Moving Pictures by Terry Pratchett fantasy book reviewsMoving Pictures by Terry Pratchett

fantasy book reviews science fiction book reviewsCitizen Kane is considered by many connoisseurs to be the greatest film of all time. Channeling the idea of empire through the life of a mysterious magnate, it is a drama telling the bittersweet story of the glory days of wealth, the inevitable fall, and how its biggest dreams are left unfulfilled. Half a century later, with numerous new forms of media having been adopted into mainstream culture, comes Terry Pratchett. Practically creating a new form of media of his own, he decided to overlay Hollywood onto the template of Citizen Kane. The weight of elephants behind it, 1990’s Moving Pictures is the same bittersweet result.

Capturing the magic and innocence of the burgeoning film industry in Ankh-Morpork, at the outset of Moving Pictures the Guild of Alchemists discover the secret to capturing pictures on film. Studios, back lot sets, haberdasheries, production companies and other business associated with the film industry spring up practically overnight in an empty patch of desert a few miles outside the great city and it isn’t long before trolls, dwarves, and humans (and dogs) are lining up to catch their bit of fame on the silver screen in Holy Wood. Victor Tugelbend is one of the many caught up in the madness. But with a little luck, he soon has a new last name and is starring opposite the lovely Delayne de Syn (originally Theda Withel, otherwise known as Ginger). Stars literally in her eyes, it’s Ginger’s sleepwalking to a mysterious temple rising from a nearby beach that concerns Victor most. Strange things are in the air and Holy Wood and Ankh-Morpork are eventually swept to the verge of destruction by the powers of cinema.

Analogous to Citizen Kane (but certainly only structurally and thematically since their plots are on opposing planets), Moving Pictures is one of the better DISCWORLD novels. The story is spread across a handful of characters, remains tightly focused, and all of the storylines conflate at the end to a highly satisfying and highly unpredictable conclusion (even the elephants). Each storyline is used to discuss an important facet of Hollywood’s birth. Where Victor and Ginger represent poorly paid actors and actresses in early silent film and the troubles they had to survive, their ruthless director/producer Cut-me-own-Throat Dibbler portrays the greedy side of Holly — I mean Holy Wood. (“There must be thousands of them, and no-one’s selling ‘em anything.” Dibbler says at one point.) The use of the trolls Galena (who fashionably changes his name to Rock) and Morrey to portray the stereotyping of minorities and, conversely, being among the first to appear in such media, is likewise interesting, as is the literati of Unseen University, and their flip-flop of perspective on the merits of film. And of course, Gaspode the talking dog and his erstwhile companion, Laddie, as they provide a grrr-itty (sorry) look inside the film business, rounds out Pratchett’s agenda. These and other characters combine to present the facets of film as it burst onto the screen and infected society with madness for the silver screen.DISCWORLD by Terry Pratchett

Taking full advantage of the subject matter, Pratchett, as can be expected, riffs off a variety of famous (and infamous) ideas in film. The Seven Year Itch, Gone with the Wind, Lawrence of Arabia, Attack of the Fifty Foot Woman, Casablanca, King Kong, and a variety of other movies appear in various shapes and forms. The “King Kong” scene is in particular humorous for the manner in which Pratchett subverts the original. Equally humorous are the ideas for the pulps that Dibbler’s production company churns out at the outset — the take on Cohen the Barbarian is a pure delight to picture on the mind’s screen.

The birth of Holy Wood goes hand in hand with Pratchett’s trademark humor — of course. From delicious simile (“The senior wizard in a world of magic had the same prospects of long-term employment as a pogo stick tester in a minefield.”) to the talking dog interplay, Detritus’ love story to Dibbler’s presentiments of honesty — everything clicks. The humor that so consistently complements plot is trademark Pratchett.

In the end, Moving Pictures is another triumph of fantastically humorous proportions. Pratchett tackling Orson Wells’ masterpiece from his own perspective, the film ‘empire’ of Discworld progresses in a way nobody can predict yet retains the underlying flavor of Citizen Kane­ — not an easy task to pull off when trolls, a desert bandit, a talking dog, an orangutan of a librarian, a sleepwalking damsel (and yes, a thousand elephants) are the main elements of your story. Kept steadily fresh through humor and deft plotting, this is one of the most pleasant stops on the Discworld tour.

Discworld — (1983-2015) Discworld is a satirical fantasy world created by Terry Pratchett to poke fun at 1980s fantasy novels. Since then, they’ve evolved so that they now make fun of everything. Mr. Pratchett explains Discworld: “The world rides through space on the back of a turtle. This is one of the great ancient world myths, found wherever men and turtles are gathered together; the four elephants were an indo-European sophistication. The idea has been lying in the lumber room of legend for centuries. All I had to do was grab it and run away before the alarms went off… There are no maps. You can’t map a sense of humor. Anyway, what is a fantasy map but a space beyond which There Be Dragons? On the Discworld we know There Be Dragons Everywhere. They might not all have scales and forked tongues, but they Be Here all right, grinning and jostling and trying to sell you souvenirs.” The Discworld novels are presented here in publication order. To read more about the Discworld “arcs” and reading order, see this Wikipedia article.

Terry Pratchett Discworld: 1. The Color of Magic 2. The Light Fantastic 3. Equal Rites 4. Mort 5. Sourcery 6. Wyrd Sisters 7. Pyramids 8. Guards Guards! 9. EricTerry Pratchett Discworld: 1. The Color of Magic 2. The Light Fantastic 3. Equal Rites 4. Mort 5. Sourcery 6. Wyrd Sisters 7. Pyramids 8. Guards Guards! 9. EricTerry Pratchett Discworld: 1. The Color of Magic 2. The Light Fantastic 3. Equal Rites 4. Mort 5. Sourcery 6. Wyrd Sisters 7. Pyramids 8. Guards Guards! 9. EricTerry Pratchett Discworld: 1. The Color of Magic 2. The Light Fantastic 3. Equal Rites 4. Mort 5. Sourcery 6. Wyrd Sisters 7. Pyramids 8. Guards Guards! 9. EricTerry Pratchett Discworld: 1. The Color of Magic 2. The Light Fantastic 3. Equal Rites 4. Mort 5. Sourcery 6. Wyrd Sisters 7. Pyramids 8. Guards Guards! 9. EricTerry Pratchett Discworld: 1. The Color of Magic 2. The Light Fantastic 3. Equal Rites 4. Mort 5. Sourcery 6. Wyrd Sisters 7. Pyramids 8. Guards Guards! 9. EricTerry Pratchett Discworld: 1. The Color of Magic 2. The Light Fantastic 3. Equal Rites 4. Mort 5. Sourcery 6. Wyrd Sisters 7. Pyramids 8. Guards Guards! 9. EricTerry Pratchett Discworld: 1. The Color of Magic 2. The Light Fantastic 3. Equal Rites 4. Mort 5. Sourcery 6. Wyrd Sisters 7. Pyramids 8. Guards Guards! 9. EricTerry Pratchett Discworld: 1. The Color of Magic 2. The Light Fantastic 3. Equal Rites 4. Mort 5. Sourcery 6. Wyrd Sisters 7. Pyramids 8. Guards Guards! 9. Ericbook review Terry Pratchett Discworld Moving PicturesReaper Manbook review Terry Pratchett Discworld Witches Abroadbook review Terry Pratchett Discworld Small Godsfantasy book reviews science fiction book reviewsbook review Terry Pratchett Discworld Men at Armsbook review Terry Pratchett Discworld Soul Musicfantasy book reviews science fiction book reviewsbook review Terry Pratchett Discworld Maskeradebook review Terry Pratchett Discworld Feet of Claybook review Terry Pratchett Discworld Hog FatherJingobook review Terry Pratchett Discworld The Last Continentbook review Terry Pratchett Discworld Carpe Jugulumbook review Terry Pratchett Discworld Carpe Jugulum, The Fifth Elephantbook review Terry Pratchett Discworld The Truthbook review Terry Pratchett Discworld Thief of Timebook review Terry Pratchett Discworld The Last Herofantasy book reviews science fiction book reviewsfantasy book reviews science fiction book reviewsfantasy book reviews science fiction book reviewsbook review Terry Pratchett Discworld Thud!book review Terry Pratchett Discworld Making MoneyTerry Pratchett Unseen Academicals DiscworldTerry Pratchett Unseen Academicals Discworld, Snufffantasy book reviews science fiction book reviews

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Author

  • Jesse Hudson

    JESSE HUDSON, one of our guest reviewers, reads in most fields. He lives in Poland where he works for a big corporation by day and escapes into reading by night. He posts a blog which acts as a healthy vent for not only his bibliophilia, but also his love of culture and travel: Speculiction.