Sadly this
year I lost a good friend, a good friend that I never met.
The reason
that I consider this man to be a good friend is because he had talked me
through tough times and accompanied me in great trips. He inspired me to great
heights and taught me to follow my dreams.
The friend
that I had never met was Ray Bradbury.
As we all
know Ray Bradbury passed on this past summer leaving behind a lifetime and
legacy with adventures spanning from Traveling through time to hunt dinosaurs
to towns that no one gets off. From The Martian Chronicles to Fahrenheit 451
Ray Bradbury gave us glimpses of hope and frightening images of the future.
Sadly
Bradbury didn’t live long enough to see the Mars landing but Bradbury didn’t
stop there as he predicted colonies on Mars.
I was first
introduced to Bradbury when I was in Elementary school and read I sing the body
Electric. After reading that story and seeing the many adaptations of the story
I had to read more of his stories it was then that I discovered Something Wicked
This Way Comes.
When
Bradbury was a child he went to a carnival show where he encountered Mister
Electrico who ordered him to “Live Forever”. Bradbury was unable to accomplish
that task physically however with his years of work Bradbury will live forever
as long as books and movies exist.
A True lover of his craft at the end of his life Bradbury was blind yet he with the help of his daughter continued to write up until the day he died.
When
Bradbury died this past summer there were many obituaries and tributes. I felt
that I needed to wait until The Halloween season to write my tribute to him.
Two of
Bradbury’s movies make me think of the Halloween season.
Bradbury
wrote the film the Black Ferris for his friend Gene Kelly to direct. Kelly
however was unable to obtain financial backing for the film and Bradbury then
expanded the story to novel length and it was published as Something Wicked
This Way Comes.
The Novel
was adapted to a film in 1983 by Walt Disney Studios. Bradbury at one point
took over the direction of the film adding more entertainment to the film.
The plot of
the film follows a small town in particular the young boys Will Halloway and
his best friend Jim Nightshade who after seeing a carnival arrive in town begin
to notice the strange effects that the carnival has on the citizens of the
town. Effects such as the town bartender who was a star athlete however lost
both his arm and leg now regains them as well as his youth, The boys teacher
who was once the most beautiful woman in town has lost her looks with age
regains her looks but with the price of her sight.
After the
boys get the attention of the villainous owner of the carnival Mr. Dark they
are soon stalked by the entire troupe. The only person that believes the boys
is Will’s father Charles who after encountering Mr. Dark and recognizing some
of his converted friends Halloway researches the carnival finding that It and
Mr. Dark have been around for at least a century.
Mr Dark to
me is a truly frightening villain that offers his victims the things that they
truly want and desire. In the case of Charles Halloway he wishes to be young
again so that he can return to a time and right a incident where young Will was
drowning and Charles was unable to save him because he didn’t know how to swim
and Will was rescued by Jim’s father. Bradbury added that subplot to the film.
Charles
Halloway is a kind and loving father who is both loved and admired by both his
family and the town where Mr. Dark is feared and loathed by his own carnival members.
He and Halloway are polar opposites of each other leading to a confrontation
where Halloway and the two boys must face off against both Mr. Dark and their own
inner demons.
Look for Pam
Grier in the role of the dust witch. When you are a child she is the stuff of
nightmares.
Something
Wicked This Way Comes was influential in many future works in today’s
entertainers including Shock Rocker Alice Cooper’s 1994 concept album The Last
Temptation, and the comic book adaption by Neil Gaiman.
There is
another Ray Bradbury adaptation that I recommend for all of you Halloween lovers
out there and that flick is the Halloween Tree.
Published as
a novel in 1972 The Halloween Tree follows a group of eight children who after
setting out for Trick or Treating on Halloween Night they discover that their
friend Pipkin has fallen ill and may die. The group then encounters Pipkin’s
ghost and after following him they encounter the mysterious Mr. Moundshroud who
is the keeper of the titular tree that features many pumpkins that all feature
a different face carved into them representing the souls of the deceased.
Moundshroud
who is heavily implied to be the physical incarnation of death takes the group
on a journey across time in pursuit of Pip and along the way they learn the
history of the holiday that they are celebrating in particular the costumes
that they wear.
In 1993 The
Halloween Tree was adapted into an animated feature film.
There were
many changes to the story. The most notable change is the fact that the number
of children is changed from eight to four.
I feel that
this change is because the movie is targeted to children to teach them the
history of Halloween. In the novel some of the chapters take a dark turn in one
chapter in particular where the children encounter Samhain who tries to slice
him with a giant blade only to then encounter Christians who chop him down and
burn him representing Christianity’s domination and eventual destruction of the
Pagan religions.
Despite the
changes the Animated movie is still a pleasant watch and a must see for all Ray
Bradbury fans. Bradbury provides the narration for the films and even won an
Emmy for the screenplay.
Moundshroud
is voiced by none other than Spock himself Leonard Nimoy.
The
Halloween Tree was officially released on DVD this past august so please check
it out.
As I said
earlier Bradbury will be missed but as long as there are books and movies HE
will never die and surely will live forever.
No comments:
Post a Comment