Films/DVD Asylum

Posted by wbnormal (A) on September 22, 2002 at 09:28:10

In Reply to: A note to producers - quit screwing with the stories posted by Larry S on September 20, 2002 at 09:52:26:

based on books that I've read or plan to read. I seldom have seen a book-based movie that has satisfied me. Many are so far from the plot of the book that they irritate me to the point of walking out. I wish I could "lighten-up" and just enjoy these movies, but I just can seem to. Some older movies like "Grapes of Wrath" and "Gone With the Wind" come close to doing the book justice. Anybody else have some favorites?

I've come to realize that books and movies are two different mediums and each has its good and bad aspects. A movie cannot easily get *inside* someones head unless it's a narrative, which doesn't seem to be all that common anymore. "The Lost Weekend", which is partly narrative, is a notable exception, but the ending was changed to a happy one. On the other hand a book has a hard time with *special effects* unless you've got a very creative imagination.

I don't really know who to place the blame on; the producers, directors, screenwriters, or in the case of contemporary book-based movies, the authors of the books. I can't understand why an author allows him(her)self to be bastardized by the movie industry.

Just my $.02
wHY bE normal