Film adaptations of the stories of Philip K. Dick tend to vary from exceptionally good to downright awful. The defining factor is usually the film’s adherence to the basic heart and themes of the original story. Radio Free Albemuth was one of Dick’s most personal works, being a fictional way to work through events that he claim occurred to him in 1974 and is also the backbone of his later re-write, VALIS. The film version of the story was filmed in 2007 and finished post-production in August, 2010. Disck wrote himself in as a character in the novel and is played by Shea Whigham in the movie. Whigham’s performance garnered him a BEST ACTOR AWARD at Sydney Fantastic Planet Film Festival in Australia and the film itself was awarded DIRECTORS’ CHOICE BEST FEATURE at the Sydney Festival. Writer/Director John Alan Simon and stars Whigham, Jonathan Scarfe, Alanis Morissette, Katheryn Winnick, Scott Wilson and producers Stephen Nemeth and Elizabeth Karr were committed to making a film that honored PKD’s independent spirit and great intellect. The music for the film was composed by Robyn Hitchcock and Ralph Grierson. The trailer below gives an idea at how closely the filmmakers stayed true to Dick’s story and I think it deserves to be released for mass audiences and fans of Philip K. Dick.
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