Watch The Illustrated Man

In the 1969 science fiction movie The Illustrated Man, based on Ray Bradbury's novel of the same name, Rod Steiger portrays a tattooed man known as The Illustrated Man. The film begins with a brief introduction of The Illustrated Man, whose entire body is covered in tattoos. Claire Bloom plays a woman named Felicia, who picks up The Illustrated Man while on a road trip with her husband.

As they sit around a campfire, The Illustrated Man begins to tell them stories about his tattoos. As he tells the tales, the tattoos come to life and scenes from each story are shown. The first story is called "The Veldt," which is about a virtual reality playroom that becomes too real. In this story, Peter and Wendy, two siblings, use the nursery to create a virtual reality African veldt. However, the room slowly becomes too real and the children end up using it to trap and kill their parents.

The second story is "Kaleidoscope," which follows astronauts who are ejected from their spaceship and left to float in space. The five men must come to terms with their fate and the fact that they can’t be saved. This story is all about the struggle to maintain hope in the face of certain death.

In the third story, "The Other Foot," a group of African Americans land on Mars and settle in a small town called Mars Junction. The town is all white, but the townsfolk are worried that the Black people might take over like they did on Earth. This story challenges the notion of what it means to be human, asking questions about race, identity, and the concept of "otherness."

Another story is "The Long Rain," which takes place on a planet where it rains constantly. Four soldiers are stranded on the planet after their crewmates die in a storm. They must try to make it to a sun dome that will save their lives, all while being driven insane by the relentless rain.

The final story is "The Last Night of the World," and it follows a family who knows that the world will end in the morning. They spend their last night together, each dealing with the imminent end of their lives in their own way.

Between each story, we return to Felicia and her husband, who are listening intently to The Illustrated Man's stories. The couple is struggling in their marriage, and the stories seem to reveal insights that help them understand one another better.

Throughout the film, The Illustrated Man is an enigmatic figure, with his tattoos serving as a window into his soul. Rod Steiger does a fantastic job portraying the tortured and mysterious character, giving depth to a very unique character. The acting from Claire Bloom and Robert Drivas is also noteworthy, as they play characters who are both simultaneously struggling with their own personal problems while also grappling with the existential themes of the stories being told.

One of the most impressive things about the film is the way that the special effects were used to bring the stories to life. Each story has a distinct visual style, and the special effects and set design make each tale feel like its own mini-movie within the larger framework of the film.

Overall, The Illustrated Man is a fascinating film that explores themes of identity, humanity, and the nature of existence. The movie still holds up today, and the way that the stories are woven together with the overarching narrative is as impressive now as it was when the film was first released. It is a fantastic example of how science fiction can be used to explore the human condition in a way that is both thought-provoking and entertaining.

The Illustrated Man is a 1969 science fiction movie with a runtime of 1 hour and 43 minutes. It has received moderate reviews from critics and viewers, who have given it an IMDb score of 5.8.