The Illustrated Man (1969)

In 1930s, a psychotic drifter who's after the mystery woman who covered his whole body in illustrations that foresee distant future shows three of them (The Veldt, The Long Rain and The Last Night of the World) to a mesmerized traveler.

Director:

Jack Smight

Writers:

Ray Bradbury (book), Howard B. Kreitsek (screenplay)

Stars:

Rod Steiger, Claire Bloom, Robert Drivas

1 nomination.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Rod Steiger	...	Carl
Claire Bloom	...	Felicia
Robert Drivas	...	Willie
Don Dubbins	...	Pickard
Jason Evers	...	Simmons
Tim Weldon	...	John
Christine Matchett	...	Anna (as Christie Matchett)
Pogo	...	Peke

Storyline

The Illustrated Man is classic Bradbury, a collection of eighteen startling visions of humankind's destiny, unfolding across a canvas of decorated skin, visions as keen as the tattooist's needle and as colorful as the inks that indelibly stain the body. The images, ideas, sounds and scents that abound in this phantasmagoric sideshow are provocative and powerful: the mournful cries of celestial travelers cast out cruelly into a vast space of stars and blackness, the sight of gray dust settling over a forgotten outpost on a road that leads nowhere, the pungent odor of Jupiter on a returning father's clothing. Here living cities take their vengeance, technology awakens the most primal natural instincts, Martian invasions are foiled by the good life and the glad hand, and dreams are carried aloft in junkyard rockets.

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Plot Keywords:

venus the planet | full body tattoo | marooned | distant future | sci fi anthology | 

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Taglines:

Don't dare stare at the illustrated man.

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Genres:

Drama | Fantasy | Horror | Sci-Fi

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Certificate:

PG

Did You Know?

Trivia

Rod Serling, who used one of Ray Bradbury's stories (The Twilight Zone: I Sing the Body Electric (1962)), referred to this in an interview as one of the worst movies ever made.

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Goofs

When Carl first arrives at Felicia's house, Felicia is wearing a black robe with a 2 inch wide green satin trim on the sleeves. In the scene where she gives Carl a glass of lemonade and then holds his hand, it is plainly visible that the trim is completely torn along a seam. Felicia then walks into another room and starts unfolding something at a table. The same seam is visible again, but it's now intact and not torn.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Felicia: Each person who tries to see beyond his own time must face questions to which there cannot yet be proven answers.

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Crazy Credits

Wild animals affection-trained at Africa, U.S.A.

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Connections

Referenced in American Dad!: The Two Hundred (2016)

User Reviews

Flawed but interesting!

Even though both Rod Serling and Ray Bradbury hated this film I did not and I always appreciate thought provoking science fiction. Todays shallow and unimaginative audiences seem to hate a film that makes you think but thats what good sci-fi does. Rod Steiger has his usual commanding performance and he is a bit much at times. Hostile and violent, its hard to feel sympathy for him. Robert Drivas is very good and at times the film belongs to him but these are fleeting moments as its always impossible to upstage Steiger. Claire Bloom is enchanting but I never really bought into her "Siren" character. I did enjoy the 3 stories even though number three was a little weak. I like the fact that this film is trying to be different. Watching Drivas stare at the illustrations (Don't call them tattoo's!) and then having the film drift into the story that each design is about to tell him I found very interesting. Its not great narrative but I appreciate the effort to be original. Steiger and Bloom were married at the time and it was the last year of their ten year union. Could they're problems have spilled out on screen during they're scenes? Maybe. Not a great film and certainly it wasn't told in a great way but I do appreciate a film that is thought provoking. Something that todays science fiction films lack completely!

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

26 March 1969 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Illustrated Man

Company Credits

Production Co:

SKM

Technical Specs

Runtime:

103 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1