A 'Review of the Reviews'
Every b-movie gets bad press and of course 'Saga of a Crew' is no exception.
There have been some negative reviews of the Film. All criticism both good and bad is welcome. A reviewer has the responsibility however to be factual or at least make a reasonable effort at observing the subject matter even if they find a Film totally irrelevant or in no way appealing to their particular taste.
One example of this was in regard to soundtrack quality of the 2006 version where a reviewer stated he 'could not understand what the hell anyone was saying.'
The reviewer, obviously angry that he was subjected to a Film released with sound quality issues makes a generalized statement which is false and might deter persons that indeed might enjoy the Film. It's like condemning an early 1930s film print for 'bad sound' or 'Nosferatu' for a 'scratchy picture quality' when in fact it is simply the nature of the beast! Lets not forget that Saga of a Crew consists mainly of archival footage. The 2008 Special Addition version has resolved most sound quality issues. (Please read more about the sound quality subject, covered at length in another post)
Another example regarding a reviewers responsibility to be reasonably observant might be illustrated by a more recent offering where the reviewer seemed to have difficulties following the plot and questioning what the premise of the space mission was about. Well, that's what an opening title narrative is for. Did he read it? Also the storyline of Saga of a Crew is quite simplistic to be truthful. A space fleet from Earth which has been searching for resources suffers a mishap and dispatches a 3 man crew to obtain a vitally needed substance. (an all to familiar [and obvious] theme in science fiction) After becoming stranded they struggle against time and their mental faculties to escape before the fleet goes out of range. Along with a subplot involving the elderly Engineers Daughter mounting a forbidden rescue attempt that is pretty much the story. Pretty simple, yet one reviewer trying to describe the plot starts out with 'as far as I can tell', and suggests the Film's title be changed!
I suppose the Film's producer/director must take some of the blame for bad press. One reviewer when in communication with the Film producer prior to the submission of the dvd stated 'you must be a sucker for punishment' seemingly referring to another negative review by one of his associated writers at the same website. After receiving a comment containing such predetermination how did this Filmmaker dare to think he could expect anything like an independent objective fresh review from a second reviewer at the same website. Well like Chief Engineer Montgomery Scott once said "fool me once shame on you - fool me twice shame on me!" or perhaps even better from Citizen Kane, boss Jim Getty's comment to Kane; "Only you're going to need more than one lesson. And your going to get more than one lesson!" In other words until Saga of a Crew is reviewed by a lover of B-movies or the low budget Film genre (I know they're out there - just look at the 1000s of b-movies in distribution) we shall have to continue reading such dribble from the reviewers whom hold Saga of a Crew to big box office technical standards and who's minds are in the clouds with vision blurred from so much Science Fiction Book reading that they have forgotten how to just have fun with a little Film like SOAC. So to potential reviewers everywhere, no more freebie copies, you'll have to order and PAY for your Saga of a Crew DVD like everyone else!
posted by E.3E. Task Force Commander @ 11:49 AM
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