Monday 23 January 2017

Filming The Earth Book Of Stormgate

A thought can move through my mind for a very long time before I realize that I should post about it. For links to other "filming" posts, see here.

As an introduction to a film based on Poul Anderson's The Earth Book Of Stormgate (New York, 1978), I think that a narrator should read in its entirety Hloch's Introduction, pp. 1-2, beginning:

"To those who read, good flight."

We should see Ythrians flying on the horizon but they should as yet be too far away for us to differentiate them from large birds.

"It is Hloch of the Stormgate Choth who writes, on the peak of Mount Anrovil in the Weathermother."

The audience should understand that terms like "Choth" will be explained later. For now, it is sufficient to pick up some idea of their meaning from context. We should see churning clouds above a large mountain.

"His Wyvan, Tariat son of Lythran and Blawsa, has asked this. Weak though his grip upon the matter be, bloodpride requires he undertake this."

Again, "Wyvan" and "bloodpride" will be explained later. "Bloodpride" is largely self-explanatory. We might see two Ythrians, Tariat and Hloch, in conversation.

"Judge, O people. The father of Hloch was Ferannian and the mother was Rennhi. They held the country around Spearhead Lake."

We see an Ythrian dwelling beside a lake with Ythrians circling overhead.

"He was an engineer who was often in Gray [and here], Centauri, and other towns, dealing with humans."

For the first time we see human beings in a town accompanied by Ythrians.

And at the end:

"Now The Earth Book of Stormgate is ended. From my tower I see the great white sweep of the snows upon Mount Anrovil. I feel the air blow in and caress my feathers. Yonder sky is calling. I will go.
"Fair winds forever." (p. 434)

We should see what Hloch sees and hear an eagle's wings.

2 comments:

Sean M. Brooks said...

Kaor, Paul!

I think you meant a series of hypothetical films based on the stories we see in THE EARTHBOOK OF STORMGATE. Not a single film trying to encompass all the tales in that collection.

Also, since the EARTHBOOK includes stories about Nicholas van Rijn and David Falkayn before they had met any Ythrians, the question arises of whether any introduction or textual crawls should focus on either the Polesotechnic League or the Ythrian POV. Something about both the emergence of Technic Civilization from the chaos of the 20th century and the rise of the League.

Sean

Paul Shackley said...

Sean,
Yes, a series. But one installment might focus on the writing of the EARTH BOOK.
Paul.