Tuesday, August 2, 2011

Pages to Hours

I am not always a fan of movie-adaptions of books. In fact, while closing up the sandwich shop I worked at a couple of months ago, I announced to my co-worker (in a dramatic moment of rash decision) that I was going to boycott any and all movies that are supposed to be books! 
Okay, so that was a little over the top, and I'm pretty sure I saw a book-movie that weekend or so. But, the sentiment behind it is still true. I am always weary of my favorite books getting ruined in the theaters. The perfect representation of a beloved book is always a toss up and fairly impossible feat for film makers to achieve. When a million people read a book, that means there are a million different images of each character, setting, event, etc.



In My Opinion:
Movies that have failed their Books-
Twilight (Mostly just the two main characters.. and the music..)
The Indian in the Cupboard, 1995 version
Beastly
Percy Jackson
Eargon (So I've heard. I haven't read the book)

Movies that made their books proud-
Harry Potter
A Christmas Carol
The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe
Pride and Prejudice, 2006
and
Jane Eyre, 2011!






I went on a little trip with my brother this past weekend and on the flight home, I experienced my first in-flight movie. I usually only fly a couple hour flights. This one was five. The captain announced that the attendants would be coming around and selling headphones for our in flight movie. "Today we will be viewing Jane Eyre". I was pretty excited. I looove this book, and didn't see the movie when it was in theaters, but the previews for it had given me hope about the movie. Sure enough, it was fantastic! Mia Wasikowska (Alice in the recent Alice and Wonderland) and Michael Fassbender did a credit to the Charlotte Bronte's classic characters Jane and Mr. Rochester. It was beautifully filmed, casted well, and stayed close to the story, making only appropriate changes (necessary for movie audience vs. book audience). There is something about stories from this time period that just get to me. Book or movie. Thank you Cary Fukunaga for giving us a nearly perfect representation of a nearly perfect romance.
Maybe I need to give a little more slack to the book-to-movie makers out there...