Undulating Ungulate

4 Responses to “Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep”

1.   Scott C
   November 15th, 2007 | 8:23 am

   Yeap – had just finished re-reading it recently and it is a stunning piece of work – cannot recommend highly enough.

   I must admit though that I think Blade Runner did an excellent job at the time of dealing with elements of the story – I think it would have been impossible for them to make a movie (at the time) of the book directly.

   Having said that the book has so much more than the film…

   Just got my partner into reading some Cordwainer Smith!

2.   Scott A
   November 15th, 2007 | 5:00 pm

   Not better, just different!

   Dick’s writings have only ever been a seed for the hollywood adaptations that were made of them. Often there’s little more than just simple ‘riding the title’ going on – the only movie I’ve seen that seriously attempt to turn a Phillip K Dick novel into a movie was the recent “A Scanner Darkly.”

   I love both “Do Androids Dream…” and “Bladerunner,” but don’t think of one when I read or watch the other. They really are two different stories, in two different mediums, told in two different styles. Some elements may match, but most don’t.

   One truism, though, that I think holds true is that if a Philip K Dick story or novel is the seed for a movie, then the movie should be a “good” movie, in the context of the time and genre.

   For what they were – an early 80s sci-fi actioner and a late 80s sci-fi Arnie vehicle – Bladerunner and Total Recall are better movies than most of their genre and era contemporaries. It’s entirely arguable, of course, but I’d like to think that Dick’s the common factor that put those films above the average.

3.   Andrew
   November 15th, 2007 | 8:34 pm

   Nah, I go with Billy. A hell of a lot better.

   I’d agree that Blade Runner was above average, but shit was average at the time. Saw the director’s cut again within the last few months, and wasn’t impressed. Um, that’s not a deliberately cutting understatement, I just wasn’t impressed. I enjoyed it more than whenever the last time I saw it was (five-ten years ago I think).

4.   Pearce
   November 17th, 2007 | 8:09 am

   For me, Blade Runner is a good example of how Ridley Scott is a talented visual stylist, but a bear of little brain. He’s not as demented as his brother Tony, whose movies I tend to prefer for their sheer outrageousness – Domino, for example, was wonderfully batty.

   I sometimes think that people mistake the stately pace of Ridley’s movies for intelligent quality, much as people often mistake a measured voice speaking in a British accent for good acting. Tony’s movies more closely reflect both Scott bros’ background in tv ads, so he gets slighted.

   Dick, meanwhile, has all the brain and none of the style. Sentence for sentence his books aren’t particularly good, but idea for idea they can be mesmerising and Androids is a cracker.