Sean Lamberger
PBS's first ever made-for-TV movie is an ambitious adaptation of a classic sci-fi novel by Ursula K. Le Guin. Set in the near future, it follows a young man whose dreams have the power to alter reality (usually with unintended side effects) and the disruptive machinations of his power-hungry therapist / hypnotist. The main plot device is interesting, with each dream leading to a sort of bite-sized Twilight Zone episode, and we're never sure how much the supporting cast recalls of their past reality. Watching for the more subtle changes and trying to outsmart the premise often makes for great fun. The production's age and budget cause numerous problems, though, with a lot of dry, flat acting and poor visual effects. Pacing issues also plague the first act, but once it gains a good head of steam, our wait is rewarded. A decent intellectual science fiction thriller, with some great ideas but an armload of unrealized potential.
Sebastian1966
Having first seen this film many years ago and reading the Ursula K. LeGuin novel only a few years ago, I can say the film is very faithful to it's source material. This is the kind of sci-fi they rarely do these days; no smart-ass cop stopping a CGI army of killer robots, or people shooting bullet-time weapons while running up walls! Those are glossed up, repetitive action movies. LATHE OF HEAVEN is science fiction. The story of one George Orr and his 'effective dreams'(dreams that alter the fabric of reality) is a metaphor for the genre itself; fantastical dreams (and horrific nightmares) becoming tangible and tactile. George is so afraid of the uncontrollable power of his dreams he resorts to drugs to sleep without dreaming. He later is assigned (as part of his rehabilitation) a therapist, Dr. Haber, who soon becomes convinced of Orr's incredible (and involuntary) power. This brings out Haber's innate desire for control; to 'make the world as it should be,' so to speak. Haber tries to steamroll over George's seemingly milquetoast personality to use him as his instrument of change. This is when George seeks the aid of a social worker (and future lover) Heather La Loche to give him strength in his compulsory dealings with Haber. They eventually see the 'real' world; stripped of all effective dreaming (a post-nuclear holocaust). This 'true' core of reality drives Haber insane. That's the bare skeleton of the story. There's so much more layering and social commentary woven throughout(everything from workman's comp to racism and nuclear war). And Bruce Davison is perfect as the passive/aggressive George Orr; almost born for the role(the original WILLARD himself!). For non-space opera/bullet-time sci-fi fans, this is right up there with SOLARIS (either version) or GATTACA (another underrated classic; a deft blend of BRAVE NEW WORLD and film noir). The only downside to this review (and no fault of the film itself) is the shaky quality of the DVD. As the DVD intro forewarns, it was mastered from the only decent tape left. This is a shame, but although this film has many haunting images (the plague sequence; the sea-turtle inspired, 'unnatural' aliens, etc.)it's the idea of dreams (for better or worse) becoming reality that matter most. The grainy, ghostly images are a little distracting at first, but soon overlooked. The story matters first and foremost. This should be a lesson to all the shlockbusters (and countless, needless sequels) that infest modern multiplexes; oh, I know--those film makers wipe their tears and blow their noses with $1000 bills, but they still make crap! And, almost not worth mentioning, there was a recent A&E remake(speaking of crap). It was an utter waste of time and whatever money it cost. Lukas Haas was a blank, boring slate as George Orr. Plot lines were seemingly dropped and added as if at random. As Ray Bradbury once said about a recently proposed FAHRENHEIT 451 remake; "Just film the book!" The original version more or less did that already! And as much as I loved James Caan in GODFATHER, he is wasted here as Haber. Just plain miscast. Stick with the PBS version and/or the book. A film of dreams for dreamers everywhere. Damn effective, too!
FloatingOpera7
Lathe Of Heaven..Starring Bruce Davison, Kevin Conway, Peyton Park, Niki Flacks, Vandi Clark, Bernadette Whitehead, Jo Livingston, Jane Roberts, Tom Watts...Director Fred Barzyk...1980 When, in 1980, award-winning sci-fi author Ursula K. Leguin's novel was released as a film, it was the first film broadcast on PBS, the greatest TV channel ever made. As a film, it is stunning, symbolic, allegorical, frightening in its intensity and beautiful in it theme of transience and eternal struggles of good and evil. George Orr, played Bruce Davison who talks and looks somewhat like Mark Hamill (Luke Skywalker), is a neurotic young man who undertakes involuntary therapy in the future, a world that has survived a great global destruction. His therapist (Kevin Conway) hypnotizes him and uses a machine to tap into his mind as he discovers that his dreams affect present reality. We discover also, that it has been his dreams that has altered human history since the Stone Age all the way to the Armaggedon, nuclear Holocaust that destroyed the world "before April." The therapist, although well-meaning in his quest to vanquish racism, disease, world hunger and all the major problems in the world, only ends up destroying more than he creates. The therapist/doctor has been labeled as the film's villain, which is not what Leguin herself intended. The therapist is good, as all people are innately good. We remember the line when he tells George Orr, "we are going to make the world right." But the elemental forces of nature cannot be controlled by neither God or man, and regardless of our noble intentions, there are dark consequences every time we try do to something to better ourselves. Life, all life, in the past, now and in the future, can only be composed of creative and destructive forces, good and evil, in a yin-yang balance that is eternal and necessary for existence. The interpretation I made the first time I viewed the film was this, although you may interpret any which way you'd like - the individual (George Orr), each of us, man or woman, is an instrument or sum of nature and we are as if part of a bigger dream or series of dreams that is our lifetime, the dreams ending completely when we die. In order to be truly happy, we must always do good, we must be ourselves and not sacrifice neither or individuality nor compassion and humanity- something the doctor seems to have done in a drunken pursuit of power. As for meaning in our life, yes, there is meaning, when we find a religion, belief, career, marriage, love, ANY relationship, and friendship and the meaning of every collective person makes up a beautiful dream, and the dream is over when we die. It was very obvious that the therapist doctor was a parody of religion, or God himself (He tells Orr when he abandons his clinic "You will be back! Without me there is no hope"something no person can do alone in his or her lifetime, and the patient is people altogether. The therapist/patient relationships becomes God/man relationship and the entire meaning of life. This is more profound than even the message in 2001: A Space Odyssey. This voyage into inner space, outer space and everywhere at once, is the most fascinating film ever made about science fiction and the mystery of the universe. I recommend everyone to see this film I urge teachers to read this book to college or high school level students. It's about nothing. It's about everything. It's about what is, what is not and what is to be. Like one of George Orr's dreams.
