Product Details

• Actors: Rod Steiger, Claire Bloom, Robert Drivas, Don Dubbins, Jason Evers
• Directors: Jack Smight
• Format: Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
• Language: French (Dolby Digital 1.0), English (Dolby Digital 1.0)
• Subtitles: English
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.66:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Studio: Warner Home Video
• DVD Release Date: December 19, 2006
• Run Time: 103 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (33 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B00005JP4M
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #33,790 in Movies & TV (See Bestsellers in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
Ray Bradbury's celebrated fiction has been notoriously resistant to screen adaptation, but that hasn't stopped the flawed film version of The Illustrated Man from gaining a small but devoted following. First published in 1951, Bradbury's classic book consisted of 18 stories framed by the tale of a man whose entire body is a living canvas of exotic tattoos, or "skin illustrations," each inviting the reader/viewer into Bradbury's ominous realm of science fiction, fantasy, and horror. In the film, this framing story takes place in Depression-era America, where a young drifter named Willie (well played by Robert Drivas) encounters Carl (Rod Steiger), the gruffly eccentric Illustrated Man. Gazing upon Carl's mesmerizing tattoos, Willie is transported into three of the 18 stories in Bradbury's collection. A pioneering exercise in virtual reality, "The Veldt" features a high-tech playroom (a precursor to Star Trek: The Next Generation's holodeck) where two children select an African veldt as their favorite virtual playground, ultimately trapping their parents (played by real-life couple Steiger and then-wife Claire Bloom) in a place of deadly danger. "The Long Rains" finds a quartet of astronauts (including Steiger and Drivas) stranded on Venus, where an incessant downpour preys on their sanity. "The Last Night of the World" takes place on the eve of a nuclear holocaust, as a desperate couple (again played by Steiger and Bloom) agonizes over the decision to euthanize their children before the end of the world.

As adapted by Howard B. Kreitsek and directed by Jack Smight (best known for Airport '75 and episodes of the original Twilight Zone), none of these stories work as well as the framing device, in which Steiger gives a brashly volatile performance. The story selection is curiously misguided and poorly executed, and Smight predictably fails to capture Bradbury's elusive quality of poetic allegory. Anthology films are always hit-or-miss anyway, but The Illustrated Man is more pretentiously frustrating than most (and more dated, especially in terms of sets and costumes), although it effectively captures the dreamy, contemplative tone that prevailed in many "art" films of the late '60s. If seen in the right mood, it's the kind of failed experiment that makes a lasting impression, despite its many shortcomings. --Jeff Shannon

Product Description
Rod Steiger plays the tattoo-covered title role in this fascinating vision of doom and danger based on the classic short story collection by futurist Ray Bradbury. Robert Drivas portrays a good-natured drifter who can't tear his eyes from Steiger's freakish illustrations. And Claire Bloom is the mysterious seductress who created the "art" that curses its bearer - and comes to life in a nightmarish trio of tales. Two spoiled children turn playtime into slay time (from The Veldt). Shipwrecked astronauts wander across a planet cursed by The Long Rain. And loving parents choose their children's fate when the end nears (from The Last Night of the World). Every one of The Illustrated Man's pictures tells a story. And every story ends in terror.

DVD Features:
Featurette:Vintage Featurette Tattooed Steiger
Theatrical Trailer

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Thanks to all the other people who voted for this release, September 30, 2005

By	OK (Mendon, MA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Illustrated Man [VHS] (VHS Tape)

Great to finally own this on DVD. Now how do I vote to have The Reincarnation of Peter Proud released to DVD?

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I, too, want this on DVD, September 27, 2005

By	John G. Philbrook Jr. (Seattle, WA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Illustrated Man [VHS] (VHS Tape)

I saw this as a child on late night TV in the early seventies. It made quite an impression on me, and I would really love to have it on DVD. I'm on here as a result of looking for it (in vain) in DVD on the internet. Someone is loosing alot of money...

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the Greats, June 1, 2005

By	Connoisseur "Barbara" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Illustrated Man [VHS] (VHS Tape)

Ray Bradbury + Rod Steiger, what could be better. This is one of my all-time favorite movies, a collection of Bradbury short fantasies. Wonderfully dramatized, all associated with this production are masters at getting it just right. The mood created is both eerie and fascinating. I highly recommend it, and join in urging production of the DVD.