Books & Films

**chalice** · 06-20-2003, 11:58 AM

Neil, apologies for the dawdling response but the truth is you really have had me racking my brains.
I decided, a long time ago, as a fiction lover and cinema lover, to keep those separate beauties exactly that; separate. Too often had I cursed one and kissed the other, anticipation demanding loyalty. Too often I suffered disappointment, glancing from book to screen and straining my neck. The only true representation a director can make of a novel is to scroll the novel on a 50 foot screen, verbatum,
until the last full stop. The metaphor applies in reverse.
I must say I was somewhat struck by John Huston's The Dead, which I thought captured all facets of the story and discovered new pardoxes, easier to deliniate when set to three dimensions.
George Roy Hill's The World According To Garp was lovingly similar to the novel and I love both equally.
Also Nicolas Roeg's masterful and horrifying Don't Look Now in which, in my opinion,he surpasses even Hitchcock in his grim reading of Du Maurier.

**clocker** · 06-21-2003, 01:37 AM

I think certain 'modern' authors are more influenced by cinema and thus, their writing lends itself to adaptation. Stephen King certainly comes to mind and I've long thought that Mick Ferren's work would make good cinema.
Thomas Harris makes a good case of someone whose work should be easily translatable, but so far hasn't been. It's too bad that Red Dragon (one of my favorite genre books, ever) was first made into Manhunter, as big a piece of drivel as I've ever seen, and the far superior second remake (with Antony Hopkins) came after the shock had worn off.
It will be very interesting to see what happens with Harris' next book, as the film of Hannibal completely changed the ending of the book.

**neil1967** · 06-21-2003, 01:04 PM

chalice, will reply in full after taking short course on deciphering the writers
critic, lol. what a clever man you are. make me feel like championing a fu*kwit
world. back to the dictionary, speak soon, neil.

**Curley** · 06-21-2003, 01:09 PM

Please play nice in bookworld

:'(

**neil1967** · 06-21-2003, 02:08 PM

curley, I hope youre not taking me wrong, tis only friendly banter, youre going to
scare me off the boards twice you've pulled me now i'm getting paranoid. when you read my posts try to imagine someone smiling jovially

and not someone
staring at his feet running an index finger along the entire length of a rusty sickle.
note to self. must start using those smiley faces.