Pssst, want to check out The Illustrated Man in our new look?
Information
- Year
- 1969
- Runtime
- 103 min.
- Director
- Jack Smight
- Genre
- Sci-Fi
- Rating *
- 6.1
- Votes *
- 2,099
- Checks
- 188
- Favs
- 6
- Dislikes
- 12
- Favs/checks
- 3.2% (1:31)
- Favs/dislikes
- 1:2
Top comments
-
Siskoid
I've never read the stories in Ray Bradbury's The Illustrated Man, but the 1969 movie adaptation isn't exactly selling it. Indeed, the most interesting thing in the film is how it further develops the framing tale about a tattooed man ("NEVER CALL THEM TATTOOS, THEY'RE SKIN ILLUSTRATIONS!") whose body art gives a younger drifter visions of the short story collections tales, but also makes him obsessed with the artist who drew them. The sort of supernatural thriller this creates is a lot more interesting than the three stories haphazardly chosen to be adapted. There's something initially interesting about the first one, because the same actors are also playing the story's parts and it involves a holodeck-type technology that creates a worlds-within-worlds feeling, but it's not something that's maintained throughout. We're left wondering WHY these particular stories were painted on the illustrated man, why they haunt the young drifter, and what they teach him or us about, well, anything. If you squint, you almost see it, but the result is disjointed. It's too bad, because there's some nice image-making here and there, but not enough for a recommendation. 5 years 5 months ago