SweetPaul Entertainment » Big Fish http://www.sweetpaul.com Movies, Video Games, Music and More Tue, 24 Jan 2012 05:36:23 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 The Book Isn’t Always Better – Part 1: Big Fish http://www.sweetpaul.com/the-book-isnt-always-better-part-1-big-fish/ http://www.sweetpaul.com/the-book-isnt-always-better-part-1-big-fish/#comments Mon, 03 Nov 2008 04:34:57 +0000 Paul Martin http://www.sweetpaul.com/?p=395 This is probably the first in a series of articles on the times that a movie has either been as good as the book, acted as a great complement to the book, or bested the book. This is the result of being tired of hearing the misconception that “the book is always better.” The truth is, it’s not. Sometimes the movie far exceeds the book in execution of the same story.

It could be that the filmmaker had a better vision for the story. It could be that the filmmaker is simply a better storyteller. It could be that the book just lends itself to also be great on film.

When I do my comparative analysis, I’m going to let you know whether I’ve read the book that the film is based on, and whether I read it before or after seeing the film, as all of these things have an effect on the results.

Some of the books/movies I plan on covering include Big Fish, The Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, The Shawshank Redemption, The Princess Bride, The Neverending Story and perhaps a few others.

We’ll start with the lesser known of the adaptations.

Big Fish

I saw this movie the day it was released in 2003. Needless to say, I totally loved it. It’s a great film with so many wonderful sets and characters that my imagination was very entertained. I mean, the movie has it all. From scary moments, to adventure, to love, to sacrifice, to mystery and hi-jinks. I could go on.

This is a movie that made me want to spend more time in the world that I discovered through the lens of Tim Burton.

I had heard that it was based on the book by Daniel Wallace, so I soon ordered it, and plunged myself into that world on the page. I found that there were many things that were different, which is not uncommon and could be expected. However, there was one major plot point that the movie had right, but the book had horrible wrong.

In the film, Edward Bloom is a fun-loving and dynamic character. He is completely selfless and wants what is best for everyone. Even when winning the girl of his dreams, he quips “she doesn’t belong to anyone” to her then-fiance. He helps a giant find a future in a circus, and he helps a small town to be revitalized. The character is also so very madly in love with his wife, that when temptation comes along, he turns it down.

That’s what the book gets wrong. In the book, Edward Bloom goes way out of character and has an affair. Sure, you could argue that makes him more human, with real flaws, but that’s not the point of the story. The point is that Edward Bloom has larger-than-life stories that make him a unique sort of superhero. The book, in one chapter, cheapens the character from someone that is infinitely more likable, making him into just another guy that happens to tell great stories.

A character like Edward Bloom, that tried so hard to win the heart of the girl of his dreams would not, ever, throw his love for her out for a night with another woman. He’s just not that guy.

This is one case where, when I finished reading the book, I went back and watched the movie again. I wanted my old perception of Edward Bloom back. I was able to separate the world of the book from the world of the film, thankfully, and Edward Bloom is once again the man he once was.

Thank you, Tim Burton and writer John August, for recognizing this and saving the movie from falling short of greatness. And thank you Danny Elfman for the amazingly varied and tour-de-force of a musical score that accentuates the story so well. The music written for this film is majestic and uplifting, and I consider it to be Danny Elfman’s magnum opus.

This is a case where the movie is definitely better than the book.

I’m not sure what I’ll write about next, but I will continue this series with another title to itself.

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]]> http://www.sweetpaul.com/the-book-isnt-always-better-part-1-big-fish/feed/ 0 The Iron Giant and Big Fish. http://www.sweetpaul.com/the-iron-giant-and-big-fish/ http://www.sweetpaul.com/the-iron-giant-and-big-fish/#comments Mon, 19 Jul 2004 15:35:00 +0000 Paul Martin http://www.sweetpaul.com/?p=27 The Iron Giant is a movie by Brad Bird. It’s brilliant and an animation classic. Even though it came out in 1999, it was probably better than much of the Disney animation that I’ve seen. With Disney marketting, this movie would have been huge. It should have been huge.

Big Fish is a movie by Tim Burton, based on a book by Daniel Wallace. The book isn’t as good as the film, though. The movie’s soundtrack is a brilliant score by Danny Elfman, the man behind Spider-Man‘s music. The music completely compliments the movie and is at it’s most brilliant in the final moments of the film, when they just let you take in everything that is happening, and all of the characters that you loved in the movie.

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]]> http://www.sweetpaul.com/the-iron-giant-and-big-fish/feed/ 0 Some of the best DVDs of 2004 http://www.sweetpaul.com/some-of-the-best-dvds-of-2004/ http://www.sweetpaul.com/some-of-the-best-dvds-of-2004/#comments Tue, 23 Mar 2004 15:48:00 +0000 Paul Martin http://www.sweetpaul.com/?p=17 A Mighty Wind is a fine and funny movie. It’s really impressive that the whole thing is improved.

The Shawshank Redemption should be available on DVD this year, but hasn’t been announced yet, as far as I know. Sure, I own it on DVD already, but I’m talking about the 10 year anniversary edition, featuring a ton of special features and an audio commentary with the Writer/Director Frank Darabont. As this is one of my favorite movies, I’ll be purchasing this edition as soon as it’s available.

As far as DVDs go, this is a great year for DVD:

The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King – The theatrical cut, clocking in at 3 hours and 17 minutes, was the best movie released in 2003. Period. This was an incredible adventure with an ending that destroys the endings of all movies that I’ve seen previous to this.

The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King – Special Extended DVD Edition – At 4 hours 10 minutes, this should make Return of the King the best in the trilogy, as well as give it more of an emotional oomph.

The Shawshank Redemption – Special Edition – One of the best movies ever made. Get it when it comes out.

The Star Wars Trilogy – Finally.

The Matrix Revolutions - The most misunderstood movie of 2003. Brilliant.

Big Fish – The most understated film of 2003, one of my favorites.

The Iron Giant – Special Edition – The best animated film that nobody knows about. It’s brilliant. It was undermarketted, severely, but everyone that watches it, loves it.

The Passion of the Christ – The best film of 2004, worth owning to watch once or twice a year and for retreats.

So there you have it. My list of the best DVDs for 2004, as of this moment.

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