Dreams With Sharp Teeth.

"If you happened to be a teenager in the late 1960s or early 70s, Harlan Ellison was a literary giant," writes Steve Dollar in the New York Sun. "Mr Ellison, now 74, wasn't the only important author rewiring sci-fi to more deeply explore social, psychological, metaphysical, and ethical themes, nor perhaps the most cultishly lionized (Philip K Dick takes the prize, as might, to varying degrees, Samuel Delany, Ursula K Le Guin, or the mysterious James Tiptree Jr). But he was the loudest, the angriest, and the most abundantly published in every available medium, from magazine short stories to acutely memorable episodes of Star Trek and The Outer Limits."

Updated through 6/8.

Directed by Erik Nelson, [Dreams With Sharp Teeth] recalls the career of a runty young geek who evolved into a world-famous artist - and ladies' man, civil rights advocate and, from the look of his Xanadu-like Hollywood hideout (aptly nicknamed the Lost Aztec Temple of Mars), a fiercely committed collector and pack rat," writes Nathan Lee in the New York Times. "Mr Ellison's written achievement largely takes second stage to his volcanic verbal attitude, of which there's more than enough to overflow an entire outlandish mini-series."

"Ellison is the leading authority on Ellison," writes Simon Abrams in the New York Press. "Dreams is so well-versed and intermittently inspiring because it allows Ellison to run his mouth about everything from his self-made beginnings to his boundless cache of anecdotes and aphorisms. Nelson just winds him up and lets him go. With a little craft, he manages to arrange Ellison's quotes with a verve and intelligence that admirably doesn't succumb to fan worship or to Ellison's bullying."

"So much barking rhetoric can become boorish, however choicely phrased," writes Nick Pinkerton in the Voice. "[T]he author's 'Fuck you, pay me' credo, however, should be an inspiration for all aspirant men and women of letters."

At Film Forum through Tuesday.

Update: Nick Schager at Cinematical: "Less intent on investigating than simply depicting, it's neither a definitive statement on his canon nor on his fantastically interesting life but, rather, an intimate portrait of a now-73-year-old artist who, as [Neil] Gaiman sums up, is 'partly one of the greatest writers of the twentieth century... and partly an alternately impish and furious 11-year-old boy. Or possibly 9-year-old boy. Or possibly 5-year-old boy.'"

Updates, 6/6: "Perhaps any qualms one may have with Dreams with Sharp Teeth are attributable to how fully it conveys its subject's tone, with all its tangents, floridity, and vitriol," writes Leo Goldsmith at indieWIRE. "That this tone remains incisive, funny, and even occasionally inspiring is itself remarkable, especially as its source is a practitioner of a literary genre whose credibility many still question. But if the literary worth of Ellison's huge output is a debate left untouched by the film, Nelson still makes a great case for Harlan Ellison as more of a personality, a cultural force, than a mere writer - of 'imaginative literature' or of 'sci-fi,' as you prefer."

Tasha Robinson talks with Ellison for the AV Club, where Noel Murray notes, "More than maybe any other living writer, Ellison seems to enjoy his job and the sound of his own words - although he's sometimes had difficulty finishing what he starts, and his diffuse focus seems to have prevented him from producing novels as artful and impactful as his short stories."

Update, 6/8: Sarahjane Blum in the Brooklyn Rail: "In the 25+ years since Nelson first toyed with making a documentary about Ellison, he enjoyed a steadily rising career as TV and film producer (highlighted by Werner Herzog's Grizzly Man). Yet his approach to showcasing Ellison remains that of late adolescent hero worship. It's a fitting tribute, as Ellison is touched by the loving attention in a way few successful authors seem to be."

Posted by dwhudson at June 5, 2008 2:06 AM