NOT SO FANTASTIQUE

Cinefantastique provides an important counterpoint to such magazines as Starlog and Future Life that have fawning, almost worshipful attitudes toward George Lucas and Steven Spielberg.

However, Cinefantastique often goes overboard in attempting to play the devil’s advocate and seldom misses an opportunity to take a cheap shot at those two film makers.

Realistically, fantastic film history can be divided into two distinct eras: Before Star Wars and After Star Wars.

In the BSW era, fantastic films were few and far between, often treated as a species of camp and--with a few exceptions--low budget B-grade cheapies.

In the ASW era, fantastic films are where the big bucks are, generating a sizable percentage of the film industry’s income.

In the BSW era, Cinefantastique was a black-and-white publication with a minuscule circulation. Now that Cinefantastique has ridden the crest of the wave generated by Lucas and Spielberg to success, they might just stop sniping long enough to acknowledge a little gratitude.

DAVID A. LATHRAP

San Diego