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Philip_Dick_Adaptations[i-1].body = "To science-fiction enthusiasts, the name Philip K. Dick has the same impact as Zane Grey has to fans of Westerns, or Raymond Chandler has to devotees of mysteries.Dick was born in 1928, died in 1982, and spent most of his life living in near poverty. It probably would have been a far-fetched fantasy for him to imagine how popular his works are today, and how coveted his stories are among Hollywood filmmakers. In fact, Dick passed away before the film “Blade Runner” — based on his novel, “Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?” and considered the most accomplished of all adaptations of his work – was released to the public.
Perhaps it was fitting that even “Blade Runner” was met with a lukewarm response from critics and moviegoers when it came out; it wasn’t until later that the film built a fierce and ardent following. Dick is the kind of writer who was appreciated far more upon reflection. Today “Blade Runner” is considered a masterpiece of the science-fiction genre, and Dick is revered by many as one of the titans of his craft.
Next week yet another Dick story will find its way into movie theaters. “Next,” based on the short story “The Golden Man,” stars Nicolas Cage as a Las Vegas magician who can see a few minutes into the future. He tires of the attention his powers have brought him and drops out of sight, preferring to live in near anonymity. But when terrorists threaten to strike Los Angeles, he’s summoned to help stop them.
Here is a look at the science fiction adaptations of Dick’s work. In some cases, Hollywood did justice to Dick’s astounding imagination, in others it didn’t. But these films illustrate the allure of Dick’s singular vision and its appeal to directors, writers and producers. One other adaptation, a little-known French-Canadian film called “Confessions d’un Barjo,” was not included because it was based on a non-science fiction book of Dick’s called “Confessions of a Crap Artist.”
Also, some similarities have been detected between the films “Abre los Ojos,” by Alejandro Amenabar, and its English-language remake, “Vanilla Sky,” and Dick’s acclaimed 1969 novel, “Ubik.” But Dick is not credited on those films. ";
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Casual moviegoers might consider “Minority Report” to be the most notable adaptation of a Dick story because of its Steven Spielberg-Tom Cruise pedigree. But serious buffs eventually put Ridley Scott’s dystopian masterpiece on a pedestal well after its release in 1982, and subsequent converts have kept it there. Based on the novel, “Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?” the cyberpunk film stars Harrison Ford as Deckard, a futuristic “blade runner” — a cop/bounty hunter who specializes in tracking down “replicants,” clones of humans who are created to work on colonies outside of Earth and who have fixed life spans. Although he wants to quit the life, Deckard is summoned to help capture a small group of fugitive replicants who hijack a space ship to Earth. The story has probably created the most heated discussion of all Dick stories because it questions what it means to be human. And there is speculation among “Blade Runner” geeks about whether Deckard himself is a replicant, and whether it is man’s very nature to turn on his own. The supporting cast is top notch, led by Sean Young as Ford’s replicant love interest, and Rutger Hauer as the leader of the mutinous replicants. But the star of the film is the look. Scott collaborated with cinematographer Jordan Cronenweth and production designer Lawrence G. Paull, among others, to produce a grimy, disturbing and hugely innovative look that influenced scores of filmmakers.";
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Set in Washington, D.C. in 2054, the tale centers on a “pre-crime” unit of the police department that can predict crimes before they happen — with the help of computers and three savants called “pre-cogs” — and therefore can act to stop the crimes. Steven Spielberg directed and Scott Frank adapted the screenplay of a similarly named Dick short story. Tom Cruise stars as John Anderton, who is one of the stars of his unit — until the pre-cogs predict that he himself will commit a murder in the next 36 hours. Behind the slick sci-fi high concept idea are ethical issues involving the justice system and the notion of being innocent until proven guilty. Naturally, Spielberg needs no introduction. Besides being one of the most important filmmakers of his time, he has also proved his versatility. He established his science-fiction chops way back with “Close Encounters” and “ET,” but was coming off mixed reviews of “AI,” which seemed like part Spielberg sentimentality, part Stanley Kubrick creepiness. But “Minority Report” was dark, thrilling and consistent in tone. It was not a blockbuster, eventually grossing $132 million domestically. But that made it the biggest box-office success of all Dick adaptations, edging out “Total Recall” ($119 million), although it’s probably close to even when dollars from the different years are adjusted.";
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The 1990 release starred the future governor of California, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and was loosely adapted from a short story entitled, “We Can Remember It For You Wholesale.” It’s about a man who signs up for a virtual vacation to Mars, but it goes awry and he’s not sure what’s real and what isn’t. It was a mild hit, but suffered from the heavy handed smash-mouth style of director Paul Verhoeven — coming off the unexpected box-office success of “RoboCop” — who would get better reviews two years later for another boffo release, “Basic Instinct.” In fact, “Total Recall” was notable because it helped elevate Sharon Stone’s profile; she would eventually break out as a star working with Verhoeven again on “Basic Instinct.” And the word “Recall” would figure prominently in Schwarzenegger’s political career because it was the recall of Gray Davis in 2003 that paved the way for Arnold’s gubernatorial campaign.";
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Richard Linklater directed and wrote the screenplay for an animated version of a Dick novel about an undercover narcotics officer who is leading a double life because he’s addicted to a potent drug called “Substance D.” Linklater made a film in 2001 called “Waking Life,” in which he used a technique called “rotoscoping” that involves shooting live actors and then painting over them with computer animation. This is another effort in that style. Keanu Reeves plays the main character in this freaky dreamscape, which is the type of film that a certain cross-section of college students will probably be celebrating late at night with help from substances of their own choosing for years to come. The story as Linklater sees it draws parallels to the paranoia of current society. Like “Waking Life,” streams of consciousness drive the narrative. But unlike that film, the drug-induced hallucinatory nature of the subject matter tends to disorient and confuse audiences. “A Scanner Darkly” is worth seeing, but it probably will only have lasting appeal for the overlap audience of deep thinkers and heavy users.";
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This one came and went in 2002, receiving mostly poor reviews and drawing anemic box office attention. Directed by Gary Fleder (“Runaway Jury”) and adapted by Scott Rosenberg, it copies the Dick theme about a man (Gary Sinise) who is living a seemingly peaceful life as a government scientist in the year 2079 at a time when humans are at war with aliens. But quickly his life changes when he is suspected of being an alien himself. Part of the problem is that this was originally designed to be a 30-minute part of an anthology film, but the studio in charge decided to expand it into a full-length feature — and then released it with almost no marketing support. And it has a schlocky, B-movie feel, which didn’t endear it to mass sci-fi audiences who are used to more sophisticated fare. The supporting cast is solid — Madeleine Stowe, Tony Shalhoub and Vincent D’Onofrio — and the creatives who assisted with the look, especially cinematographer Robert Elswit, do a commendable job. But the film isn’t particularly memorable in any way. The original 1953 short story, “Imposter,” was produced once before for a British anthology television series.";
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Released in 1995, the film is based on the short story, “Second Variety,” and it takes place in the year 2078 on a mining planet known as Sirius 6B. “Screamers” refer to a race of killer underground robots that are created to wipe out enemy life forms. However, because of a lack of oversight by the scientists who created them, the “Screamers” have a unique take on their new task: getting rid of all life. The movie stars Peter Weller as Commander Joe Hendricksson, a war-weary soul who has to negotiate a truce on the planet while fighting off the Screamers. Canadian director Christian Duguay did the honors. The film cost $20 million to make, which was still a sizeable budget back then. Unfortunately, with no other recognizable names in it other than Weller it did no business, taking in just under $6 million in the States.";
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A notable flop in the Dick canon. The sad joke is that everybody showed up for “Paycheck” just for the paycheck. Director John Woo is best known for some of his Hong Kong action films, including “A Better Tomorrow” and “The Killer.” And he did a superb job on “Face/Off,” starring Nicolas Cage. But “Paycheck,” released in 2003, is an empty, lifeless mess. Starring Ben Affleck at the peak of the Jennifer Lopez celebrity tornado and coming out in the same year as “Gigli,” it’s about a corporate mercenary who hires himself out to steal the secrets of other corporations, then has his brain scrubbed of any memory of his sneakiness. Of course, his career path is altered when he accepts one major job that doesn’t quite work out as planned. Woo is one of the finest directors working today, but he may have been temporarily corrupted by Hollywood, which explains this middling, by-the-numbers effort. He replaced director Brett Ratner on this project, and consequently the film feels like it’s done by someone with no real stake in its outcome. It’s a paycheck movie in every sense.";
// END editorial data