''Dreams with Sharp Teeth'' is a 2008 biographical

documentary film A documentary film or documentary is a non-fictional film, motion-picture intended to "document reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". Bill Nichols (film critic), Bil ...

about writer

Harlan Ellison Harlan Jay Ellison (May 27, 1934 – June 28, 2018) was an American writer, known for his prolific and influential work in New Wave speculative fiction and for his outspoken, combative personality. Robert Bloch, the author of '' Psycho'' ...

. It is composed of original and archive footage of Ellison and talking head segments from colleagues and fans including

Robin Williams Robin McLaurin Williams (July 21, 1951August 11, 2014) was an American actor and comedian. Known for his improvisational skills and the wide variety of characters he created on the spur of the moment and portrayed on film, in dramas and come ...

Peter David Peter Allen David (born September 23, 1956), often abbreviated PAD, is an American writer of comic books, novels, television, films and video games.Buxton, Marc (March 29, 2014)"From 'Future Imperfect' to '2099': Peter David's Greatest Hits" Co ...

, and

Neil Gaiman Neil Richard MacKinnon GaimanBorn as Neil Richard Gaiman, with "MacKinnon" added on the occasion of his marriage to Amanda Palmer. ; ( Neil Richard Gaiman; born 10 November 1960) is an English author of short fiction, novels, comic books, gr ...

History

In 1981, then-24-year-old producer Erik Nelson began shooting footage of Ellison while the author was at work on his

typewriter A typewriter is a mechanical or electromechanical machine for typing characters. Typically, a typewriter has an array of keys, and each one causes a different single character to be produced on paper by striking an inked ribbon selectivel ...

. The footage was meant for a

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcasting, public broadcaster and Non-commercial activity, non-commercial, Terrestrial television, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly fu ...

segment set to air in March of that year. Ellison allowed Nelson to repeatedly film and interview him over subsequent years, stating that he thought Nelson to be "a fan working on a student project", and has stated that he never suspected that the film would amount to a serious production on such a professional level. The result of those sessions, and subsequent sessions spanning decades from the original, have been culled and edited, with additions from contemporaries of Ellison into what has become a documentary following a rough arc of Ellison's life and activities. The film's name was taken from the title of a three-volume omnibus of Ellison's works that was published in 1991. ''Dreams with Sharp Teeth'' received its first public screening Thursday, April 19, 2007, at the Writers Guild Theatre in Los Angeles. In September 2007, the film was screened at Ellison's last public appearance in his hometown of Cleveland for the Midwestern debut of the documentary at

Cleveland Public Library Cleveland Public Library, located in Cleveland, Ohio, operates the Main Library on Superior Avenue in downtown Cleveland, 27 branches throughout the city, a mobile library, a Public Administration Library in City Hall, and the Ohio Library for the ...

. The DVD version was released on May 26, 2009. Additional materials on the DVD include a short feature on the film's debut screening, a conversation over pizza between Ellison and Gaiman, and readings of extracts from a number of short stories.

Reception

References

External links

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Troublemaker: Erik Nelson's Dreams with Sharp Teeth
Review at indieWIRE.com
Dreams with sharp teeth
Review at filmcritic.com 2008 films American documentary films Documentary films about writers Harlan Ellison 2008 documentary films 2000s English-language films 2000s American films {{arts-documentary-film-stub