| Author | Message | ||
     Steve Bacon (Stevebacon) Username: Stevebacon Registered: 09-2008 Posted From: 90.213.27.228 |
UK viewers might have seen this trailer on Channel 4 about a forthcoming series called 'Red Riding'. More information - http://www.channel4.com/pressandpublicity/drama/red-riding.html Apparently adapted from a series of dark thrillers by David Peace, I wondered if anyone on here had read them. It certainly looks promising, given the crew involved (Paddy Considine, Sean Bean, Andrew Garfield, Warren Clarke, Peter Mullan, David Morrissey, etc) | ||
| Simon Bestwick (Simon_b) Username: Simon_b Registered: 10-2008 Posted From: 86.24.165.182 |
Steve, I've read Peace's Red Riding Quartet (Nineteen Seventy Four, Nineteen Seventy Seven, Nineteen Eighty and Nineteen Eighty Three) and they are all truly farking brilliant. The first one wears its main influence (James Ellroy) a bit too much on its sleeve, but the others get more and more a voice of their own, and more daring in many respects than Ellroy's ever got. These novels are complex, disturbing, pitch-black and well-nigh apocalyptic in feel. No idea where 1977's got to in that line-up; bit puzzling, but doubtless all shall be revealed. The pedigree's really impressive- Michael Winterbottom's a damn good filmmaker, and he's involved, if only on the production side. And the cast is to die for.} | ||
| Steve Bacon (Stevebacon) Username: Stevebacon Registered: 09-2008 Posted From: 90.213.27.228 |
Thanks, Simon. I'll have a gander around to see if I can pick them up. It looks just up my street (the books and the series). | ||
| Zed (Gary_mc) Username: Gary_mc Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 81.96.242.126 |
Wow, this sounds brilliant. I've never read the books, but have the first one on my TBR pile. | ||
| Mark_lynch (Mark_lynch) Username: Mark_lynch Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 212.74.96.200 |
David Peace is, no shitting, the best UK crime writer who ain't dead. When he's dead, he'll probably be the best UK crime writer who ain't alive. Uh, he lives in Tokyo, but what the hell. His book THE DAMNDED UTD, about Cloughy's reign at Leeds Utd, has been filmed starring Michael Sheen. That book's brilliant too. | ||
| Zed (Gary_mc) Username: Gary_mc Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 81.96.242.126 |
There was a decent South Bank Show about Peace last year, but oddly this TV show wasn't mentioned. | ||
| Steve Bacon (Stevebacon) Username: Stevebacon Registered: 09-2008 Posted From: 90.213.27.228 |
Aah, I'm a Forest fan, so I was interested in seeing the Sheen film (even though it deals with his brief time at Leeds), but I had no idea this was from the same writer. I'll have to get the quartet of books - are they linked? ie, do I have to start with Nineteen Seventy Four? | ||
| Simon Bestwick (Simon_b) Username: Simon_b Registered: 10-2008 Posted From: 86.24.165.182 |
Each novel references the others in different ways, and there's no recap on previous events. Peace makes no concessions to the reader at all. You have to read all four to assemble the whole jigsaw of what's happened. In theory I guess they could be read in any order; but they get better, darker, more complex and more intense as they go along. I'd read them in order (and did) for the maximum impact. | ||
| Weber_gregston (Weber_gregston) Username: Weber_gregston Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 212.121.214.11 |
Isn't there a 5th book in the series - GB84? I'm sure I've seen it in Waterstones. Or is it not connected to the other books? | ||
| Joel (Joel) Username: Joel Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 217.37.199.45 |
Not really connected, no. | ||
| Zed (Gary_mc) Username: Gary_mc Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 81.96.241.143 |
Read the first 3 chapters of 1974 this evening...wow. I'm hooked. I can see where the comparisons with Ellroy come from, but Peace has his own distictive voice. | ||
| Simon Bestwick (Simon_b) Username: Simon_b Registered: 10-2008 Posted From: 86.24.165.182 |
You'll love it, mate. And each book in the series is better than the last. And black as hell. | ||
| Zed (Gary_mc) Username: Gary_mc Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 81.96.241.143 |
I'm trying to read them all before the TV adaptation comes on... | ||
| Zed (Gary_mc) Username: Gary_mc Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 81.96.241.143 |
Finished. Possibly the best crime novel I've ever read. Just started 1977. | ||
| Zed (Gary_mc) Username: Gary_mc Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 81.96.241.143 |
These novels are an absolute revelation. | ||
| Zed (Gary_mc) Username: Gary_mc Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 81.96.241.143 |
Fucking hell. Just finished 1977. These are among the best horror novels I have ever read. Genuine masterpieces. How the hell am I only just discovering them? | ||
| Simon Bestwick (Simon_b) Username: Simon_b Registered: 10-2008 Posted From: 86.24.165.182 |
Sometimes you're looking for horror in all the wrong places. 1977 is extraordinary. That final insane, stream-of-consciousness monologue at the end is terrifying. But wait till you read 1980. | ||
| Simon Bestwick (Simon_b) Username: Simon_b Registered: 10-2008 Posted From: 86.24.165.182 |
There is, I think, a real quantum leap between 1974- which is a hell of a good novel, but still shows its debt to James Ellroy and Derek Raymond- and 1977, which is purely and uniquely Peace. His book about the Miner's Strike, GB84, is amazing too. Has anyone read Tokyo Year Zero yet? | ||
| Zed (Gary_mc) Username: Gary_mc Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 81.96.241.143 |
Simon, I'm waiting for the last two books in the series to come through the post. After that, I'm buying everything else peace has written. He's incredible. And, yes, that stream-of-conscious monologue is breathtaking. What a book; what a writer. | ||
| Mick Curtis (Mick) Username: Mick Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 86.160.91.69 |
Just ordered Nineteen Seventy-Four on the strength of this thread... | ||
| Mark_lynch (Mark_lynch) Username: Mark_lynch Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 212.74.96.200 |
77 is my favourite. He is a stunnign writer. Writes the books pretty much as you read them, rapid breathtaking pace. | ||
| Steve Bacon (Stevebacon) Username: Stevebacon Registered: 09-2008 Posted From: 90.209.220.47 |
I bought The Damned United for £4 in HMV yesterday. | ||
| Zed (Gary_mc) Username: Gary_mc Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 81.96.241.143 |
I'm reading 1980 at the minute. After I finish these I'm buying the rest of Peace's novels - he's sensational. | ||
| Steve Bacon (Stevebacon) Username: Stevebacon Registered: 09-2008 Posted From: 90.209.220.47 |
I got 1983 from the library, but I'm loathe to read it until I read the first ones. I like to do things in order. | ||
| Steve Bacon (Stevebacon) Username: Stevebacon Registered: 09-2008 Posted From: 90.209.220.47 |
Red Riding starts next thursday - March 5th. Just a reminder. There's a good article in Radio Times about it. | ||
| Zed (Gary_mc) Username: Gary_mc Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 81.96.241.143 |
Cheers, Steve! I'd better hurry up and finish the last two boks before then... | ||
| Mick Curtis (Mick) Username: Mick Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 86.159.155.179 |
Think I'm gonna record this but not watch it until I've read the books. They've made three programmes in the series, but there are four books; anyone know if they've just compressed the four books or have they missed one out? | ||
| Zed (Gary_mc) Username: Gary_mc Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 213.219.8.243 |
They've compressed the four, Mick - I think it's 1977 that's been assimilated into the whole. | ||
| Mick Curtis (Mick) Username: Mick Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 86.159.155.179 |
Cheers Zed - must admit I'm really looking forward to this, having read yours and others' comments about the books. | ||
| Simon Bestwick (Simon_b) Username: Simon_b Registered: 10-2008 Posted From: 86.24.165.182 |
According to an article I read today, they've just missed the whole of 1977 out- hoping to do it on its own in the future. | ||
| Mick Curtis (Mick) Username: Mick Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 86.159.155.179 |
Does this seem a sensible thing to do? Is 1977 different enough that they can drop it, or are they writing 'around' it somehow, do you think? | ||
| Zed (Gary_mc) Username: Gary_mc Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 81.96.241.143 |
The official statement I read said it had been assimilated into the whole - which is very doable. | ||
| Simon Bestwick (Simon_b) Username: Simon_b Registered: 10-2008 Posted From: 86.24.165.182 |
Yes. In terms of plot and narrative, 1977 is probably the easiest novel to omit from the sequence- any necessary bits can either go into 1974 or 1980. I think the decision was partly budgetary- they just physically couldn't afford to film all 4 as written. | ||
| John (John) Username: John Registered: 05-2008 Posted From: 82.24.1.217 |
I'm just about to start reading these, with the intention of cracking through them before watching the adaptations. May have to tape them at this rate though, as the books are arriving in reverse order from Amazon. 1983 came on Friday, 1980 today, so the rest should be here tomorrow and Thursday. Just in the nick of... | ||
| Steve Bacon (Stevebacon) Username: Stevebacon Registered: 09-2008 Posted From: 90.211.103.83 |
John, I started reading 1974 yesterday, in my lunch hour. It's blistering. I had to tear myself away from it to return to work. It was on my mind all day yesterday. | ||
| Mark_lynch (Mark_lynch) Username: Mark_lynch Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 212.74.96.200 |
It's on tongiht anyway. because Leeds has modernised so much in the last thirty years, they obviously couldn't fiilm there. So they filmed it in Huddersfield and Halifax, which still look like the 1970s is going on . . . Ha. Just read in the local paper that Peace is a terriers supporter! So that's two -- him and Patrick Stewart. Make it so! | ||
| John (John) Username: John Registered: 05-2008 Posted From: 82.24.1.217 |
Steve, it finally arrived yesterday so I started on it when I got home from work. I'm about a third of the way through already. Grim stuff - but compelling. The TV version will get taped tonight - can't watch it until both me and my other half have read the book. | ||
| Allybird (Allybird) Username: Allybird Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 79.70.123.220 |
I was reaaly, really getting into it and was interrupted half way through. Is it going to be repeated? I really hope I haven't missed all of this one. | ||
| Zed (Gary_mc) Username: Gary_mc Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 81.96.241.143 |
The TV adaptation of 1974 was very good indeed -amazing atmosphere and attention to detail, great acting (the lad playing Eddie Dunford was excellent), and genuinely unsettling. Yeah, the story was compressed to fit the 2-hour length which meant that a lot of scenes and subplots were left out (particularly at the rushed climax), but overall it was pretty bloody great. Too many frigging breaks for adverts ruined the amazing apocalyptic mood of the piece, though. | ||
| Zed (Gary_mc) Username: Gary_mc Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 81.96.241.143 |
Oh, and I've just started reading 1983, so should be finished it by the time that one eair. :-) | ||
| Mick Curtis (Mick) Username: Mick Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 86.168.57.120 |
I've recorded it but want to read 1974 before I watch it. Glad to hear it sounds as if they made a good fist of it. | ||
| Zed (Gary_mc) Username: Gary_mc Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 81.96.241.143 |
My head's been full of Peace's driven, poetic prose for three weeks now, and tonight I got the images to go along with it...I feel like I've been immersed in filth. But in a good way.  | ||
| Zed (Gary_mc) Username: Gary_mc Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 81.96.241.143 |
Btw, this stuff is really straining at the boundaries of genre and the medium used to convey it. It's wonderful; both prose and film. True art. | ||
| Alansjf (Alansjf) Username: Alansjf Registered: 09-2008 Posted From: 94.194.134.45 |
To answer Ally's question - check 4OD, if you don't mind watching online. I haven't read the novels, but I definitely got a sense of a much broader story taking place off screen; there were moments where it felt as if I was seeing what was important, but not really getting why it was important. I can't help wondering if compressing the story into a single 2-hour film served it as well as, say, two 90-minute films would have ... The performances were top-notch though, especially Andrew Garfield and Rebecca Hall. | ||
| Zed (Gary_mc) Username: Gary_mc Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 213.219.8.243 |
I can't help wondering if compressing the story into a single 2-hour film served it as well as, say, two 90-minute films would have ... I'd agre with that, certainly. And with the 57 commercial breaks, the real running time was more like 1 hr 45 mins. | ||
| Stu (Stu) Username: Stu Registered: 04-2008 Posted From: 86.29.111.151 |
I admit I was ony halfwatching this but I got the impression that although wellcrafted this was basically style over substance and that the novel (hopefully) had more depth. Which seems to be the case according to Zed. | ||
| Zed (Gary_mc) Username: Gary_mc Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 213.219.8.243 |
I got the impression that although wellcrafted this was basically style over substance You and I must have watched a different film, Stu. | ||
| Stu (Stu) Username: Stu Registered: 04-2008 Posted From: 86.29.111.151 |
No, I just wish I'd watched a different film.  It just seemed a fairly basic noir story made to look better than it was due to a good cast and '70s period detail. Not necessarily bad but not the masterpiece C4 were hailing it as. | ||
| Steve Bacon (Stevebacon) Username: Stevebacon Registered: 09-2008 Posted From: 90.211.103.83 |
I enjoyed it very much. There was a great deal left unsaid, and I think this added to the sense of paranoia and bleakness. Stu, my wife only half-watched it to, and she didn't enjoy it as much as I did. It's probably one of those films where you have to give yourself to the vibe so you can immerse yourself in it totally. Andrew Garfield was sublime in 'Boy A' last year; I'm not sure if anyone here saw that, but I thought it was equally as compelling. | ||
| Allybird (Allybird) Username: Allybird Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 79.70.10.177 |
Right - caught up with the second half on 4OD - thanks Alan. Totally agree Steve and the pace of it was just right. Recommended. | ||
| Zed (Gary_mc) Username: Gary_mc Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 81.96.241.143 |
These books, oh these books: so much madness, sadness and badness. Such horror and banality and transcendance. Peace's world is one of everyday terror, where the commonplace and the supernatural co-exist. Repeated motifs, prayers, incantations. Blood, sweat, come, fanny batter. Pasties, crucifixes, beer, regret. Poetry, despair, death and the pursuit and utter absence of cliched redemption. Absolutely wonderful. Totally fucking brilliant. A million tiny hells creating one large hell. I am in awe. (Can you tell that I like them?) | ||
| Gary Fry (Gary_fry) Username: Gary_fry Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 82.20.31.211 |
...did he just say 'fanny batter'? | ||
| Zed (Gary_mc) Username: Gary_mc Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 81.96.241.143 |
Aye.  I read a passage in 1983 this morning that made me pause, close the book, shake my head in amazement, and then re-read the passage. Five times. | ||
| Gary Fry (Gary_fry) Username: Gary_fry Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 82.20.31.211 |
In 1983 I was down a passage and reading a book. I then paused, and after closing the book, I shook my head in amazement five times. I'd just stood in some fanny batter. | ||
| Allybird (Allybird) Username: Allybird Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 79.70.89.166 |
I'm going to have to buy these books. Now - assure me Zed, are you really sure that the prose is worth the effort? | ||
| Allybird (Allybird) Username: Allybird Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 79.70.89.166 |
Also. I'm feeling the pinch - been to London, Salford, Leicester and York in the last five weeks (after staying in for three months) and didn't realise how totally broke I am. Where is the cheapest source for these books? | ||
| Mick Curtis (Mick) Username: Mick Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 86.168.57.120 |
London? You shoulda called us, Ally... | ||
| Zed (Gary_mc) Username: Gary_mc Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 81.96.241.143 |
Skint? Tell me about it Ally, in the past week I've had to take a 10% reduction in salary (this was after redundancies were made at work; it's a measure to supposedly prevent even more job cuts) and paid out £240 to get my car fixed. If it wasn't for fiction and the love of my family, I'd be driven slowly mad. | ||
| Allybird (Allybird) Username: Allybird Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 79.70.89.166 |
London was the Ellen Datlow Poe event Mick. Got there for 2p.m. after struggling through the underground (circle line stop closed) so hence the delay and got the 7p.m. train back with Simon Clark (train full of rowdy football supporters). Great time spent in the Fleet Street pub though. Would have loved to see you again. Are you going to Alt.Fiction in Derby in July? It really is worth the trip. | ||
| Allybird (Allybird) Username: Allybird Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 79.70.89.166 |
Sorry to hear that Gary - Alan said we could afford for me to get out and about then he did the accounts yesterday and admitted he had got the income/expenditure all wrong. He's just changed jobs etc :>( The food bills were bad too - yes and car repairs coming up...... | ||
| Steve Bacon (Stevebacon) Username: Stevebacon Registered: 09-2008 Posted From: 90.211.103.83 |
I found out this week that all 68 of us at work are being made redundant, and have to reapply for different positions within the company; of which there will be only 20 slots. Might have to kerb my book buying for a while... | ||
| Mick Curtis (Mick) Username: Mick Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 86.168.57.120 |
Sorry to hear about your jobs guys. The company I work for went into administration in January, and we had a worrying few weeks, but it looks as if we're now ok for the time being, although no-one knows whats around the corner. Ally - unlikely to make the Derby bash, but we'll see... | ||
| Gary Fry (Gary_fry) Username: Gary_fry Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 82.20.31.211 |
Best wishes, Stephen. | ||
| Allybird (Allybird) Username: Allybird Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 79.70.89.166 |
Indeed, good wishes from me too. I'll keep my fingers crossed for you Steve. | ||
| Zed (Gary_mc) Username: Gary_mc Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 81.96.241.143 |
Steve - that's a bummer, mate. I hope you're one of the lucky ones who gets a post. | ||
| Huw (Huw) Username: Huw Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 218.168.185.236 |
Best of luck, Steve. This seems to be happening all over - I just heard from a friend of mine in LA that she's getting laid off this month as well. I wonder if Joel will find a pun in there somewhere... | ||
| Joel (Joel) Username: Joel Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 91.110.229.21 |
I'm very sorry to hear your news, Stephen and Zed. Best of luck. Can we expect anyone to suggest that the company directors should take a cut in their own huge nest-feathering bonuses to pay for the crisis they have created? Who might suggest that – maybe the 'Labour' Government? Oh no, of course not, sorry. | ||
| Mick Curtis (Mick) Username: Mick Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 86.168.57.120 |
That's a little unfair, Joel - I mean, consider Fred Goodwin - he's retired now and needs every penny of his £13,000-a-week pension just to survive. | ||
| Gcw (Gcw) Username: Gcw Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 81.151.125.173 |
... ! gcw | ||
| Gary Fry (Gary_fry) Username: Gary_fry Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 82.20.31.211 |
I was talking to my uncle recently and he rejected my claim that, on upwards of 50K a week, footballers get paid just a tad too much. He said he was basing his judgement on the fact that they have short careers. He's worked in a factory all his life. Oh, the 'spectacle' is deep indeed. | ||
| Steve Bacon (Stevebacon) Username: Stevebacon Registered: 09-2008 Posted From: 90.211.103.83 |
Thanks for the best wishes, guys. With footballers it used to be the case that they had short careers so their income was inflated to accomodate it, but nowadays there are so many peripheral ways they 'earn'income that it no longer stacks up. I like to watch football, but I'd enjoy paying my money if the players actually behaved decently. If we acted like many of them do, we'd end up fired. | ||
| Weber_gregston (Weber_gregston) Username: Weber_gregston Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 194.176.105.47 |
Man city apparently offered Ka-Ka £500k per week. Even after you take the tax off that it's still a million a month. Just shows the intelligence of your average football fan that they accept these wages at the expense of increased prices to get into the ground. | ||
| Allybird (Allybird) Username: Allybird Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 79.78.87.54 |
Very interesting article written by David Peace. http://www.crimetime.co.uk/features/davidpeace.php | ||
| Zed (Gary_mc) Username: Gary_mc Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 213.219.8.243 |
Yeah, I've already read that. I'm half way through the last book now: absolutely breathtaking. The 2nd ep. last night was exceptional. Although they've omitted the quasi-supernatural bits from the books, these have a unique and unsettling atmosphere. | ||
| Alansjf (Alansjf) Username: Alansjf Registered: 09-2008 Posted From: 94.194.134.45 |
It sounds like I really, really need to read these books ... And I agree, last night's film was superb. | ||
| Zed (Gary_mc) Username: Gary_mc Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 213.219.8.243 |
It's as if Peace wrote these specifically for me. "Let's see, what does McMahon like? Ah, yes: bleakness, sleaze, poetic madness monologues, death, profanity, stream-of-consciousness, insanity, demonic possesion, the 1970s, death by trepanning, cynical characters, a lack of redemption and resolution, everyone dying." Thank you, Mr Peace. | ||
| Stu (Stu) Username: Stu Registered: 04-2008 Posted From: 86.29.100.141 |
I'm kind of curious about the books. Peace has been flitting on the edge of my radar for a while now. But as for the TV version, I dunno, I'd still rather be watching The Wire. | ||
| Joel (Joel) Username: Joel Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 217.37.199.45 |
All we are saying is... | ||
| Mark_lynch (Mark_lynch) Username: Mark_lynch Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 212.74.96.200 |
I enjoyed last ngiht's more than the first. and I enjoyed the first. But I did think there's something missing from the adaptations. Then I wondered if it might be missing in the books as well. I've not read them all, but the ones I have read have been searing but also somewhat lacking of a deep emotional warmth. Guess it wasn't in the remit. Funny to see bits of Huddersfield and Halifax doubling for Leeds, though. | ||
| Zed (Gary_mc) Username: Gary_mc Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 81.96.241.143 |
Deep emotional warmth? You'll not get that in these novels, Mark. Deep emotion, yes, but none of it is warm. | ||
| Mark_lynch (Mark_lynch) Username: Mark_lynch Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 212.74.96.200 |
I know. But I think that's probably a flaw in the books. In all his books that I've read. There's style and hunger, but you're never going to cry for one of his characters. | ||
| Zed (Gary_mc) Username: Gary_mc Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 81.96.241.143 |
The character of Jack Whitehead is incredibly tragic, IMHO. | ||
| Gary Fry (Gary_fry) Username: Gary_fry Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 82.20.31.211 |
>>>but you're never going to cry for one of his characters Maybe, like Kubrick, he doesn't want you to. | ||
| Mark_lynch (Mark_lynch) Username: Mark_lynch Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 212.74.96.200 |
Yeah. Fair point. I do enjoy his books. I'm just being fussy, ain't I? | ||
| John (John) Username: John Registered: 05-2008 Posted From: 82.24.1.217 |
Right, just started 1980 now and I'm starting to find these novels a bit laughable. Peace piles on misfortune after misfortune, getting grimmer and grimmer with no shift in tone at all and the cumulative effect is a bit on the ridiculous side. I appreciate the energy and the writing, but it's all starting to get rather monotonous now. Hopefully he'll have found a new trick for 1980. So far the main character seems a bit more decent than the others, but we'll see. The TV version of 1977 was an utter mess of an adaptation as well, I thought. I know they had to simplify the story, but doing so to the extent where they allocated the murders to another character despite the fact that it made no sense to do so, that's another thing altogether. But that's another rant for another time. | ||
| Zed (Gary_mc) Username: Gary_mc Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 81.96.241.143 |
Couldn't disagree with you more about the books, mate. have you ever been to Leeds? It's one of the circles of hell. Loved the TV adaptation, too, but can totally understand your objection to the changes. I've just learned to view TV/film adaptations of novels I love as a completely different beast, where they merely use the original novel as a starting point. | ||
| Steve Bacon (Stevebacon) Username: Stevebacon Registered: 09-2008 Posted From: 90.211.103.83 |
Didn't they skip 1977 in the tv adaptations? John, you might have spoiled 1980 for yourself by watching it before you read the book. | ||
| John (John) Username: John Registered: 05-2008 Posted From: 82.24.1.217 |
Steve - oops, I meant the adaptation of 1974. Haven't watched 1980 yet. Zed - Spent a generally enjoyable weekend in Leeds once, that's it. Sure, it's a bit of a pit but no worse than any other town. My problem with the adaptation of 1974 wasn't that they made changes - that's to be expected, and it probably needed to be simplified anyway - but that the changes they made were mostly nonsensical. The resolution to the murder itself basically consisted of: "What about the girls?" "Well, a man's got to 'ave a 'obby." That's just poor. | ||
| Steve Bacon (Stevebacon) Username: Stevebacon Registered: 09-2008 Posted From: 90.211.103.83 |
John, if you watch the trailer for the final part (1983), it suggests the killer strand may not have been fully explored until the resolution. I haven't read any of the final three books so I can't comment on the total changes but it looks like it does touch on the killer again. I thought 1980 was better than 1974 (although I enjoyed that immensely). Paddy Considine's character was a flawed but good man at heart. I wonder whether the West Yorkshire Police will use aspects of Red Riding in future recruitment campaigns?.. | ||
| Steve Bacon (Stevebacon) Username: Stevebacon Registered: 09-2008 Posted From: 90.211.103.83 |
Just watched the final part of this. Fucking hell. | ||
| Zed (Gary_mc) Username: Gary_mc Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 81.96.241.143 |
Forgot it was on, but recorded it (phew!). Watched the excellent "In Bruges" instead. | ||
| Allybird (Allybird) Username: Allybird Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 79.78.35.136 |
It is dark and compelling stuff. Absolutely brilliant! | ||
| Alansjf (Alansjf) Username: Alansjf Registered: 09-2008 Posted From: 94.194.134.45 |
Compelling indeed. The sense of a story in hiding I got from the first film makes perfect sense now that I can look back at the whole trilogy. And there were some brilliant performances last night. Mark Addy, Daniel Mays and Robert Sheehan were all superb. | ||
| Gary Fry (Gary_fry) Username: Gary_fry Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 82.20.31.211 |
>>>Forgot it was on Hahahahaha. Your memory . . . You've been going on about Peace for weeks now. | ||
| Zed (Gary_mc) Username: Gary_mc Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 213.219.8.243 |
I know; my head's in bits at the minute. I barely even know what day it is anymore. :-( | ||
| Gary Fry (Gary_fry) Username: Gary_fry Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 82.20.31.211 |
Friday. The weekend beckons and much cavorting thereon. | ||
| Zed (Gary_mc) Username: Gary_mc Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 213.219.8.243 |
Not for me, hepcat. My cavorting days are over. My weekend holds a couple of kiddies tea parties, some house cleaning and a visit from my mother. Whoopy-doo. | ||
| Gary Fry (Gary_fry) Username: Gary_fry Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 82.20.31.211 |
And that's why your tales are so grim. | ||
| John (John) Username: John Registered: 05-2008 Posted From: 82.24.1.217 |
Just finished 1980 (the novel), so I'll be watching the TV version in the next couple of days. Shall now crack on with 1983. They're interesting enough, but I still think they're a bit one-note and occasionally unintentionally hilarious in their quest for intense darkness. Witness this (invariably misquoted as I don't have a copy handy) line from 1980: "...a pile of spunk on my lap." It's a magazine, but he's used this line without humour. It also feels like every single one of them is going to have more or less the same ending, regardless of whether it makes psychological sense for the character or not. Can't really go into any more detail, though, in case of spoilers. All opinions above are subject to change depending on how the last novel pans out/ties things up. | ||
| Gcw (Gcw) Username: Gcw Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 81.151.125.173 |
Watched '1974'...I dunno...There was a time when I would have raved about it. I just found the relentless bleakness a bit too much...People did occasionally laugh in 1974 y'know..(I was there! ) Plus the Brown-O-Vision was a bit over the top too. I WANTED to like it more. The violence was so over the top it was almost like watching an unfunny Bottom episode, though the 'This is the NERTH, we do what we bloddy well LIE-KE! line was hilarious. I have been told '1980' is better so ..As Battlestar Galactica has finished...(sob!) gcw | ||
| Zed (Gary_mc) Username: Gary_mc Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 81.96.241.143 |
The final episode was superb - as were the rest, IMHO. Mark Addy deserves an award for his performance. This has been the best TV for years. | ||
| Stu (Stu) Username: Stu Registered: 04-2008 Posted From: 86.29.111.153 |
What, even better than Ant and Dec's Saturday Takeaway? | ||
| John (John) Username: John Registered: 05-2008 Posted From: 82.24.1.217 |
I'm reliably informed that not everything was brown in the seventies. Anyway, halfway through 1983 now (novel). Glad to see it's pulling everything together in a fairly satisfying fashion so far, although a lot of it feels like offcuts from the earlier books. When I'm done with that, I'll watch the rest of the adaptations and return with a no doubt barely coherent set of views! |