The Illustrated Man

source: The Illustrated Man

Trailer—The Illustrated Man

The Illustrated Man

Based on Ray Bradbury's novel about a mysterious tattooed man(played gruffly by Rod Steiger) who meets up with a young wanderer(played by Robert Drivas) who recounts to him the circumstances that led him to be covered in tattoos, and how he is pursuing the mysterious(time-traveling?) woman who did it to him(played by Claire Bloom). The three tales adapted are: 'The Veldt' - Inconclusive and dull. 'The Long Rain' - The best of the three, but anticlimactic, & 'The Last Night Of The World' - Ineffective. Stories work better in the book, but were three of many; why those in particular were chosen is unknown, but film does not do it justice. Despite having a melancholy air, the results are unsatisfying.

The Illustrated Man is now on DVD - it's a reasonably okay transfer (the color is a little off, but not much), but as always people who "review" these things on the IMDb trumpet "misunderstood masterpiece" so often it's laughable. No, this film, which was a critical and box-office disaster, has not become a masterpiece in the intervening years - it's the same bad film it always was. Anyone who says (condescendingly, I might add) "It's for thinkers" clearly knows little about Mr. Bradbury, cinema, or thinking. The film has no sense of rhythm or pace, and it just sits there like a dead herring. Mr. Steiger is fine, so is Claire Bloom and Robert Drivas, but the script is bad, and the normally reliable Jack Smight seems hamstrung by the material.

Past-present-future collage adapted from Ray Bradbury's collection of stories centering on tattooed man's vendetta against the woman who covered his body with permanent artwork. Highly uneven and cold film, ultimately unsatisfying. Despite Rod Steiger's apparent lust for the ladies, there's an odd undercurrent of homo-eroticism running throughout (at one point, he grabs a young man and pulls him up off the ground, and it's a bit like a scene out of Steiger's "The Sergeant"). The picture isn't even well-made, with odd locations that don't help us to get our bearings and brackish cinematography. *1/2 from ****

The power of a movie is how well it sticks with you. This one I saw at a drive-in back in 1970, and though I only considered it average at the time, one scene stuck with me through the years. The setting in rural depression-era United States helps set the mood of the meeting of a young drifter and a hardened hobo. Recently I acquired a used VHS tape of it and watched it through, and I remember why it stuck with me so well and so long. Not always well done, but yet it has power. The character Carl, well portrayed by the acting of Rod Steiger, starts to tell stories, and they take the young Willie, portrayed by Robert Drivas, on a wild mental ride that changes both their lives. I recommend it highly, and hope one day it will be out on DVD.

I don't understand why this movie is rated so low. I think this a really great movie. It is strange, surprising, original and funny. It combines several genres and narratives. I like the main character, the silent and gruff illustrated man and the way he is filmed in the quiet surroundings of the lake and I like the futuristic design in some of the other scenes. I have always had weakness for these 'Canterbury tales'-like stories within a story and I especially like this film because the stories within he story are so diverse, while the movie does not become fragmented. The movie reminds me a bit of the 'books of blood' from Clive Barker, which consists of stories of 'ghosts', inscribed on the skin of a man ('written in blood'). If you like to be surprised, watch this movie!

OK, too wild..I was about 7 when I saw this movie in the UK. I have thought over the years it was just an odd dream I had but there it was, on t.v. late one night. Totally freaked me out. Steiger is a major under rated actor to this generation. (umm it was 30 years ago I first saw the movie. You do the math) No wonder I thought it was a dream...a veratiable kalidascope of images. the kids with the lion. That house. It is well worth watching if only to see why you shouldn't do drugs. The 60's LSD influence is very strong here i think. All these years I was fascinated by tattoos and now I know why. Its the sort of film you never forget but cant clearly recall. There's no telling what it did to my subconscious.

This is a set of chilling tales that come to life on the body of the title character. They are the vehicle. They express his pain and his despair. Once he is tattooed, he loses control of the effect of the stories. They are the stories. The one that has stayed with me the longest is the day after the end of the world tale, which has the saddest of conclusions. Some have even said this is a sick story. What would we do to prevent pain? What would we do to show our love? How could we go on with what we have done? These questions float over this episode. Ray Bradbury loves to take fantasy/scifi above the typical and integrate it with romance (not romantic love). He must have absorbed every ounce of his surroundings during his childhood. Here, Rod Steiger brings these tales to life and makes us think.