Books: Why bother?

[jcpro]

I read mostly history and finance books. As for fiction, the exceptions that the film is better than the book are rare. The most obvious exception is LA Confidential.

I read The Name of the Rose in both English and Italian, it is a flawed film. I couldn't pass up the opportunity to watch Sean Connery and F Murray Abraham work together, it was also Ron Perlman's break out role. The first half was good but the second half devolved into a typical Hollywood revenge fantasy...I was pissed.

Not a very good example. Umberto Eco is too nuanced to translate well into film.

 

[Insidious Von]

Not a very good example. Umberto Eco is too nuanced to translate well into film.

I agree jc.

The film was a logistical nightmare for director Jean Jaques Annaud, it took him five years before it was released. The story takes place in the interim between the end of the Knights Templar and the beginning of The Hundred Years War. The story as written by Eco to represent the struggle between ignorance and knowledge. Annaud had hit pay-dirt in 1981 with Quest for Fire.

The central character in the book is the stern Pope John XXII, he never appears, his will is enforced by his Ligate Bishop Bernardo Gui. Unfortunately F Murray Abraham in role isn't given much to work with. The film has a high rating on IMDB, it has two important aspects going for it. Ron Perlman could now quit his day job as a mechanic. And Sean Connery played William of Baskerville with total conviction and gusto. He transformed his career from an action star to a serious actor. The Academy had guilt pangs for not giving him an Oscar for the role, so they gave him one the following year for The Untouchables - a role he could play in his sleep.

 

[Insidious Von]

Read "The Grapes of Wrath" by John Steinbeck, then watch the John Ford directed movie of the same name starring Henry Fonda. Both excellent, but the book has way more texture. The ending stunned me and could never have been included in the 1940 movie.

Awesome book, great film. The ending of the book confounded John Ford, the technology wasn't there for him to attempt it. The film ended with Tom Joad's soliloquy and the rest of the Joad family moving to another vineyard - which would eventually get flooded out.

 

[Robert Mugabe]

Mental muscle. Not all books are story books.

The movie Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas was a stand out for movie adaptation for me. I loved the book, but when I heard they were making it into a movie I didn't get how they could do that. They did. It was sublime.

 

[gcostanza]

Reading this wasted 4 seconds of my life. Thanks.

It took you 4 seconds to read that sentence?

We may have discovered part of the problem.

 

[malata]

So movies are like vibrators? Interesting....

dat extra bass makes me tummy do waves

 

[basketcase]

Not a very good example. Umberto Eco is too nuanced to translate well into film.

I loved Name of the Rose as a kid. It was on TV and had boobies.

Book was pretty solid but I had to imagine the tits.

 

[Mitchell99]

Books: Why bother?

Just wait for the movie.

Discuss !!!

It simply comes down to personal preference. Good question though.