New podcast episode: It Came From Outer Space!

Sometimes the podstreams just cross, and this episode is a prime example. When Colin Kuskie, co-host of my other podcast suggested reviewing It Came From Outer Space, the classic 1953 science fiction movie created by Ray Bradbury, it was right up my alley - and so this new episode of Bradbury 100 is a crossover with the new episode of Science Fiction 101!

The discussion ranges from Bradbury's contribution to the screenplay to the quality of the 3D, and takes in your humble hosts' views on whether or not screen creatures should be revealed or concealed.

I also express my amazement that Kathleen Hughes gets such prominent billing at the end of the film, despite having hardly any dialogue or close-ups in the film itself. I also give the real reason why she is featured in this way.

In which way? Why, in this way, of course:

 

 

 

Also mentioned in the episode:

• The recently completed OMSI Film Festival, Oregon
• Which US states have the best chance of surviving an alien invasion?
• 75 years of Ray Bradbury's The Martian Chronicles
• Science Fiction 101 podcast
• Colin's other pod, Take Me To Your Reader

I also mentioned in the episode that I would provide links to other Bradbury-related pods that Colin Kuskie and I have taken part in. So here they are - they're all episodes of Take Me To Your Reader, and consist of a comparative review of book versus movie:

• A Sound of Thunder
  
• Fahrenheit 451 (1966 Truffaut movie)
  
• Fahrenheit 451 (2018 HBO movie)
  
• The Halloween Tree
  
• The Illustrated Man
  
• Something Wicked This Way Comes

 

Finally, here's the new episode... or look for it in your podcast app of choice (see list of possible pod sources below).

Bradbury 100 · Bradbury 100 - episode 64 - It Came From Outer Space

 

 

Please subscribe to the Bradbury 100 podcast - it's totally free on all platforms. Where to find it:

 

 

Main platforms:

 
Apple Podcasts - Soundcloud - Spotify

 

 

 

Other platforms include: 

Amazon Music - Audible - Bullhorn - Castbox - Deezer - Listen Notes - Player FM - Pocket Casts - Podbean - Podcast Addict - Podcast Index - Podcast Republic - Podchaser - Podfriend - Podlink - TuneIn

 

 

New Bradbury 100 Episode - Reviewing some new Bradbury product

Here's another new episode of my Bradbury 100 podcast. This time I review three new Bradbury-related products which I've recently received. Here are ordering links for the three:

Ray Bradbury's The Martian Chronicles, 1980 TV miniseries on Blu-ray: order from ViaVision Entertainment

Phoenix 451, a collection of Ray's own dramatisations of Fahrenheit 451: order from Gauntlet Press

It Came From Outer Space, 1953 film written by Ray, on 4K HDR Blu-ray: order from Amazon US - or order from Amazon UK

Here's the pod. Enjoy!

Bradbury 100 · Bradbury 100 - Episode 51 - Some Recent Bradbury Product

 

 

 

 

 

Please subscribe to the Bradbury 100 podcast - it's totally free on all platforms. Where to find it:

 

 

Main platforms:

 
Apple Podcasts  - Google Podcasts - Soundcloud - Spotify

 

 

 

Other platforms: 

Amazon Music - Audible - Bullhorn - Castbox - Deezer - Listen Notes - Player FM - Pocket Casts - Podbean - Podcast Addict - Podcast Index - Podcast Republic - Podchaser - Podfriend - Podlink - TuneIn

 

 

Repairs complete!

Following the migration of Bradburymedia to a new web host, repairs are now complete!

There are probably still some broken links around the place - particularly links to other websites, which I haven't had time to systematically check - but everything should now be back to the way it was before the migration. If you spot anything that looks wrong, please post a comment below and I'll check it out.

In case you're wondering what else is here, other than the blog posts, here's a selection of pages which you may find interesting:

My review of the classic feature film It Came from Outer Space (original screen story by Ray Bradbury): http://www.bradburymedia.co.uk/films/it_came/it_came.htm

My review of episodes of The Alfred Hitchcock Hour (scripted by Bradbury and adapted from Bradbury stories): http://www.bradburymedia.co.uk/films/hitchcock/hitchcockhour.htm

My overview of the classic radio series Bradbury Thirteen (based on Bradbury stories): http://www.bradburymedia.co.uk/audio/bradbury13/bradbury13.htm

Thanks for your patience during the refurb - and check back soon for some new content! 

Bradbury on Screen: It Came From Outer Space

Tonight, we continue the film event Ray Bradbury: From Science To The Supernatural in Bloomington, Indiana - with a rare 3D screening of It Came From Outer Space.

The film was made from a detailed screen treatment by Ray Bradbury. In 1952, with no real screenwriting experience to speak of, Bradbury was contracted to create and develop a film story for Universal. Being somewhat naive, and perhaps getting carried away with his idea, Bradbury wrote several versions of his treatment, culminating in one which was over a hundred pages long. In all but its technical formatting, this was a screenplay rather than a treatment.

To turn Bradbury's screen story into a shooting script, Harry Essex was brought in. Essex freely admitted that his job was very easy, as all he had to do was re-shape the treatment to conform to the screenplay format, and add some dialogue.

It Came From Outer Space joined the wave of science fiction films which had begun with Destination Moon in 1950, continued with The Day the Earth Stood Still in 1951, and with War of the Worlds in 1953. By the end of the decade, the SF film genre would deteriorate into repetitive monster movies - but for now, Bradbury was able to make a significant contribution to an intelligent form of SF in which being alien doesn't necessarily mean being evil or hostile.

Twenty-five years later, Steven Spielberg would declare It Came From Outer Space as one of his key influences in developing Close Encounters of the Third Kind.

My review of It Came From Outer Space includes some extended quotes from Bradbury. You can find it here.

Tonight in Indiana University Cinema in Bloomington, Indiana, we will be presenting the film in 3D. Viewers will be given the classic red and blue glasses. Jon Eller and I will introduce the film, and we will be joined on stage by IU's resident 3D film expert Chris Eller. There will be a post-screening Q&A session. Details of ticketing arrangements can be found here: http://www.cinema.indiana.edu/about/visiting-the-cinema/.