A Scanner Darkly

A place for anything *not* Donaldson.

Moderator: I'm Murrin

Post Reply
User avatar
deer of the dawn
The Gap Into Spam
Posts: 6758
Joined: Mon Feb 11, 2008 12:48 pm
Location: Jos, Nigeria
Contact:

A Scanner Darkly

Post by deer of the dawn »

Several times I asked myself, why am I watching this? It seems to be going somewhere, but can I really stand to see Winona Ryder trying to look 25 again? or Woody Harrelson in that awful wig??

The ending was so moving, it made it all worthwhile. And I guess the film derived cred for me from the "in memoriam" trailer section.

I don't think I liked the visual effect. What did anyone think of the film?
Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a great battle. -Philo of Alexandria

ahhhh... if only all our creativity in wickedness could be fixed by "Corrupt a Wish." - Linna Heartlistener
User avatar
danlo
Lord
Posts: 20838
Joined: Wed Mar 06, 2002 8:29 pm
Location: Albuquerque NM
Been thanked: 1 time
Contact:

Post by danlo »

I love Dick's story but I couldn't watch it. I tried real hard, but like Beowulf that type of CGI made me so sick to my stomach I had to stop.
fall far and well Pilots!
User avatar
The Dreaming
The Gap Into Spam
Posts: 1921
Joined: Mon Oct 04, 2004 11:16 pm
Location: Louisville KY

Post by The Dreaming »

It's not CG, it's rotoscope animation. Animators literally trace over real film. That makes the animation seem really uncanny and smooth. I thought it was a wonderful film, and the closest anyone has come to expressing Dick's style visually. (Awesome as Total Recall, Blade Runner, and Minority Report were)
Image
User avatar
danlo
Lord
Posts: 20838
Joined: Wed Mar 06, 2002 8:29 pm
Location: Albuquerque NM
Been thanked: 1 time
Contact:

Post by danlo »

Whatever it is it made me just as sick as Beowulf.
fall far and well Pilots!
User avatar
Cail
Lord
Posts: 38981
Joined: Mon Mar 08, 2004 1:36 am
Location: Hell of the Upside Down Sinners

Post by Cail »

Haven't bothered. Love the book, hate the style of the movie, can't imagine that it manages to capture any of the book's impact.
"There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." - PJ O'Rourke
_____________
"Men and women range themselves into three classes or orders of intelligence; you can tell the lowest class by their habit of always talking about persons; the next by the fact that their habit is always to converse about things; the highest by their preference for the discussion of ideas." - Charles Stewart
_____________
"I believe there are more instances of the abridgment of the freedom of the people by gradual and silent encroachments of those in power than by violent and sudden usurpations." - James Madison
_____________
User avatar
balon!
Lord
Posts: 6042
Joined: Sun Nov 24, 2002 3:37 am
Location: Loresraat

Post by balon! »

Loved it. It was one of the only films I love as much as the book. Especially because it didn't leave out, or add, any details.
Avatar wrote:But then, the answers provided by your imagination are not only sometimes best, but have the added advantage of being unable to be wrong.
User avatar
Brinn
S.P.O.W
Posts: 3137
Joined: Mon Jul 01, 2002 2:07 pm
Location: Worcester, MA

Post by Brinn »

I tried to watch it three times. Fell asleep all three times.
War is an ugly thing, but not the ugliest of things. The decayed and degraded state of moral and patriotic feeling which thinks that nothing is worth war is much worse. The person who has nothing for which he is willing to fight, nothing which is more important than his own personal safety, is a miserable creature and has no chance of being free unless made and kept so by the exertions of better men than himself. John Stuart Mill
User avatar
The Dreaming
The Gap Into Spam
Posts: 1921
Joined: Mon Oct 04, 2004 11:16 pm
Location: Louisville KY

Post by The Dreaming »

Cail wrote:Haven't bothered. Love the book, hate the style of the movie, can't imagine that it manages to capture any of the book's impact.
One Dick fan to another, It really does.

But then, I really like rotoscope animation, so hurm. (but I did frigging hate Waking Life, but it was mostly for narrative reasons. To be specific, the absolute absence of one.)
Image
User avatar
Cail
Lord
Posts: 38981
Joined: Mon Mar 08, 2004 1:36 am
Location: Hell of the Upside Down Sinners

Post by Cail »

Well, I do love the Dick..... :biggrin:

I'll have to give it a shot.
"There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." - PJ O'Rourke
_____________
"Men and women range themselves into three classes or orders of intelligence; you can tell the lowest class by their habit of always talking about persons; the next by the fact that their habit is always to converse about things; the highest by their preference for the discussion of ideas." - Charles Stewart
_____________
"I believe there are more instances of the abridgment of the freedom of the people by gradual and silent encroachments of those in power than by violent and sudden usurpations." - James Madison
_____________
User avatar
Rigel
The Gap Into Spam
Posts: 2099
Joined: Wed Sep 26, 2007 10:42 pm
Location: Albuquerque

Post by Rigel »

I thought it was a great movie, though I'm not sure if there's really a point to it...

My wife hated it, of course. She just found it depressing.
"You make me think Hell is run like a corporation."
"It's the other way around, but yes."
Obaki, Too Much Information
User avatar
AjK
The Gap Into Spam
Posts: 1131
Joined: Thu Jun 05, 2008 6:39 pm
Location: Standing in the dark. Watching you glow. Lifting a receiver ...

Post by AjK »

The Dreaming wrote:One Dick fan to another, It really does.
I really like PK Dick as well. I have it from a reliable source that hardcore fans of Phillip K. Dick refer to themselves as "d*ckheads". I thought that my source was kidding but was quickly and adamantly assured that it is true. Regardless of the truth of that, I am glad that here at KW folks stick to names like THOOLAH and THOOOTP. :wink:
... nobody I know.
User avatar
The Dreaming
The Gap Into Spam
Posts: 1921
Joined: Mon Oct 04, 2004 11:16 pm
Location: Louisville KY

Post by The Dreaming »

AjK wrote: I have it from a reliable source that hardcore fans of Phillip K. Dick refer to themselves as "d*ckheads".
I don't think it would be a stretch for me or Cail to take that title ;)
Image
User avatar
Cail
Lord
Posts: 38981
Joined: Mon Mar 08, 2004 1:36 am
Location: Hell of the Upside Down Sinners

Post by Cail »

How do people I just met know what I read?
"There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." - PJ O'Rourke
_____________
"Men and women range themselves into three classes or orders of intelligence; you can tell the lowest class by their habit of always talking about persons; the next by the fact that their habit is always to converse about things; the highest by their preference for the discussion of ideas." - Charles Stewart
_____________
"I believe there are more instances of the abridgment of the freedom of the people by gradual and silent encroachments of those in power than by violent and sudden usurpations." - James Madison
_____________
User avatar
Kevin164
Giantfriend
Posts: 346
Joined: Sat Jun 07, 2008 5:57 am
Location: Huntington Beach, CA
Contact:

Post by Kevin164 »

I liked it for the ending as well. But what made this movie interesting for me was the rotoscope animation. It makes for a great study in hands and human gestures for someone who enjoys drawing when you slow it down or stop it.
User avatar
ninjaboy
<i>Haruchai</i>
Posts: 526
Joined: Thu Dec 06, 2007 11:32 am
Location: Melbourne, Australia

Post by ninjaboy »

I jumped in here thinking we were going to discuss the book!

I just love the book.. It's definitely in my top 10 books EVER. It's quirky, funny, crazy, amazing and entirely moving.. And I loved the movie as well.. There was some disparity between the book and movie (as 2 characters had been morphed into one) but nothing essential.

I can't believe Rigel thought there was no point to it.. Was he not watching? It had as valid and powerful a point as A Clockwork Orange.

Though I tried to get a friend to watch it one time but it wasn't the animation that put her off, it was Keanu Reeves.
Forgive my death.
It was my flesh that failed you, not my love.
User avatar
Avatar
Immanentizing The Eschaton
Posts: 62038
Joined: Mon Aug 02, 2004 9:17 am
Location: Johannesburg, South Africa
Has thanked: 25 times
Been thanked: 32 times
Contact:

Post by Avatar »

I read the book not too long ago for the first time, and thoroughly enjoyed it. You can tell the author was a junky himself.

--A
User avatar
Rigel
The Gap Into Spam
Posts: 2099
Joined: Wed Sep 26, 2007 10:42 pm
Location: Albuquerque

Post by Rigel »

ninjaboy wrote: I can't believe Rigel thought there was no point to it.
What would you say the point was, if you don't mind my asking?
"You make me think Hell is run like a corporation."
"It's the other way around, but yes."
Obaki, Too Much Information
Post Reply

Return to “General Fantasy/Sci-Fi Discussion”