Watched Gods and Monsters last night. A couple of weeks ago I had read the book Father of Frankenstein by Christopher Bram, which I loved. I thought Gods and Monsters would be a lot better, considering who was involved, but I didn't like it very much. There were some good visuals (the scene of Brendan Fraser in the WWI gas mask had made me want to read the book and see the movie in the first place. I glimpsed that scene briefly somewhere, and it stuck in my head.). But the movie was just a pale shadow of the book, I think in this case mainly because it followed the book too closely. The book moves forward by showing us the fragmented mental state of James Whale, the phantom scents, and the endless parade of memory. In the movie we are limited to two senses, so I think following the book so exactly was a mistake. They should have played up the visual symbolism a lot more, and been more aware of their intentions. If you are going to read the book and watch the movie, I would suggest you read the book, then wait a long time to watch the movie. However long it would take for your impressions to start to fade. If you watched the movie first, I am afraid you might be put off from reading the book, which would be a shame. I recommend the book highly. And in one of those odd Synchronicities, recently I decided to put Remarque's All Quiet On the Western Front and The Road Back on my reading list - and James Whale, of course, directed the movie version of The Road Back.
I have recently been wondering why a lot of old, classic movies are being released on DVD (in very crappy versions) in TV aspect ratio instead of 1.85/1?? The IMDB lists Frankenstein as being shot on 35mm film in 1.37 aspect ration, and the DVD is 1.33. This is the aspect ratio the films were shown at? If so, when do we get the first 1.85/1 films?
What are the chances of a DVD being released of The Road Back? Does an original print exist? Does a print exist of the movie before it was recut? I would very much like to see that. (In modern times I would like to see a DVD of McTiernan's original cut of The 13th Warrior. Say what you will, I happen to really like the damn movie, and I would LOVE to see the original cut. )
Finished The Land of Laughs, which I enjoyed though I wasn't completely satisfied. The ending third I found a lot weaker than the first parts of the book. I am looking forward to reading the rest of Carroll's novels in any case. (Currently, I am in the process of working my way through a few different oevres - Ed McBain's 87th Precinct books, Robert Parker's Spenser (forget which way this is spelt, it's the opposite of the Faerie Queene guy), Patrick O'Brian's Aubrey series, and the complete works of Joe R. Lansdale (which I am almost finished, excepting some of the rarer chapbooks and uncollected short stories). Started working my through the Lemony Snicket books, but that stopped pretty quickly. I'll get back to them someday, but I have other stuff I want to read first. I also have to go back and begin working my way through Lawrence Block's Scudder books. I am sure there is more on my reading list (beside the recent decision to read all the books that movies I like are based on, which is an interesting and challenging task in some cases).
Tomorrow I get to go to the library! Whee!
A brief note to recommend Lost in La Mancha. If you like Terry Gilliam, or you are a movie buff, watch it. It's bizarre, it's tragic, it's magnificant, it's hilarious. The Man Who Killed Don Quixote is a movie I would have loved to have seen. Rochefort looked great. Go Go Gilliam! He might have stolen #1 in my favorite all time director's slot. Sorry Mr. Milius. I think he bumped Walter Hill as well.
The List:
#1 - Terry Gilliam (for The Fisher King, Twelve Monkeys, Fear and Loathing)
#2 - John Milius (for Conan the Barbarian, Farewell to the King)
#3- Walter Hill (for loving westerns still (before Eastwood made it cool again), Last Man Standing, Wild Bill)
#4 - Tim Burton (for Sleepy Hollow, Big Fish, Batman)
#5 - Ridley Scott (Black Hawk Down, Gladiator, 1492 (Awesome! Don't care what anybody says, this movie rocks.), Black Rain, Legend. (Looking forward to Kingdom of Heaven and Tripoli as well (thank god Keanu is out.).
#5.5 - Jake Scott, Honorable Mention, Plunkett and Macleane. (Aw Hell, Tony Scott too for Spy Game, The Last Boy Scout and for being pretty consistent.)
#6 - Peter Weir (for Master and Commander, Dead Poet's Society
#7 - John McTiernan (for Die Hard, The Hunt for Red October, Medicine Man, The 13th Warrior)
#8 - Kevin Costner (Dances With Wolves, Open Range)
#9 - John Woo - (Face/Off, Hard Boiled, MI:2)
#10 - Christophe Gans - The Brotherhood of the Wolf
Movies that almost put their directors on the list :
Cold Mountain
Secondhand Lions
Excalibur
Mountains of the Moon
Restoration
From Hell
Lord Jim
Silverado
Gangs of New York
Enough for now. Time to contemplate some real work.
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