| By Shelley Coriell | August 7, 2009 |
Last weekend Dearest Hubby and I finally took the kiddos to see Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince. This latest wizard flick earned mixed reviews from my clan: 1.5 – 3 Magic Wands (on our 4-Wand scale.) One thing we all agreed on: the book was better.
To me the plot felt disjointed and the world-building flat. I never truly lost myself in the story. Well, duh. Imagine those poor, poor movie folks trying to magically charm J.K. Rowling’s 650-page novel into a 200-page screen play. Which brings me to my dilemma. As an aspiring novelist I study novels all the time. I analyze pacing, story structure, and character development. I dissect hooks and examine metaphors. Fun, huh? It’s a rare but glorious occasion when I simply lose myself in a good book.
Enter Audrey Niffenegger’s The Time Traveler’s Wife, a frustratingly passionate love story between a patient but often confused artist and her dashing librarian husband who involuntarily travels through time. TTTW is complex and emotionally compelling. For 500+ pages I forgot to study my craft and went on an amazing story journey. I loved this book, but I’m wondering if Hollywood can do it justice, given the complexity of this tangled tale.
My questions for you: If you’re a TTTW fan, do you think this hefty piece of literature can make the leap from book to the big screen? And have you ever seen a movie that was as good as or better than the book?
August 7th, 2009 at 8:25 am
Good morning, Shelley-
Wonderful post! And I have to agree about the Harry Potter movies. While they’ve all been huge fun to watch, the books were so much better.
As to TTTW, I can’t imagine how they’ll do justice to such a complicated and beautifully emotional story. In fiction you can get away with jumping through time and place (not via time travel) but with flashbacks, flashforwards, pov shifts, etc…and get deep into the character’s souls. I’m not sure how you do that in a movie without completely confusing us poor movie watchers. I’ll be interested to see how they pull it off.
August 7th, 2009 at 9:38 am
Gosh, I hope TTTW DOES make the jump! I’m truly hoping for great things with that movie.
As far as movies that were better than the books, I have to say I have mainly found this with short stories that have been later put to screen, and, now that I consider it — “Bridges of Madison County” was a wonderful movie from a so-so book. So there’s one! Of course, hello, Clint Eastwood…
I’m about to visit with a cinephile who’s also a literary writer — I’ll put the question to him as well!
Great, timely post!
August 7th, 2009 at 10:09 am
I haven’t read TTTW, but I think the movie, Gone with the Wind, was as good as, if not better, than the book. But, then again, I saw the film first, so I might not feel that way if I’d read the book beforehand.
August 7th, 2009 at 10:38 am
Jenn..that’s exactly what I was thinking! I’m not a huge Nicholas Sparks fan, so BOMC did not reach me emotionally. However, seeing the brilliance that was Clint Eastwood and Meryl Streep at that stoplight in the rain. OMG.
As a time travel junkie, I have high hopes for TTTW, but I agree with Alix. The crazy narrative structure may not lend itself to screen very well.
August 7th, 2009 at 10:47 am
Alix, I so agree that books allow us to get “deep into the character’s soul.” I wonder if it’s something as simple as we spend more time with a 400-page book than a 90-minute movie.
August 7th, 2009 at 10:57 am
Chalk one up for the Big Screen with Bridges of Madison County. Thanks, Jenn! Gotta love Clint’s softer side.
August 7th, 2009 at 10:58 am
Laurie, I was waiting for someone to chime in with Gone With the Wind. It’s a toss-up for me. Both brilliant. Talk about world building!
August 7th, 2009 at 11:00 am
Glad to have another time travel junkie on board, L.A.! I got hooked on them in the eighties when I started reading books by that husband and wife team. Urg…can’t remember the pen name.
August 7th, 2009 at 11:11 am
Hello, Ms Coriell!
In my experience, very few movies can do the book justice–Like Water for Chocolate being one of them, and in that case a) the book reads much like a script, and b) the book’s author did the screen adaptation herself.
I believe that short stories are easier to adapt to movies, while more complex works do better as miniseries (anyone remember Shogun?)
Even so, I’m always twitchy about movie adaptations and tend to avoid them.
August 7th, 2009 at 12:15 pm
I haven’t read TTTW and it never appealed to me until I saw the trailer for the movie. It looks great!
One movie that pops to head is Romancing the Stone. Couldn’t get into the book at all but loved the movie! Or The Firm. The book was too slow placed and detailed for me but loved the movie!
Hope one day we both have written a book we can watch on the big screen!
Beth
August 7th, 2009 at 12:56 pm
Beth,
Romancing the Stone was a book first? I never knew that! Who wrote it? I loved the movie.
August 7th, 2009 at 1:06 pm
The only movie I think that has turned out better than the book was Twilight. I’m not a huge fan of the book but I found the movie mildly entertaining. One of my all time favorite movies is The Lord of the Rings. I think that the Lord of the Ring movies did justice to the books, although the books are still way better.
August 7th, 2009 at 2:24 pm
I never saw or read Shogun, but The Thornbirds miniseries was a great adaptation. Great point about the longer format being better suited to handle complex and multi-layered books. Thanks for stopping by!
August 7th, 2009 at 2:26 pm
Beth, I never knew Romancing the Stone was a book, but I can see how this action/adventure story would translate better to film. Have a great weekend.
August 7th, 2009 at 2:38 pm
Kel, thanks for stopping by! Lord of the Rings is such a grand story, and I agree that director Peter Jackson did an amazing job with this classic. Like Tolkien, he created a believable world and he gave us characters we could really root for. Add on the exquisite cinematography and jaw-dropping special effects, and you have a real Oscar winner.
As for Twilight, I may have the young people in my life up in arms, but I felt Bella and Edward had much better chemistry…on the screen.
August 7th, 2009 at 2:41 pm
Hi Shelley,
I haven’t seen the Harry Potter movie yet or read The Time Travelers Wife. We did try to go see Aliens in the Attic last night, but the projector was broken and movie cancelled. Bummer.
In regards to a movie as good as the book—Yes, Dances with Wolves!! Saw it many times when it came out and enjoy it even now, over and over.
~Caro
August 7th, 2009 at 4:07 pm
I think the BBC’s version of Pride and Prejudice did justice to the book. I loved it because it followed the book so closely. I didn’t like the last one as much, but then I have a real thing for Colin Firth, especially as Darcy!
Other than P&P I can agree with Gone With The Wind, that incredible. Boys Don’t Cry was fabulous as was PS I Love You. Hilary Swank was great in both not to mention Gerard Butler in PS I Love You.
August 7th, 2009 at 4:50 pm
Caro, Dances with Wolves is such a beautiful movie in terms of place. Both setting and attention to Native American detail provide breathtaking visuals. Another great one! Thanks.
August 7th, 2009 at 4:59 pm
Robin, Yep, the BBC P&P was very well done, and I also loved the movie version with Knightley. But better than the book for me? Nope.
Have a wonderful weekend!
August 7th, 2009 at 5:07 pm
Alix I don’t recall who wrote it and it was years ago that I tried to read it so maybe my tastes have changed now but I know I couldn’t get into it then. Don’t recall why. And now that I think about it I wonder if the book came out after the movie. That happens sometimes. Was so long ago I don’t remember. Anyway, didn’t think the book was as good.
August 7th, 2009 at 7:18 pm
You guys already called out the ones that came to my mind: The Thorn Birds–miniseries really caught the flavor of the book, I thought, although it’s been so long since I’ve seen it!
And Pride and Prejudice. I love most versions, but the Colin Firth version is special for following so closely.
Fun topic, Shelley!
August 7th, 2009 at 8:16 pm
Hi Shelley,
Hunt for Red October comes immediately to mind for me. Loved the book first. Wasn’t sure I even wanted to see the movie, but they did it justice.
I didn’t know Romancing the Stone was a book first, either, but loved the movie. Agree with LOTR, GGWTW, P&P, haven’t seen ANY Harry Potter or that ilk, but recall another Vigo movie about his mustang and a race in the Saudi desert (can’t recall the name.). Another great adaptation.
August 8th, 2009 at 12:17 am
Gwynlyn~~It’s called Hidalgo–and you are right. It was a fantastic movie.
I actually got to meet the actor horse (hehe) I know you all were thinking I’d say Vigo, but he wasn’t there. They brought the horse around to the World Paint Show for promotion–and then played the trailer about every hour on a gigantic screen. I was taking pictures but it felt like I was at the movies…
It was great!!
Thanks, Shelley, for the really fun post!
~Caro
August 8th, 2009 at 3:30 pm
I haven’t read this book yet, so I’ll happily go see the movie. I made the mistake of reading MY SISTER’S KEEPER right before I saw the movie. So of course I was comparing them every inch of the way – including the vastly different change in endings.
August 8th, 2009 at 6:07 pm
I’m really curious about the film version of TTTW. I want to see if they’ll “correct” one small flaw (IMO) of the book. The film for The Jane Austen Book Club was, I thought, a bit better than the novel for me because I liked the lighter approach the director took with some of the characters.
August 8th, 2009 at 7:55 pm
I think that with a book, you’re getting deep into the character’s souls, but sometimes with movies, you’re getting deep into the *director’s* soul. Sometimes the director has the same “vision” for the story that you have, and sometimes it’s completely different.
I haven’t seen the new HP yet, but I agree– what a tough task, distilling such a large book into a (relatively) short movie! They did a really good job with the earlier books, but as the books get longer, it gets a lot harder to deliver a movie that’s both satisfying and still true to the original book.
I agree with Robin– the A&E P&P version (the one with Colin Firth) follows the story pretty much word for word, and I love that version as much as the printed book. (Plus, it has Colin Firth, which gives it a definite advantage IMO!)
August 10th, 2009 at 11:44 am
Gwynlyn, almost anything with Sean Connery gets a thumbs up from me. I’ll have to check out Hunt for Red October. Thanks!
Caroline, one of my father’s mules, Molly, was in a movie with Chuck Norris, and she even got her name listed in the movie credits. Let’s hear it for four-legged movie stars!
Cindy, Daughter #3 has been trying to get me to take her to see My Sister’s Keeper, but I’ve been dragging my feet because I heard it was so different from the book, which I really, really enjoyed. Hmmmmm…
Laura, YES! I totally see a movie being an extension of a director’s soul. Like a writer, a director is very much an artist, and he brings his unique tools and vision to the canvas.
Thanks, all!
August 10th, 2009 at 11:46 am
Marilyn, okay, you have me beyond intrigued. I can’t wait to hear what “small flaw” from TTTW you want to see corrected in the film version. Thanks for stopping by!
August 10th, 2009 at 4:27 pm
I’m really hoping TTTW will work… but slightly skeptical.
I thought The Bridges of Madison County was MUCH better as a film than a book.
Another one that I’m almost on the fence with is The English Patient.
When I first read it, I was awed by the beautiful prose, but not sucked in by the story. Then I saw the film and loved it. So, I read the book again. That second reading I LOVED the book… but that enjoyment was at least partially from comparing the book and screenplay. “Oh, look, they took that lecture about wind and moved it into a conversation in a car that wasn’t even in the book.”
I thought it was one brilliant adaptation.
Anthony Mingella also did a great screen version of The Talented Mr. Ripley… but I love the book as well as the movie.
August 12th, 2009 at 11:09 am
Maureen, Yessss! The English Patient is an exquisite movie, from the script to the cinematography to the musical score. A real multi-sensory powerhouse, which makes me wonder if the book will leave me flat. But after your comment, I may give it a try. Peace!