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books2010-09-04 10:55 am
sweet_sparrow) wrote in books2010-09-04 10:55 am
Movie Adaptations
A friend of mine recently watched the movie adaptation of Tomorrow, When the War Began and loved it.
Which brings me neatly to a topic that I thought might be a fun and interesting discussion: movie adaptations of books. Which ones have you seen? Do you refuse to acknowledge any as adaptations? Which ones did you love? What're your thoughts on what makes a good adaptation? Should books be adapted for the screen (be it big or small) in your eyes?
For me, I'd say that a good adaptation has to get across the same... soul of the book. I'm not sure that makes sense, but I've only dipped my toes into thinking about this, so I have as yet very little idea of how to best phrase it.
One of the first adaptations I ever saw was The Last Unicorn when I was about three or four. It remains one of my favourite films ever. I never knew until in my middle/late teens, though, that The Last Unicorn was based on a book. Or, if I did, it never registered all that well. It remains one of the best adaptations I've ever seen, and I couldn't rightly tell you why. Unless it's that it sticks so close to the original.
The latest book-to-movie adaptation I watched was Minoes, better known in English as Undercover Kitty, I think, for unknown reasons. (I would dearly love to hear what the people involved were thinking when that title was decided upon. It makes no sense whatsoever.) It was a very cute, fun movie that stuck quite close to the book as far as my memory can tell. The book has a little more background and depth to it, but not very much. I think I might recommend the movie over the book too, especially to non-Dutch people because... Well, let's say our writing style can come across as incredibly stilted and jarring in translation.)
Which brings me neatly to a topic that I thought might be a fun and interesting discussion: movie adaptations of books. Which ones have you seen? Do you refuse to acknowledge any as adaptations? Which ones did you love? What're your thoughts on what makes a good adaptation? Should books be adapted for the screen (be it big or small) in your eyes?
For me, I'd say that a good adaptation has to get across the same... soul of the book. I'm not sure that makes sense, but I've only dipped my toes into thinking about this, so I have as yet very little idea of how to best phrase it.
One of the first adaptations I ever saw was The Last Unicorn when I was about three or four. It remains one of my favourite films ever. I never knew until in my middle/late teens, though, that The Last Unicorn was based on a book. Or, if I did, it never registered all that well. It remains one of the best adaptations I've ever seen, and I couldn't rightly tell you why. Unless it's that it sticks so close to the original.
The latest book-to-movie adaptation I watched was Minoes, better known in English as Undercover Kitty, I think, for unknown reasons. (I would dearly love to hear what the people involved were thinking when that title was decided upon. It makes no sense whatsoever.) It was a very cute, fun movie that stuck quite close to the book as far as my memory can tell. The book has a little more background and depth to it, but not very much. I think I might recommend the movie over the book too, especially to non-Dutch people because... Well, let's say our writing style can come across as incredibly stilted and jarring in translation.)
no subject
LotR: I don't think they could have give more of the lore feeling into the movie. It's something connected to the medium, I think. It works incredibly well in literature, but only mediocre in movies, imho.
I don't know Cooper's Seaward, but I loved her The Dark is Rising series.
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I was more thinking some of the meandering. I thought Brokeback Mountain did a lot of meandering, but it's been a couple of years since I watched it, so that may be because those shots stood out to me most.
Seaward is... possibly her least known non-picture book, I guess. It's certainly out of print (unlike the others I know of). It's a very beautiful story that's all about the journey rather than the destination. But it's also very slim and the soft, meandering mythic tone of it probably wouldn't translate into a movie either. But it's so soft and gorgeous and warm... I love it a lot. ^-^
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I didn't list Brokeback Mountain, because I know only the movie and not the short story it's based on.
But Seaward is now on my "look for" list. Maybe I'm lucky in one of the old books stores across town. :)
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's hard to talk about adaptations if you only know the one version. *nods*
I keep wanting to buy all the used copies I find and give them to friends, but then I'm afraid they won't like it at all. *sad noise* Or that the copies I find (which're online) are all bad ones you could never give as a present... If you do ever find it, I hope you'll enjoy it! It's a children's book just bordering on YA, though. It's not quite up to the same standard as TDIR, if only because it's only 170 pages as opposed to five books, but I like it much better all the same.
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TDIR was actually one of the first fantasy series I ever read (together with Cherryh's The Dreamstone, which is certainly not for children). It formed my tastes.