Customer Reviews

Counterfeit Worlds: Philip K. Dick on Film

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

First off, I haven't read too many books on films based upon the works of PKD. I bought this book because I'm a fan of Dick's works, and the films that are closely linked to it (A Scanner Darkly primarily, but before that film came out, Blade Runner - the rest, to me, are like Vanilla Sky, and the Matrix; movies `using' Dick's ideas).

Secondly, I found this to be a very good overview of not only the films that were based on PKD's works (Blade Runner, Total Recall, Screamers, Confessions d'un Barjo, Impostor, Minority Report, Paycheck, and A Scanner Darkly), but also his life (~32 pages), radio and TV adaptations, and upcoming/unmade projects (film and otherwise).

You should read this book if;

a) You're interested in reading about PKD's life,
b) You're interested in reading about how some of his films ended up being made (those listed above),
c) You're interested in reading about the influence that PKD's works had on the realm of film in general.

You shouldn't read this book if you want to find out more about the radio/tv programs based upon his works, since you won't get too much from this book on these (not that you necessarily should).

If you're just interested in finding out more about Blade Runner, you'd probably be safe purchasing this book for that reason alone.

There's lots of pictures, the type is rather normal (small-ish, in a good way), and there's some new content in this book - not just the author's perspectives, but also new interviews, albeit only snippets from these - so you'll certainly get your money's worth.

4 stars because I didn't `love it' - I thought it was very good, and I may end up looking at particular parts over again (and it got me to dust off my copy of Impostor for another viewing), but there's no real reason to re-read the book, in my opinion.

I recently bought two books about the films based on Philip K. Dick's writing, Brian J. Robb's "Counterfeit Worlds: Philip K. Dick on Film" and Jason Vest's "Future Imperfect: Philip K. Dick at the Movies." They were published around the same time (2006 and 2007, respectively) but there's surprisingly little overlap. "Counterfeit Worlds" focuses mostly on the making of the films while "Future Imperfect" is comprised mostly of critical analysis of them. I don't usually review books before finishing them, but both of these offer such a wealth of content (especially "Counterfeit Worlds," which is the longer of the two) that I probably won't finish them for a long time, but I've enjoyed them immensely so far.

"Counterfeit Worlds" is so comprehensive that it goes as far as offering a biography of Dick and detailing obscure productions like the TV series "Total Recall 2070" as well as unmade films that were put into production only to be canceled, and "Future Imperfect" impressed me by offering defenses of films that deserve better than what they've gotten, "Screamers" in particular. I only have a couple of minor complaints. First, the foreword to "Future Imperfect" is an essay about film adaptation in general from another author that has nothing to do with Dick. It's not bad at all, but it feels a bit out of place. Second, neither book spends much time on the films that were inspired by Dick's fiction but not officially based on it.

There are a couple of more things worth mentioning. First, while "Counterfeit Worlds" includes content about films, television, and radio productions, "Future Imperfect" focuses exclusively on the feature films. Second, the 2006 film "A Scanner Darkly" is the cut-off point for both books. If you're looking for coverage of later films, you won't find much. The 2007 film "Next" gets a short section in "Counterfeit Worlds" and a brief mention in "Future Imperfect," but you won't find anything on "Screamers: The Hunting," "Radio Free Albemuth," or "The Adjustment Bureau."

There's so much more I could write about why I've enjoyed these two books so far, but I don't want to bore anyone with a lengthy review. If you want incredibly lengthy and detailed production histories of the films, including interviews with the filmmakers and stars, go for "Counterfeit Worlds." If you want rich, analytical essays that explore the themes of the films, go for "Future Imperfect." Or if you're like me and you're a huge fan of both Philip K. Dick and the films based on his writing, you'll want both.

I found the small (9-point?) font to be impossible to read. Not only that, but it is a light gray color, which makes it doubly annoying. Just an observation for folks who have bifocals and will need another level of reading glasses to read this at all!