Dreams with Sharp Teeth

If this little doc does nothing but make you curious enough about the work of Ellison to go out a read a few of his short stories, it will be worth your time. Imagine how curious you would be if Mark Twain were still alive and could be interviewed. Yeah, it's just like that. And Ellison writes as well as Twain did.

Actually, there are some parallels and stark contrasts between Sam Clemens and Ellison. Twain's _Tom Sawyer_ was the first novel written on a typewriter. Ellison has a typewriter, which he pecks on with two fingers, but never used a computer or word-processing program. Clemens and Twain were irascible and fearless when it came to declaiming what they believed to be true. Both were highly ethical, but cared little for religion. Both writers were prolific. Twain did _not_ have a Jewish mother. Oy. Both were spellbinding on the lecture circuit. Both of them will be read as long as the English language exists. If you have any interest in fantasy or fiction or science fiction, Ellison's genius and sharp wit are unsurpassed. Clemens is long gone, but thank God I lived to read --and see-- Ellison!

While Harlan Ellison might bite my head off for going off into self-indulgence in writing about whether or not I enjoyed Dreams with Sharp Teeth, I should mention how I came across him and why I had to seek out this documentary, for better or worse. The first was watching the adaptation of his short story, A Boy and His Dog, by LQ Jones from the mid-70s, a warped, outrageous, and yet insanely lucid fantasy satire that was the direct inspiration for Mad Max. It's still unlike few stories out there in terms of matching wit with real decrepit atmosphere fused with the cold-blooded non-ideal of living underground in a false utopia.

The second was reading Harlan Ellison's Watching, a collection of his film criticism from the mid 60s to the early 90s. For anyone looking to become anything of a writer about film or one who just wants to become more knowledgeable of Ellison's sardonic and ferocious pen need to check it out, as it is, in my opinion, on par if not more enjoyable than Pauline Kael. He brings personal experience into the work, as well as some imaginative leaps/flights of fancy (i.e. imagining the nimrods going at the mall to see Rambo: First Blood Part 2 opening weekend), and while it and his film writing get only passing mention here, it is something that should be mentioned at every turn. That, along with I would wager reading just one of his stories, will turn you on to him... or turn you off.

The documentary on Mr. Ellison and his successes, and his own personal anger at life and the world in general most days, is adoratory but not unaware of the man's tendencies to lunge out at people's throats (if only figuratively) any chance he gets. He's alive like few other writers (I'd say Hunter S. Thompson could take him, but that's about all that pops into the mind at first), and like all good writers knows that a legacy is legitimate only by the work left behind. As we see here, it is the work that is incredible, if only for the abundance of it: hundreds of short stories, loads of TV work, 8 Hugo awards, and a Master of Science Fiction award. Oh yeah, and apparently this 5'5 Jewish kid from Ohio was a super Ladie's man in his time, though we only get a hint of that and more-so the lovely, acerbic relationship with his current wife of twenty years, who seems to be the only one who can stand up to him when he goes off the rails.

If the filmmakers may take some choice clips that don't quite dig into all the crevices we might want (i.e. they brush over the fact, though make mention, of his lack of contact with a sister, and his personal life in general with his family), they do provide us an idea of his working relationship, maybe so much so that you wonder who could work with him. He's a professional, to be sure, but he'll also nail a gopher to a door of a publisher or go into a Three Stooges style stunt to give a big-time sock in the nose to someone he has a vendetta against, and never will a fool be treated kindly. What one takes away with in Dreams with Sharp Teeth, ultimately, is that whether or not you'll "like" this guy or even "like" the guys writing, he's alive. He won't be a zombie in the world, though he admits that he's thought once or twice it would be more convenient than waking up every morning angry as hell. You wouldn't want to walk down a dark alley and meet this guy's mind and not be ready to spar. If nothing else, the film does a fantastic job illuminating that and the man's career.

DREAMS WITH SHARP TEETH is a low-budget documentary about Ellison made by Erik Nelson that dates back to 1981, when Nelson interviewed Ellison for TV. Various friends and associates provide on-camera commentaries about Harlan Ellison's fiction, career, romances, personality, and how he affected their lives and world views. However, the majority of screen time is taken up by Ellison himself: reading passages from stories, telling jokes, relating childhood memories, showing us around his amazing house (nicknamed The Lost Aztec Temple of Mars), talking candidly about social issues and writing projects, or just bumming around Los Angeles. Even though there's about 60 clips of Ellison on YouTube, fans should grab DREAMS WITH SHARP TEETH because it's a priceless distillation of the phenomenon that is Harlan Ellison, warts and all.

The only problem is that at 96 minutes, the documentary is too brief. Maybe that's a compliment? For example, the archive clips could have run a few minutes longer without tormenting people's bladders and taxing the film's editor. The US DVD includes snippets of story readings, footage of the premier in LA, and an extended chat with Neil Gaiman over pizza.

Harlan Ellison is hands down one of the most fascinating personalities of literature, and this documentary does him justice by just letting him talk about god (or his/her nonexistence) and the world. A lot of these monologues are rants, but they are so fascinating to listen to (and wildly entertaining) that you will enjoy this documentary greatly. I cannot judge how Ellison comes across in this film if you don't know his writing already, but one thing is sure: he doesn't care if you like him or not. In this age of political correctness, of hypocrisy, of dancing around important subjects out of fear of having any kind of stance or position Ellison is somebody you should listen to. Behind his facade of the angry old man spouting vulgarities is probably the most moral and ethical person you could ever meet on this planet. His views on subjects like intellectual property are enlightening and important, his critique of our superficial and anti-intellectual society is spot-on. As a film the parts that come across the weakest are some computer visualizations of Ellison's prose, but it's great to hear the man himself reciting excerpts from his stories. Neil Gaiman talks very sympathetically about his friend, as is Robin Williams (who comes across as endearingly vulnerable and warm-hearted, especially in hindsight of his suicide). Dan Simmons acknowledges that he owes his career to Ellison, as do many others. All in all a great an entertaining documentary that every budding writer should watch to learn one important lesson from the master himself: writing (and art) is not for sissies. You have to take a stance, and you should not be afraid of getting s***thrown at you. Ellison has gone through all that, and has remained true to himself all the way.

I had the privilege of watching this with two other people who saw Harlan Ellison with me at a now legendary appearance in the late 80's in Toronto, and we kept looking at each other and snickering. But even if you never saw him live, read any of his work, or had any familiarity with him at all, you can appreciate this documentary as being about a man WORTHY of a documentary. He's just that bloody entertaining.

The soundtrack - by Richard Thompson, the legendary Brit folkie - is amazing, by the way.

Some of the camera work is really amateurish, but most of the straight interview footage is well shot. The camera work and the parts that got left out of Ellison's bio - probably in deference to his storied litigiousness - are what knocked this down to 8 out of 10.

His initial 'interview' with Robin Williams is worth watching even if you can't spend the time on the rest of the movie. Within minutes we were all helplessly laughing.

If you're at all interested in SF, either literary or media, movies, have a love affair with the English language or just want to see what it's like to be a legendary, visionary, prolific, brilliant and uncompromising pain in the rear, see this film. I intend to watch it again as some of the dialogue went by so fast I missed it, and it was really, really funny.