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One movie that I found *as good as* the book was Of Mice and Men. John Malkovich's and Gary Sinise's portrayals of Lennie Small and George Milton were incredible.
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Yep, BelM, that's the one--with Nicole Kidman. The movie completely took me in, lock, stock, and barrel. (How would a lock, stock, and barrel take one in? Have I mixed a metaphor here?)
My daughter took me to see it--and, even though she'd seen it before--we hugged each other for safety during various points of the story.
Ghost regards,
WordWraith
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Of Mice and Men.
Ah, but have you ever seen the original with Burgess Meredith and Lon Chaney, Jr.? Excellent.
And there was also a wonderful Hallmark-Hall-of-Fame in the early 70's with George Segal.
Didn't see the recent remake, but with your vote, bel, that means all three adaptations are worthy of the book. Something of a record I'd say. 'Course, if there was ever a book made for a poignant theatrical treatment it's that one. Love John Steinbeck. Grapes of Wrath with Henry Fonda wasn't bad, either.
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addict
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addict
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Forrest Gump. The movie is fabulously made, historical, funny and insightful. I read the book after seeing the movie (emphasis mine)
For me, it really depends on which happens first. ie. If I've read the book first, the movie is sometimes disappointing - mainly because the script writers / movie producers have to condense the books so much to fit into timeframe. If I've seen the movie first, I can find the book laborious (unless it is brilliant).
eg. I read Bridget Jones's Diary before seeing the movie. Loved both (related to it a little too closely I suspect) but found myself noticing through the movie which bits were missing.
Anyone else relate?
Hev
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>but found myself noticing through the movie which bits were missing.
Anyone else relate?
Pssshhh ya. I find that most movies adapted from Stephen King novels can't develop ALL the characters in detail like he does, so they wind up falling a bit short.
Eg. If you've read the book Needful Things you'll understand why, at the end of the movie, a woman walks by wearing sunglasses, looking spaced out, dazed and confused. If you haven't read the book you wonder what on earth she is doing there.
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old hand
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old hand
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The movie completely took me in, lock, stock, and barrel. (How
would a lock, stock, and barrel take one in? Have I mixed a metaphor here?)Lock, stock, and barrel refers to the pieces of an old muzzle-loading rifle. If you consider yourself the powder charge, the patch (or wadding) or the bullet (or ball) you're not mixing the metaphor. Of course, that's one way to REALLY shoot your mouth off! 
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old hand
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Max / CapK - which came first, Once Were Warriors the film or book?
It'd be hard to imagine the book (if there is one) could deliver the raw, gut wrenching (as I've posted before) emotion of the film. Let alone the calm patches (vistas of Kiwiland) between the emotional and visual storms.
The toughest film I've ever watched - but one that should be compulsory. Why? To remind all of us just how fortunate we are if we are loved by somebody.
stales
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The toughest film I've ever watched - but one that should be compulsory. Why? To remind all of us just how fortunate we are if we are loved by somebody.
... well, at least, fortunate that we don't live in South Auckland. People who have lived there have told me that Jake-baby is still alive and well there, and smashing up pubs and faces with gay abandon ...
Believe it or not, the whole scenario was re-enacted throughout Zild during the 1960s and 1970s. The pub down the road from our place used to be known as "The Flying Jug", for obvious reasons.
Never read the book. Can't even remember who wrote it.
Romper-Stomper was pretty gritty, though, although perhaps a leedle less generic.
I would think, though, that for everyone - especially those who have over-idealised views of life in Zild - Once Were Warriors is more-or-less compulsory viewing. Leave your rose-tinted glasses at home, too.
The idiot also known as Capfka ...
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I'd concur with those who have noted the impossibility of packing a densely scripted novel into the limits of a typical length movie. But conversely there is a class of film which plays to the medium's *strengths in ways that no book can, er, replicate. I am thinking of course of the stunning visual impact (which continues to affect visual design and architecture to this day) of a film like Ridley Scott's Blade Runner - the little story of 'Do Androids Dream...' is surely of limited interest and consequence by comparison.
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The other film that absolutely astonished me for its trueness to the book, quality of production, and, amazingly, historical accuracy, was Gettysburg, another Turner Production. I never thought Michael Shaara's The Killer Angel's, his magnificient historical-novel about the Battle of Gettysburg from a mostly Southern point of view, would ever be translated so faithfully or eloquently to the screen. Aside from some, IMHO, questionable choices in the interpretation of Gen Robert E. Lee (Martin Sheen's or the director's, or mutual agreement, I don't know), the picture was truly majestic! (George C. Scott was originally signed to do Lee, which would have been a treat to see, but he got sick and had to bow out...looking forward to Robert Duvall's "Lee" in Gods and Generals this Fall). Of course, as someone mentioned earlier, this was a 4 hour movie so they had ample time to do the book justice.
And I still think Jeff Daniels deserved the Supporting Actor Oscar that year for his Col. Chamberlain...think the usual Academy prejudice toward new upstart independent studios robbed him of it (Gettysburg was the first time Turner Productions ventured a theatrical release).
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