Philip K Dick

Do you dream of Philip K. Dick?

The first time I encountered Philip K Dick was in the 10th grade when I was working at the local library as a clerk. I spent most of my time "working" actually holed up in the stacks reading books. One of those books was Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep, so naturally I was totally confused when I first saw the movie Blade Runner in a double-feature with The Road Warrior and it turned out to be loosely based on the PKD book instead of being based upon another book I'd also read in the stacks, The Blade Runner, by Alan E. Nourse.

Despite the fact that Blade Runner is only loosely based on Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep, it's profound effect on me sent me back to the library and I started devouring everything PKD wrote. Like most fans, I've also seen most of the movies based on his work and Blade Runner still remains my favorite.

I still need to see A Scanner Darkly and Next.

Philip K Dick at a Glance

Philip Kindred Dick (December 16, ? March 2, ) was an American science fiction novelist and short story writer. Dick explored sociological, political and metaphysical themes in novels dominated by monopolistic corporations, authoritarian governments, and altered states. In his later works, Dick's thematic focus strongly reflected his personal interest in metaphysics and theology. He often drew upon his own life experiences and addressed the nature of drug use, paranoia and schizophrenia, and mystical experiences in novels such as A Scanner Darkly and VALIS.

The novel The Man in the High Ca...

read the rest of the Wikipedia article

Philip K Dick Online

Philip K. Dick - Official Site: Official site of science fiction author, Philip K. Dick.
philipkdickfans.com: Unofficial Fan Site for PKD
Philip K. Dick on IMDB: Philip K. Dick's IMDB Page -- lists all of the movies & tv shows based on his novels and short stories -- good source for non-English listings.
The Philip K Dick Bookshelf - Home Page: The PKD Bookshelf includes cover art for all the different editions of PKD's work ever released.
The Second Coming of Philip K Dick - Wired Magazine: This is an excellent article about Dick's influence on movies -- it covers both movies specifically based on his works, and more interestingly, movies that are clearly influenced by his work, such as The Matrix, The Truman Show and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.

"Memory, paranoia, alternate realities: Dick's themes are everywhere."

Blade Runner Final Cut on DVD

This time for sure it's the really real director's cut of Blade Runner... or at least we think so.

If you're already a big PKD fan, you're aware that the "Director's Cut" of Blade Runner isn't really a Director's Cut. Ridley Scott just didn't have the time to do with it what he wanted so they threw in a few extra scenes, cut the voice-over and the sappy happy ending and called it a day.

But Ridley Scott was always unhappy with leaving it at that, so he has finally taken the time to do it right and we get to have Blade Runner as it was meant to be on December 18, 2007.

Now all you have to do is select which edition of it you want and what format -- regular DVD, Blu-Ray or HD-DVD. As for which edition, there are so many your head may start spinning.

Blade Runner (Five-Disc Ultimate Collector's Edition)

This is it -- the ultimate collector's box. Disc five includes the infamous Workprint of the film.

Release Date: 12/18/2007

Amazon Price: (as of 10/06/2008)

Blade Runner (Four-Disc Collector's Edition)

Includes 4 versions of the movie and two discs of extras.

Release Date: 12/18/2007

Amazon Price: $22.99 (as of 10/06/2008)

Blade Runner - The Final Cut (Two-Disc Special Edition)

The standard release -- includes only the Final Cut version of the movie and a documentary.

Release Date: 12/18/2007

Amazon Price: $15.99 (as of 10/06/2008)

Blade Runner (Five-Disc Ultimate Collector's Edition) [Blu-ray]

Blu-Ray Version of Ultimate Collector's Edition

Release Date: 12/18/2007

Amazon Price: (as of 10/06/2008)

Blade Runner (Five-Disc Ultimate Collector's Edition) [HD DVD]

HD DVD version of Ultimate Collector's Edition

Release Date: 12/18/2007

Amazon Price: (as of 10/06/2008)

Favorite PKD Movies

What's your favorite movie based on Philip K. Dick's work?

^#1

Vote Up

Vote Down

Blade Runner - The Final Cut (Two-Disc Special Edition)

1 point

^#2

Vote Up

Vote Down

A Scanner Darkly

1 point

^#3

Vote Down

Some Favorite Philip K Dick Novels

Philip K Dick wrote over 45 novels, most of them currently in print due to his ever increasing popularity since his death. These are just a couple of my particular favorites.