Book v Film Adaptation

[Nearly Sane]

I had been thinking about Fraulein Sally Bowles earlier on this thread. The film has a lorra lorra Liza but the stage shows I have seen have had less huge a  singer. So Jane Horrocks pretending not to be a great singer and Natasha Richardson not being a great singer. Do I think it's a great adaptation, fuck yes! I've watched it many many tines and I love it.


Is it better than the original, yes and again it's so different.


Have I danced with Alan Cumming as the emcee, oh yes Mr Leather clad postman

[Nearly Sane]

And a bit of Will's Cabaret

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=78vr9t3xj7w

[Gonnagle]

Dear Rhiannon,

Generally I always think the book is better, I have watched To Kill a Mockingbird about four times but I have lost count of how many times I have read the book, I am eagerly awaiting the film version of Good Omens ( brilliantly funny book ) it will be some achievement if they even come close to that book and there is talk of turning Sir Terry's Wee Free Men into a movie.

Any attempts so far at adapting Sir Terry's books into movie's have been complete and utter failures, David Jason is a fantastic actor but he never captured the real Rincewind in The Colour of Magic.

Gonnagle.

[Humph Warden Bennett]

The one that comes to my mind now is Rider Haggard's novel "She". The novel is better than both of the film versions, the Hammer version is one of their better offerings.

With modern CGI the more fantastic sequences in the novel could be filmed. There might be some problems with modern sensibilites, not so much Mohamed the ship's captain, (although he might have to renamed so as to stop unnecessary protests from some quarters), but with the depiction of a white queen ruling over dark skinned people. That could be overcome by making Ayesha brown skinned, perhaps?

[jeremyp]

Perfecty reasonably argument but the book, all of it felt flat after listening to the radio. The jokes which were staged on the radio felt st a a a a ged in the books. But I am being specifically critical. I remember engorging myself on the book, in delight with it, having something physical to show people .

We might haver to agree to differ. Perhaps it depends on whether you read the book or heard the radio version first.

I remember sitting in the film version and getting really angry with myself because I was constantly comparing it with all the previous versions and thinking "that's not right" instead of watching the film on its own terms.

[Robbie]

Not a film exactly but I read 'A Passage to India' years ago and saw the TV adaptation some time later. I thought it was pretty close to the book but one or two other people pointed out things the TV series missed.

My dad and in-laws went to see it on stage at the Churchill in Bromley very recently. They've all read it (I think), I'll have to ask if it was close to the book. They certainly liked it, a local actor of whom I've never heard was in it & they were impressed with him.