So I thought I’d seen this, but I think in retrospect I’d only seen the ending. Thoughts:

  1. It’s not as trippily incomprehensible as I semi-remembered it as being. Fairly straightforward, really, helped much by everyone’s thoughts being whispered to the viewer, so there’s no worry of motivation being misunderstood.

  2. The special effects are pretty reasonable, considering the age of the thing. The electric guitar-laden soundtrack, less so.

  3. Man, this movie is like 90% setup. The whole Paul of Arabia part doesn’t even come in until the last half hour. Still, it’s less dull than the book.

Overall verdict: Decent enough, and for its time, it was pretty great. Why isn’t this remembered more fondly by the general SF-film-viewing public?