Research the films that have been adapted from Philip K. Dick novels or short
stories. Which have generally been acclaimed as the most successful? Why?
After researching the novels and short stories of Phillip K Dick that were adapted to films, i have personally concluded that the the most successful film is the 1982 'Blade Runner".
Blade Runner is based on the novel 'Do androids dream of an electric sheep?' and is directed by Ridley Scott starring the Harrison Ford as Rick Deckard.
Rick Deckard is a police officer and is as the blade runner who's mission is to kill four human clones that stole a ship from space in order to return to Earth determined in finding their creator. This film has captured Philip K. Dick's vision both visually and intellectually. Putting aside the Academy awards and golden globe and many more other awards that it won, Ridley Scott has academically examined the science fiction novel with haunting soundtracks that go along with the theatrical stunning visuals of the technological environment. The dark atmosphere of the film portrays aspects of noir such as the cynical attitudes and the corruption of the characters which depicts the novel well. I usually am a sheep that follows the crowed but in this case it is truly a good movie. For me personally Adjustment Bureau was equally as compelling even though it didn't have futuristic elements to it as it is set in a modern era and blade runner is the opposite to the norm of daily lives, however, Adjustment Bureau had it's moments of mental block and twists and turns that almost felt like fireworks.
In my opinion, the blade runner film is not as effective as the novel;however after watching and reading it, the emotions are the same with philosophical questions running through the head. Thus, the film is successful as to how it still maintained Philip K. Dick's narrative and symbolic motifs and over all it's sense of Science fiction depiction.
Reference
Blade Runner Official Website. (2007). Retrieved September 21, 2011, from
http://bladerunnerthemovie.warnerbros.com/
McConvery, N. (2011). The 5 best Philip K.Dick Movies...and 5 more we'd like to see. Retrieved September 21, 2011, fromBlade Runner Official Website. (2007). Retrieved September 21, 2011, from
http://bladerunnerthemovie.warnerbros.com/
http://blog.moviefone.com/2011/03/04/best-philip-k-dick-movies/
The internet movie Database; Blade runner. Retrieved September 21, 2011, from
http://www.imdb.com
The official Phillip K. dick Website. (2010). Retrieved September 21, 2011, from
http://www.philipkdick.com/works_stories.html
List of his adaption and films are on his website:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.philipkdick.com
Hi Naima, I concluded that BR was the most successful too. As much as I like Total Recall, it appears it has nothing on BR. I have to say though; I have an itch to watch the film after uncovering interesting discoveries. I couldn’t believe I actually found academic books that study the contents and themes of BR. I got to a point where I could only focus on a few of the many fundamental elements of the storyline least I run the risk of going off on endless tangents of blah blah blah. I would really like to respond to your post regarding the musical score and character description etc, but I think I will reserve comment until I view the film (this weekend), then I shall reply accordingly. Why do you think BR is noted on many sites as being the best work of Dick & Scott? Do you think it’s because people have (even now) a fascination with film noir, the mysterious detective, or because of the ‘dark’ theme of the storyline? From what I found, a large percent of people were generally pleased with the ‘technological future’ that PKD was able to portray, given ofcourse that he would’ve had NO knowledge of what the future would look like. And others expressed their delight in Dick’s depiction of a technological Utopia; a saving grace to what might be a deteriorated future which is where I found the religious aspect being an important factor.
ReplyDeleteI liked how you put in the end your opinion. A nice tounch, i agree with you. The novel was great and then they made the 'Blade Runner' film and it almost destoyed the book (in my opinion). I grew up thinking Phillip K. Dick wrote Blade Runner and that is never good..:)
ReplyDeleteA great response and deswcription of the film's narrative -some excellent comments (especially Belinda)as well. It's good that you've read the novel and I'd be interested in more of your thoughts on the comparison between the two.
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