Have you ever read a book, then watched the movie adaptation and thought, ‘Is this even the same story?’
For several years my mother would not watch any movie I recommended. I urge/bullied her into watching a Dean Koontz movie called Servants of Twilight, based on his novel by the same name. Long story short – fanaticals try to kill a young boy suspected of being the Antichrist. In the book, he is not. In the movie… he is. And he kills everybody. I kept telling my mother ‘Don’t worry. It will ends great!’ She wouldn’t speak to me for two hours after the movie ended! I don’t blame her. I had to find my copy of the book and re-read the ending.
Had I really misremembered the book that badly? No. The movie writers and producers, I am assuming, thought making the little boy evil would make for better box office.
Could this be why I have trust issues?
Anyway, these movie people weren’t the only ones who decided that a movie script would need to be ?????
MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD!
THE SHINING – Who doesn’t remember Jack Nicholson as Jack Torrance freezing in the middle of the ice maze? His son and wife are able to get away. In the book, Torrance is able to fight the ghosts and spirits and regain control of his mind long enough to send his son away to safety, then set fire to the Overlook Hotel.
JAWS – I actually saw the movie years before I read Peter Benchley’s novel. In the book, Hooper had an affair with Brody’s wife, then died in the shark cage. Quint drowned and the shark died due to wounds from a harpoon. I liked the movie better (sorry, Mister Benchley!). I loved the camaraderie that developed between Brody and Hooper, who stayed safely away from Ellen Brody! Quint’s death on the big screen was gruesome! And Brody blowing up the shark with a propane tank? That could only be played out in full color on the full screen.
THE LITTLE MERMAID – I confess I haven’t seen the live action version of The Little Mermaid but I have seen Disney’s version about a hundred times. Who doesn’t remember Ariel and Eric happily sailing away on their wedding barge, Sebastian and Flounder getting into mischief? Hans Christian Anderson had a very different ending. The prince falls in love with another girl, leaving the little mermaid alone. She ends up turning into sea foam!
RAMBO: FIRST BLOOD – Did you know the Rambo movies are based on a book by David Morrell? Of course, in his book, Rambo is killed after failing to surrender to authorities. Uh, what? If the movie had followed this premise, we would be short the 4 extra Rambo movies!
WORLD WAR Z – The book by Max Brooks s a collection of articles, memoirs, and interviews with survivors of the apocalyptic virus. It gives POV’s of doctors, military men, children, and others who can attest to the traumatic events that follow the outbreak. (I highly recommend this book, even if you don’t like zombie stuff. It will make you cry and rage.) The movie is all about Brad Pitt running around looking handsome while saving the world. It doesn’t resemble the book at all. Although watching Brad Pitt is never a hardship.
This is just a small sampling of books I have read that did not translate quite the same to the big screen. Has this happened to you? Have you suffered trauma/disappointment/bewilderment over the vastly different movie treatment of a favorite novel? I sympathize, I empathize , I get it.
