Skip to main content

adaptation comparison - How does the Movie, "The Seeker - The Dark is Rising" compare to the books by Susan Cooper?


I've not seen the movie, but I really enjoyed the books as a child and I am getting a literature unit ready for my daughter using the books. I wondered how faithful the movie is to the books in considering whether to plan on watching it after we are done reading or not.


I would like an answer with a little detail. I'm quite certain it won't follow the stories exactly, but what is changed? Missing characters? Huge chunks of plot or just small tweaks? Does it correspond to Over Sea Under Stone or do its creators try to fold all five movies into one? I really don't want, "Great movie, but nothing like the book." Or "Movie sucked, don't watch it." Please include the WHY. Thanks.



Answer




It hurt to watch this movie! It is based on the book "The Dark Is Rising", but was badly altered, it seems, in the name of making it more commercial. I have tried to wipe it from my mind, but quite a few things stayed with me:




  • The wonderful, caring, loving Stanton family was messed about with, diminished, siblings chopped out and pointless conflict and hate added.




  • Merriman's character was severely diminished.




  • Will has an evil twin.





  • They became American, I guess also for marketing purposes.




  • Will is older, because maybe there are too many 11-year-old magic users?




  • There is a love interest.





  • Pretty much all the beautiful Celtic myths were chucked out - ie, the heart of the story.




This is an interview with Susan Cooper. Please note the last lines,



"Cooper is waiting for the movie, but with a certain sadness. She says she sent a letter requesting changes to the film's script, but she's not sure any alterations were made."



This is one review: http://www.avclub.com/articles/the-seeker-the-dark-is-rising,3258/


This is the IMDB page, there is a fairly accurate review at the end of the page: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0484562/?ref_=sr_1



(There is also a wikipedia page, but I'm not sure how people here feel about links to wikipedia?)


You could maybe watch it with your daughter as an exercise in how books are converted to movies, but I really wouldn't recommend it.


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

futurama - How much time is lost in 'Time Keeps on Slippin''

In time Keeps on Slippin' , Farnsworth creates a basketball team which he matures by abusing Chronitons. This leads to time skipping forward by random, but ever increasing amounts. How much time was skipped in this way? Answer Unfortunately, I don't think a good estimate can be made for this, for two reasons: Many of the time skips move forward by an indeterminate amount of time. At one point, the Professor mentions localized regions of space skipping forward much more than others. We then see two young boys on the street below complaining about having to pay social security, only to suddenly become senior citizens and start complaining about wanting their money. Thus, each individual could have experienced a different amount of time skippage.
Post a Comment
Read more

What is Tolkien trying to say in this letter?

In a draft of a letter, later recorded as #246, Tolkien makes a strange statement. I am interested in the first few sentences of the letter, but I will include the remainder for the sake of context. In the 'Mirror of Galadriel', 1381, it appears that Galadriel conceived of herself as capable of wielding the Ring and supplanting the Dark Lord. If so, so also were the other guardians of the Three, especially Elrond . But this is another matter. It was part of the essential deceit of the Ring to fill minds with imaginations of supreme power . But this the Great had well considered and had rejected, as is seen in Elrond's words at the Council. Galadriel's rejection of the temptation was founded upon previous thought and resolve. In any case Elrond or Galadriel would have proceeded in the policy now adopted by Sauron: they would have built up an empire with great and absolutely subservient generals and armies and engines of war, until they could challenge Sauron and destroy ...
Post a Comment
Read more

tolkiens legendarium - Was Galadriel's temptation of Boromir instrumental to his fall?

We know Galadriel tempted the members of the Fellowship, did she tempt Boromir with visions of taking the Ring and saving Gondor? In the books, Boromir willingly accepts the judgement of the council that the Ring should be destroyed, but after the meeting with Celeborn and Galadriel his personality seems to change. Was the temptation offered by Galadriel in some way responsible for Boromir's fall? Answer It's likely, but not certain I believe it is likely Galadriel tempted him with the ring, and in doing so re-ignited a pre-existing idea to take the ring, but to be clear lets break this down into three parts. Boromir at the Council of Elrond Boromir after setting off Boromir after being tempted Boromir at the Council of Elrond Boromir pleas for the ring to go to Minas Tirith, to help Gondor in its defense against Mordor. “ Why should we not think that the Great Ring has come into our hands to serve us in the very hour of need? Wielding it the Free Lords of the Free may surely...
Post a Comment
Read more

harry potter - What is the difference between Diffindo and Sectumsempra?

In the Harry Potter books, Diffindo is called the 'Severing Charm' and it’s most commonly used to cut ropes and the like. However, in the last book Hermione uses it on Ron but misses, creating a 'slash in his jeans' and his knee gets cut, causing him to 'roar in pain'. We've only seen Sectumsempra used once on screen when Harry directly uses it on Malfoy in the sixth book, but there it's mentioned that he is 'waving his wand wildly'. Wouldn't Diffindo, if used in such a fashion also cause a similar effect? Similarly, if it was able to cut Ron, it would also be able to, say, chop off an ear (George's)? In that case, how are these two spells different, except for Sectumsempra seemingly used exclusively to hurt humans? Answer While Diffindo and Sectumsempra both can be countered by other spells, Diffindo is far more easily countered. Reparo, a relatively common spell, can completely reverse its effect when used once. “He pulled the old cop...
Post a Comment
Read more