Brian Aldiss Movies

Brothers of the Head was adapted from Brian Aldiss' novel by screenwriter Tony Grisoni, and marks the narrative feature debut of Keith Fulton and Louis Pepe (Lost in La Mancha), who have structured Aldiss' story as a mock documentary. Twins Luke and Harry Treadaway star, respectively, as conjoined twins Barry and Tom Howe, joined at the torso. They were essentially purchased from their family as teens in the 1970s by a sleazy showbiz impresario, Zak Bedderwick (Howard Attfield), who planned to turn them into rock stars. Manager Nick (Sean Harris) kept the volatile Barry in line, sometimes violently, while musician Paul (Bryan Dick) taught the introspective Tom how to play the guitar, and helped the brothers write their songs. A documentary filmmaker, Eddie (Tom Bower), was hired to record the process. Their first live performance was a near disaster, as the rowdy pub crowd didn't welcome the sight of the two young men coming on-stage with their arms around each other, but Barry, the charismatically angry frontman, shocked the crowd by exposing the joint between them as he ripped into a snarling performance of their first single, "Two-Way Romeo," and the legend of their group, the Bang Bang, was born. As the proto-punk group's fame grew, Laura (Tania Emery), a young journalist, came to write an article about them, and quickly developed a romantic relationship with Tom, causing friction between the brothers. The film features interviews with some of the characters in the present day, and clips from an imagined unfinished Ken Russell film about the twins, starring Jonathan Pryce and Jane Horrocks. The music of the Bang Bang, performed by cast members and the band Crackout, was written and produced by Clive Langer. Brothers of the Head was shown at the 2006 Tribeca Film Festival. ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide

Legendary low-budget mogul Roger Corman made a somewhat inauspicious return to the director's chair for the first time in nearly twenty years (unless one counts his uncredited participation in "pickup" shoots for several New World Pictures productions) for this quaint sci-fi/horror outing, based on the popular novel by Brian Aldiss. Opening in the year 2031, the story begins with scientist Joseph Buchanan (John Hurt) working on a top-secret military project that creates a rift in time in space, hurtling him and his ultra-high-tech hotrod backwards through time to the early 19th century. Buchanan manages to adapt quite well to his new surroundings, particularly after making the acquaintance of fellow scientist Baron Frankenstein (Raul Julia). Curiously, the Baron is presented here as an authentic historical figure, and his monster-making efforts the basis for the famed book by Mary Shelley (Bridget Fonda), which was a work of fiction. After ruminating about his situation with Mary and her future husband Percy Shelley (late INXS frontman Michael Hutchence) at the villa of mad poet Lord Byron (Jason Patric), Buchanan is approached by the Baron to help construct a mate for his intelligent but homicidal creature (Nick Brimble). Unfortunately, things do not go according to plan, leading to an ironic denouement that finds Buchanan pondering the apocalyptic results of his life's work. The film boasts solid production values and some beautiful location photography (most of the film was shot in Italy); however, the classy look and high-profile casting can't disguise the overall feel of an early New World outing, albeit with a much larger budget. The script, adapted by Corman and writer F.X. Feeney, eliminates many of the novel's intellectual twists and turns; much of the remaining dialogue comes off as merely pretentious. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide