Flatland: The Movie

This review covers both versions of "Flatland" released in 2007, one by Ladd Ehlinger, Jr. with a mostly unknown voice cast, and the other by Jeffrey Travis with some Hollywood big names providing the voices.The source material for both is the 1884 novella by Edwin A. Abbott, but the approaches of the two films differ radically. The book is a staple of science fiction, and one of the few to address mathematical issues at its core. Being a product of its time, the book is technically naive, and politically incorrect based on current sensibilities.The Travis film is visually slicker, but significantly shorter, and tackles philosophical issues relative to the passage of time from initial publication. As such, it tampers with the plot to mixed effect. Unlike some others, I have no problem with some of the revisions to the underlying plot since they do help bring some of the book's major issues into somewhat sharper focus. On the other hand, they also add a "feel good" and politically correct sensibility that seems out of place.The Ehlinger film is much truer to its source material, which is both a strength and a weakness. Given a current perspective, its 19th century depiction of the political and social subjugation of women is a distraction that the Travis film avoids. It's also a longer film and could have been more effective with some of the same plot and editing license employed in the Travis film. Where it does tamper with the plot, some of the decisions are questionable as other reviewers have pointed out.So which is better? In my opinion, the short answer is the Ehlinger film. Despite its length, political incorrectness, and technical inferiority (the animation of the Travis film is much more sophisticated), it resonates at a technical level to a degree that the Travis film can't match. As a scientist, this means a lot to me. On the other hand, the Travis film resonates on an emotional level that the Ehlinger film can't match. So the answer may be whether you're looking for technical insight or emotional satisfaction.Most jarring in the Travis film is that, unlike the Ehlinger film, the animators never quite caught on to the implications of a two-dimensional universe. It is filled with objects which are instantly recognizable to us, yet would be clearly impossible or meaningless in the film's reality (e.g. the protagonist's daughter has toys which only make sense to someone with a 3-D perspective, and how does he open his briefcase?). The cover art is an obvious first impression example. The Travis film's characters look more human, but ask yourself how their eyes work. One detail of the book is that looking at a Flatlander from above, all of his internal organs are clearly visible, as they should be. Travis' animators hint at this, but don't meet it head-on. The Ehlinger film's animators may not have had the resources to make as slick a film as Travis', but they obviously gave a great deal of thought to what they were doing (or maybe not, since the necessary designs were all in the book). In short, Travis had the budget, but Ehlinger had the passion for the project - albeit perhaps a bit too much respect for the source to create a truly superior adaptation.The differences reflect different target audiences, though. The Travis film is an educational short film which was obviously meant to be viewed by classrooms of middle school and high school students. As such, it had to be socially inoffensive while conveying concepts of geometry that would never occur to non-mathematicians. That it includes recognizable names voicing the characters will help it grab a bit more attention - an educational short film for the "X-Files" generation. The Ehlinger film would mostly appeal to people with a college level interest in mathematics, or others who are already familiar with the book.Neither film is perfect, but I'm giving the Ehlinger film a rating of 4 and the Travis film a rating of 3. Depending on your sensibilities, your conclusion may be exactly opposite of mine, so I hope this review includes enough information to guide you to an informed selection.Or, like me, you could simply buy both... ;-)

"The book of nature is written in mathematics." -- GalileoFrom Euclid forward, mathematicians have kind of served as reality's accountants alterting us to mathematical truths and their impact on the lives we live.That's why when a lifelong mathematician like Edwin Abbott Abbott takes the time to sit down and write book in parable form about a basic mathematical truth...well...it's probably worth our time to sit down and read it.In Abbott's 1884 classic masterpiece Flatlands, Abbott told the story of A Square...a resident of Flatland who comes to discover the existence of the third dimension. For those who haven't yet read the book, I would recommend Ian Stewart's brilliant Flatland Annotated in which Stewart (himself a lifelong mathematician) verbatim goes through Abbott's book annotating it along the way with helpful explanatory tidbits and information. In some cases, Stewart's annotations explain Abbott's points in terms of the basic mathematics or history. In other cases, Stewart provides information about the development of mathematical theory since Flatlands was written.In one line of developments, for example, Euclid's fifth postulate is overturned and in another the idea that any one mathematical system can find all mathematical truth is iself overturned...both significant findings. For more on these developments or other interesting math issues, you can turn to Stewart's follow up Flatterland, the Dover publications treatment on Mathematical Fallacies and Paradoxes or even the highly readable Choas, Coincidence and All that Math Jazz.But for those not interested in reading but simple and quick exposition on the issues raised by Flatland, I would suggest this movie. For one thing, it slowly goes over the issues involved. The graphics are just wonderful. And for that matter so is the voice work by such notables as Martin Sheen and Michael York.If like me this movie picks your curiosity please consider reading the following titles by way of follow up: The Fourth Dimension by Charles Hinton, The Fourth Dimension Simply Explained, Flatland Annotated, Flatterland, Sphereland, The Plainiverse, and finally Michio Kaku's Hyperspace. In so doing you'll discover that our world is more strange and fantastic than you ever thought and like A Square, you might just find yourself looking one dimension higher!

This fun movie is also a social commentary and sparks geometric curiosity!

Flatland is a journey through space (literally) that you can take with your young ones or students to teach them about Geometric concepts. Geometry class can get a little boring if you focus on just theorems and proofs. However, delving into conversations about theoretical Geometry can be a difficult thing to start with young people. Flatland can help! It is a witty, engaging, and informative story that is full of interesting Geometric ideas. Instead of explaining to views that the dimensions represent a point, line, shape, and 3-D objects--like we learned in HS--it explains the dimensions in a way that shows how they build on each other to make the next.My students (high school math) love this movie! They were so angry that we didn't get to watch the last few minutes. It was great for review and got them really thinking about the connection between the dimensions. They also really wondered what the 4th dimension might look like!

Having read the book 'Flatland' by Edwin Abbott, which I found facinating, thought provoking and very well worth the consideration and extention of the ideas contained in the writing, I was looking forward to the film.It was worth seeing but not a very inventive or considered interpretation of the book's imaginative descriptions. I thought it too direct and unimaginative in the depiction of both Flatland and 3Dland and relied too much on the representation of the characters and situations in already experienced 'real world' imagery. Why did The Sphere need to have facial features, or Flatland always be seen from above? A greater use of pure abstract images and compositions would have been a better interpretation of the ideas within the book. The sketches in the illustrated editions of the book should have been used more directly, and the descriptions of the appearances of Flatland and 3Dland followed more closely in the making of the film, even if this would have created some confusion and required more room for thought and realisation of what was being depicted - which was the main point of the book, surely.

Having read the book written by a Victorian writer, I could not wait to see the animated adaptation for the screen and I was not disappointed. I can recommend it to anyone who is interested in space, time and other dimensions!!! :-) Dr Sheldon Cooper, eat your heart out!

The other reviews on amazon do not do this film justice. Yes, it would be better if the DVD were in PAL format but most modern DVD players and TV can handle this. Computers certainly can.As for the film, it's a reinterpretatioin of E.A.Abbott's story (which I have read and admired for many years), moving some of its satirical commentary out of the 1880s and into a more recognisable modern world whilst maintaining a level of satire. By doing this (and doing it well), the film has greater appeal for a younger audience, or even an audience of those who find mathematical concepts unapproachable.Combine this with great casting for the voices, and ultimately this film stands as a great one to watch and may just make you think.As an added bonus, the original text of Flatland is on the DVD to read via a computer.All in all, a great purchase.

Edwin Abbott's "romance of many dimeonsions" has been a favourite book for three generations of my family. It is witty political commentary with some entertaining mathematical aspects.On the other hand, this film version is dire. It abandons all the subtlety and wit of the book, and replaces it with strident nonsense. Just say no.The only redeeming feature is that the DVD is so badly produced that you may not be able to watch it. It is locked to NTSC, so you may have to adjust the settings in a UK DVD player and television in order to play it. Don't bother, and count yourself lucky. (If you insist, VLC media player on a computer will play it.)

Das Video enthält einige Themen des zugrundeliegenden Buches "Flatland" von Edwin Abbott. Mit Hilfe des Films kann man sich Dinge vorstellen, die unter Umständen bisher der Vorstellungskraft fern blieben. Die Geschichte selbst ist "flach", aber das Video ist empfehlenswert, wenn man an seine Vorstellungkraft für zwei- und dreidimensionale Geometrie erhöhen oder auch Gedanken zum vier- oder höherdimensionalen Raum fassen möchte.Es ist zu beachten, dass es lediglich deutsche Untertitel gibt.