Posted by Claire on January 23, 2011 at 11:25:43 user Claire_Morgan.
In Reply to: Re: The good parts of the films, was Re: Ages of actors in CC -- was Years of SA & SD posted by Peter Ceresole on January 23, 2011 at 00:33:11:
I agree with both Roger and Peter, that there is no substitute for the author's words and intentions. However, I know that I am almost always disappointed by movie adaptations, even though I realize some things need to be added to bring a book to the screen.
What I usually object to, are what seems to be unnecessary changes. I think that Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings is a good example of this. Parts of the story were splendidly realized, but in other cases one wonders why the council of Elrond was given a negative tone. Yet Jackson and Philippa Boyens actually got an award for script writing on the third film.
So we are left with the joy of the scenery - Jackson did very well there, as did the S&A and Coot Club films. And occasional good extra dialog.
I do have to share a funny thought though. I briefly misread Peter's words above - "Demonstrating once again the old truth, that text has the best pictures, or in this case the best sequences", and for a moment pictured a film based on the illustrations! It is fun to imagine a film that is looking over the characters shoulders from behind and never showing faces. Now that would be a challenge for some poor director!
Claire