For all the grandeur and whimsy that studios can deliver with multi-million dollar extravagance, it seems sometimes as if filmmakers have forgotten what actually makes viewers flock to cinema. Movies can be entertaining, thought-provoking, thrilling, or impactful with even the most limited resources; all that is necessary is earnest effort and care, and as such even amateur filmmakers can do great things. On a reported budget of well under one million dollars, largely making use of location filming, and even while betraying its more modest nature as a feature made for television, filmmakers David Loxton and Fred Barzyk churned out a work of science fiction that is compelling and disturbing. The effects are modest, and the tone, pacing, and direction at large do reflect the boundaries in which this operated, but even as much is suggested rather than seen - well, that is the ideal, isn't it? We neither want nor need to have every last detail specifically visualized for us as an audience, not any more than we want or need a series of sequels to explore the origin story of every iconic character. When the first major calamitous event transpires in this adaptation of Ursula K. Le Guin's novel, we don't need a montage of blood, gore, and death; a symbolic rendering is more than sufficient, and ultimately may be more effective. 'The lathe of heaven' may not be a total revelation, but nearly forty-five years later it continues to stand tall with a power that all the most grandiose genre flicks of subsequent years can scarcely touch.
Dreams have been the playground for storytellers since humans first began passing down myths and legends, but even as they have provided the foundation for many dazzling sci-fi or fantasy films, there remain relatively few that completely wrap themselves up in the unreal as this does. To much the same point, relatively few films toy as completely and relentlessly as this does with its internal sense of reality. At its most extreme this can make for a challenging viewing experience, yet with strong scene writing and a firm, cohesive narrative - a credit to Le Guin, yes, but surely also to screenwriters Roger Swaybill and Diane English - the proceedings remain grounded, and highly engaging. True, in addition to dabbling with conflicting philosophies, there are very familiar root thoughts in the tale of the responsibility that comes with power, and the unintended ramifications that well-meaning desires can produce. I would also say that while by and large Swaybill and English did a fine job of adapting Le Guin's book to the necessarily condensed format of a different medium, maintaining the spirit of her prose if not the letter, in the back end especially it seems as if additional material therefrom is being added in a manner that makes the audiovisual representation a tad more unwieldy. Shrewdly reduced and streamlined as this TV movie is in imparting a story of reality-altering dreams, part of me wonders if it might not have been reduced a smidgen more to tighten the narrative as it presents.
All this is kind of just splitting hairs, however, because when all is said and done there's not much arguing that 'The lathe of heaven' is a terrific feature that holds up splendidly. The locations used for various settings here are gorgeous and all but otherworldly, yet still remain suitably little known such that unless one otherwise has reason to recognize them (e.g., living in the greater Dallas-Fort Worth region) our suspension of disbelief is easily maintained. All those behind the scenes turned in splendid work to bring this yarn to vivid life, from production design and art direction, to costume design, hair, and makeup, and I rather wonder just how much of the budget actually went to the vanity artists. Those effects that are employed are swell just as they are while ably lending to the experience, and the sharp contributions of cinematographer Robbie Greenberg and editor Dick Bartlett only further bolsters the presentation. Above all, between Swaybill and English's screenplay and Loxton and Barzyk's direction, some facets of the plot are realized in a gratifyingly smart fashion that circumvents any concerns for the budgetary limitations of the production. Factor in excellent, steady performances from Bruce Davison, Kevin Conway, and Margaret Avery, and the result is really quite well done all told. Yes, it has some moments that are weaker by comparison, yet in a medium that isn't generally known for as high a level of quality as its Silver Screen brethren, the fact in variably remains that this title is roundly solid.
Unless one has particular impetus to watch I don't know that I'd go so far as to say this is a must-see; it isn't necessarily a perfect adaptation of Le Guin's novel, and even if one is especially invested in fare that plays with dreams and reality, the doing here may not be its utmost selling point. 'The lathe of heaven' nevertheless stands admirably tall as a minor classic of science fiction, with ideas bigger than the scope of this one production, and it's well worth checking out if one has the opportunity.
Dreams have been the playground for storytellers since humans first began passing down myths and legends, but even as they have provided the foundation for many dazzling sci-fi or fantasy films, there remain relatively few that completely wrap themselves up in the unreal as this does. To much the same point, relatively few films toy as completely and relentlessly as this does with its internal sense of reality. At its most extreme this can make for a challenging viewing experience, yet with strong scene writing and a firm, cohesive narrative - a credit to Le Guin, yes, but surely also to screenwriters Roger Swaybill and Diane English - the proceedings remain grounded, and highly engaging. True, in addition to dabbling with conflicting philosophies, there are very familiar root thoughts in the tale of the responsibility that comes with power, and the unintended ramifications that well-meaning desires can produce. I would also say that while by and large Swaybill and English did a fine job of adapting Le Guin's book to the necessarily condensed format of a different medium, maintaining the spirit of her prose if not the letter, in the back end especially it seems as if additional material therefrom is being added in a manner that makes the audiovisual representation a tad more unwieldy. Shrewdly reduced and streamlined as this TV movie is in imparting a story of reality-altering dreams, part of me wonders if it might not have been reduced a smidgen more to tighten the narrative as it presents.
All this is kind of just splitting hairs, however, because when all is said and done there's not much arguing that 'The lathe of heaven' is a terrific feature that holds up splendidly. The locations used for various settings here are gorgeous and all but otherworldly, yet still remain suitably little known such that unless one otherwise has reason to recognize them (e.g., living in the greater Dallas-Fort Worth region) our suspension of disbelief is easily maintained. All those behind the scenes turned in splendid work to bring this yarn to vivid life, from production design and art direction, to costume design, hair, and makeup, and I rather wonder just how much of the budget actually went to the vanity artists. Those effects that are employed are swell just as they are while ably lending to the experience, and the sharp contributions of cinematographer Robbie Greenberg and editor Dick Bartlett only further bolsters the presentation. Above all, between Swaybill and English's screenplay and Loxton and Barzyk's direction, some facets of the plot are realized in a gratifyingly smart fashion that circumvents any concerns for the budgetary limitations of the production. Factor in excellent, steady performances from Bruce Davison, Kevin Conway, and Margaret Avery, and the result is really quite well done all told. Yes, it has some moments that are weaker by comparison, yet in a medium that isn't generally known for as high a level of quality as its Silver Screen brethren, the fact in variably remains that this title is roundly solid.
Unless one has particular impetus to watch I don't know that I'd go so far as to say this is a must-see; it isn't necessarily a perfect adaptation of Le Guin's novel, and even if one is especially invested in fare that plays with dreams and reality, the doing here may not be its utmost selling point. 'The lathe of heaven' nevertheless stands admirably tall as a minor classic of science fiction, with ideas bigger than the scope of this one production, and it's well worth checking out if one has the opportunity.
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