http://www.theverge.com/2016/5/20/11718266/blood-meridian-cormac-mccarthy-film-adaptation-unfilmable
Let's have a debate on literary adaptations. Would you rather a film be faithful to the book or would you rather the film be well-structured and maybe less faithful? How unfilmable is literature? What examples do you consider unfilmable, outside obvious choices like Finnegans Wake? Which adaptations are better than the source material?
Will Franco fuck up Blood Meridian like his other McCarthy adaptations?
> I ask /lit/ more about this because I found this article intriguing and I know you guys will offer a more substantial conversation than /tv/ since they probably don't know what a book is
>>8070424
>well-structured and maybe less faithful
This. Definitely. But it also depends on the adaptation, a lot of great movies have been made that stand completely independently from the books they are based on, while others try to gain reputation by standing in the shadow of the book. These films will almost always fail and disappoint.
>>8070424
>article
>intriguing
damn michael haneke was on standby to direct it? and franco got it? tf?
>>8070424
>let's have a debate
I liked Blade Runner better than Do Androids Dream, thought it had a unique, important aesthetic for the history of cinema, while the book was just a solid scifi novel.
>>8070447
Agreed, most books just don't quite fit the conventional film's 3-act structure and many books implement narrative devices that work through prose (such as lengthy expository monologues or character thoughts) but not so much through a visual medium. Therefore an adaptation should probably be somewhat ruthless if it wants to be memorable and effectively apply a worthwhile narrative and its themes through film.
>>8070450
Just read it. Can confirm that it is intriguing.
I personally think American Psycho worked better as a film. I enjoy the book and I understand that the gratuitous violence and obsession with brand names are fairly appropriate for the book's commentary, but I feel the film conveyed the themes more efficiently.
>>8070424
Blood Meridian wouldn't be unfilmable in comparison to other novels, although I really don't want to see James Franco handle it.
Would love to see Confederacy of Dunces brought to life too but supposedly adapting it is kinda cursed.
>theverge.com
nope.jpeg
>>8070817
I don't really follow them at all but somebody sent me this article and I thought it was worth a read. Is The Verge usually pretty shitty?
>>8070588
yeah it is a really well made movie, a perfect example for how it should be done, another example would be Kubrick's Clockwork Orange
>>8070424
Yes, Franco will fuck it up, like all his other literary adaptations. The only thing I'm hoping will genuinely be good is his adaptation of The Disaster Artist.
>>8070824
It's owned by Vox Media, and they're neoliberal corporate shills
>>8070588
Both of them are extremely overrated shit, but the movie would have been way better with more gore
> well-structured and maybe less faithful
This. If you want something completely faithful to the book... read the book. If a book is going to be adapted to film, imo it should take advantage of the medium rather than aim for perfect accuracy. Even in a very faithful adaptation, there will already be a large difference between the two, simply based on the differences between literature and film as media, so it's an unrealistic goal. Better put the effort into creating an interesting film that has merit of its own.
>>8071147
Fair enough. At least the article in this thread is well written.
