"The Sci-Fi Boys" is a wonderful documentary that I enjoyed. However, I am sure that this film is one mostly of interest to the already initiated--folks who already love sci-fi and fantasy. Most others would find its free-form style and lack of a clear focus problematic--as well as the subject material itself. But for sci-fi/fantasy fans, it's great--sort of like sitting back and listening to various greats in the industry talk. While there are a few film clips here and there, it's just folks talking. In many ways, it's a lot like what you might hear if you go to a sci-fi/fantasy convention--and you listen to the various great panelists talk about their craft and recollections. You hear from the likes of Forrest Ackerman, Ray Harryhausen, Ray Bradbury, Leonard Maltin, Rick Baker and many, many more. Topics seem to flow freely--like a stream of consciousness--and include home-made movies, advances in graphics, the films of William Castle, "Famous Monsters of Filmland" magazine, and much more.
It's odd, but for some reason the captions were all in Spanish--but the language spoken was English. My Spanish isn't terrible--so I could understand almost all the movie titles in Spanish--others might not be so fortunate.
There were a few mistakes or omissions. First, when discussing the films of Ed Wood, Jr., John Landis mentions "Robot Monster"--a terrible film but one NOT made by Wood. Also, it's odd that the film would talk so much about the stop-motion work of Willis O'Brien and Ray Harryhausen as well as Fritz Lang's "Metropolis"--but also not discuss the great early films of Georges Méliès. Méliès not only did a lot of early fantasy, but his "Voyage to the Moon" is probably the first sci-fi film. Only George Lucas mentioned his name--and nothing more was said of this great filmmaker.
Overall, while the film looks a bit cheap and a few omissions (mentioned above), it's a great look at the industry and is a rare opportunity to hear from a diverse group of great men. And, now that I think about it, no women were interviewed for the documentary. Maybe that's saying something...
