The Illustrated Man

1969

Action / Drama / Fantasy / Horror / Sci-Fi

9
Rotten Tomatoes Critics - Rotten 39% · 15 reviews
Rotten Tomatoes Audience - Spilled 39% · 500 ratings
IMDb Rating 5.8/10 10 3704 3.7K

future spacecraft virtual reality africa lion story teller

Plot summary

A man who has a body almost completely covered in tattoos is searching for the woman who cursed him with the "skin illustrations". Each tattoo reveals a bizarre story, which is experienced by staring at the scene depicted. When the illustrated man meets a fellow tramp on the road a strange voyage begins.

Director

Jack Smight Photo
Jack Smight

Top cast

Jason Evers Photo
Jason Evers as Simmons
Rod Steiger Photo
Rod Steiger as Carl
Claire Bloom Photo
Claire Bloom as Felicia
Robert Drivas Photo
Robert Drivas as Willie
720p.BluRay 1080p.BluRay
944.77 MB
1280*534
English 2.0
NR
Subtitles us  
23.976 fps
1 hr 42 min
Seeds 2
1.71 GB
1920*800
English 2.0
NR
Subtitles us  
23.976 fps
1 hr 42 min
Seeds 9

Movie Reviews

Reviewed by jamesrupert2014 6 / 10

Unsuccessful attempt to visualise Bradbury's fanciful stories

Rod Steiger is 'Carl', the titular character whose dermal illustrations come to life and tell three of Ray Bradbury's fanciful science-fiction short stories ('The Veldt', 'The Long Rain', 'The Last Night of the World'). Between the stories, Carl recounts to Willie, another drifter (Robert Drivas) how he came to be illustrated and why he wants to kill the artist (Claire Bloom). The vignettes (which also star Steiger and Bloom) are typical Bradbury: poetic fantasy with a thin veneer of science. The 'look' of the future in the first somewhat cryptic story is very dated and there isn't really much to the third story. The second tale, in which stranded astronauts try to survive on a planet of incessant, torrential rain is one of my favorites of Bradbury's short stories and (IMO) by far best of the three presented in this film. Bradbury is one of my favourite science fiction writers, but much of the appeal of his stories comes from his poetically descriptive and evocative style, which does not translate well to film ('The Martian Chronicles" (1980) being another example of a failed attempt to render his vision). The interludes with overbearing Carl bullying Willie, his captive audience, are not particularly interesting and Steiger especially is given to overacting. The cryptic backstory about the mysterious illustrator from the future goes nowhere, again reflecting the difficulty in translating Bradbury's fanciful prose to film, a more explicit medium.
Reviewed by Boba_Fett1138 6 / 10

Didn't hate it but didn't loved it either...fortunately it got better toward the end.

Perhaps I was just expecting too much a different movie. I simply expected a good old fashioned, straight-forward, science-fiction thriller and not a 'talking', art-house like movie with deeper meanings and metaphors to it all.What I simply did not liked about the movie was the fact that it explains far too little. It would had been nice if the focused more on the audience as well that didn't read the book by Ray Bradbury, which this movie got based on. Guess that everything in this movie makes sense to those that have read the entire novel but those who only have seen the movie are being left mostly in the dark. It's a very confusing movie, not just because of its strange and unique concept but also due to its very disjointed story-telling. Basically you have one main plot-line and then also some small stories in them as well, that get told in flashbacks. It just doesn't really make the movie feel as one whole and makes the whole narrative confusing to follow. Add to that the fact that this movie explains very little about what's going on and you have one confusing movie.But I just couldn't hate this movie either. I'll admit that I didn't liked the movie much at first but in its last few minutes some of the puzzle pieces fell to its place and I could appreciate the entire movie better for its style and approach.Yes, it's an unique movie for sure, that obviously isn't just for everybody. I was quite surprised that this was an American production, since normally these type of quirky and original movies come from Britain, around that time.It has a good visual approach to it all, which makes this movie somewhat of a science-fiction period piece, that at times is being set far in the future. It's visual style and atmosphere seem appropriate for the movie and the story that it tried to tell. Yes, you can definitely describe its visual style and approach as art-house like. But it's still really foremost its story and the way that it gets told which makes this movie definitely not an accessible one to just everyone. It's definitely a movie you have to read into deeper and think about, long after a scene has ended. There are numerous moments that you just have no idea what is going but do make some more sense a couple of minutes later, as the story progresses more.It doesn't make this movie a much pleasant or great one to watch, at least not for me. I didn't hate this movie and I don't mind these type of movies either but the entire way this movie got handled and told didn't wanted me to watch it again, anytime soon.6/10http://bobafett1138.blogspot.com/
Reviewed by Scarecrow-88 5 / 10

The Illustrated Man

Revered in some circles, displeased by others, this movie based on Ray Bradbury, will probably divide the audience. I have to admit I found the whole thing rather a chore because the character of Carl is immediately an asshole, a miser with "skin illustrations", from neck to toes, and if they are called tattoos he gets very angry. I envisioned Steiger was often on the verge of turning into the Incredible Hulk at any moment, the guy's Carl is so bursting at the seams with rage and seething with anger. He has a goal and that is to kill Claire Bloom's skin illustrator. Why you might ask Carl would wish to harm her? While looking to get laid, she desires of him to sit for her and receive the illustrations. What Carl doesn't realize before it is too late is that each illustration becomes alive to those who stare at them long enough. Three tales are brought to life, future events concerning characters played by the three principles, Rod Steiger, Claire Bloom, and Robert Drivas (who, for the most part, looks like a decent, well-tempered, effeminate young man undeserved of Carl's volcanic outbursts). Drivas plays Willie, a man traveling from New York City to California for a possible job in what looks like Depression Era America, in a midwestern type backwoods area with a lake. Drivas is "greeted" (if that is what you call it, more like rudely interrupted) by Carl who seems to be looking for coffee or food…maybe, just companionship, although he has a funny way of treating a fellow hitcher.While talking, Willie begins to envision future tales, one where a married couple, in a muted white home with all the comforts technology could provide, in an equally bland marriage, trying to cope with a rebellious son and daughter who may be planning their demise (their nursery has a holographic mechanism that allows the children to go to fictional places like Africa or the Middle Ages, with an authenticity all too real), the second about a small space crew whose ship has crashed in a place where it always rains and dead tree limbs sprout in all directions as they try to find a functioning "sun dome" that can offer shelter, comfort, and warmth (but Steiger's Colonel is such a brute, commanding them to move forward despite the difficulties harassing their every step, that it leads to perilous, dire consequences), and the third concerns a vision by the Earth's remaining 2000 people, that nothingness would occur after one more day, that they have decided to "put to sleep" their children in order to keep them from experiencing the horror that might result from this (trusting a dream about his nothingness, Steiger agrees with the consensus while Bloom questions such a horrible decision to kill the children despite a dream envisioned by all in attendance).The movie goes back and forth to Carl and Willie with the two addressing the power of Bloom's flesh artistry and what transpires as a result of one blank area of the tortured, tattooed illustrated man's back which can allow those who look a peek into the future proposing a possible fate. I found this movie experience wholly unpleasant, frustrating (the stories and characters just left me cold), and rather ultimately unsatisfying, because Carl (and the characters he portrays) is such a blistering cipher, with a mood and attitude so foul he's impossible to sympathize with, even though his reason for being so angry comes from Bloom's art on his body. That said, the film is photographed well and has bright spots from a technical standpoint. Certain to be a fan favorite for tattooists and those with an interest in body artistry.
Read more IMDb reviews

1 Comments

Be the first to leave a comment