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Mt. Holz Science Fiction Society
Club Notice - 04/27/01 -- Vol. 19, No. 43
Chair/Librarian: Mark Leeper, 732-817-5619, mleeper@avaya.com
Factotum: Evelyn Leeper, 732-332-6218, eleeper@lucent.com
Distinguished Heinlein Apologist: Rob Mitchell, robmitchell@avaya.com
HO Chair Emeritus: John Jetzt, jetzt@avaya.com
HO Librarian Emeritus: Nick Sauer, njs@lucent.com
Back issues at http://www.geocities.com/evelynleeper
All material copyright by author unless otherwise noted.
The Science Fiction Association of Bergen County meets on the
second Saturday of every month in Upper Saddle River; call
201-447-3652 for details. The Denver Area Science Fiction
Association meets 7:30 PM on the third Saturday of every month at
Southwest State Bank, 1380 S. Federal Blvd.
===================================================================
1. Included at the end of this notice are this year's Hugo
nominations. [-ecl]
===================================================================
2. Back at the turn of the century (gee, that sounds a lot longer
ago than it really is), I compiled a list of what I thought were
the top ten films of the 20th century. That might as well be a
list of the top ten films of all time. Not these are not the films
I enjoy the most. 1I distinguish here between the films I like the
most and the films that I really consider the best. The film I
like the most of any I have seen is the science fiction film
QUATERMASS AND THE PIT called in the United States FIVE MILLION
YEARS TO EARTH. I really like that genre and I have to admit that
though I like that genre, its virtues are not necessarily the
virtues that make a film great. I am choosing the films that I
think were well crafted and perhaps have influenced the world.
These are films that I consider to be the most important.
Now as I look at the list, I realize that while I am trying to
avoid the escapism of science fiction, horror and fantasy, I have
replaced it with another kind of escapism. The films I tend to
admire almost with few exceptions take place in the past. They
recreate for the viewer an age that I did not live through. I find
it much harder to admire a film that is set in the present. I
really liked THE CONTENDER, but it is too easy to visit the world
of Washington politics. I don't need a film to create that world
for me. I can buy a plane ticket rather than a movie ticket.
Traveling to the past in a film is a form of escapism, I guess. If
I were to rule out historical films from my list, I would probably
start looking for films set in exotic locales. I must be
interested in films mostly to get away from my own time and place.
So for the next few issues I want to list in reverse order the ten
films that I consider the most important of the 20th century.
There are two fantasy films mixed in, but with what I think is good
reason. I will also put in an occasional honorable mention. It is
a small way to cheat and talk about films that I consider
outstanding but did not make the cut. The mathematician in me says
that ten is ten and not twelve or fourteen.
10. INHERIT THE WIND -- This is a somewhat biased story inspired by
and based on the Scopes "Monkey" Trial. It does a number of things
very well, though admittedly its account of that historic event is
has a number of major inaccuracies. But it is a film that is very
well constructed and beautifully photographed. And more
importantly it makes an important statement of what should be the
balance of science and religion. That statement becomes more and
more timely in a world that is becoming more involved in issues
involving religious fundamentalism.
9. KING KONG (1933) -- When this film hit the screen in 1933 really
nothing like it had been seen before. This was a giant leap in the
representation of fantastic images on the screen. The story itself
seems to be the weakest link but even there it touches on something
DEEP AND psychological that continues to make the film an affecting
one. KING KONG itself was a last ditch attempt to save RKO
Pictures and its success meant that we could get films like CITIZEN
KANE. All the great visual fantasy films particularly of the pre-
STAR-WARS era owe a great deal to KING KONG.
8. STAR WARS (1977) -- This is the other fantasy film on my top
ten. Much the same can be said about it as I said of KING KONG.
Again the story is the weak link though it also touches on some
deeply mythic themes. This is a film that affected all visual
fantasy films that followed it. It had many negative effects like
shifting the focus of popular filmmaking from the adult to the
teenage market. This is the film that brought the age of digital
graphics to visualization of images on movie screens and that has
revolutionized fantasy and historical filmmaking and many other
genres.
Honorable Mention: THE GREAT TRAIN ROBBERY (1903) -- Lists of the
great films of the past are almost always biased to include more
recent films. Silent films are almost always thought of as films
from "before the movies got good." I have now included on my list
two films that are on the list more for how they affected the film
industry as for whether they give an enjoyable experience today. I
would be remiss if I did not include a third, THE GREAT TRAIN
ROBBERY. In 1903 most dramatic films were basically just
illustrated tableaus from stage plays. THE GREAT TRAIN ROBBERY
introduced parallel plot lines in different locations, it has color
through tinted scenes, it has imaginative camera angles never tried
before--before 1903--and it has a genuinely exciting plot line.
Any list of great American films that does not even consider Edwin
S. Porter's THE GREAT TRAIN ROBBERY is, for want of a better term,
temporally provincial.
I will continue next week. [-mrl]
===================================================================
3. MEMENTO (a film review by Mark R. Leeper)
Capsule: This is a very dark film noir story
about a violent incident. The viewer sees what
built up to the incident in sequences in
reverse chronological order. We do not
remember the past and neither does the main
character who suffers from short-term memory
loss. The basic story is somewhat cliched and
not very interesting, but the gimmick turns it
on its ear and makes it a suspenseful mystery.
The trick might not work a second time, but
this once it creates a suspenseful puzzle.
Rating: 9 (0 to 10), +3 (-4 to +4).
T. H. White wrote in THE ONCE AND FUTURE KING that Merlin lived
backward in time. For him the future was an open book but the past
was a complete mystery. This is much how the viewer sees the film
MEMENTO. That is because, like the film BETRAYAL (1983), MEMENTO
is shown in sequences in reverse chronological order. The audience
knows how the story will end, but the mystery is to find out how
the characters got to the violent end of the film.
We do not know how we got to the first scenes of the story, but
neither does the film's main character. He is Leonard Shelby
(played by Guy Pearce of L.A. CONFIDENTIAL). Shelby knows he has
brain damage that results in amnesia. It has wiped out his short-
term memory. He remembers some things from his distant past, but
he does not know what happened yesterday. His only hint on how his
world got him to this place are the notes he writes for himself on
his hands, on his body, on slips of paper, and on the Polaroid
pictures he snaps.
Shelby traps and kills Teddy (Joe Pantoliano). Who's Teddy?
Shelby has left himself a picture of Teddy with a written warning
telling him not to believe Teddy's lies. Teddy must have done
something very bad to Shelby or someone Shelby knew. Teddy seems
to know Shelby fairly well, but there is something a little
unsavory in Teddy's manner. Natalie (Carrie-Anne Moss of THE
MATRIX) gave Shelby some information about Teddy. Who's Natalie?
Natalie was that woman who Shelby met in the diner and who gave
Shelby a packet of information about John G. Layer by layer the
film works itself backwards until we know who people are and how
they fit in.
Leonard does have some long-term memory. He knows that at some
time in the past he was an insurance investigator living a normal
life until an intruder in his home murdered his wife and attacked
him, leaving him with this amnesia. What has happened in the
intervening time he is not sure, but he has his collection of
Polaroid pictures with notes to remind him. He also has notes he
has written on his hands and tattoos with information he does not
want to ever forget. This is a very different type of mystery. We
know how it will turn out. The real question is who are all these
characters, what we usually learn early in a story. Shelby will
never know, but we have the edge remembering at least where the
story is going.
MEMENTO was written and directed by Christopher Nolan based on a
story written by his younger brother Jonathan. Jonathan had taken
psychology courses at Georgetown and had read of a case history of
a patient whose disorder was not unlike Shelby's.
If the story of MEMENTO were told in conventional order, it would
really not be a very interesting story, but Jonathan Nolan has
found an intriguing way to tell this story. The gimmick makes this
film unique and new, fresh to anyone no matter how many films they
see. Do not see this film when you are tired. Watching MEMENTO is
taxing mental exercise. Nobody goes out for popcorn in the middle
of MEMENTO. I rate it 9 on the 0 to 10 scale and a +3 on the -4 to
+4 scale.
Note: Much of what makes this film interesting is that it is about
a brain dysfunction, how it warps the victim's view of reality, and
how the victim copes and tries to live a normal life. That is
really a fascinating subject. Oliver Sacks, the man who wrote the
book AWAKENINGS that was the basis for the film of the same title,
also wrote a book called THE MAN WHO MISTOOK HIS WIFE FOR A HAT.
It is a collection of case histories of people with reality-bending
brain disorders and how they manage to work around them or let them
dominate their lives. If that sounds dry and clinical, ask
yourself if the (admittedly inaccurate) AWAKENINGS and MEMENTO were
dry and clinical. THE MAN WHO MISTOOK HIS WIFE FOR A HAT is
recommended reading. [-mrl]
===================================================================
4. Here are this year's Hugo nominations. There are two lists,
because the Worldcon is also awarding "Retro-Hugos" for works from
1950. The year 2000 nominations are listed first.
Novel:
A STORM OF SWORDS by George R.R. Martin (Voyager;
Bantam Spectra)
CALCULATING GOD by Robert J. Sawyer (Tor)
HARRY POTTER AND THE GOBLET OF FIRE by J.K. Rowling
(Bloomsbury; Scholastic/Levine)
MIDNIGHT ROBBER by Nalo Hopkinson (Warner Aspect)
THE SKY ROAD by Ken MacLeod (Orbit 1999; Tor 2000)
Novella:
"A Roll of the Dice" by Catherine Asaro (Analog Jul/Aug 2000)
"Oracle" by Greg Egan (Asimov's Jul 2000)
"Radiant Green Star" by Lucius Shepard (Asimov's Aug 2000)
"Seventy-Two Letters" by Ted Chiang (VANISHING ACTS:
A SCIENCE FICTION ANTHOLOGY, Tor Jul 2000)
"The Retrieval Artist" by Kristine Kathryn Rusch
(Analog Jun 2000)
"The Ultimate Earth" by Jack Williamson (Analog Dec 2000)
Novelette:
"Agape Among the Robots" by Allen Steele (Analog May 2000;
IMAGINATION FULLY DILATED, Vol. 2, IFD Publishing
May 2000)
"Generation Gap" by Stanley Schmidt (Artemis Spring 2000)
"Millennium Babies" by Kristine Kathryn Rusch
(Asimov's Jan 2000)
"On the Orion Line" by Stephen Baxter (Asimov's Oct/Nov 2000)
"Redchapel" by Mike Resnick (Asimov's Dec 2000)
Short Story:
"Different Kinds of Darkness" by David Langford (F&SF Jan 2000)
"Kaddish for the Last Survivor" by Michael A. Burstein
(Analog Nov 2000)
"Moon Dogs" by Michael Swanwick (Moon Dogs, NESFA Press
Feb 2000; Asimov's Mar 2000)
"The Elephants on Neptune" by Mike Resnick (Asimov's May 2000)
"The Gravity Mine" by Stephen Baxter (Asimov's Apr 2000)
Related Book:
CONCORDANCE TO CORDWAINER SMITH, THIRD EDITION
by Anthony R. Lewis (NESFA Press)
GREETINGS FROM EARTH: THE ART OF BOB EGGLETON by Bob Eggleton,
Nigel Suckling (Paper Tiger)
PUTTING IT TOGETHER: TURNING SOW'S EAR DRAFTS INTO SILK PURSE
STORIES by Mike Resnick (Wildside Press)
ROBERT A. HEINLEIN: A READER'S COMPANION by James Gifford
(Nitrosyncretic Press)
TERRY PRATCHETT: GUILTY OF LITERATURE ed. by Andrew M. Butler,
Edward James and Farah Mendlesohn (The Science Fiction
Foundation)
Dramatic Presentation:
CHICKEN RUN
CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON
FRANK HERBERT'S DUNE
FREQUENCY
X-MEN
Professional Editor:
Ellen Datlow
Gardner Dozois
David G. Hartwell
Stanley Schmidt
Gordon Van Gelder
Professional Artist:
Jim Burns
Bob Eggleton
Frank Kelly Freas
Donato Giancola
Michael Whelan
Semiprozine:
INTERZONE edited by David Pringle
LOCUS edited by Charles N. Brown
NEW YORK REVIEW OF SCIENCE FICTION edited by Kathryn Cramer,
David G. Hartwell, and Kevin Maroney
SCIENCE FICTION CHRONICLE edited by Andrew I. Porter
SPECULATIONS edited by Denise Lee and Susan Fry;
published by Kent Brewster
Fanzine:
CHALLENGER edited by Guy Lillian III
FILE 770 edited by Mike Glyer
MIMOSA edited by Nicki and Richard Lynch
PLOKTA edited by Alison Scott, Steve Davies and Mike Scott
STET edited by Dick Smith and Leah Zeldes Smith
Fan Writer:
Bob Devney
Mike Glyer
Dave Langford
Evelyn C. Leeper
Steven H Silver
Fan Artist:
Sheryl Birkhead
Brad Foster
Teddy Harvia
Sue Mason
Taral Wayne
the John W. Campbell Award:
James L. Cambias (1st year of eligibility)
Thomas Harlan (2nd year of eligibility)
Douglas Smith (2nd year of eligibility)
Kristine Smith (2nd year of eligibility)
Jo Walton (1st year of eligibility)
Nominees for the Retro Hugo Awards:
Novel:
THE DYING EARTH by Jack Vance (Hillman)
FARMER IN THE SKY by Robert A. Heinlein (Scribner's)
FIRST LENSMAN by Edward E. Smith, Ph.D. (Fantasy Press)
PEBBLE IN THE SKY by Isaac Asimov (Doubleday)
THE LION, THE WITCH AND THE WARDROBE by C.S. Lewis
(Geoffrey Bles)
Novella:
"...And Now You Don't" by Isaac Asimov (Astounding Science
Fiction Nov 1949 - Jan 1950)
"The Dreaming Jewels" by Theodore Sturgeon (Fantastic Adventures
Feb 1950)
"The Last Enemy" by H Beam Piper (Astounding Science Fiction
Aug 1950)
"The Man Who Sold the Moon" by Robert A. Heinlein
(THE MAN WHO SOLD THE MOON, Shasta Publishers)
"To the Stars" by L. Ron Hubbard (Astounding Science Fiction
Feb-Mar 1950)
Novelette:
"Dear Devil" by Eric Frank Russell (Other Worlds May 1950)
"Okie" by James Blish (Astounding Science Fiction Apr 1950)
"Scanners Live in Vain" by Cordwainer Smith (Fantasy Book 56)
"The Helping Hand" by Poul Anderson (Astounding Science Fiction
May 1950)
"The Little Black Bag" by C.M. Kornbluth (Astounding Science
Fiction Jul 1950)
Short Story:
"A Subway Named Mobius" by A.J. Deutsch (Astounding Science
Fiction Dec 1950)
"Born of Man and Woman" by Richard Matheson (F&SF Summer 1950)
"Coming Attraction" by Fritz Leiber (Galaxy Nov 50)
"The Gnurrs Come from the Voodvork Out" by Reginald Bretnor
(F&SF Winter-Spring 1950)
"To Serve Man" by Damon Knight (Galaxy Nov 1950)
Related Book:
Category has been dropped due to insufficient response
Dramatic Presentation:
CINDERELLA
DESTINATION MOON
HARVEY
RABBIT OF SEVILLE
ROCKETSHIP X-M
Professional Editor:
Anthony Boucher
John W. Campbell, Jr.
Groff Conklin
H. L. Gold
J. Francis McComas
Professional Artist:
Hannes Bok
Chesley Bonestell
Edd Cartier
Virgil Finlay
Frank Kelly Freas
Semiprozine:
Category was dropped due to insufficient response
Fanzine:
QUANDRY
SKYHOOK
SPACEWARP
SLANT
SCIENCE FICTION NEWSLETTER
THE FANSCIENT
Fan Writer:
Lee Hoffman
Bob Silverberg
Robert "Bob" Wilson Tucker
James White
Walt Willis
Fan Artist:
Jack Gaughan
Lee Hoffman
Ray Nelson
Bill Rotsler
James White
Mark Leeper
HO 1K-644 732-817-5619
mleeper@avaya.com
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