Lathe of Heaven (TV 2002)Director:Philip Haas |
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Lathe of Heaven (TV 2002)Director:Philip Haas |
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| Watch Trailer 0Share... |
| Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
| James Caan | ... |
Dr. William Haber
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| Lukas Haas | ... | ||
| Lisa Bonet | ... |
Heather Lelache
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| David Strathairn | ... |
Mannie
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| Sheila McCarthy | ... |
Penny
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| Serge Houde | ... |
Judge
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Suzanne Desautels | ... |
Lelache's Secretary
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Belinda Hum | ... |
Mrs. Nakumisi
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Tetsuro Shigematsu | ... |
Mr. Nakumisi
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| Jonathan Higgins | ... |
Medic
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Danny Blanco Hall | ... |
Security Officer
(as Danny Blanco-Hall)
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| Conrad Pla | ... |
Search Man #1
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Daniel Do | ... |
Waker /
Host
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Daniel Pilon | ... |
President Murtle
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| Steve Adams | ... |
Game Show Host
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Having read LeGuinn's book and seen PBS's excellent rendering of her story this new version is a crashing disappointment. The first problem is that there is so little left of the story that much of its impact is missing. In spite of being light on effects and budget the earlier PBS production makes much better use of its resources to communicate LeGuinn's apocalyptic drama to the viewer.
What happened to the space aliens? They seem to be replaced by David Straithorn's character who occasionally pops into scenes with sage verbiage. Unfortunately, so much has been stripped that there is no tissue left to connect him to what little plot remains after the producers and directors finished their hatchet job on content and context. Who knows why they did that?
What's left is a nothingness rivaled only by Jor-Jor's apocalyptic reality. In order to understand what's going on here, one might want to read the book, or view PBS's 1980's telling of the story. Please don't waste your time with this turkey, especially since the PBS version is available on DVD.