@@@@@ @ @ @@@@@ @ @ @@@@@@@ @ @ @@@@@ @@@@@ @@@ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @@@@@ @@@@ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @@@@@ @ @ @ @ @@@@@ @@@@@ @@@ Mt. Holz Science Fiction Society Club Notice - 06/11/93 -- Vol. 11, No. 50 MEETINGS UPCOMING: Unless otherwise stated, all meetings are in Holmdel 4N-509 Wednesdays at noon. _D_A_T_E _T_O_P_I_C 06/23 CHINA MOUNTAIN ZHANG by Maureen McHugh (Non-European Futures) 07/14 SIGHT OF PROTEUS by Charles Sheffield (Human Metamorphosis) 08/04 Hugo Short Story Nominees 08/25 CONSIDER PHLEBAS by Iain Banks (Space Opera with a Knife Twist) 09/15 WORLD AT THE END OF TIME by Frederik Pohl (Modern Stapledonian Fiction) Outside events: 07/31 Deadline for Hugo Ballots to be postmarked The Science Fiction Association of Bergen County meets on the second Saturday of every month in Upper Saddle River; call 201-933-2724 for details. The New Jersey Science Fiction Society meets on the third Saturday of every month in Belleville; call 201-432-5965 for details. HO Chair: John Jetzt HO 1E-525 908-834-1563 holly!jetzt LZ Chair: Rob Mitchell HO 1C-523 908-834-1267 holly!jrrt MT Chair: Mark Leeper MT 3D-441 908-957-5619 mtgzfs3!leeper HO Librarian: Nick Sauer HO 4F-427 908-949-7076 homxc!11366ns LZ Librarian: Lance Larsen LZ 3L-312 908-576-3346 quartet!lfl MT Librarian: Mark Leeper MT 3D-441 908-957-5619 mtgzfs3!leeper Factotum: Evelyn Leeper MT 1F-329 908-957-2070 mtgpfs1!ecl All material copyright by author unless otherwise noted. 1. There are two good books on film that are handy quick references. One is by Leonard Maltin; one is by Steven Scheuer. Each rates films on a scale of one to four stars. My ratings don't correlate perfectly with theirs, but we are close. I am not certain, but I think our next film festival will be our first 16- star film festival. Both films get the highest possible rating from both critics. On June 10 at 7 PM (*SHARP!*), we will show: THE MT VOID Page 2 Peter O'Toole Henry II Films BECKET (1964) dir. by Peter Glenville THE LION IN WINTER (1968) dir. by Anthony Harvey _B_e_c_k_e_t is the retelling of Henry's relationship with Thomas a Becket (Richard Burton), once a close friend, whom he installed as the Archbishop of Canterbury, an action he later grew to regret. _T_h_e _L_i_o_n _i_n _W_i_n_t_e_r by James Goldman, based on Goldman's own play, tells the story of the fierce battles between Henry and his wife, Eleanor of Aquitaine (played by Katharine Hepburn), with the fate of England in the balance. Superbly scripted, acted, and scored, many people I know consider this one of their favorite films. Also starring are Anthony Hopkins, Nigel Terry (who played Arthur in _E_x_c_a_l_i_b_u_r), and Timothy Dalton (who is the latest James Bond). Please be ON TIME. This is 4 hours and 43 minutes of great cinema. 2. It has been announced that _B_a_b_y_l_o_n _5 will indeed be a television series starting January, 1994. It certainly looked like it could make intelligent television science fiction and the visuals were just stunning. I look forward to the series. 3. ClariNet Communications is offering for sale _H_u_g_o _a_n_d _N_e_b_u_l_a _A_n_t_h_o_l_o_g_y _1_9_9_3, a CD-ROM containing all the Hugo-nominated fiction, all the Nebula-nominated short fiction, the Hugo-nominated artworks and portfolios of the Hugo-nominated artists, samples of Hugo- nominated fan writing, fanzines, and fan art, author photos and bibliographies, audio selections of author readings, hypertext edition of _A _F_i_r_e _U_p_o_n _t_h_e _D_e_e_p with Vinge's own annotations, science fiction databases, and more. It requires MS-Windows and costs $29.95. Contact ClariNet regarding Mac and DOS availability, and availability via floppy disks, networks, or modems. ClariNet can be reached at info-sf@clarinet.com: 408-296-0366: FAX 408-296- 1668: P. O. Box 1479, Cupertino CA 95015; MODEM 408-296-3733 LOGIN: sf. [Included on this CD are my Boskone 29 convention report and my book review of Kim Stanley Robinson's _R_e_m_a_k_i_n_g _H_i_s_t_o_r_y. It is unclear at this time what, if any, payment I will be getting, but just so this is not construed as a commercial announcement, I want to say that my royalties will be donated to the George Alex Effinger Medical Fund. -ecl] Mark Leeper MT 3D-441 908-957-5619 ...mtgzfs3!leeper It is impossible to imagine the universe run by a wise, just and omnipotent God, but it is quite easy to imagine it run by a board of gods. If such a board actually exists it operates precisely like the board of a corporation that is losing money. -- H. L. Mencken Five-Minute Retrospective of SF by Connie Willis (presented at the 1993 Nebula Awards banquet) "You see, I had this space suit." "I took nothing with me, not even a coat." "And _f_i_v_e! And _f_o_u_r! And _t_h_r_e_e! And _t_w_o! And--" Castor's chant was blanked out by the blazing "white noise" of the jet... "Gosh," I said. "What I wouldn't give to go with them? What wouldn't I give?" Dominic Flandry Gulliver Foyle Lazarus Long Rick Deckard Willy McGilly Paul Muad'Dib John Grimes Susan Calvin Teela Brown Roger Torraway Nicholas van Rijn Harrison Bergeron Valentine Michael Smith And you--with your aftershave lotion and your little red car, pushing papers across a desk all day and chasing tail all night-- tell me, just how the hell do you think you would look to Tiglath- Pileser, say, or Attila the Hun? "_I _k_n_o_w where _I came from--but _w_h_e_r_e _d_i_d _a_l_l _y_o_u _z_o_m_b_i_e_s _c_o_m_e _f_r_o_m?" First Law: A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm. Ralph 124C41+ Radius Robbie Rachael Helen O'Loy St. Aquin Sigfrid von Shrink HAL He doesn't know which one of us I am these days... Dr. Strauss says I shud rite down what I think and evrey thing that happins to me from now on. 5-Min Retrospective of SF April 18, 1993 Page 2 _I _d_i_d_n'_t _d_o _a_n_y_t_h_i_n_g _t_o _d_i_e _f_o_r -- _I _d_i_d_n'_t _d_o _a_n_y_t_h_i_n_g-- "Who Goes There?" the People the Underground the Overlords the Kwisatz Haderach the Lensman the Gray Mouser the Heechee the Bodysnatchers the Triffids the Taurans the Martians "I said, where do you think you're going?" "For a drink of water." "But you're not thirsty." And then he perceived that, very slowly, the circular top of the cylinder was rotating on its body. "It's a cookbook," he said. "I said, where do you think you're going?" Barsoom Vulcan Arrakis Alpha Ralpha Boulevard Perelandra Pern Leaving the village behind, we followed the heady sweeps of road up onto a land of slowglass. Titan Trantor Terminal Beach Majipoor Marsport Murdstone the Milky Way "Stars--all the stars--we didn't know at all." After a while, he touched the sky with one hand. Overhead, without any fuss, the stars were going out. "I make you great. I give you the stars." Four Films A film review by Mark R. Leeper Copyright 1993 Mark R. Leeper One of the things I like to do occasionally in my film reviews is to make reference to some very good film that I doubt most of my readers have heard of and that I would like to call some attention to. There are a lot of decent films, and a handful of very good ones, that at this point may exist only in the film libraries of obscure television stations, and when these few prints disappear the films will be gone. I would like to generate some interest in four of these films, if not to help save them, at least to alert people that if you do get a chance to see these films, it is a rare chance and you should give them a try. Of course, there are a lot of obscure films that are showing up on videotape today, many of them very poorly-made films, and it is ironic that some terrific films are being over-looked, but in each case I think I can understand why some producer would think the film would not sell well on tape. There are three science fiction films and one horror film. However, none of the film has special effects. Particularly for science fiction, people have come to expect visual effects. I guess they feel that if they do not really enjoy the story then at least there will be something interesting to watch. These films are just actors in front of a camera, perhaps with a very rudimentary make-up effect thrown in (but very little). Three of the films are in black and white and unfortunately that is also considered to be a strike against a film. I still recommend these films highly to watch for. _T_h_e _M_i_n_d _B_e_n_d_e_r_s (1962) (directed by Basil Dearden) This film combines Cold War thriller elements with science fiction and a compelling human story. A scientist working on sensory deprivation commits suicide and is discovered to have been passing secrets to the Soviets. Was he to blame or could his mind have been twisted while under the influence of the sensory deprivation tank? The government decides to experiment to find out. Another scientist working in the same field (played by Dirk Bogarde) is very devoted to his wife and family. Can they change that in his personality while he is in the tank? This film is well-acted, enthralling, and atmospheric. _U_n_e_a_r_t_h_l_y _S_t_r_a_n_g_e_r (1963) (directed by John Kirsh) A secret project is working on space exploration right in the heart of London. The approach to exploration is a novel one. Rather than sending the whole human into space, they are working on Four Films May 16, 1993 Page 2 a sort of technological out-of-body experience. Project your mind to another planet and there have it take on physical form ... invasion by mental projection. The rub is that scientists on the project are being killed in some mysterious way involving super-high energy. And the wives of some of the scientists seem to have no background that project security can trace. The script is tense and the acting is quite good, with a cast that includes John Neville (_A _S_t_u_d_y _i_n _t_e_r_r_o_r, _T_h_e _A_d_v_e_n_t_u_r_e_s _o_f _B_a_r_o_n _M_u_n_c_h_a_u_s_e_n) and Jean Marsh (_U_p_s_t_a_i_r_s, _D_o_w_n_s_t_a_i_r_s). (This film is so obscure that Leonard Maltin's usually very complete _M_o_v_i_e _a_n_d _V_i_d_e_o _G_u_i_d_e overlooks it.) _D_a_r_k _I_n_t_r_u_d_e_r (1965) (directed by Harvey Hart) This film is only 59 minutes long and originally was intended as a television pilot, but was released to theaters to play with films such as William Castle's _I _S_a_w _W_h_a_t _Y_o_u _D_i_d--which it far out-classed. Leslie Nielson plays a detective in late 19th Century San Francisco whose foppish appearance hides a man very knowledgeable and adept in matters of the occult and the supernatural. A series of unsolved murders and a friend's blackout spells may be connected and have some occult significance. Mark Richman and Werner Klemperer also star. The latter, best known as the gullible commandant from _H_o_g_a_n'_s _H_e_r_o_e_s, does a terrific job in a sinister role. _Q_u_e_s_t _f_o_r _L_o_v_e (1971) (directed by Ralph Thomas) This film is loosely adapted from the short story "Random Quest" by John Wyndham. Colin Trafford (played by Tom Bell) is a leading scientist at Britain Imperial Physical Institute when one of his experiments goes wrong. Suddenly he finds himself in a parallel London in a parallel Britain that has not been to war since the Great War in the early part of the century. Trafford here is not a physicist, but a popular playwright. He is also now married to a beautiful woman (played by Joan Collins) whose life he has made miserable with his selfish ways and his philandering. Can Colin convince the world he is the playwright while convincing his new wife that he is different? Then there are plot complications that lead to a fast-paced climax across parallel worlds. Denholm Elliot also stars in the story which is part science fiction adventure and part love story. Of these four films only the last is in color. At present, the only one available on video, _U_n_e_a_r_t_h_l_y _S_t_r_a_n_g_e_r, is offered only by a tiny specialty house, Sinister Cinema. Of the four, only _Q_u_e_s_t _f_o_r _L_o_v_e has played on New York area television in the last fifteen years. I would much like to get my hands on copies of _T_h_e _M_i_n_d _B_e_n_d_e_r_s or _D_a_r_k _I_n_t_r_u_d_e_r. MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING A film review by Mark R. Leeper Copyright 1993 Mark R. Leeper From Branagh and his wife comes _M_u_c_h _A_d_o, The Shakespeare comedy of love and tricks. Just sit and see the pleasant Tuscan view As folks play out romantic politics. Keanu Reeves seems vaguely out of place, And Washington is not the usual hue Don Pedro has been cast. But give some space To Branagh while he does his _M_u_c_h _A_d_o. With Branagh's hand this seems a modern play; The pace is fast and Shakespeare pleases much. His comedy still works for us today, Uneven though it is with Keaton's touch. In short I'd say this Branagh _M_u_c_h _A_d_o To no surprise doth earn a high +2. THIS PAGE INTENTIONALLY LEFT ALMOST BLANK