The Sicilian (film) howlingly grandiose manner that only a filmmaker with visions of epic greatness working on a large scale with a multinational cast can achieve." Leonard Maltin rated the film a "BOMB", calling it a "militantly lugubrious bio of Salvatore Giuliano". Producer McNall was personally disappointed by the film. "Given that "The Sicilian" was a descendant of Puzo's "The Godfather"," wrote McNall, "I had expected something with the same beauty, drama, and emotion. Cimino had shown with "The Deer Hunter" that he was capable of making such a movie. But he had failed." McNall even quoted Ebert's review in his appraisal of
The Last Theorem Fountains of Paradise", and the equator north to Sri Lanka in "The Last Theorem". The solar powered space yacht race was first featured in a short story of Clarke's, "The Wind from the Sun" (1964), and the concept of a "mysterious Elder Race" deciding our fate, in this case the Grand Galactics, has appeared in several of Clarke's previous novels, including "Childhood's End" (1953) and the "Space Odyssey Series" (1968–1997). Some of Pohl's earlier themes also appear here, including his human-machine hybrid which featured in "Man Plus" (1976). Clarke wrote over 30 science fiction novels and over 100 works of