Lit To Film: The Wizard of OZ

               

            It’s that time again for Lit To Film!! To be honest this particular one I debated even trying to do as the movie is a classic in my mind. How dare I think of even allowing a BOOK to taint my feelings for the film? And that movie is *drumroll please, although you can tell from the title and the picture, ugh, just play along* THE WIZARD OF OZ!!  Yes the film that brought you dazzling Technicolor is about to get the Lit to Film treatment J

****SPOILER ALERT!!! ****

                Okay now that that’s out of the way let’s get down to business. When I was growing up I didn’t have a great library thus many children’s classics were unavailable to me. Classic TV and movies however, well, that is a different story. I LOVE the 1939 movie with a passion. Who doesn’t?  Yeah, the Amish, you got me there. But when you hear “Over The Rainbow” tell me you don’t stop what you’re doing and belt out the song line by line in off key glory. So over time I honestly forgot to look up the book…until recently.

                Yes, I finally read Frank L. Baum’s classic novel, thanks to Kindle and their free books. Although I did enjoy the book, I don’t think it’s a classic, and the differences between the movie and book are so astounding they can barely be compared.

                The movie was as bright and cheery as the vibrant as the yellow brick road. Everything led to a chipper song and meeting with adorable people. The book however is…darker. The scarecrow, the tin man, and the cowardly lion all tell their own origin stories. My favorite would have to be the tin man who self-mutilated himself because of a spell placed on him by a witch who wished to have the woman he loved all to herself. Well, maybe not that homoerotic but you get the point, nothing like that would have appeared in the movie. If you were frightened of the flying monkeys then my lord the kalidahs, tiger faced and bear- bodied creatures with a taste for our adventurers. There were more attacks and peril abounded in the short read. Certainly if the Dorothy of the book had the opportunity to take a route that included more singing and dancing I’m sure she would have chosen that one.

                So while the imagination is high in the book. The movie is rich with life and fun. Still to judge between the two…I don’t know.  They have the same characters but the way of telling the story is too different. If I had to choose between them I’d have to choose the movie J Sorry Mr. Baum, the film did it better I think.

                If you want something to compare the book to, may I suggest the Marvel Comics adaptation by Eric Shownar with art by Skottie Young. Wow. The book loses again. The art captures innocence from that time period while the story is spot on with the story. I also suggest you continue on with their captivating series. Weeeeeeeellllllllllll worth it. LOL I hope you enjoyed! Sorry for any Baum lovers out there but come on…you know those are better.

SEE YA NEXT TIME!!!

Lit To Film: The Shining

Wow, 2011 has been a strong year for books on film. I mean Water For Elephants, Red Riding Hood, I Am Number Four, Harry Potter and The Deathly Hollows part two, and Beastly have made their appearance known already and it’s only June!! Books are almost destined to take a shot at the silver screen. Some maintain the heart of their printed counterparts while others…uh, try. Then there are some who outshine the book (stop laughing it’s possible). That’s what this segment is about: Books that have been turned into movies and which is better. The long standing debate of ‘can a film ever capture what is on the page’ will be debated here. So grab the film and the book, a bowl of popcorn, and a pair of boxing gloves because it may get fierce. :P
Let’s start off fairly easier as this is a new segment. So no Harry Potter, Twilight, or Lord of the Rings this week. How about one that is certainly a classic film and book, both crafted by masters, and one I think is better than the book.
The Shining.
Let me start off by saying I am a huge Stephen King fan. The bulk of my bookshelf is his work, and he is one of the few people that I would be struck speechless to meet one day. This is not bashing him in anyway. Oh and if you haven’t seen or read The Shining by now, shame on you. LOL Okay but there will be spoilers to both so *SPOILER ALERT*
The story goes Jack Torrence becomes caretaker for The Overlook Hotel, and takes his wife Wendy and his son Danny with him. As he watches over this historical and quite vast hotel he convinces himself that he will write his novel, and that the change of scenery is just what he needs to get the creative juices flowing. (sound familiar?) The general part of the beginning is captured wonderfully by director Stanley Kubrick although he did miss the true reasons from the book as to why Jack had no choice but to take the job.
In the book Jack starts as a teacher in a university, but after a night of drinking he accidently kills a colleague and dumps his body in the river. After that travesty he can’t concentrate on his job, quits, and turns to writing for a living. His writing can’t pay the bills and this job is a few months of having a roof over his family’s head.
This was missed but it didn’t really matter as from this moment on every last thing is painted onto the screen. Kubrick didn’t miss a syllable of King’s words through the middle. You got the mental breakdown, the haunting of the hotel, Danny’s finger friend, Wendy’s passiveness to her husband’s murderous tendencies. It’s all there in all in sparkling Techno-color. You are totally wrapped up in the story now. This is one of the best horror movies of all time, if not the best after all.
Then comes the end and here is where I find the movie is better. Stephen King is great at what he does…but my gripe has always been with his endings. Most of them suck. Seriously. They lack the punch that managed to drag you in at the beginning. In the movie the ending is Danny calls out to the old hotel manager with his Shining power, bringing the old man to the hotel. His arrival is short lived as he gets an ax to the back. Then Wendy and Danny run out into the snowy hedge maze outside with Jack chasing after them. They find their way out while Jack freezes to death. Wow! Bravo! Encore!
Now the book. The end consists of the old hotel manager comes back, knocks out the ax wielding Jack, and then he proceeds to overload the furnace which causes it to explode. Epilogue: Wendy, Danny and the hotel manager are in the tropics and sipping drinks. Ugh, really. That’s it? Yawn. To me the book ended really weak and when you stack the whole experience up to the movie I was left wanting more from the print.
So pick up the movie and book, if you don’t remember already, and add your two cents to the discussion. Which do you think was better? The Lit or The Film?