[x]

Browse More Like This

more ▶

More from *CassidyPeterson

View Gallery · View Prints

Featured in Groups:

#stamp-kingdom
Where Stamp Makers Unite!

#deviousSTAMPS
Stamps! Stamps! Stamps!

#Stamp-Heaven
All stamps go to heaven

Details

Submitted: May 20, 2010
Image Size: 5.3 KB
Resolution: 99×56

Thumb

Statistics

Comments: 36
Favourites: 102 [who?]
Views: 469 (0 today)

[x]

Regarding Book-based Moviesby *CassidyPeterson

Scraps

More or less!

I admit, there have been book-based movies that I've watched without realizing they were based on books, such as V for Vendetta. Others, like the live action Lord of the Rings and Watchmen, I read the book first.

I couldn't stand the Lord of the Rings movies because they went against so many of the notions I have in my head (also because Orlando Bloom is a terrible blonde. Excellent Legolas, terrible blonde). I watched about half of the first movie and just gave up. My complaints with Watchmen were more with the pacing of the movie than its accuracy, but not bad enough to keep me from re-watching.

Other movies I don't mind the inaccuracies. I haven't seen Sherlock Holmes yet and I'm already well aware of some inconsistencies between it at the books, but it just looks like a good movie. And the Harry Potter series is rampant with errors, but I still enjoyed them.

And for those of you saying the live action Tolkien movies were the only ones, guess again. There were three animated films in the late 80s or early 90s, one of the Hobbit and two of the Trilogy, all of which were horrible and I haven't watched since reading the books.

~PeaceDragon1724 Apr 29, 2013 Hobbyist Digital Artist

I've never read the Hobbit, but it was still great nonetheless.(The new one that came out last year.)
The Hunger Games was the best and most accurate rendition of a book-to-movie I've seen so far

.
Don't even get me started on the Percy Jackson series -_-...

=Xadrea Nov 2, 2012 Professional Traditional Artist

well it's not always true, but it does leave you scratching your head after seeing the movie wishing that certain parts weren't removed/added onto/changed. I didn't enjoy the Watchmen at all, it was like the whole thing was cut and pasted together

On of the most recent film adaptations I've seen is The Help. I made a point to read the book first (which is amazing) and although I did like the movie, it didn't portray many characters faithfully at all and it over simplified the tensions that were prevalent in the south during the 60's. It got a lot some poor reviews because of this (and most likely because the reviewers rarely read the books films are based on)

!iSwiftfire Aug 28, 2011

sometimes there are AWESOME books,and the movie is crap :/

!FireMarioWii May 5, 2011 Student Digital Artist

I have a hard time standing the movies after I read the books sometimes. For Lord of the Rings, I had a hard time dealing with the Live-action version because of the emphasis for adding action scenes and changing characters. Arwen was the worst; she was inconsistent, being an amazon woman who not only helped destroy Frodo's character, but suddenly turns into the original Arwen from the books (she was originally going to stay amazon and join the battle of Helm's Deep, but they scrapped the amazon idea because PJ realized the cat fight that would have happened between her and Eowyn.

The animated versions tried to stay closer to the book, and almost succeeded, but were often hindered by many limitations of their time periods.

Sometimes I am not bothered by the changes. Even the Chronicle's of Narnia did well for me, because it stayed true to the spirit of the books while not straying away from the original text. All the characters were the same, and whatever was left out was of no consequence to me.

If there are any book movies that are good, I would say it should be the ones that are consistent; either you follow the text almost by the book, or you stray altogether and craft your own narrative. Disney movies are definitely an example of crafting stories that are more of a retelling of the original books.

~glomdi Mar 29, 2011

I usually read the books first. Somehow it feels like it spoils it less, if you know the ending of a movie rather than a book.

=HarmonicSonic Mar 26, 2011 Student General Artist

I'm not getting at you, because I think your stamp is so true in many cases. But I have to admit, as much as I like to read, book purists tend to get on my nerves. Every book-based movie, no matter how well-made, has a group of people whining "this isn't like the book" or "that's not like the book". If a person wants the book, they need to just read the book instead of watching the movie.

Take Lord of the Rings, for example. I absolutely love the book. I've read it multiple times - as a matter of fact, I'm in the middle of reading it right now. That said, I still think the movies were very well-made (no, they weren't perfect. What movie is?) and are very entertaining.

As for Sherlock Holmes, yes there were some inconsistencies with the books (though not as many as people are led to believe - that person who made the remark that Holmes never punched anyone in the books must have missed the passage from A Study in Scarlet where Dr. Watson mentions that he is an expert boxer and fencer.), but the overall spirit of the books remained intact (more so even, if one takes an objective look, than the old Basil Rathbone films).

I'm not saying that filmmakers should take a book and completely mutilate it (Blade Runner, for example, completely murdered the book on which it was based). But, for the people who think that everything in a movie has to line up exactly, verbatim, line-for-line with the book - I suggest to just stop bothering to watch book-based movies. Books and movies are two different media. It would be like complaining that there are visible differences between a painting and a sculpture of the same subject.

*CassidyPeterson Mar 26, 2011

Aye, just so. A poor adaptation isn't necessarily an offensive one. But sometimes trivial aspects take root in the hearts of the books' fans, that simply wouldn't make sense in the movie's pacing, or else the books have just been around long enough that it's a clash between the audience's ideals and the movie, rather than the book and the movie.

=HarmonicSonic Mar 26, 2011 Student General Artist

Exactly. Although I might take it even further - I'd say that a loose adaptation isn't necessarily a poor adaptation. Fantastic Mr. Fox is a good example. The book is just a short children's story. Several characters - main characters, mind you - of the movie aren't even in the book. But, if the movie stayed exactly like the book, it would be about ten minutes long. I think when filmmakers are creating a book-based film, looking at the book is important, yes, but I think it's even more important to look at the personality and intent of the author. There's not much left of Roald Dahl's story in the movie adaptation of Mr. Fox, but the movie is still very much like something I can imagine Roald Dahl creating.

Regarding what you said on pacing, I think that's especially true of big, epic fantasy films like Lord of the Rings or Narnia (or the Wheel of Time, if they ever decide to make movies of that). Books and movies really can't have the same pace because... well... you read books, and with movies there's not any reading involved - the images are right there and you don't have to take the extra time to visualize them for yourself.

Anyway, I talk too much

~BrYttBRatt Oct 18, 2010

While I do tend to accept the book's canon more than the movie (since it IS the original author's work), I agree that sometimes reading the book beforehand can ruin the movie experience. The film could be very entertaining and make sense on its own, but if it differs from the book (be it by changing some details or leaving something out), people just notice that and complain about the inaccuracy.

If the film is different from the book, the movie is automatically the inferior one. So while lots of people say movies ruin the books, I think it's the other way around XD

~akunamaru Jun 22, 2010

it usually ruins the movie? It always ruins the movie. That's why I watch the movie about three times first, and then I read the book lol

More from *CassidyPeterson

Featured in Groups:

Details

Statistics

Regarding Book-based Moviesby *CassidyPeterson

The Journal Portal

Polls

What is your preferred drawing software?

deviantART [dee·vee·un'nt·ART]

Keep in Touch!

Deviousness

Add Media

Style