The Man in the High Castle on Amazon Prime
- Thread starter xxmagex
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Just took it. It's so rare to have positive things to say about mainstream Alternate History, feels kind of weird.
One other minor point that bugs me, though...
The film of The Grasshopper Lies Heavy. It's full of footage of the war as it turned out in our time. But how can some underground propagandist manage to film something like that? Where would he get the resources? How could he stage the war scenes? Find incredible stand-ins for Churchill and Roosevelt at the right age? We can do most of that now with CGI...but this is an alternate 1962.
I get why Spotnitz went with a film reel instead of a book for a visual medium adaptation. But it's a less realistic moment for a Samizdat operation.
All that notwithstanding, this is as fine an alt-history production as I have ever seen.
The film of The Grasshopper Lies Heavy. It's full of footage of the war as it turned out in our time. But how can some underground propagandist manage to film something like that? Where would he get the resources? How could he stage the war scenes? Find incredible stand-ins for Churchill and Roosevelt at the right age? We can do most of that now with CGI...but this is an alternate 1962.
I get why Spotnitz went with a film reel instead of a book for a visual medium adaptation. But it's a less realistic moment for a Samizdat operation.
All that notwithstanding, this is as fine an alt-history production as I have ever seen.
The implication is that the Man in the High Castle has access to OTL, which is why the film reels are so damn important.
I wondered a little if that was the case, but that would be a rather major departure from the book. An ASB one at that.
Nice little shout-out to a previous Philip K Dick adaptation by Ridley Scott at the cafe scene at the end there, by the way.
Sure, but in the book, The Grasshopper Lies Heavy (which takes the form of a book), the world depicted is not our timeline, but another one in which the Allies happen to win.
Given what Dick seems to be saying about the nature of reality, it will be interesting to see how Spotnitz work that in (if he does) in the teleplay for the rest of it. Heady stuff to put on a screen.
I took the survey, and I haven't even seen it
just positively review any alternate history adaptation, just so they make more
surely the southern victory series would make a great tv series/film series?
Pretty impressive. I found the design and presentation for the Japanese zone excellent, far better and more interesting that the Nazi zone, but then Dick's novel did the same. To be Frank (no pun intended) I found the Nazi-style uniforms and swastikas everywhere in the East a bit heavy handed.
But I'm certainly looking forward to this.
But I'm certainly looking forward to this.
It was pretty cool, very chilling at times (Like when ash starts falling and the Sheriff says that it's the local hospital burning the crippled and terminally ill. They do it EVERY Wednesday, don't you know).
I hope they keep it around.
I hope they keep it around.
ok..OK..OK OK OK...I *Finally* found a stream good quality version online.
OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG YES YES YES YES YES!!! WOW WOW WOW WOW WOW!!!! MORE MORE MOAR MOAR MOAR...!!!!
Also: MIND FUCKING BLOWN!!!!! WHOAAAAAHHHH!!! Please if you havent already go to the Amazon surbvery and rate it!!! HOLY SMOKES!! SO GOOD!
OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG YES YES YES YES YES!!! WOW WOW WOW WOW WOW!!!! MORE MORE MOAR MOAR MOAR...!!!!
Also: MIND FUCKING BLOWN!!!!! WHOAAAAAHHHH!!! Please if you havent already go to the Amazon surbvery and rate it!!! HOLY SMOKES!! SO GOOD!
Loved it. It's been some years since I read Man In The High Castle, but it seemed faithful enough to not offend my adaptation sensibilities. The big strength I think the series has is the worldbuilding, which is good considering the genre. Especially the not-quite-so-bright portrayal of the Rocky Mountain Neutral Zone. Also good was the "life goes on" portrayal of life for non-resistance members. I can believe that postwar America is a place where people could conceivably live if they meet the conditions to not be exterminated.
I was concerned about them throwing out The Grasshopper Lies Heavy a bit too early, but it's so devoid of additional detail and connection to the rest of the story that I think it would work better for someone who hasn't read the book. Also though, one perspective I had while watching it that I haven't seen yet is that the film reel plays different scenes from OTL/Grasshoper Lies Heavy every time it is ran, hence why she plays it ten times in a row.
I also don't think the film reel is showing OTL, anything in it would work for Grasshopper Lies Heavy.
The intrigue is good, as is necessary for a plot about an underground.
I was a bit concerned about some of the obvious CGI in New York, but that faded out as the episode went on.
All in all, 4/5.
I was concerned about them throwing out The Grasshopper Lies Heavy a bit too early, but it's so devoid of additional detail and connection to the rest of the story that I think it would work better for someone who hasn't read the book. Also though, one perspective I had while watching it that I haven't seen yet is that the film reel plays different scenes from OTL/Grasshoper Lies Heavy every time it is ran, hence why she plays it ten times in a row.
I also don't think the film reel is showing OTL, anything in it would work for Grasshopper Lies Heavy.
The intrigue is good, as is necessary for a plot about an underground.
I was a bit concerned about some of the obvious CGI in New York, but that faded out as the episode went on.
All in all, 4/5.
Goldstein
Banned
I've watched the pilot. Let's say I'm a little bit more than excited here.
Finally. Finally an audiovisual AH work that does its own worldbuilding homework. I though it would always be either utter bullcrap or excessively over-the-top videogame premises... or both.
Look, everone else: that's how it's done.
Finally. Finally an audiovisual AH work that does its own worldbuilding homework. I though it would always be either utter bullcrap or excessively over-the-top videogame premises... or both.
Look, everone else: that's how it's done.
The reel did show FDR meeting with Churchill and Stalin (Yalta or Tehran, I am guessing), and that is not the world of the book's Grasshopper. In the book's Grasshopper ATL, FDR does not run for office again in 1940, and is succeeded by Rexford Tugwell.