thereisnospoon
02-08-2008, 02:06 AM
Frank, the drunken pilot is Jeff Fahey, "The Lawnmower Man" from the film that took it's name from Stephen King's short story.
So... Stephen King's presence is seen again. Even though Stephen King completely disowned the film because it didn't have anything at all to do with his story.
But if you don't remember the film:
from wiki: Dr. Lawrence Angelo (Pierce Brosnan) works for Virtual Space Industries. His part in "Project 5" involves increasing the intelligence of chimpanzees using drugs and virtual reality. One of the experiment's chimps escapes using the warfare technology he was being trained to use. Angelo is revealed as generally a pacifist, who would much rather explore the intelligence-enhancing potential of his research without having to apply it for military purposes.
Jobe (a biblical name) Smith (Jeff Fahey), the "lawnmower man" of the title, suffers from a form of mental retardation; he lives in the garden shed and works doing odd jobs for the local landscape gardener.
Dr. Angelo persuades Jobe to participate in his experiments, telling him it will make him smarter. Jobe agrees and begins a program of accelerated learning, using nootropic drugs, virtual reality input and cortex stimulation, but without the original formula's 'aggresion factors'. It works, and he begins learning at a highly accelerated rate. Jobe starts to have telepathic and hallucinatory experiences, but continues with the experiment at the lab, until an accident makes Angelo call a halt. The project director, employed by a mysterious agency known as The Shop, keeps a secret watch on the progress of the experiment, and soon swaps Angelo's new medications for the old Project 5 "aggression factors".
Jobe acquires telekinetic powers and his abilities continue to grow, although the treatments seem to be affecting his mental stability, and soon he takes revenge on those who abused him when he was 'dumb'; One man is engulfed in flames, and a young man named Jake is tortured by a 'lawnmower man' continually mowing his brain. Jobe directs a real lawnmower to run down an abusive father in his third and most brutal act, and makes the investigating police officers attribute it all to "bizarre accidents".
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In the original Stephen King short story, a man hires "Pastoral Greenery and Outdoor Services Inc." to cut his lawn. The serviceman who turns up to do the job turns out to have a machine that mows the lawn by itself while he crawls behind the mower naked, eating the grass. The serviceman himself is actually a satyr who works for the Greek god, Pan and has the habit of using the expression, "by Circe." When Parkette tries to call the police, the mower and its owner turn on him.
The 'Circe' that the 'lawnmower man' speaks of, was a Queen goddess (or sometimes nymph or sorceress) living on the island of Aeaea. In Homer's Odyssey, her home Aeaea is described as a water mansion standing in the middle of a clearing in a dense wood. Around the house prowled lions and wolves, the drugged victims of her magic.
Before leaving Aeaea, Odysseus was given instructions by Circe on how to travel to the underworld:
When your ship has traversed the waters of Oceanus, you will reach the fertile shore of Persephone's country with its groves of tall poplars and willows that shed their fruit untimely; here beach your ship upon the shore of Oceanus, and go straight on to the dark abode of Hades. (The Odyssey 10.505, tr. Samuel Butler)
So... Stephen King's presence is seen again. Even though Stephen King completely disowned the film because it didn't have anything at all to do with his story.
But if you don't remember the film:
from wiki: Dr. Lawrence Angelo (Pierce Brosnan) works for Virtual Space Industries. His part in "Project 5" involves increasing the intelligence of chimpanzees using drugs and virtual reality. One of the experiment's chimps escapes using the warfare technology he was being trained to use. Angelo is revealed as generally a pacifist, who would much rather explore the intelligence-enhancing potential of his research without having to apply it for military purposes.
Jobe (a biblical name) Smith (Jeff Fahey), the "lawnmower man" of the title, suffers from a form of mental retardation; he lives in the garden shed and works doing odd jobs for the local landscape gardener.
Dr. Angelo persuades Jobe to participate in his experiments, telling him it will make him smarter. Jobe agrees and begins a program of accelerated learning, using nootropic drugs, virtual reality input and cortex stimulation, but without the original formula's 'aggresion factors'. It works, and he begins learning at a highly accelerated rate. Jobe starts to have telepathic and hallucinatory experiences, but continues with the experiment at the lab, until an accident makes Angelo call a halt. The project director, employed by a mysterious agency known as The Shop, keeps a secret watch on the progress of the experiment, and soon swaps Angelo's new medications for the old Project 5 "aggression factors".
Jobe acquires telekinetic powers and his abilities continue to grow, although the treatments seem to be affecting his mental stability, and soon he takes revenge on those who abused him when he was 'dumb'; One man is engulfed in flames, and a young man named Jake is tortured by a 'lawnmower man' continually mowing his brain. Jobe directs a real lawnmower to run down an abusive father in his third and most brutal act, and makes the investigating police officers attribute it all to "bizarre accidents".
-----------------------
In the original Stephen King short story, a man hires "Pastoral Greenery and Outdoor Services Inc." to cut his lawn. The serviceman who turns up to do the job turns out to have a machine that mows the lawn by itself while he crawls behind the mower naked, eating the grass. The serviceman himself is actually a satyr who works for the Greek god, Pan and has the habit of using the expression, "by Circe." When Parkette tries to call the police, the mower and its owner turn on him.
The 'Circe' that the 'lawnmower man' speaks of, was a Queen goddess (or sometimes nymph or sorceress) living on the island of Aeaea. In Homer's Odyssey, her home Aeaea is described as a water mansion standing in the middle of a clearing in a dense wood. Around the house prowled lions and wolves, the drugged victims of her magic.
Before leaving Aeaea, Odysseus was given instructions by Circe on how to travel to the underworld:
When your ship has traversed the waters of Oceanus, you will reach the fertile shore of Persephone's country with its groves of tall poplars and willows that shed their fruit untimely; here beach your ship upon the shore of Oceanus, and go straight on to the dark abode of Hades. (The Odyssey 10.505, tr. Samuel Butler)