burn up with house 7 years ago.. ok have to go looking for it in my storage unit. Not willing to spend $54 for it.. is it streaming anywhere? I think if all else fails and you want to see it you can on youtube at unknown quality.
"ANTWERP"
Loved this review (and the film)!
His movie is great. The performances were understated and, I feel, captured the spirit of the book. You said that there were divergences from the book. I have not read it in a number of years, so I recall neither the book nor the movie well. What are the divergences? This was the book that got me interested in LeGuin. She was an amazing author. Her fantasy and science fiction are fantastic. As a contrast, review the Far sea series that was also on PBS. I thought that was not nearly as well done.
I live in DFW where this book was filmed. I read the book and also many of Ursula's other books. Do your self a favor and read this book watch the movie. If you are older you can skip the wizard of Earthsea books but if you are young I would for sure read them.
RNG, I confess, I'm spending a little too much time looking in your back files lately, but I had to stop and comment here, because Lathe is one of my all-time favorite novels. I find it interesting that the highest award in science fiction, the Hugo, went instead that year to the novel To Your Scattered Bodies Go, and yet I think Lathe endures far better in the hearts and minds of many readers -- what it lost in awards, it gained in readership. Thank you very much for distinguishing George Orr from Jar Jar, as in Binks -- in fact, at one point in the book I believe one of the aliens prefers to pronounce George's name as Jor Jor. (By the way, I find it a little interesting that you don't mention the aliens.) There is some controversy as to whether the translated passage from which we get "lathe of heaven" is at all accurate or even conveys the proper idea, but I agree with the gist. We fail to appreciate that what we receive from Nature is the result of a long, slow, patient balancing act, and we tip that balance at our peril. Haber keeps suggesting ideas which are both bold and good. "End racism," he suggests. But George is so "pessimistic" at heart that the only way he knows to obey is to imagine that everyone is gray. Haber still insists that this is a plus, but George struggles to recall certain wonderful uplifting memories, like the Gettysburg Address or King's "I have a dream" speech. What we call evil is more stubborn and fundamental that we usually give credit for and not so easily wished away. Haber says "No more overpopulation" -- well, the last time Nature had anything to say about that, we got the Black Death, so George imagines another plague. It's a subtle but important point that I'm not sure everyone gets. Do you recall a movie called 2012, the one in which John Cusack was racing around while the Earth was getting completely resurfaced? You would need something that wild to do justice to LeGuin's finale. Reality is dissolving -- but how exactly do you convey that? One spooky line from the book which has always haunted me is "He entered the eye of the nightmare," suggesting that George's world has become one grand hurricane of nightmare. So the book may never get adapted correctly, being at once too spectacular in scope and too subtle in meaning, but this early PBS version is easily the most bearable adaptation, and "bearable" may have to do. Thank you so much for highlighting it, RNG, and Excelsior.
I really enjoyed this comment. I may need to revisit the film and book again for fun. You reminded me how much I like them both. 😊
I might actually give this one a try i admire any film or movie from the past that has the balls to have a interracial couple or romance.
Right?!😊
Having not read the book I did a VERY short review of this movie. Mostly just saying "I assume the book is great and you shoukd read it". There are such big ideas in this movie that it is obvious that the book will be good eve if the movie doesn't have the time to tell the story.
Thanks for the review. I can't count how many times I've seen this back to the original broadcast.
I disagree about the editing. First, the original appeared in installments, like Doctor Who, which affected pacing. Second, the screenplay is tighter than a rodent's sphincter and barely gets enough in. The ending is supposed to be inchoate, because George is using the force, so to speak. It could have been clearer that Mount Hood had erupted. LeGuin just predicted the wrong volcano.
The real problem was acting. Kevin Conway had some serious chops, but Avery Wood was aptly named, and while Bruce Davison was OK in _The Crucible,_ but he was craptastic in the lamentable recrudescence of _Knight Rider._
Though widely requested, it wasn't rerun for a long time due to a dispute over "A Little Help From My Friends." They eventually replaced The Beatles with an inferior cover, which you probably heard.
Check out the Bill Moyers interview.
As I Understand It From The Text On The Film's DVD Case, This Movie Was Almost LOST...!...And I DO MeanTOTALLY And FOREVER...!...Save For Segments Found In Many Parts Of The Studio That Made It For Public Television In 1979/1980 And Stitched Them Together With The Surviving Soundtrack, Music, And Dialog! -Seeing It Despite The (Supposed) Flaws In It's Restoration, ("Ghosting", Etc.,) The Work, -AndThe Book It Came From, -Shows It's VERY Powerful Workmanship In Writing (And Emotional Manipulation It Engenders!) As We See The Flaws Of Not Only Making Someone With Such Powers To Dream Up Worlds To Create One From ANOTHER Person Desires, But How Unpredictable Such A Venture Could Be As The Dreamer Can't Control Such A Creation! -And The Other One Who Desires It Finding It Flawed And Bound To Failure!
This is the only Bruce Davison movie I have enjoyed. I first saw this on PBS KAET channel 8 Phoenix AZ it might have been 1980 or 1981 when I first watched it. #JorJor
Am i'm the only who think the name Heather Lalsche sounds like the name of a top fashion model. I know i spelled her last name wrong. Lol
Regarding the production, editing and cinematography, I know the original was much better as I recall being riveted to it myself in 1980. The version that we know today is essentially a mashup of old tapes and scraps they put together since the original master tape was lost. There are notes in the DVD liner indicating that this version was essentially pieced together from what they could find. The original is gone for some reason. That's why it's so disjointed with lousy cinematography. I think it was made from scraps of old and likely rejected tape ! Plus any tape they had to work with was ancient and degraded. I do not believe it was ever on film -only video tape. Comments ?
It’s left open: is the whole film the dream of a man dying after nuclear war? Did the radiation give him his power? Or did his power to alter reality precede the war-in which case, he dreamed the war didn’t happen, saved the world, but, as part of the altered time line, forgot he did it. Bottom line the war creates the context for a discussion about how such power would work, or if the world might be just as it is, if we all had such power.