For fans of Harlan Ellison, the angry, provocative science-fiction writer and essayist, this tightly constructed documentary by Erik Nelson is a nasty little dream come true. Along the way to writing more than seventy-five books, Ellison, who’s hugely protective of his work (while attempting to defend it, he mailed a dead gopher to his publishing house and broke the pelvis of a television executive), has been a litigious crusader, fighting for writers’ rights everywhere. A hero-worshipping portrait that’s as much about Ellison’s present as his past, the film features his cantankerous, blustery outbursts on everything from book signings to politics, as well as choice excerpts from past interviews. With testimonials from such science-fiction gurus as Neil Gaiman and Ron Moore and scenes of Ellison reading aloud from his stories, the film is like a trip to a great “Fantastic Planet”-like bookstore.
The Film File
Dreams with Sharp Teeth
(director: Erik Nelson; 2008)
by Bruce Diones June 9, 2008
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- Nelson, Erik;
- “Dreams with Sharp Teeth”
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