Dreams With Sharp Teeth

Mina Hochberg

2:14 PM EDT, June 5, 2008

If you're a fan of Harlan Ellison, then "Dreams With Sharp Teeth," a documentary about the notoriously outspoken science-fiction writer, will speak to you. If you're not familiar with his work, then the movie will serve as a window into the life of one of the literary world's more colorful characters.

Ellison, who comes from a Jewish family in Cleveland, has built a reputation around his blunt, argumentative persona, which the film partly attributes to his childhood years as a bully victim. During the course of his career, he has mailed a dead gopher to a publishing house and instigated several well-known copyright lawsuits, including one against James Cameron for failing to credit him in "The Terminator" (he won the suit).

For what it is, "Dreams With Sharp Teeth" is an entertaining portrait of Ellison as he rattles on about his childhood, his grudges, his writing habits, "Star Trek," religion, interspersed with his adrenalized readings of excerpts from his work. At times his vitriol and unwieldy analogies are overwhelming; other times, they're positively charming and rousing. In the end, though, the documentary, enamored with Ellison, spills over into solipsistic territory. Commentary is collected from friends like Neil Gaiman and Ronald Moore, creator of "Battlestar Galactica," but they are part of the cult of Ellison. It all leaves you craving a less partial bird's-eye view of Ellison's life.

Dreams With Sharp Teeth Documentary by Erik Nelson