jazzbo Posted December 29, 2003 Report Posted December 29, 2003 Well, Saturday I went to see Paycheck, an update of the 1953 short story by Philip K. Dick for the 2003 movie scene. . . . Overall I think they did a very nice job revamping the story and bringing it to the screen. The police state aspect of the story was definitely dowplayed and rather than a private corporation being a force for good, the corporation was made over into a villain. . . . I predicted just this story change to a friend of mine on the way to the movie! Afleck did a decent job, as did Uma Thurman. Ben's training for Daredevil and Uma's for Kill Bill paid off for them; they did the action scenes quite well. Not a fantastic film, but for fans of PKD a nice cinematic interpretation along the lines of Minority Report. Quote
GA Russell Posted December 29, 2003 Report Posted December 29, 2003 Lon, I've never read any PKD. Is there a collection you can recommend? Is the story the film is based on also called Paycheck? Quote
jazzbo Posted December 29, 2003 Author Report Posted December 29, 2003 Wow, that's a harder question to answer than I thought it would be. I bought almost my entire PKD library thirtyfive to fifteen years ago, and added only those that have come out since then. There is a great old paperback collection of his stories on DelRey called "The Best of Philip K. Dick" but it is long out of print. There are five volumes of his Collected stories available, two of which have been reissued to feature "Minority Report" and "Paycheck" in their titles. They are great collections, chronologically presented. . . . That said it is Dick the novelist rather than the short story writer that I am fascinated with. Both his science fiction and mainstream novels I find immensely satisfying more often than not. I'll recommend a few that I think may serve as good introductions to his craft: Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep. This novel is deeper and more multifaceted in its ways than Blade Runner the movie . . . . The Mercer religion as a subplot just floors me. Confessions of a Crap Artist. The fifties California experience from the dark comedic side. . . . Mainstream novel, only it sure wasn't mainstream at the time of its writing. . .. The Man in the High Castle. A specualtive fiction work in which the Axis powers won WWII, and Germany and Japan split the rule of the USA. . . The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch. This is a far out freak fest on one level, a really poignant story of lost love that can never be regained on another, a fascinating work! The Zap Gun. The first of his work that I read. . . . A great book about international politics and the military industrial complex. PKD's worlds and characters hit me hard in a way that hardly any other authors' have. I can't view his work without bias. I hope you check a book of his out and enjoy the read! Quote
GA Russell Posted December 29, 2003 Report Posted December 29, 2003 Thanks Lon! I'm in the short story mode now, so I'll start with one of those collections. Quote
7/4 Posted December 29, 2003 Report Posted December 29, 2003 (edited) Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep. This novel is deeper and more multifaceted in its ways than Blade Runner the movie . . . . The Mercer religion as a subplot just floors me. There were aspects of Mercerism really really made me laugh too. Too bad the left Mercerism out of the movie. Edited December 29, 2003 by 7/4 Quote
Harold_Z Posted December 30, 2003 Report Posted December 30, 2003 I recently started digging up my PKD paperbacks after another thread Lon started got me interested in rereading PKD. I have all the novels Lon mentions (with the exception of Confessions of a Crap Artist) so I have some good reading matter at hand that I'll be getting into. I picked up "The Phillip K. Dick Reader" (Citadel press) a couple of weeks ago at Borders and just finished it last week. It was really enjoyable and included at least 4 titles that have been made into films. MINORITY REPORT, WE CAN REMEMBER IT FOR YOU WHOLESALE (Total Recall), SECOND VARIETY (Screamers) and PAYCHECK. Quote
BruceH Posted December 30, 2003 Report Posted December 30, 2003 To jazzbo's recommendations I would add only Martian Time Slip, Ubik, and Flow My Tears the Policeman Said. That collection from the 70s, The Best of Philip K. Dick was a milestone for me. That entire "Best of--" series (Ballantine/Del Rey, I believe) was great, they should all be kept in print in perpetuity IMHO, but then, I'm a nerd. Quote
jazzbo Posted December 30, 2003 Author Report Posted December 30, 2003 Bruce, you're right: those three novels certainly deserve to be mentioned as among his best and are favorites too; I just didn't want to provide an overwhelmingly long list! I would have added Dr. Bloodmoney and Clans of the Alphane Moon and We Can Build You as well. . .there are so many good ones! I guess no one has seen the movie! Quote
Jazzmoose Posted December 30, 2003 Report Posted December 30, 2003 What?? Add A Scanner Darkly, or I'll never speak to any of you for five minutes! (I have trouble holding grudges; sorry...) Wasn't the abyssmal The Running Man based on a Dick story? I can't remember which, so I'm not sure. But I gotta tell you, if someone had told me years ago when I was first reading his stuff that they'd be making movies of his works, I'd have laughed in your obviously insane face... Quote
jazzbo Posted December 30, 2003 Author Report Posted December 30, 2003 A Scanner Darkly is a fascinating book, and a masterwork, definitely, it should be added. PLEASE don't shun me Moose! No, if I'm correct "The Running Man" was from a Steven King novel that was strongly PKD-like. Quote
jazzbo Posted December 30, 2003 Author Report Posted December 30, 2003 Yeah, I just checked and yes it's by Steven King as Richard Bachman. Quote
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