Category Archives: Science Fiction

Aldus Huxley Narrates Brave New World

by Editor

This is an LP of a 1957 recording of Aldus Huxley narrating his science fiction masterpiece, Brave New World. The music is by Bernard Herrmann.  Of course, it’s not really the book.  It’s a 1 hour radio dramatization.  The book is a frightening look at a future of genetic breeding and an anesthetized  population of perfectly content people without desires.  They are kept uninformed and comfortable so that they will remain peaceful and easy to control by a ruling order.  They are made to cherish their servitude and oppression.

Huxley believed that George Orwell’s vision of the future in 1984 was too extreme and that oppression of large populations would be watered down into something resembling pleasure and entertainment.  They were both partly right.

So read Huxley’s book and think about the world around you and how little is really expected of you.

Listen to Side 1 of the Brave New World LP

Listen to Side 2 of the Brave New World LP

Podcast Novel: Pirate Jack (Chapter 18)

by Editor

DOWNLOAD MP3 AUDIO

This book contains pirate battles, violence and death. Please use your judgment before playing for very young children.

Here’s a free podcast of our fantastic pirate adventure novel written for young readers. It’s got hidden scrolls, time travel, ships, battles, navigation, gold, islands, jungles and helicopters in it.

You can purchase the high-quality paperback from Amazon for $11.95 or just $1.99 for a Kindle e-book version.

You can purchase the paperback from Barnes & Noble (Price: $11.95)

You can also get it on Scribd.com as a download for just $1.99

Description:
Young Jack Spencer sees his father’s boat-building business destroyed by a powerful land developer. Then Jack unearths three ancient scrolls that propel him on a dangerous adventure through time in search of a pirate treasure.

When Jack finds himself aboard the pirate ship Revenge with Captain Jameson’s crew, he enters a life or death world of ship battles, jungle islands, prison escapes, gold, and treachery.

Set during the golden age of Caribbean piracy, Pirate Jack combines rollicking adventure with the moving story of a boy’s love for his father and a courageous effort to save a way of life.

Get all the chapters of the book podcast here.

You’ll find regular podcasts of all the chapters over the next couple of months. Subscribe to our feed.

This book is read by the author.

All audio stories are Copyright © Candlelight Stories, Inc., All Rights Reserved.

1927 ‘Metropolis’ with 25 Minutes of Lost Footage

by Editor

The TCM Classic Film Festival in Los Angeles is hosting the North American premiere of Fritz Lang’s 1927 science fiction classic, Metropolis, with 25 minutes of newly discovered footage.

Metropolis is the story of a mechanized future city with rulers who live atop high towers and masses of slave workers that operate the giant machines below.  A rebellion is incited when a robot version of a young woman who works to help the poor is set out to inflame the oppressed workers.  The setting of the film is just astounding and has not been matched for beauty by any film since.  This is one of the great classics of world cinema and finding 25 minutes of lost footage is incredible.  Several years ago, I went to the Egyptian Theater in Hollywood to see a newly restored version that had still photos inserted where footage was missing.  I suspect that many of those missing scenes are now included!

The film was discovered in a museum storage room in Argentina.  So not only did Argentina hide escaped Nazis, but it has also been hiding a German science fiction treasure… unwittingly of course.  And if you look at Metropolis carefully, you can see the Nazis coming.  The film is permeated with it.  If you don’t believe me, consider that the screenwriter, Thea von Harbou did in fact become a Nazi.  Another Fritz Lang classic, Spies, is so riddled with antisemitism that it is almost impossible to watch.  So there it is.  Great classic yes, but also profoundly threatening.

Here’s the Los Angeles Times article about the restoration.

Here’s a link to the prior restoration: Metropolis (Restored Authorized Edition)

Avatar’s James Cameron Interviewed by L.A. Times Blog

by Editor


The Los Angeles Times Blog has an interview with James Cameron, the director of Avatar.

“We’re working on finishing an additional six minutes of the film — which includes a lot of Weta work — for a theatrical re-release in August. We were sold out of our Imax performances right up to the moment until they were contractually obligated to switch to “Alice in Wonderland,” so we know we left money on the table there. And the 3-D really helped “Avatar” right up until the moment that it hurt it. And it hurt it at the moment “Alice” and then “How to Train Your Dragon” and “Clash of the Titans” came in and sucked up all the 3-D screens. We went from declining 8% a week to declining 50%. Clearly, it wasn’t market forces directly; it was the availability of theaters. So we’re going to wait until there’s a time to come back in, inject the new footage into the mix and see if we can interest people in the “Avatar” experience in theaters.”

I don’t know about anyone else, but I am so sick of hearing people talk about this silly 3-D trend.  It’s just a clever scam to raise ticket prices.  I don’t care what Cameron says.  Fortunately, however, the new DVD appears to be in regular 2-D.

James Cameron: The ‘Avatar’ sequel will dive into the oceans of Pandora | Hero Complex | Los Angeles Times

Science Fiction Animation: Fard

by Editor | 1 Comment

Fard is a 2009 French animated short by Luis Briceno and David Alapont. The story is quite visual, but my limited French tells me that the main character is part of a colorless corporate world and he’s just done a good presentation at work. However, he gets a package that contains something which allows him for a brief time to see what really lies underneath the surface of things.

Via SF Signal