Post by Eric T. Jones on Mar 15, 2008 21:22:11 GMT -5
So while my parents were out, they went to a Borders and got me the novel, which I thought was excellent timing since yesterday I was *this* close to buying it.
I read up that the film version was actually shot exactly as the novel was written, and so that long ending monologue that all of us ADD'd through can be read on the final pages.
Reached page 37 (end of the first section) thus far; like another word-specific adaptation that I evaluated this week, "Funny Games U.S.", spotting the minute differences is fun. The first of the many are in the opening monologue- "electric chair" in the movie, "gas chamber" in the book. Otherwise, there are negligible dialogue differences due to the wordings the actors ultimately used (I remember part of my problem with the film's dialogue was that sometimes it sounded like it came from one person).
It's a fascinating read if you've seen the movie; people I know who have read the book first actually prefer the Best Picture-winning adaptation, and this I can understand. Cormac McCarthy's writing style is simple, curiously doesnt use many apostrophes, uses no quotation marks, but it's hard to imagine its written word packing in as much excitement as the film version does due to the opted on-page simplicity.
It is a lot more accessible than reading a screenplay for your favorite movie, though, and some minor stream-of-consciousness is the added benefit to an experience that feels very much like reading the movie. Probably why they were actually able to bring it to the screen verbatim and win Best Picture (not to mention Best Adapted Screenplay).
I read up that the film version was actually shot exactly as the novel was written, and so that long ending monologue that all of us ADD'd through can be read on the final pages.
Reached page 37 (end of the first section) thus far; like another word-specific adaptation that I evaluated this week, "Funny Games U.S.", spotting the minute differences is fun. The first of the many are in the opening monologue- "electric chair" in the movie, "gas chamber" in the book. Otherwise, there are negligible dialogue differences due to the wordings the actors ultimately used (I remember part of my problem with the film's dialogue was that sometimes it sounded like it came from one person).
It's a fascinating read if you've seen the movie; people I know who have read the book first actually prefer the Best Picture-winning adaptation, and this I can understand. Cormac McCarthy's writing style is simple, curiously doesnt use many apostrophes, uses no quotation marks, but it's hard to imagine its written word packing in as much excitement as the film version does due to the opted on-page simplicity.
It is a lot more accessible than reading a screenplay for your favorite movie, though, and some minor stream-of-consciousness is the added benefit to an experience that feels very much like reading the movie. Probably why they were actually able to bring it to the screen verbatim and win Best Picture (not to mention Best Adapted Screenplay).