The few bizarre stories of Phil's life that are provided in this film, and the goofy animated sequences also included ... don't effectively sell the author to the public.
The Gospel According to Philip K. Dick (2001)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:14
Fresh:3
Rotten:11
Average Rating:4/10
Theatrical Release:Mar 2, 2001 Limited
Synopsis: This full-length exploration into the world of controversial science-fiction author Philip K. Dick is the first of its kind. A revolutionary in the field of literary science-fiction, Dick's works... This full-length exploration into the world of controversial science-fiction author Philip K. Dick is the first of its kind. A revolutionary in the field of literary science-fiction, Dick's works inspired such film classics as BLADE RUNNER, TOTAL RECALL and SCREAMERS. But the last decade of his life was far more diverse and stranger than any of his written works. Featuring interviews with several Dick experts, including science-fiction novelists Robert Anton Wilson, D. Scott Apel, and Ray Nelson, as well as personal friends Miriam Lloyd and Paul Williams (who wrote the 1975 profile in Rolling Stone that brought Dick more mainstream attention), these individuals paint a more accurate picture of the man who began to unravel as a series of traumatic events disrupted his final years. Most notably, events discussed include the tragic 1971 theft of the writings locked away in Dick's safe, as well as his first experience seeing God (what Dick commonly referred to as "the pink beam of light"). Director Mark Steensland's documentary doesn't provide biographical information about the legendary author; instead, it aims to mythologize Dick by showing him to be the brilliant, charged thinker that he was. [More]
Starring: Philip K. Dick, Robert Anton Wilson, D. Scott Apel, Miriam Lloyd
Starring: Philip K. Dick, Robert Anton Wilson, D. Scott Apel, Miriam Lloyd, Paul Williams, Ray Nelson, Jay Kinney
Director: Mark Steensland
Director: Mark Steensland
Producer: Mark Steensland, Andy Massagli
Composer: Kevin Keller
Studio: First Run Features
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Reviews for The Gospel According to Philip K. Dick
There's a gaping hole at the film's center. And, at a brief 80 minutes, it still feels padded
Dick's unconventional life and career and his often brilliant work deserve better treatment and more comprehensiveness than they receive here.
Spliced in are some really cheap animation segments and monotonous techno analog music, along with, alas, only the merest flashes of Dick's self-deprecating wit.
Anyone with less than an encyclopedic knowledge of Dick's work will leave this film clueless as to what the Gospel According to Philip K. Dick might actually be.
The documentary doesn't get near the prowess of its subject; it passes through your life like a minor daydream.
Tells a lot more than it shows about its subject, looking more like an infomercial for Dick's legend than a true window into his art and influence.
By focusing on them almost to the exclusion of anything that came before, this documentary limits its audience to diehard fans.
Dallies too briefly with Dick's writing, and too expansively with speculations about what Dick may or may not have experienced in February and March of 1974.
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