What book was a total disaster when made into a film?

[bertold]

Originally Posted by tirsales

Hasnt been much more in the book

I missed this bit in my earlier reply. The book Council of Elrond did not degenerate into everyone yelling and screaming at each other with no dignity. And the book Council didn't have Gimli* bashing his hammer at the Ring like a fool.


* Notice, in fact, that in the book, Gimli didn't utter a single word during the Council. It was his father, Glóin, who did all the talking for the Dwarves.

[ShortNCuddlyAm]

Originally Posted by tirsales

Yes and no - most mini-series I know have quite low budgets. This is not neccessarily a quality-killer, but it (often) stops good CGI or SFX. And I really loath bad CGI or (especially) SFX - better none then bad.
I repeat - this does not have to mean that a mini-series is bad. Some mini-series have enough money, others dont need a lot of (expensive) CGI or SFX, others somehow make do with what they have (which is more astonishing then making a good film with lots of money) - but quite a few of them fail.

Bad SFX I can live with (possibly due to watching things like Dr Who in the 70s...), but bad CGI really wrecks the mood of the film (Golden Compass springs to mind)

[JSWolf]

One bad movie comes to mind is The Bone Collector. The movie is ok on it's own, but when you read Jeffrey Deaver's book, you then find out how bad the movie really is. It's just a pale shadow of the book. Just read the book and forget the movie exists.

[tirsales]

Originally Posted by bertold

Saruman needed Grima for two reasons: one, to provide him with information of the goings on in Theoden's court (he was, basically, a spy), and, more importantly, Grima influenced Theoden (in accordance with Saruman's will) through constant brain washing and (probably, although not explicitly stated) use of drugs, which Saruman himself would not be capable of administering.

Thats what I wanted to say - because: If Saruman was able to influence Theoden directly via magic (like in the film) and was able to see anything Theoden sees (like in the film) - there would be no (continuing) need for Grima. Thus Grima is not needed in the film.

Sure, but the whole scene was just silly. Not necessary at all.

Agreed.

It's even sillier when you realize that the entire plan formed during the Council of Elrond hindered on two things: secrecy and the (correctly) assumed notion that Sauron was incapable of imagining anyone wanting to destroy the Ring rather than use it for themselves. So what does Jackson do? He puts Frodo with the Ring right on the border of the Enemy. And then Frodo flaunts the Ring to a Nazgul! What the hell?! Sauron had more than enough information at this point, to come to the correct conclusion about the enemy's plans.

Even if he did not get the correct conclusion (it might be that Frodo simply tries to use the power of the ring to defend Osgiliath) he would know where to search for the ring - and I wouldnt bet 2ct on Frodos survival with the 9 nazgul following him.

But I doubt they'd all amount to more than an hour, at most, yet the whole debacle lasts 12 hours.

Well - a good:bad ratio of 1:11 is better then most films

They just chose to go in a different direction, which is a shame.

They could have done better, I agree.

[tirsales]

Originally Posted by bertold

I missed this bit in my earlier reply. The book Council of Elrond did not degenerate into everyone yelling and screaming at each other with no dignity. And the book Council didn't have Gimli* bashing his hammer at the Ring like a fool.

Agreed, agreed and agreed. But the Council itself was not a good example for reasoning and the "hammering" might be used to demonstrate, that the ring really cannot be destroyed by mundane means.

Originally Posted by ShortNCuddlyAm

Bad SFX I can live with (possibly due to watching things like Dr Who in the 70s...), but bad CGI really wrecks the mood of the film (Golden Compass springs to mind)

I am a pyrotechnist (not a SFX expert, but very interested in this part) and thus I look at SFX from a more technical viewpoint - and I really dislike bad SFX (perhaps because I know what one could have done better, or because I have seen too much good SFX or because SFX is much (hard) work and I dislike hard work for nothing or for some obscure Freud-inspired reason).
For bad CGI - I often simply cannot understand why some filmmakers chose to do bad CGI (e.g. Underworld:Evolution - the history-telling beginning of the film ... oh god, thats terrible! Or the new Beowulf film - disastrous. I've seen better CGI in computer games).

[Alsicole]

Originally Posted by ShortNCuddlyAm

I never saw Tiger in the Smoke - and am very glad of it now!

I did rather like the Campion mini series - Peter Davison made a good Campion. I really can't see Cliff Richards in that role :shudders:

Look on the bright side, at least you didn't have to sit through Sir Cliff in Heathcliff the Musical!!! Truly dire.

My nomination for ruining a great book is the movie of Circle of Friends. I love Maeve Binchy's work. She develops characters beautifully, and never seems to see the need end end her books with overly schmaltzy happy endings. At the end of Circle of Friends, there's no way that Benny should end up with Jack after everything he'd done to her, and yet the movie gave that ending. Couple that with Irish characters being played mostly by non Irish actors, and you end up with a movie so lame that it rarely even gets shown on TV!

[Bilbo1967]

Originally Posted by Alsicole

Look on the bright side, at least you didn't have to sit through Sir Cliff in Heathcliff the Musical!!! Truly dire.

Oh my god yes!! My wife made me go and see that at the NEC in Birmingham and it was quite possibly (no, sorry, definately) the worst thing I have ever seen.

Still, it did have one good side - now, if she trys to make me go to see something which I don't want to see I only have to say 'Heathcliffe' and I am excused!

[ShortNCuddlyAm]

Originally Posted by tirsales

I am a pyrotechnist

You make things go bang for a living? You officially have a Very Cool Job

[yvanleterrible]

Originally Posted by ShortNCuddlyAm

You make things go bang for a living? You officially have a Very Cool Job

He's a terrorist?

[tirsales]

Originally Posted by yvanleterrible

He's a terrorist?

Having a look at all the checks I had to go through it might be true

[yvanleterrible]

Originally Posted by tirsales

Having a look at all the checks I had to go through it might be true

Are you a military or police force explosives expert?

[ShortNCuddlyAm]

Originally Posted by yvanleterrible

He's a terrorist?

Originally Posted by tirsales

Having a look at all the checks I had to go through it might be true

[tirsales]

Originally Posted by yvanleterrible

Are you a military or police force explosions expert?

I'm afraid not I just have a side job (including license, training, etc) as pyrotechnist - firework displays and stuff. I'm neither doing building blasts nor bomb defusing or ammunition disposal (these are very interesting fields to work in - but hard to get in).
What I referred to: In Germany you have to pass some official checks (criminal records, police records, professional register, sometimes check by the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution and the police, etc) (which will be repeated (at least) every 5 years) before you can get any licenses for pyrotechnic.

[WDecraene]

Originally Posted by krisk

most of the King books

but the worst of those "Running Man", written under the Bachman pseudonym

[WDecraene]

Originally Posted by Sonist

As did Lynch's...

Huh ? I really liked that version. At least you must have liked the soundtrack !? And the Baron character.