How many times have you read a book and thought to yourself, "I wish they'd make this into a movie!" Then how many time have you seen the movie verson and have been disappointed it because it didn't live up to your expectations?
I was trying to think of why. I think that movie makers are stuck between a rock and a hard place: Some people want to have the movie verson differ from the book, so it stands on its own as a work of art. Others want the movie to follow the book closely and be faithful to the parent materials.
Thinking about this for too long gives me a headache. How can everyone be satisfied? It seems impossible.
I can think of many examples of movies that are based on books, and I have mixed feelings. I like when a movie tries to stay close to the book's characters and storylines, and I think movies like the first couple Harry Potters, the Golden Compass, and Lord of the Rings have done a great job with this. I feel like the book has come alive, out of my imagination, and onto the screen. (I suppose even Twilight wasn't that bad, though I'm not a fan of the series.) But what about movies like Percy Jackson and the Olympians, where the characters were changed to appear nothing like the description of the physical and personal represenations in the book, and the story was manipulated to be completely different? Perhaps it could make an entertaining movie, but I didn't like it. I was too annoyed with the actors playing the roles and the drastic change of storyline to disappear into the film. I kept thinking, how can they continue the story line of the rest of the series? What were they thinking? Stuff like that doesn't make for a fun movie experience.
Can you think of other movies based on books that left an impression, good or bad, on you?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
I usually don't think books I read should be made into movies but I usually do end up reading books off of which movies I like have been based and usually I enjoy the book more than or the same as the movie. Here are a few memorable examples:
ReplyDeleteFight Club - great movie, great book
Full Metal Jacket - excellent movie, excellent book (The Short-Timers)
Neverending Story - great movie, excellent book
Night Watch, Day Watch - great books, mediocre movies
Princess Bride - excellent movie, excellent book
Dune - great book, good (albeit way different) movie
Choke - great book, mediocre movie
Battle Royale - good book, great comics, great movie
Musashi - phenomenal book, great movies (Samurai Trilogy)
And a female co-worker would only let me continue denouncing Twilight if I read the book and saw the movie and after doing so I prefer the movie just because Stephanie Meyer writes like a twelve year old girl.