Book and Movie Pairings
My book club met this past weekend to discuss The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini. Usually I'd have lots of questions prepared and our discussion would last for hours...but not this time. Instead we opted for a very brief discussion of the book leaving us with lots of time to watch the movie.
When I say brief discussion, I really do mean brief discussion. We agreed that the book was excellent --- well written story, realistic characters --- talked about our favorite passages, mentioned the current situation in Afghanistan and we were done. It took maybe 20 minutes.
As soon as we started the movie we realized there was a problem --- subtitles! I don't know about you, but watching a subtitled movie requires my undivided attention. When you take twelve women who don't see each other often and put them in a room together you can't expect them to be quiet, now can you?! The movie seemed to have a secondary soundtrack that went something like this: "Turn it up --- I can't hear anything!" "That's because you're supposed to be reading the subtitles." "Now it's too loud, turn it down a bit." "What are they talking about?" "Can someone get the cat off the couch?!" "Did you catch what he just said?" "Who's that guy again?" "I need a blanket." "Are you crazy, it's so hot in here!" "Wait, are they in Afghanistan or Pakistan now?" and so on, with an undercurrent of whispered conversations completely unrelated to the movie or the book. And yes, I'll admit that I was one of the guilty parties.
We did watch the movie, really. Unfortunately some of the most powerful scenes in the book were left out completely (example? the part with Sorhab and the bathtub --- enough said) and many supporting characters (like the General) were very underdeveloped. This makes sense from a movie standpoint, but it was just no comparison to the book. ~Sigh. ~
This isn't the first time we've paired a book and a movie. Way back in the beginning of our club we read and watched East of Eden. Boy, was THAT a disappointment; the movie focused on only a small portion of the book, leaving out much of what made the book so amazing.
I guess it's normal to have a not-so-focused book club meeting once in a while. On the bright side, our hostess (my sister) made delicious beef/chicken/veggie kabobs and we enjoyed getting together. And everyone is looking forward to our July meeting because we'll be having D.L. Wilson, the author of Unholy Grail, join us for the very first time --- I can't wait!
Here's my question: Are there any successful book and movie pairings out there?! My club certainly hasn't found them, but maybe yours has. Please enlighten me!
---Heather Johnson
posted by Carol Fitzgerald at
10:00 AM
5 Comments:
We sometimes will view a movie made from our book choice in addition to our book club discussion. We did this for Holes by Louis Sachar, The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven by Sherman Alexie (the movie is called Smoke Signals), Finding Fish by Antwone Fisher, Peter Pan by J. M. Barrie (we watched Finding Neverland), and Into The Wild by Jon Krakauer. We plan to watch A Room With A View (the 1985 Oscar winning version) next month (we're reading the book now).
I think the lesson is to either watch the movie before the discussion so you can contrast the book with the movie in your discussion or else do a thorough discussion of the book and then watch the movie as a plus. At times, we have even discussed the book and the movie separately.
Into the Wild was a good adaptation of the book. We also enjoyed The Other Boleyn Girl (but the book was better), and The Jane Austen Book Club (in that case, the movie was better!).
I agree that the movie for Jane Austen Book Club was better than the book. We were able to identify with the characters better. But I disagree that you should watch the movie before the book - I prefer to have the author's words create the atmosphere and let my imagination do the rest. If I see the movie beforehand - then all I have is what the movie created. Cormac McCarthy's No Country for Old Men pairs nicely with the movie, I think. I was not disappointed with the performances and how the script was written - in fact, it helped me connect better with the characters.
My book club read Bridget Jones' Diary, and then at the meeting planned to watch the movie. Thank goodness we did! Hands down, everyone preferred the highly entertaining movie to the book.
If it is the right book-movie pairing, it can be very fun and definitely a change in the monthly routine. I made a ton of popcorn (real butter) and put it in popcorn boxes I bought from a local concession supply place, and everyone had one. I put a big basket on the coffee table filled with movie size boxes of theater faves like Junior Mints and JuJubes. It was a good meeting!
Lolita is a wonderful pairing if you can find the original Stanley Kubrick version. So many readers focus on the 'ick' element of the novel that they miss Nabokov's dark humor which is really front and center in the movie. Also, any Iris Murdoch book is beautifully accompanied by Iris: A Memoir with Dame Judi Dench- a powerful, powerful movie. Of course, the key is finding a book that has been adapted into a movie that is less than two hours long because you do want enough time for discussion and viewing. If our group comes up with any more, I'll post! Jamie Layton, Contributor
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