1969's THE ILLUSTRATED MAN is loosely based on the great Ray Bradbury collection of short stories and comes off as hopelessly dated and very dull.
Rod Steiger is a drifter completely covered in illustrations (he INSISTS that you don't call them tattoos) that come to life if you look at them for too long.
The stories they tell take place in the future, the far future and share several things. First, the actors in each timeline are the same but play different roles, second all the stories are tiresome. If you are going to let some lady (Claire Bloom trapped in several roles) draw on every inch of you, it would have been nice if at least the stories those drawings told was interesting!
Rod Steiger knows only one acting method and its full tilt. He screams his way through most of the movie and is never likable.
I love Ray Bradbury's writing, but there is not much to like in this boring misfire.
Rampant nudity gave it an M rating in 1969, in 2013 I think the M stands for morose mumbo jumbo.....we'll tattoo this, oh excuse me, illustrate this with a D.
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