Review of The Illustrated Man (1969) by Andrew T — 16 May 2008

Having read the book (a series of short stories strung together by the premise of a man covered in tattoos - sorry, 'illustrations') I was looking forward to seeing this film, which takes just three of the short stories. I suppose it's unfair to judge a film like this based on modern standards, but it looks terrible, suffers from stiff performances from all but Rod Steiger, has no real 'vision' and ends up being boring (I'm sure its lack of budget didn't help). The character of the Illustrated Man in the book is a quiet, lonely, tragic, melancholic soul - the version in the film paints him as just a very angry man.

I didn't expect much, but really they could have done better than this. The book is a study of the human condition - this version rips out the book's soul and ends up being boring in the process.

There's a new version coming by Jack (300) Snyder, which I'm sure will visually be much better, but I'd be surprised if he gives it the subtlety it needs.