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16 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
We Are Such Stuff As Dreams Are Made Of, February 2, 2005
. . . and our little life is rounded with a sleep." This snippet of Prospero's from Shakespeare's The Tempest, was beautifully ad libbed by Humphrey Bogart during the filming of The Maltese Falcon. It pretty much sums up the experience I took out of reading Terry Pratchett's Moving Pictures. Life in Holy Wood, like life on Prospero's island is one where magical events occur encouraged by a host of spirits. Since these magical events unfold in that piece of the universe known as Discworld, they unfold with wit, humor, and more than a bit of thought.
As the title suggests, Moving Pictures is Pratchett's take on Hollywood. In a manner similar to his approach to Men at Arms, The Truth, and Going Postal, Pratchett takes the development of the motion picture industry and through the literary equivalent of time-lapse photography compresses it so that the reader experiences in a brief time span that which occurred over decades on our slower-moving planet. The result is hilariously funny and made me shake my head and murmur, how did we let this nonsense happen.
CAST OF CHARACTERS: As a click trailer might say: Introducing Victor and Ginger (think Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers) as the leading man and lady of this epic. Also new to Discworld is Thomas Silverfish (think Samuel Goldwyn of MGM fame), the first big producer on Discworld. As in Casablanca, Pratchett has also rounded up the usual suspects. Cut Me Own Throat Dibbler (can't think of a character on earth that remotely resembles Dibbler!) and Gaspode (think Oscar Levant as played by a stray dog) are featured prominently and hilariously. This is a big step up for these two contract players in the Discworld series! Rounding out the featured players is that zany group of performers known as the wizards, led by their fearless librarian (think the Keystone Kops meets Planet of the Apes). And, as they say, a cast of thousands, including assorted trolls, an overly obsequious dog known as Laddie (think Lassie) and other delightful diverse denizens of Discworld.
THE PLOT: The plot is simple. It is about the power of dreams in a world, as Dibbler might say, "gone mad". Dreams, particularly the dreams of Ginger, play a critical role in the book. A group of alchemists have invented movies or clicks as they come to be known on Discworld. Fearing that such magic might anger the wizards of Unseen University the alchemists move out of Ankh-Morpork to a strange and wondrous place called Holy Wood. In what seems like only days, clicks become the next big thing. People from around Discworld come to Holy Wood for no apparent reason other than a strange compulsion. Perhaps mysterious forces are at work? The excitement level gradually builds, the outlines of an evil, dark plot by the spirit world reveals itself as in a dream, until all heck breaks loose. Victor strives valiantly to save the universe with the wizards following close behind in a manner reminiscent of the Keystone Kops. The climactic fight scene is both dramatic and hilariously funny. Of course, the fun in any Pratchett novel is not the ending but the journey. Hollywood references abound. It is always fun trying to spot some, even those which Pratchett may never have intended. Dibbler's hilarious product placements and his `invention' of subliminal advertising were worth the price of admission.
Some have suggested that Moving Pictures is not as `good' as his other Discworld books. There is an inference, perhaps, that it does not address profound issues relating to life, the universe and everything as was the case in Mort, Small Gods, or Thief of Time. For me, however, the profusion of cultural gods (from Valentino to Pacino) created by Hollywood and its enormous impact on popular culture throughout the world seems just as worthy of the typical Pratchett treatment as small gods in the form of a turtle. I also have to add that it was a pleasure seeing both Gaspode and Dibbler in more prominent roles.
All in all, as I finished Discworld I kept coming back to Bogart looking wistfully at the worthless Maltese Falcon that so many people had died in pursuit of their dreams. Perhaps for his next click, Dibbler can have Victor close by reminding the audience that, like Prospero:
Our revels now are ended: these our actors
As I foretold you, were all spirits, and
Are melted into air, into thin air:
And, like the baseless fabric of this vision
The cloud-capp'd towers, the gorgeous palaces,
The solemn temples, the great globe itself,
Yes, and all which it inherit, shall dissolve,
And, like this insubstantial pageant faded,
Leave not a wrack behind: We are such stuff
As dreams are made of, and our little life
Is rounded with a sleep.
Th-th-th-that's all folks!!!
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
In Life You Have to Make Your Own Bricks, June 21, 2002
Somewhere in Discworld the last priest of Holy Wood shakes hands with Death and one of realities weak points (it has many) suddenly is unguarded. Not long after, an alchemist in Ankh-Morpork suddenly figures out how to make a form of octo-cellulose that only explodes occasionally. In no time, rolls of this miracle compound are being fed into picture boxes where tiny demons frantically paint pictures on the film. You guessed it, the Discworld entertainment industry is about to take a great lurch forward (or maybe backward).Suddenly, ancient Holy Wood was on the map, drawing people to it form all over the world. And from outside the world as well. In the spaces between the universes, unmentionable creatures are drawn like magnets to the thin reality of feature filmmaking. Nor are the locals much more respectable. Cut Me Own Throat Dibbler sells the world's most horrible sausage business and heads for tinsel town to become a mogul, trolls enroll as bit part players, and people who should never be allowed to cook, are. The good guys are just as various. Victor Tugelbend deserts wizardry, and Ginger Withel leaves the farm in order to make it big in show business. These two reluctantly become involved in what is really going on, which is, as usual, 'the end of everything as we know it.' But the very best character of all is poor Gaspode, the talking dog, a disgraceful looking canine who spends his time (when he isn't out drinking with his friend Laddie the Wonder Dog) keeping Victor and Ginger alive and relatively down to earth. Gaspode is as corrupt and sneaky as they come, but he knows that it is no fun being rotten when there isn't a world to do it in. 'Moving Pictures' is parody and punning, as Pratchett makes fun of everything from 'Gone with the Wind' (Blown Away) to H.P. Lovecraft. This is one of his works that is a bit short on plot, but makes it up with humor and a string of outrageous sight gags. The portrayal of Hollywood's foibles is spot on, and you will find yourself recognizing pieces of famous films, carefully twisted to create snorts and chortles. (You will never, ever, feel the same about King Kong again) Even though this is not one of Pratchett's very best - try 'Small Gods' and 'The Truth' for that - it is still delightful entertainment.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Cinematic Disc, July 15, 2002
Moving Pictures, the 10th Discworld novel written by Terry Pratchett, has the distinction of being the first one with which I've been a bit disappointed. All of the typical elements of a Discworld book are still there: witty satire on an aspect of society, humour, and weird situations. They just don't come together as a whole. It was a bit difficult to get through as a result, because I did become bored at certain points. Pratchett includes a few characters that don't have much to do with the plot, but instead are there for a one-off joke. This seemed to pad the book far more than the joke, while amusing, was worth. One character in particular falls into this category: he's there to make a joke about Victor's exit examination; then later on in the book, he keeps trying to go out for a night on the town, but keeps getting stymied. Again, the joke is amusing, but the pages devoted to it seem to be a waste. Another example is the antics of some of the wizards. The situations that they get themselves into are hilarious, I must admit. But as part of the narrative, they don't merge well.The rest of the book contains some wonderful skewering of Hollywood and the movie business. I loved how Dibbler wanted to add elephants to everything, with mass battle scenes (with different people galloping by in take after take because they only have a couple of horses) and romance where there wasn't any before. Theda (who calls herself Ginger) and Victor heat up the screen with kiss after kiss, and everybody assumes that they're lovers (hey, it happened on screen, right?). Who cares if something didn't really happen, it will look exciting! The main characters were less memorable than Pratchett's characters usually are. I found both Victor and Ginger to be kind of bland. This is ironic, considering how they are perceived as almost larger than life by the people who watch these movies. In the book, however, they are a trifle boring. I didn't get any sense of chemistry between them, like I did with William and Sacharissa in The Truth. They are capable in their roles as a vehicle for Pratchett's satire, but as characters themselves they fall a bit short. Thankfully, some of the other characters make up for this deficiency, and they prevent the book from sliding into tedium. Dibbler is wonderful as a man who has let too much power go to his head. He's a director that thinks he knows everything (he has, after all, run a highly "successful" business selling "sausages" in a bun). He has some of the best lines, and if he doesn't get his elephants, he's going to be very unhappy! Gaspode, the talking dog, is another winning character, and I was glad to see how he was introduced. Pratchett defies logic a little bit in keeping Gaspode talking when the other animals stop, but he's such a great character in subsequent books that it's worth it. Every time I thought of putting this book down, something funny or interesting happened. Unfortunately, it's not like a Pratchett book to ever make me have that feeling in the first place. Still, it is worth getting through it. I don't think you'll feel you've wasted your time reading this. However, if you start the series with this book, know that it's one of the weaker ones and you can move up from here. Give it a try.
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