The Illustrated Man (1969)

(On Cable TV, October 2022) I certainly didn’t need to be told that The Illustrated Man is an anthology film of Ray Bradbury’s short story adaptations—that was my reason for watching the film. But despite my fondness for the source material (or, rather, the Science Fiction genre as was written at the time), I can’t say that I’m as taken by the film adaptation. Let’s face it: A few exceptions aside, the 1960s were not a terribly good decade for filmed Science Fiction. Few filmmakers took it seriously, and that issue is further compounded by the nature of Bradbury’s prose, equally simple and poetic. I have no trouble imagining that many of today’s filmmakers would be able to do it justice. But in 1969? Well, you don’t have to imagine that—you can just watch The Illustrated Man and measure the disappointment. A framing device has to do with Rod Steiger as a man covered head-to-toe by skin illustrations (“Don’t call them tattoos!” he snaps at one point) that lead us to three smaller segments, each adapted from a Bradbury story. But while the premise of each story is workable (although often simplistic, as was the short fiction of the time), the execution is a sometimes-laughable mixture of shoddy sets, hilariously outdated conception of the future, laborious explanation of basic concepts and actors who seem bewildered to be in speculative environments. Add to that the weight and lack of grace of director Jack Smight’s execution and the result becomes more interesting for graphically illustrating (ahem) the shortcomings of Science Fiction at the time. Steiger is the exception to the bewildered-actors criticism: he seems far too at ease, chomping in an oversized role with relish. A modern remake of The Illustrated Man would probably add two or three more stories in the same amount of time, and do a much better job at portraying Bradbury’s touch and intentions.