The Lathe of Heaven (1980) (TV)

Directors:

Fred Barzyk
David R. Loxton

Writers:

Diane English (writer)
Ursula K. Le Guin (novel)

Release Date:

9 January 1980 (USA)

Genre:

Sci-Fi

Plot:

George Orr, a man whose dreams can change waking reality, tries to suppress this unpredictable gift with drugs...

Plot Keywords:

Dream | Psychiatrist | Utopia Quest | Dream Comes True | Alien Invasion

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Bruce Davison	...	George Orr
Peyton E. Park	...	Mannie Ahrens (as Peyton Park)
Niki Flacks	...	Penny Crouch
Kevin Conway	...	Dr. William Haber
Vandi Clark	...	Aunt Ethel
Bernadette Whitehead	...	George's Mother
Jo Livingston	...	George's Father
Jane Roberts	...	Grandmother
Tom Matts	...	Grandfather
Frank Miller	...	Parole Officer
Joye Nash	...	Woman on Subway
Gena Sleete	...	Woman on Subway
Margaret Avery	...	Heather LeLache
Ben McKinley III	...	Orderlie
R.A. Mihailoff	...	Orderlie

Runtime:

105 min

Country:

USA | West Germany

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Filming Locations:

Agate Beach, Oregon, USA

Company:

Taurus Film

Trivia:

Dallas was chosen as the backdrop for the movie's futuristic setting because its many mirrored buildings and unusual architecture made it look futuristic. Dallas City Hall, Reunion Arena, DFW Airport and neighboring Fort Worth's Water Garden were the locations where many of the scenes were filmed. Dallas was also used in another futuristic movie-Logan's Run.

Quotes:

Dr. Haber: You know what they say, neurotics build castles in the sky, psychotics live in them.
Heather: Psychiatrists collect the rent.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Unearthly (#4.20)" (1991)

A Science Fiction Classic reclaimed from the vaults.

Last night I got a chance to see one of my favorite SF movies, and it only took 20 years.

Back in 1978, I was working at a mom-and-pop bookstore in Dallas called Taylors. One day one of the customers bought a book by Ursula K. LeGuin: "The Lathe of Heaven". I told her that she was one of my favorite authors, and that I loved the book. She said that she was involved in the production of a film of the book that was to be done locally.

Early in 1980 it was aired. Bruce Davison (recently the Senator in "X-men") played the protagonist, George Orr. And various Metroplex locations stood in for Portland in the near-future year of 2002. City Hall (later the OCP HQ in "Robocop"), Reunion Arena and the Water Gardens in FW (previously used in "Logan's Run").

George Orr has a problem: dreams. He doesn't want to have any. He takes drugs to try and thwart his unconscious so that he can sleep but not dream. Because if he does dream a special kind of dream, an "effective" dream, it changes reality "all the way back to the Stone Age".

Dr. William Haber is an oneirologist: a dream specialist. He doesn't believe George's story, of course. He thinks that George is sick, not cursed. He eventually comes around to the realization that George is right. A power struggle ensues to decide who will be in charge of deciding who gets to make the decisions of how to use this power.

The story touches on race relations, psychology, Taoism and more. And all on a miniscule budget of 250K.

An added bonus was the addition of interviews with Bruce Davison and Ms. LeGuin, the latter with Bill Moyers. She rarely does interviews, and it was wonderful hearing her add little behind-the-scenes details and commenting on the story and film. Since my understanding of Taoism is limited to readings of "The Tao of Pooh", I didn't realize the use of Taoism until I heard UKL mention it.

If I had had 90 bucks to blow on a KERA membership, I could have gotten the video from them. In fact, the on-air weasel said that the tape was "only available through public TV". If you check amazon.com, as I did last night, you will find that this is a bald-faced lie: TLoH will be released on VHS and DVD later this month, with the interviews and all.

The only thing that burned my butt about the film that I saw last night was the one change they made. Originally, they used Ringo Starr's version of the Beatles tune "A Little Help from My Friends". The new version has a different cover version. One of the reviews on amazon.com stated that this was because it would cost too much to get the rights from Michael Jackson, who now owns the entire Beatle catalog. This doesn't work. IMHO, MJ would get money no matter who did it.

Uncle Steve says check it out.