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Four reviews by our glorious editor, Sir Geoff Willmetts, MBE. God bless you, Sir Geoff. 1. Forrest Ackerman’s
World Of Science Fiction by Forrest Ackerman Although this book was released in 1997, I only got around to picking it up when I saw it in a remainder shop earlier this year and only recently found time to read it. Forrest Ackerman is an acknowledged long-time Science Fiction fan. He was there at the dawn of US fandom and saw many of his fellow fans turn into professional writers, not to mention becoming agent for a variety of them in the process. He also edited Warren Magazines’ ‘Famous Monsters Of Filmland’ where, when it could be obtained in the UK, we suffered his goddamnawful puns. Often as much, it wasn’t so much his bad puns but the fact that a lot of us could do the same just not so publicly. I raise the point about the puns deliberately. With the only real exception relating to robots in SF films, we’ve been spared them in this volume. What makes this book worth looking out for is the variety of film, TV, book and magazine covers throughout this book. In many respects, Ackerman’s text is secondary to this display and if anything rather light. It’s a shame really that he hasn’t done a more text-bound book on the development of SF from the ground up, warts and all. Considering the size of his massive SF museum,
I’d also love to see a CD-ROM with stills from it as well but we
can dream. The lack of sales will no doubt contribute to this not
likely to happen. In the meantime, at remainder price this book
shouldn’t be ignored. It does give some insights into Ackerman’s
recollections and what he regards as milestones in SF development. 2. Deep Blue Sea I read the reviews of this film last year and even though the cast interviews hinted at who would probably not survive, I still jumped when they got ate. ‘Deep Blue Sea’ is an up-date on the ‘Jaws’ theme only with smarter, intelligence, larger experimental guinea-pig test Mako sharks who decide to hold a party using their experimenters for the main course. If ever there was a film John Williams ‘Jaws’ music would have been more appropriate, then this would have been the film. The only thing really ruined this film is the rap music at the end but with video one doesn’t always need to watch the credits. One thing that was rather amusing amongst the credits was a First Aid crew. Sorry chaps, but you’re going to need a lot more than Band-Aids and bandages to repair the damage these sharp babes did. The plot is your basic ‘Ten Little Indians’ but I’m not going to spoil the film for those of you who haven’t gone out to buy or watch it yet. The plot is also standard ‘Frankenstein’ where a supposedly noble experiment hits the fan when research is accelerated and things get out of hand. It would be a nice touch for any prospective production company to actually show something go right for a change but they probably think that wouldn’t put bums on seats. There is little in the way of secondary plots or sub-textual information beyond that. The characterisation is also basic and to the point. There simply isn’t enough of it to make a totally lasting impression and much of it is given during the chase. Undoubtedly, much of the gore is targeted at the effects-loving viewer than anyone wanting too much character depth (if you excuse the pun). Undoubtedly, director Rennie Harlan agreed to the principle that less is more when it came to the sharks so there was little opportunity to see just how smart they really are. He certainly ensured everything hit the right marks and make sure you jumped or laughed in the right places. There was also a certain amount of credibility when it came to getting characters to go on the offensive to the sharks. Saying that, I’m not altogether sure standing on your wetsuit in water and electrocuting a shark would be good for your own personal survival. Scientifically, I’m amazed that the Aquatical sea-base wasn’t properly equipped with shark propellant and other means to keep these penned in sharks in line. At the very least, I would have ensured each had an implanted charge that could be detonated in an emergency. All that aside, ‘Deep Blue Sea’ will never be called thinking SF fan’s fodder, but if you like having your heart jump then this is a good place to start. Oh, I wouldn’t recommend this film to anyone who gets the jitters easily or has a weak heart so it’s another film my Mother is going to have to miss. 3. The Mammoth Book Of
Best New Horror edited by Stephen Jones. This anthology contains an assorted 21 short stories and novelettes together with a lengthy editorial of the past year in horror media with contact addresses and an obituary column that extends to cover all fantastic media. Now I have to confess to not being a regular horror reader, so haven’t read with any antiscipations. Editorially, I do know what I should expect. Although the writing is very good, I didn’t really come away from any story either spooked or horrified by what I read. Either I’ve got a very strong stomach or the horror media is beginning to take a serious nose dive. There are not many plot-lines specifically designed with horror in mind and most of these have been done to death (sic) over the years. Considering all the authors in this book are horror veterans, I’d have expected a lot more out of them than I got here. That’s not to say that some of the stories weren’t at least interesting. Of note is Neil Gaiman’s ‘Harlequin Valentine’ - for its odd turnabout and Michael Marano’s ‘Burden’ - probably the most grounded in real life with the horror of Aids in the gay community. Even as a straight, I found this rather compelling reading that tackled a repercussion problem. Paul J. McAuley’s ‘Naming The Dead’ with a spook hunter’s problems and Tim Lebbon’s ‘White’ were an interesting read but let down a little by their endings. Maybe it’s my SF background here but endings need to be focused a lot more to make the reader think than fizzle out. Should you buy it? Well, at its listed price for page count, if you’re a horror fan it’ll be bought automatically. If you’re branching out into writing horror stories, the introduction is worth its weight in gold and the stories should have you coming away with the thought that you can do better than them. 4. Alien: The Illustrated
Screenplay by Dan O’Bannon edited by Paul M. Sammon. Considering the number of books I have about the ‘Alien’ films in my collection, including the coffee-table-size photonovel, I was debating my own sanity in going after this book. No doubt it’ll be released in softcover at some point but why take a chance that it won’t? Me neither. The most difference in price will be a couple of pounds. If I got nothing else from the book, I’d at least have a few more choice photographs to add to my collection. As the title indicates, this book has the original screenplay to ‘Alien’ prior to filming. Although O’Bannon gets the credit, one shouldn’t forget the input from producers Ronald Shusett, Walter Hill and David Giler in polishing the draft. The format is strictly screenplay with action direction and dialogue. There is also a lot more here than seen in the film in regarding scene expansions that were edited down for pace or lack of money. Comparing to watching it again, one can also work out filming changes where actors or directors tweaked things a little in line with how they thought it should be done. It would have been interesting to have seen who suggested Ripley sing ‘You Are My Lucky Star’ at the end for instance. There is also a section at the end where editor Sammon has dialogue and scenes that were edited out but on the DVD version. Granted they probably deserve a place here but the way they suddenly end rather than any further conclusions at the end suggests more for padding than achieve any true purpose. Considering also that Sammon para-phrased from the DVD doesn’t really indicate what was actually being used prior to filming. One would have thought that the ‘Cocoon’ scene would have been part of the original screenplay, especially as it was filmed, than placed at the back. Undoubtedly, if you’ve read Alan Dean Foster’s ‘Alien’ novelisation, then you’ll have no doubt seen much of this screenplay before. Hardly surprising really as novelisation writers start writing before the film is completed based on such scripts and would have spotted several scenes that didn’t appear in the final cut or none of us would have heard of the ‘Cocoon’ scene at the time. A lot of useful information does come from the screenplay. The specifics of the Nostromo’s real flight capacity beyond the speed of light and the limited food supplies they have on board stressing the urgency in evicting the alien before they went back to hypersleep. Both were edited out of the film for various reasons. Film buffs are going to start thinking more like film editors/producers/directors the more they see what goes on behind the scenes. The photographs are of good quality. There are a couple of the ‘SpaceJockey’ that I hadn’t seen before and one of Dallas in repose pondering on his actions. The best photo is on page 147, finally giving away what was fashionable wear in the hypersleep vault. I’ll give a clue, tops for women didn’t happen until the second film! The total photo count is a bit on the light side but no doubt curtailed by space and expensive rights. As a learning exercise for developing screenwriters or even novelisation writers this would be an interesting addition to your collection. ‘Alien’ fans will automatically buy this book without a second thought. A sequel screenplay book on ‘Aliens’ is scheduled to be released in February 2001. I can see a real franchise developing here. FREE
SF MAGAZINE |
OTHER CONTENT - January 2001
Next
Star Wars movie will be dark - it's official Toy
brainwashed my child - mother cries for vengeance Pokemon really did steal his identity Forrest Ackerman's mad mad World Of Science Fiction Star Trek due for a rebirth in new TV series Galaxy
Online bloats up over Christmas
Alistair Stevens.
01/01/2001 |
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