Harlan Ellisons Watching [Paperback]

Harlan Ellison (Author), Leonard Maltin (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 22, 2008

Most overviews of film are written from some high, sunlit mountaintop. In this first collection of Harlan Ellison's cinema criticism (with expanded, never-before-collected articles as well as an essay written especially for this volume) come from the darkened interiors of a thousand movie houses where this most peculiar of all Observers of the Passing Scene has spent much of his life. The view is guaranteed to make you grind your teeth in anger, nod your head in blessed agreement, and open your eyes in a manner of judging films that is definitely not plebeian. Harlan Ellison's love affair with movies is obvious. As an essayist, he has no equal; as a film critic he has no friends. Take care.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Popular author, screen- and teleplay writer, and all-around bete noir , Ellison collects his 25-years' output of writing on film, from a 1951 high school piece to 1989 columns for Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction. Ellison was never a reviewer, even when he was hired to be one, for the 1960s' Los Angeles Cinema magazine, so one doesn't get the critical analysis of a Kael, Canby, or Kauffmann. What one does get is Ellison, the world's youngest curmudgeon, entertainingly sounding off, sometimes on idiosyncratic tangents, on his likes and dislikes. A long introductory essay amusingly tells us how he got to be the way he is. This is an enjoyable, irascible collection, (surprisingly) fully indexed, and a welcome companion to Ellison's 1970 collected TV musings, The Glass Teat .
- David Bartholomew, NYPL
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

Collected herein are roughly twenty-five years worth of film essays from Ellison, renowned author of a dazzling variety of stories, scripts, and articles (as well as the "noted futurist" featured in recent Chevrolet commercials). The majority of the pieces are drawn from the last few years' issues of The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, but earlier compositions from such diverse publications as Cinema, The Los Angeles Free Press, The Staff, and Starlog are included as well. Ellison is a man of strong opinions, and part of his magnetism lies in his refusal to dilute his declarations to mollify readers. Those unfamiliar with Ellison's style may be taken aback by the unfiltered fallout of his rants and raves. The following unmitigated burst regards a convention at which the author spoke: "...In the neighborhood of ten thousand people attended this combined Star Trek/space science/rV addict media melange: a hyperventilated whacko-freako-devo two-day blast that served as cheap thrill fix for a tidal wave of incipient jelly-brains who would rather sit in front of the tube having their mind turned to puree-of-bat-guano than ... deal with the Real World in any lovely way." Ignore for the moment that the preceding seems to have little to do with cinema per se (Ellison's digressions are many and lengthy, but they logically and invariably wind their way back to the core subject matter); disregard the fact that the author seems to be attacking some of his own fans; focus instead on Ellison's raw assertions, and you'll get an idea of what this book holds in store. Not one to limit his vendetta to passive audiences, Ellison takes no prisoners when dealing with the films' creators: Throughout this collection, he points out the endless ego wars and unceasing one-upmanship that transpire behind Hollywood studio doors. Many fascinating anecdotes, some anonymous, some replete with casually-dropped celebrity names, can be found here. This volume can be taken as a collection of views to be read linearly or as a reference work to be pulled from the shelf for occasional perusals. Either way, it's an entertaining and infonnative piece of work that amply displays Ellison's talents. If the English language is an instrument, Ellison is a virtuoso player. -- From Independent Publisher --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 248 pages
• Publisher: M Press; 1st M Press Ed edition (April 22, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1595820566
• ISBN-13: 978-1595820563
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6.3 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #487,989 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Movie reviews from an insider, fan and master storyteller, December 8, 2001

By 

Scott Woods (Columbus, Ohio United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Harlan Ellison's Watching (Hardcover)

You'll learn more from one Harlan Ellison movie review than you did in a week of any college history or media class.

He's done the screenplays for various movies to varying degrees of quality, and he's honest about that, which gives him MAD credibility points with me (self-effacing is the path to free, open blasting of others). He blasts movies on the premise that, if they're bad, they've lied to you and sucked the very life out of your existence and should be punished. He's got lots of backstage insight and, even though a great deal of the films in this book are dated by the nature of the films discussed (ever seen a 10 page essay about how bad "Gremlins" was?) which slows the book down in spots, it's over 400 pages of the most erudite, informed, intellectually stimulating slamming you've ever read. He makes you want to go to the video store and stock up on everything in the 80s to see if its as bad as he says it is. I don't agree with every review (and some reviews aren't even reviews, but diatribes about how jacked up society and art is, and these are often chilling), but I am thoroughly engaged with every review, and what more could you ask for?

A must for movie fans or anyone looking for intelligent writing that dares you to not own a dictionary. The book literally makes you smarter.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars If you've got the hardcover, don't bother., April 24, 2008

By 

Brett Danalake "zooty" (Australia) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Harlan Ellisons Watching (Paperback)

My rating is for the original hardcover. I bought the paperback based on the publisher's website indicating this version had a new introduction by Leonard Maltin and "additional material". Unfortunately, the "additional material" IS the introduction by Maltin. The rest of the contents are identical to the hardcover.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A different kind of movie review book, May 24, 2009

By 

Kurt G. Schumacher "Grey" (Broomfield, CO USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Harlan Ellisons Watching (Paperback)

Harlan Ellison is a paradox for me. I like his writing... when he's not writing science fiction. I don't really care for his style in fiction. But I loved his TV review books, "The Glass Teat" and "The Other Glass Teat". (These titles are unfortunately long out of print, but used copies are out there.) I also had the pleasure of seeing Ellison at a book signing, and he is absolutely hilarious in person. He's one of the best monologists I've ever seen, and his razor sharp wit is deadly to all, including the audience. (I refer to him as "The Don Rickles of science fiction".)

So, about *this* book. Ellison always has an opinion, and he's always ready to share it with anyone. And he's an incredibly intelligent man. As other reviewers have noted, have a dictionary at hand when reading this book! I didn't agree with a lot of Ellison's opinions. But they were always informative, and very entertaining.

This book covers movies back to the '60s, so it really brought back some memories. Many of the films reviewed were ones I had seen when they came out (yeah, I'm an old fart). Others I had missed. But Ellison's reviews made me want to see the ones I had missed, and re-watch many of the ones I had.

I've even thought of getting some friends together for a regular "Review A Movie Along With Harlan Ellison" night. But some of the more interesting movies aren't available in any format. "Mickey One", for example, which Ellison described as "the finest American film of the year, and possibly of many years!" His review really made me want to see the film. But it's out of print, not available, as far as I can tell never came out on DVD.

If you want a review book that will just give you ideas about what to rent for the weekend, skip this book. But if you want something that will make you think, that will stretch your mind a bit, that will make you want to search out obscure movies, The "Harlan Ellison's Watching" is just the ticket.