Harlan Ellison's Watching

Read Harlan Ellison's Watching Storyline:

From Library JournalPopular author, screen- and teleplay writer, and all-around bete noir , Ellison collects his 25-years' output of writing on film, from a 1951 high school piece to 1989 columns for Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction. Ellison was never a reviewer, even when he was hired to be one, for the 1960s' Los Angeles Cinema magazine, so one doesn't get the critical analysis of a Kael, Canby, or Kauffmann. What one does get is Ellison, the world's youngest curmudgeon, entertainingly sounding off, sometimes on idiosyncratic tangents, on his likes and dislikes. A long introductory essay amusingly tells us how he got to be the way he is. This is an enjoyable, irascible collection, (surprisingly) fully indexed, and a welcome companion to Ellison's 1970 collected TV musings, The Glass Teat .- David Bartholomew, NYPLCopyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc. ReviewCollected herein are roughly twenty-five years worth of film essays from Ellison, renowned author of a dazzling variety of stories, scripts, and articles (as well as the "noted futurist" featured in recent Chevrolet commercials). The majority of the pieces are drawn from the last few years' issues of The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, but earlier compositions from such diverse publications as Cinema, The Los Angeles Free Press, The Staff, and Starlog are included as well. Ellison is a man of strong opinions, and part of his magnetism lies in his refusal to dilute his declarations to mollify readers. Those unfamiliar with Ellison's style may be taken aback by the unfiltered fallout of his rants and raves. The following unmitigated burst regards a convention at which the author spoke: "...In the neighborhood of ten thousand people attended this combined Star Trek/space science/rV addict media melange: a hyperventilated whacko-freako-devo two-day blast that served as cheap thrill fix for a tidal wave of incipient jelly-brains who would rather sit in front of the tube having their mind turned to puree-of-bat-guano than ... deal with the Real World in any lovely way." Ignore for the moment that the preceding seems to have little to do with cinema per se (Ellison's digressions are many and lengthy, but they logically and invariably wind their way back to the core subject matter); disregard the fact that the author seems to be attacking some of his own fans; focus instead on Ellison's raw assertions, and you'll get an idea of what this book holds in store. Not one to limit his vendetta to passive audiences, Ellison takes no prisoners when dealing with the films' creators: Throughout this collection, he points out the endless ego wars and unceasing one-upmanship that transpire behind Hollywood studio doors. Many fascinating anecdotes, some anonymous, some replete with casually-dropped celebrity names, can be found here. This volume can be taken as a collection of views to be read linearly or as a reference work to be pulled from the shelf for occasional perusals. Either way, it's an entertaining and infonnative piece of work that amply displays Ellison's talents. If the English language is an instrument, Ellison is a virtuoso player. -- From Independent Publisher