Sunday Salon | Books into movies
By Mrs S • Jun 8th, 2008 • Category: Sunday Salon
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Good morning fellow saloners - thanks for stopping by. I just finished reading Stardust by Neil Gaiman and it got me thinking about books that have featured on the big screen. Turning a book into a movie must be a really difficult task - an author uses language to draw the reader into the story, tell us what the characters are thinking and feeling, and to paint enough of a picture that our imagination can then do the rest. This of course is completely different to a screen play.
Take the Harry Potter series for instance - the books are just crammed with so much detail that the movies just don’t do them justice. I remember seeing the early movies quite soon after reading the books and being disappointed - the actual story lines were being amended to fit the big screen format. Fortunately the movies have improved as the production team has changed over the years - and I’ve found the best way to appreciate them is to separate them form the books and enjoy the films on their own merit.
I have a similar issue with the DaVinci Code - I know some people think this book is over-hyped but I really enjoyed t and thought it was make an amazing film. I turned up at the cinema filled with excited anticipation - and left feeling let down - they completely changed the ending for Pete’s sake! My husband was confused as to why there was so much hype about the book - and I had to explain that the book was amazing - and the film was… ugh!
Then we have The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe - now it has been many many years since I read that book - and I though the film was fantastic - just the right amount of drama and special effects to sweep you up into the magical world of Narnia. Back home I decided to read the books to save me waiting for the next film to find out what happened next. Wow did those screen play writers take some artistic license - there are scenes in the movie - that seem to be integral to the plot - that aren’t actually in the book! To be honest I finished with the Wardrobe and decided not to read any more of the series - I’ll just wait to see the lavish productions at the movies instead.
So my track record of books into movies isn’t great - should I bother with Stardust the movie - or just stop with the book?
What are your thoughts? Do you enjoy movie adaptations of books? Have you had a different experience to me? Do you think that screen play writers can pull off the conversion successfully?
I’d love to hear what you think.
Mrs S
PS - if you’re a fan of Anne of Green Gables stop by and find out about my mini-challenge: Celebrating 100 years of Anne
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Mrs S is is a lover of books! These are my thoughts on the books I've read. Have a different view? Leave me a comment below :)
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I thought the film Atonement was great, and the book is a favourite of mine. I read it twice before going to see the film…
Seachangess last blog post..The Sunday Salon - Seachanges’ Patch
I agree that watching a movie for the movie’s sake is the way to go or I’m always disappointed. I, also, loved The Da Vinci Code and was disgusted by the movie. Why did they have to go and change the ending, anyway?
Linda Jacobss last blog post..Summer!
Hey there! Books to movies can be a game of hit or miss, I agree with you. Now I have not read STARDUST but my husband and I really enjoyed the film. I have heard that the book is fantastic, so maybe you should see the film with the thought you mentioned of “…the best way to appreciate them is to separate them form the books and enjoy the films on their own merit.”
If for anything else, watch STARDUST for Robert Dinero’s portrayal of the drag dressing pirate. HILARIOUS!!!!!!
I am reading TWILIGHT (as you know) and will probably have the same sense of anticipation for the movie when it comes out later this year, but hope that it won’t be disappointing. I have faith though that it will be pretty good because the author, Stephenie Meyer, has been to the set and has been saying in interviews that she is so excited about the film. She has also said she is especially pleased with the casting.
Karen @ Planet Bookss last blog post..The Sunday Salon ~ June 8th, 2008
I’ve just been saving over on Book Please’s blog what a mess they made of the film of “The Shipping News’. Occasionally the film is as good even if on different terms, as for example, ‘The Remains of the Day’. Just occasionally it is better. I loved the film of ‘Chocolat’ but then that was probably because of the way that they changed a book I really couldn’t enjoy.
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I enjoy watching the book to movie transition. I can think of two cases that got it absolutely wrong: The Lonely Passion of Judith Hearne and the execrable (film not novel) Captain Corelli’s Mandolin.
But sometimes things are so right on screen that I don’t mind the changes, additions or omissions made: The Lord of the Rings Trilogy, Atonement, even the Harry Potter movies. Alan Rickman as Snape makes up for any other minor faults!
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I prefer a book over movies. No movie contains the nuances and fine details. I truly miss those!
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My wife saw the movie Stardust and then read the book. She said she liked both, although the screenwriters definitely took liberty with Robert DeNiro’s character. Even though I didn’t see the movie, from what I remember from the book, his wasn’t a major part. In the movie, they made into a major part, but he is funny, from what I’ve heard a la the wife….
…as for books into movies, in general, I like seeing the differences that screenwriters come up with from novels. Sometimes they hit, sometimes they miss. I agree with Lizzy that the Lord of the Rings hit, despite additions or omissions. However, I had a class on books into films in college and one of the films that I absolutely hated that was made from a book was The Grapes of Wrath. I appreciated the cinematography, but the storyline was nothing that Steinbeck intended. In fact, for some reason, it angered me…which obviously still 15 years after college, I’m still talking about it.
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I watch a lot of films that use to be movies. I go in with low expectations, and I usually like it as a separate entity. There are some films which are exactly like the book in tone (I Capture the Castle, P&P 95, the recent Cranford series), some which are similar to the books but different enough that they are distinct and likable (Stardust has similar tone but also differences but is still good, V for Vendetta is the same), and then there are others which are disappointing like The Da Vinci Code. The book was a quick page turner. The movie was really hard to watch; I was very disappointed in Tom Hanks. I also thought they did a pretty decent job of adapting TLTWTW, but I hear Prince Caspian is really different in characterization and tone from the books.
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I agree with you on all 4 movies. Great site. Thanks for dropping by mine.
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I think books turned into movies can be okay as long as I don’t expect too much. If it’s a book I loved, I’ll want the movie to replicate the experience I had reading the book, and that never happens, so it’s always a little disappointing.
maries last blog post..Sunday Salon
I think it can go both ways, sometimes a great book gets turned into an awful movie. Or a not so great book can be a really good movie. I read Chocolat and didn’t enjoy it too much, but I really enjoyed the movie version, and the film was different in many ways. I agree, the Harry Potter movies were good, but the books were way better. I’m worried over the next film coming out, since the last book was really great.
They are making N.G.’s Coraline into a movie too, I wonder if it will be as great as the book was.
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I’m always anxious about movie adaptations of books I’ve loved. Mostly, I’m disappointed. Some notable exceptions are The Hours, Atonement, and The Remains of the Day. I always read the book first, though -that’s my one rule!
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Sometimes I feel really annoyed and disappointed when a film strays far from the book. Other times I am able to suspend my previous experience and enjoy the movie as a new telling of a familiar story. With the Narnia films, it’s the second reaction. I read the whole series many times as a child & teen, but it’s been a number of years since I last opened the books, so I haven’t noticed where the films deviated. I’m going to wait after the films before reading the books again, to compare. Even though I know they’re different in places, I’m still enjoying them.
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Great topic! I have not seen the Stardust movie, but I remember it got a lot of bad reviews when it came out, and I loved the book so I haven’t decided if I want to risk it.
I liked the first Narnia adaptation, but the second, in my opinion, strayed too far in the wrong direction by adding lots of plotlines that weren’t in the book. I think if you liked the movies, you’d like the books even more.
And the Harry Potter movies have gotten much better. At first, it was like they were just trying to cram all of the events in without taking into consideration the fact that the movie is such a different medium. You have to present a coherant story, not just a series of scenes.
Too many book adaptations forget that!
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