In my last post I announced a series of articles where I would compare a Philip K Dick story/novel to that of its filmed translation. I learned quickly with this project that translation was not the right word to use. As most film credits state “based on” it turned out that really was the phrase I was looking for. I will admit that I am one of those fans who look for my favorite stories to be treated as simply stage or storyboard for a film. I want a minimum of new dialogue, characters or for that matter any changes at all. It is most preferable that the film maker is able to pull images directly from my imagination and thus satisfy my desire for moving images to accompany a yarn I already considering to be fantastic.
The work of Philip K Dick (PKD for ease of typing) is a unique source to draw inspiration not only for the obviously interesting stories but the fact that much of his work is quite short. All but two titles which were drawn on for films are from novels, the rest are short stories That said, his novels are also known for their brevity usually lasting just over 100 pages. It is clearly the larger themes that brings writers and directors to his work, so why do so many adaptations go awry? It is all in the details. From a different setting, character flaw (or lack thereof) to a new or different back story. These changes in details eventually add up into an avalanche of change which often obscures or deletes the primary themes. Let’s take a look at my first story to film comparison. *SPOILER ALERT* if you have not read these stories or seen these movies I will get into a lot of detail including plot points, so beware!
Screamers (1995) and “Second Variety” first published in 1953
The most significant difference between these versions is setting. In the story “Second Variety” PKD puts the reader in an atomic holocaust caused by the once cold war between Russia and the United States becoming hot again. This is not unfamiliar territory fictional or otherwise so the story being set in this time brings a lot of additional background and emotion from the reader without need for more description. Devastating war has brought about the development of self-guided weapons known as “claws” and these weapons have now gained self-awareness after years of being tasked with producing themselves.
The film, entitled Screamers- the new name for the weapons known as “claws” in the story, was given an entirely different background and setting. A war between the miners of a new and desired element and the corporation that employs these miners. The setting is on a distant planet where the rebellious miners have waged war on their corporate slavers for many years. The same self-guided weapons are present on this planet but they are known as “screamers” for the distinctive sound they make before striking. The rebels soon discover they have been abandoned by their own commanders to make room for more progressive war tactics on yet another planet.
At this point the story and film join up and the journey of the protagonist, Hendricks, is similar in both versions as he journeys to contact the enemy. The slow and horrifying discovery that these weapons, left to produce themselves in an isolated factory have taken their command to kill any living thing to its next phase. Mimic the beings marked for destruction. Infiltrate them with their own faces. This evolutionary jump made by the “claws”/”screamers” is not explained in neither story nor film. Why bother? What is of interest is how to tell the difference once these weapons have decided to appear and act human. In science fiction it is a heavily written upon theme and one that PKD returns to in many of his stories and novels; the best example being Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?.
Characters between story and film don’t vary too wildly. One (I find) humorous change is that of the woman Hendrick’s meets. In the story she is a prostitute working behind enemy lines. In the film she is a black marketeer and a love affair ensues between her and the protagonist Hendricks. This love affair is meant to illustrate the primary theme, what makes people “human” and just how improbable their love should be. It was certainly a friendlier way of describing their interaction than the story version where Hendrick’s relationship with the woman is dry and tense until her intentions are exposed in a final betrayal. Turning the only female character from prostitute to businesswoman probably sounded like a more palatable way to introduce the character in the film but I would file it with the change in setting as another unnecessary modification.
A small but interesting concept is the featured poisoning of oneself to protect from an even more life-threatening issue. In Screamers, soldiers smoke specially designed cigarettes to battle the effects of radiation poisoning while “Second Variety” describes the personal harnessing of environmental radiation by each soldier to repel the “claws.” I enjoy little ironies like this and killing ourselves to help stay alive is a good one.
To be fair, from story to film the larger themes were retained; the difference between human and machine, the evolution of a subject beyond the control of its creator, the futility of war, the inevitability of adaptation and destruction of those unable to adapt. I did not want to like the film, it looked cheesy and dated but, I was pleasantly surprised and very entertained. PKD’s story was published more than forty years before the film was made-with the film now more than a decade old but the concept of machines working to become more human and the human ability to identify the difference will never leave our thoughts, especially as we forge into this new century and develop more and more advanced technology.
Next up in the PKD story to storyboard series is Minority Report, thanks for reading!
