In a message dated 98-11-10 11:55:19 EST, [log in to unmask]
writes:
<< I defy you to find any films or television shows that
are quite like it except superficially. >>
Sticking solely within the SF and Fantasy genre:
Films:
The Truman Show - which, IMHO, is a much better treatment of the
"play within a play" theme.
Alphaville - classic cinema noire. Is Alphaville only a sedan
ride away? The Wizard of Oz - to which Pleasantville owes much
of its cinematic heritage
Television:
The Prisoner - a classic epic of surrealistic adventure. Who ran
the Village? Why did the Prisoner resign? Who were prisoners and who were
warders?
Literature:
The Amber Chronicles - in which a family can travel through
alternative realities and observe variations on the same incident (Benedict
would visit alternative shadows to see a particular battle played out to
different ends.)
(Recall the TV repairman in Pleasantville's comments about being concrned
about the "reruns".)
While I enjoyed Pleasantville, I feel that The Truman Show was a much more
worthy effort.
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