tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2495499100279472520.post1258576867519404456..comments2024-03-22T12:11:58.453-06:00Comments on Michael Offutt: I read Anna and the King of Siam and the film and musical adaptations of this story are pretty much just fanfiction.Michael Offutt, Phantom Readerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10557969104886174930noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2495499100279472520.post-3934043194745176342019-04-21T22:08:30.569-06:002019-04-21T22:08:30.569-06:00I've never read that source book but I've ...I've never read that source book but I've read enough Victorian non-fiction to know how the writers were usually ponderously meticulous in recording facts, and that the British Empire was built not just by men but by armies of formidable women in hoop skirt (and later the bustle) who seemed determined NOT to be exciting in print.<br /><br />And I really agree with you that many though not all of the old "classics" are not well written by today's standards. Stendahl left me cold. I tried my best to get through "Frankenstein" but gave up after the first few garrulous chapters and decided that the classic 1933 (or was it 1932?) film with the flat-headed monster and the crazy scientist in the castle was a brilliant creation and a vast improvement on the book. But then, sometimes Hollywood gets a "classic" so right the original book can't compare to the film. Dashiell Hammett's books are for good reason not widely read today, but The Thin Man movies and The Maltese Falcon are brilliant film examples of storytelling.Helenahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14967821142796562697noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2495499100279472520.post-26289217676027896592019-04-20T05:12:36.778-06:002019-04-20T05:12:36.778-06:00You also have to remember that different eras had ...You also have to remember that different eras had different standards (although even by its own standards <i>Moby-Dick</i> was received poorly even though it's brilliant). My sister tried reading <i>Les Miserables</i> but found too much history in it. What you discovered, I think, is that the plot of <i>Anna and the King of Siam</i> was boiled down to its essentials, that it was basically turned into a metaphor. By learning how to like each other, they were able to achieve great things. As you noticed, if you focus on the things that originally set them apart, it becomes hard to notice what might unite them. But for contemporary readers, they would probably have been focusing on the uniting elements, because for them the discord would be an everyday thing.<br /><br />Which kind of makes the whole thing more relevant than it's been in years...Tony Laplumehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07854455859399339169noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2495499100279472520.post-52063021441941519542019-04-19T20:46:47.949-06:002019-04-19T20:46:47.949-06:00Yeah, we've definitely learned a lot in how to...Yeah, we've definitely learned a lot in how to make narratives more interesting. I think possibly all those details were there as they were writing down things that wouldn't have appeared elsewhere. It's not like they could link to a YouTube video showing more detail so the action of the story could continue. And they had to assume their readers didn't know to what they were referring. <br /><br />There were lots of liberties taken with older books in older movies. From what I understand, there's a similar disconnect between The Sound of Music and its source material.Liz A.https://www.blogger.com/profile/16531953467834426316noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2495499100279472520.post-20250021005860282762019-04-19T12:57:57.093-06:002019-04-19T12:57:57.093-06:00The original Little Mermaid vs the Disney movie is...The original Little Mermaid vs the Disney movie is another example. Most Disney fairy tale movies vs source material really. PT Dillowayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09394481476862013009noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2495499100279472520.post-79993982610413954602019-04-19T07:59:38.719-06:002019-04-19T07:59:38.719-06:00I haven't read or seen it. But Tony Laplume an...I haven't read or seen it. But Tony Laplume and I were talking about Don Quixote today and it's a similar situation that Man of la Mancha has little similarity to the source material. If you compare Camelot to original Arthurian legends it's probably the same too.PT Dillowayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09394481476862013009noreply@blogger.com