| Author | Message | ||
     Tony (Tony) Username: Tony Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 81.131.110.133 |
Ooh, we watched this on Saturday night and even though it's fairly pedestrian I think my lads were actually quite scared of it, more so than the Exorcist or so. One went to bed early and the other watched the ending through his fingers. I have to say it's not a great, superbly crafted film but it gets so many things right more accomplished films don't. For one there's a real sense of dread to it, and ongoing surprise (I think it might otherwise be called 'bad editing'). It shocks you with things other films might not show. Performances are all over the place but Ed Gwynne is surely the most quintessential King character, and the kid, Gage - my god, is that kid's performance not one of the best by a kid in any film? He was 18 months old when he made this - he probably wasn't acting. Those scenes with him going nuts at the end were just so powerful and convincing, his droll reactions to death at once hilarious and terrifying ('Not fair! Not fair!'). The film has been criticized for being simplistic, but is this criticism fair? I find the simpler treatment can often be the strongest, the most direct. I've thought about this film for days - it's stuffed with superb moments and touches and images. At times, watching it, I wasn't sure I'd slipped into a dream, or that the filmmakers had not somehow entered dreamland and filmed it there. Again, this was watched on the old Lovell projector, so the effects of the viewing of this were probably heightened. Anyone any opinions, memories? | ||
| Stevie Walsh (Stephenw) Username: Stephenw Registered: 03-2009 Posted From: 194.32.31.1 |
I remember it as being quite routine though by no means the worst King adaptation I've seen... which isn't saying much. The novel was one of his scariest imo and the film just didn't live up to it. I do remember enjoying Fred Gwynne's performance though. It was great seeing him as a young man in a recent episode of Bilko, 'The Eating Contest'... "not.. The Stomach!!"  | ||
| Tony (Tony) Username: Tony Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 81.131.110.133 |
I have to say Stevie I think it's our projector bringing out qualities in things. It's arm's length from you, a huge, life-sized place. It makes the most mundane film a bit threatening to be honest. | ||
| Kate (Kathleen) Username: Kathleen Registered: 09-2009 Posted From: 86.137.108.144 |
It's my favourite King novel and the one that scared me the most so I had extremely high expectations when I first saw the film (when it came out). I don't remember much about it other than being incredibly disappointed (of course it couldn't live up to the book but it wasn't even close) and baffled as to why they made the Pascow character comic relief. It's on our LoveFilm rental list so it will arrive here one day for me to see again but those are my memories. | ||
| Weber (Weber_gregston) Username: Weber_gregston Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 194.176.105.56 |
Just don't even think about watching the sequel - Pet Sematary 2 with young Eddie Furlong... Not worth the energy. | ||
| Zed (Gary_mc) Username: Gary_mc Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 81.96.253.77 |
Pet Sematary is hands-down my favourite horror novel of all time, and yet I didn't hate the film version...Tony, you hit on a good point when you say that it does get somethings right. The bits with the kid at the end are genuinely unsettling, and I remember the flashbacks involving the ill sister as being pretty nightmarish. It's an odd film - tonally all over the place - yet bits of it do work. | ||
| Huw (Huw) Username: Huw Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 220.138.161.150 |
I read Pet Sematary when it came out and thought it was very impressive (and very frightening). I enjoyed parts of the film, but, like Kate, felt dismay at the decision to inject comic relief from the Pascow character. | ||
| Karim Ghahwagi (Karim) Username: Karim Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 80.163.2.94 |
Hands down, my favorite King novel. It is one of the great horror novels. | ||
| John Forth (John) Username: John Registered: 05-2008 Posted From: 82.24.1.217 |
I always thought of the film of Pet Sematary as being the Young Adult version of the story. A great book, and a decent film. The scenes with Zelda, the sister, still give me shivers when I think about them. | ||
| Tony (Tony) Username: Tony Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 81.131.110.133 |
I have to say I was close to doing a '101 good things about Pet Sematary' here and think I could have managed it. Thing is, it ISN'T terribly good, but it's never dull for a second and is almost continually horrifying without ever being terribly upsetting (I like that). Yes, the dying sister almost belonged in another film - we all went 'Uh oh' whenever she appeared... Pascow was an American Werewolf type of thing, I felt. I thought he was ok. | ||
| Weber (Weber_gregston) Username: Weber_gregston Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 194.176.105.56 |
The director went on to make the single best King adaptation to date though... Misery (which I prefer to Shawshank redemption.) The next best IMO would be Bryan Singer's version of Apt Pupil. | ||
| Tony (Tony) Username: Tony Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 81.131.110.133 |
No - wasn't that Rob Reiner? The woman who directed this did some Madonna vids prior, and recently one of those giant octopus films. Gage, though, went on to make two albums and be in tons of films to this day. Amazing, that. Never not been working. | ||
| Tony (Tony) Username: Tony Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 81.131.110.133 |
Yes, John - we all thought the film was like 'Who's Afraid of the Dark?', only scarier. | ||
| Zed (Gary_mc) Username: Gary_mc Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 195.166.117.210 |
Tony's right - Reiner made Misery. Pet Sematary was Mary Lambert. | ||
| Frank (Frank) Username: Frank Registered: 09-2008 Posted From: 85.222.86.21 |
King's fave adaptations of his own work are: Shawshank Redemption, The Mist, and Stand By Me. I'd add to that list Cronenberg's version of the Dead Zone, which I think was one of the first movies to really capture King. | ||
| Zed (Gary_mc) Username: Gary_mc Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 195.166.117.210 |
I can smell a Stevie-list in the air... | ||
| Weber (Weber_gregston) Username: Weber_gregston Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 194.176.105.56 |
What was the other SK film that Reiner made then? I was sure it was Pet Sematary | ||
| Weber (Weber_gregston) Username: Weber_gregston Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 194.176.105.56 |
Ah, it was Stand By Me wasn't it... (another excellent film) And he called his production company Castle Rock in honour of King IIRC. Why did I think he directed Pet sematary? who implanted that one in my head? | ||
| Tony (Tony) Username: Tony Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 81.131.110.133 |
He did Stand by Me! | ||
| Weber (Weber_gregston) Username: Weber_gregston Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 194.176.105.56 |
The Different Seasons collection has fared really well in the film world hasn't it... Stand By me (The Body), Apt Pupil and Shawshank Redemption (Rita Hayworth and the...). Are there different editions with different final stories? I don't remember the story The Breathing Method which is listed as the final story on Wikipedia... | ||
| Tony (Tony) Username: Tony Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 81.131.110.133 |
D'oh. You beat me to your own answer. | ||
| Tony (Tony) Username: Tony Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 81.131.110.133 |
It's about the headless woman who gives birth to a baby. | ||
| Weber (Weber_gregston) Username: Weber_gregston Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 194.176.105.56 |
I don't remember it though... I'll have to check my copy when I get home. | ||
| Gary Fry (Gary_fry) Username: Gary_fry Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 86.31.133.89 |
King nicked the name Castle Rock from Lord of the Flies. He nicked Needful Things from Hard Times. He's a thief, that King.  | ||
| Frank (Frank) Username: Frank Registered: 09-2008 Posted From: 85.222.86.21 |
Different Seasons is a great book, or book of books. Every single one a gem. Though, if he hadn't been persuaded to include one supernatural themed story, The Breathing Method, I'd love to know what he was planning to put in as the final story. Mind you, the set up for the Breathing Method, the club, is wonderfully atmospheric. Interesting side-note, question: Who thinks the ending of Singer's film version of Apt Pupil is a better ending than the novella? Bear in mind that King considers the ending of the film version of The Mist superior than his original. | ||
| Stevie Walsh (Stephenw) Username: Stephenw Registered: 03-2009 Posted From: 194.32.31.1 |
Your wish is my command, Zed, and you get two for the price of one today: My Top 10 Stephen King novels: 1. The Stand (1978-90) 2. The Shining (1977) 3. Salem's Lot (1975) 4. It (1986) 5. Pet Sematary (1983) 6. The Tommyknockers (1987) 7. Christine (1983) 8. Thinner (1984) 9. The Dead Zone (1979) 10. Firestarter (1980) My Top 10 Stephen King adaptations: 1. 'The Shining' (1980) by Stanley Kubrick 2. 'Salem's Lot' (1979) by Tobe Hooper 3. 'Carrie' (1976) by Brian De Palma 4. 'The Dead Zone' (1983) by David Cronenberg 5. 'Creepshow' (1982) by George A. Romero 6. 'Misery' (1990) by Rob Reiner 7. 'The Shawshank Redemption' (1994) by Frank Darabont 8. 'Apt Pupil' (1998) by Bryan Singer 9. 'Stand By Me' (1986) by Rob Reiner 10. '1408' (2007) by Mikael Håfström I have yet to see 'The Mist'... | ||
| Gary Fry (Gary_fry) Username: Gary_fry Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 86.31.133.89 |
>>>I have yet to see 'The Mist'... Well, one of your ten will have to go. The Mist is among the best. | ||
| Gary Fry (Gary_fry) Username: Gary_fry Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 86.31.133.89 |
Creepshow and not The Green Mile?? | ||
| Gary Fry (Gary_fry) Username: Gary_fry Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 86.31.133.89 |
Firestarter in the novels, and no Misery????? | ||
| Gary Fry (Gary_fry) Username: Gary_fry Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 86.31.133.89 |
Thinner?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? | ||
| Gary Fry (Gary_fry) Username: Gary_fry Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 86.31.133.89 |
>>>>Interesting side-note, question: Who thinks the ending of Singer's film version of Apt Pupil is a better ending than the novella? Bear in mind that King considers the ending of the film version of The Mist superior than his original. Not me. "It was four hours later before they took him down." Shudder. One can only imagine what he's done during that time. | ||
| Zed (Gary_mc) Username: Gary_mc Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 195.166.117.210 |
I'm with GF on that ending... | ||
| Frank (Frank) Username: Frank Registered: 09-2008 Posted From: 85.222.86.21 |
He did nothing, just swung from a tree...(; | ||
| Frank (Frank) Username: Frank Registered: 09-2008 Posted From: 85.222.86.21 |
But seriously, that he doesn't get caught leaves us wondering what kind of monster he'll grow into. Then again, perhaps not. | ||
| Gary Fry (Gary_fry) Username: Gary_fry Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 86.31.133.89 |
Apt Pupil may well be King's best story. Certainly one of his most powerful. And disturbing. Why he has to mix this with drivel like Sleepwalkers, I'll never work out. It's like catching Thomas Hardy playing on a Gameboy. | ||
| Mbfg (Mbfg) Username: Mbfg Registered: 09-2010 Posted From: 212.219.63.204 |
I found Pet Semetary, the novel, one of the most disturbing stories I've read. Probably because my sister lost her six week old son about two weeks before I read it. I wouldn't have attempted it if I had known what it was about but I really had no idea. King's examination of grief and its darknesses and absurdities is one of the most masterly descriptions of the process I've seen. The film? Okay, but compeletely lacking the soul-wrenching edge of the book. Cheers Terry | ||
| Tony (Tony) Username: Tony Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 81.131.110.133 |
I remember Virginia Woolf saying when she met Thomes Hardy all he did was play with his dog and waffle on about nothing. And you like things like computer games, remember. | ||
| Gary Fry (Gary_fry) Username: Gary_fry Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 86.31.133.89 |
Yeah, but I'm more Oliver than Thomas Hardy. | ||
| Tony (Tony) Username: Tony Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 81.131.110.133 |
I have to say, unskilled as it was it was a great watch with the lads. Gripped with a weird kind of glee throughout. Maybe that's how films are meant to be, not like books at all? | ||
| Tony (Tony) Username: Tony Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 81.131.110.133 |
Sound and movement, sensory. The trucks zooming along that road were stunning on a big screen. | ||
| John Forth (John) Username: John Registered: 05-2008 Posted From: 217.20.16.180 |
I don't even remember how the film of Apt Pupil ended. The last line of the story, on the other hand, has stuck with me in the years since I read it. On the subject of changed endings for the film - and doing my best to avoid spoilers - but did anyone else think that the end of the film version of The Mist pushed its luck just a little? I thought it was brave up to a point, but the last twist of the knife tipped things over into farce. | ||
| Gary Fry (Gary_fry) Username: Gary_fry Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 86.31.133.89 |
I had problem with the ending of The Mist, yes, John. Great film, tho. The real stuff. That pharmacy episode was terrifying, and then it's topped off by Lovecrafian awesomeness. What more can a horror fan ask for? | ||
| Weber (Weber_gregston) Username: Weber_gregston Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 194.176.105.56 |
Spoilers contained I was really looking forward to seeing Ross from Friends get murdered horribly so I was really disappointed when they changed the ending to let him live. I thought the ending to the Mist was great. They didn't need the line of dialogue about "Only 4 bullets, but there's five of us" - that was awkward and pandering to a lowest level of intelligence that wouldn't be able to count the number of bullets... I nearly slapped the guy who walked out behind me saying he would just have beaten the kid to death with the gun and then shot himself. | ||
| Stevie Walsh (Stephenw) Username: Stephenw Registered: 03-2009 Posted From: 194.32.31.1 |
I haven't seen 'The Green Mile' either as the mawkish look of the trailers and presence of Tom Hanks rather put me off. As much as I admire 'The Shawshank Redemption' I do think it is rather marred at key moments by essence of Spielbergian sentimentality. From what I heard 'The Green Mile' tipped over the edge... so should I give it a go? | ||
| Gary Fry (Gary_fry) Username: Gary_fry Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 86.31.133.89 |
Yes. | ||
| Weber (Weber_gregston) Username: Weber_gregston Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 194.176.105.56 |
Top 10 Stephen King films 1 The Mangler 2 Silver Bullet 3 Maximum Overdrive 4 Sleepwalkers 5 Lawnmower Man 6 The Rage – carrie 2 7 Graveyard Shift 8 Sometimes they come back 9 Trucks 10 The Running Man | ||
| Tony (Tony) Username: Tony Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 81.131.110.133 |
Stevie! I LOVED Green Mile! I popped it on one afternoon when I was feeling poorly and at the end cried my eyes out for about half an hour, walking about trying to reassure myself. I haven't blubbed like that since The Yearling, or Grayfriars Bobby. Or Lassie Come Home. | ||
| Stevie Walsh (Stephenw) Username: Stephenw Registered: 03-2009 Posted From: 194.32.31.1 |
For me 'Thinner' is one of King's purest and most gripping straight horror yarns - pure story with minimum fuss and bags of suspense. It's definitely one of his finest novels imo. I still say his later works lack the edge of his early material and have tended to veer rather too much into sentimental homespun Americana territory for my liking. What was the last truly frightening Stephen King novel? Rather than being an entertainingly spun story, if you get my drift. A look at the film adaptations shows this mellowing from the stark terror of 'The Shining' to the life affirming charm of 'The Shawshank Redemption' as well. There are exceptions, of course, but the tendency toward mass appeal toning down still stands up, I believe. | ||
| Gary Fry (Gary_fry) Username: Gary_fry Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 86.31.133.89 |
>>>It's definitely one of his finest novels imo. It's The Incredible Shrinking Man on a diet. Nuts n bolts competent, but hardly more than that. | ||
| Stevie Walsh (Stephenw) Username: Stephenw Registered: 03-2009 Posted From: 194.32.31.1 |
It's the closest King ever came to the razor sharp economy of Richard Matheson so your 'Incredible Shrinking Man' comparison is actually quite apt imo. | ||
| Gary Fry (Gary_fry) Username: Gary_fry Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 86.31.133.89 |
I just checked King's bibliography and was shocked to learn that Gerald's Game - what I latter-day King - is nearly 20 year old! | ||
| John Forth (John) Username: John Registered: 05-2008 Posted From: 82.24.1.217 |
That pharmacy episode was terrifying, and then it's topped off by Lovecrafian awesomeness. What more can a horror fan ask for? Not much, Gary. By and large I loved the film - just that last minute or so left me cold. I'm all for a downer ending, but that one felt more than a little mean-spirited. Onto The Green Mile - I generally start gagging on sight of Tom Hanks, but thought The Green Mile was a fine film. Some very strong performances, and no more or less sentimental than the source mateiral. | ||
| John Forth (John) Username: John Registered: 05-2008 Posted From: 82.24.1.217 |
Oh, and problem two with the ending of the film version of The Mist was that, when you think about it, it meant that the crazy religious woman was right. | ||
| Allybird (Allybird) Username: Allybird Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 88.104.134.64 |
The Green Mile. That bit without the sponge....shiver. | ||
| Gary Fry (Gary_fry) Username: Gary_fry Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 86.183.61.191 |
It's more horrid in the novel. King's orchestrated use of the phrase "a done tom turkey" is brilliantly grotesque. | ||
| Steve Bacon (Stevebacon) Username: Stevebacon Registered: 09-2008 Posted From: 90.209.11.187 |
SPOILERS *************************************** I'm with John on this one (with The Mist ending). I wish there was a version on the DVD that would enable me to watch it without the arrival of the soldiers. But the rest of the film is superb. And I liked the uncertainty of the novella's original ending, anyway. Delores Claiborne is a decent enough adaptation, too. | ||
| Gary Fry (Gary_fry) Username: Gary_fry Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 86.183.61.191 |
Yes, Dolores is a class act. | ||
| Gary Fry (Gary_fry) Username: Gary_fry Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 86.183.61.191 |
Methinks the Weber man is being de plonkerooney here. | ||
| Gary Fry (Gary_fry) Username: Gary_fry Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 86.183.61.191 |
I rather like the film of The Dark Half. I wonder why Rose Madder has never been filmed . . . ? Really enjoyed the book. | ||
| Allybird (Allybird) Username: Allybird Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 88.104.134.64 |
Disliked the ending of The Mist. | ||
| Frank (Frank) Username: Frank Registered: 09-2008 Posted From: 85.222.86.21 |
Under The Dome is about to go into production. Speilberg and King both producing. The Dark Half, in my humble opinion, is a very, very good film adaptation. If only Romero was given more projects like this. I went to see it at the cinema and thought it superior to a lot of other King adapted movies. Rose Madder will no doubt get made sometime. I don't know if it would translate too well. I enjoyed the book, but found it one of his weakest novels. I want to see Lisey's Story made, but with a heavyweight director who knows how genre material works. | ||
| Weber (Weber_gregston) Username: Weber_gregston Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 194.176.105.56 |
"Methinks the Weber man is being de plonkerooney here." What makes you say that? | ||
| Gary Fry (Gary_fry) Username: Gary_fry Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 129.11.134.217 |
Your damned foolish list, sir. | ||
| Zed (Gary_mc) Username: Gary_mc Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 195.166.117.210 |
The Mangler's a very entertaining film - I enjoyed it, probably because I expected to hate it. It's quite a bleak and bloody adaptation of a rather silly short story. | ||
| Weber (Weber_gregston) Username: Weber_gregston Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 194.176.105.56 |
I thought my list was a spendiferous list indeed sir. An anti-stevie-list list if I ever saw one... | ||
| Stevie Walsh (Stephenw) Username: Stephenw Registered: 03-2009 Posted From: 194.32.31.1 |
I've seen 9 films from your list, Weber. All but 'Carrie 2'. 'The Mangler', 'Silver Bullet' & 'Graveyard Shift' are enjoyable hokum but the rest are just pure unadulterated crap. 'Maximum Overdrive' is one of the worst films I have ever seen. Mind shatteringly awful. | ||
| Weber (Weber_gregston) Username: Weber_gregston Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 194.176.105.56 |
 | ||
| Weber (Weber_gregston) Username: Weber_gregston Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 194.176.105.56 |
Are you dissing Arnie? The Running Man is an OK film I think... enjoyable hokum as you put it. | ||
| Stevie Walsh (Stephenw) Username: Stephenw Registered: 03-2009 Posted From: 194.32.31.1 |
God, it was ridiculous rubbish imo. A travesty of the original story. | ||
| Weber (Weber_gregston) Username: Weber_gregston Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 194.176.105.56 |
It was Arnie, course it was ridiculous rubbish... and of course the original is so much better. I only said it was OK - and easily the best of the films I've seen on that list. | ||
| Stevie Walsh (Stephenw) Username: Stephenw Registered: 03-2009 Posted From: 82.17.254.215 |
That would be 'The Mangler', then 'Silver Bullet, then 'Graveyard Shift'. And Arnie (for all his sins) has appeared in some of the greatest genre films of all time. Sadly 'The Running Man' wasn't one of them. It was pants! | ||
| Zed (Gary_mc) Username: Gary_mc Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 81.96.253.77 |
Graveyard Shift is an okay low buget potboiler too, Weber. The Running Man is enjoyable hokum, and the only thing it has in common with the short novel is it's title. | ||
| John Forth (John) Username: John Registered: 05-2008 Posted From: 82.132.248.121 |
The Running Man is a shitey adaptation, but a fun Arnie action movie. Still enjoy it to this day. I remember Graveyard Shift being amusing enough. Particularly Stephen Macht's (sp?) bizarre attempt at the Maine accent. "This showah's ovah." | ||
| Mick Curtis (Mick) Username: Mick Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 86.178.81.13 |
'Maximum Overdrive' is one of the worst films I have ever seen. Mind shatteringly awful. Quite. I recall King appearing on TV saying "I directed this so you know it'll be true to the original tale" or some such. Awful, it was. | ||
| Joel (Joel) Username: Joel Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 91.110.203.51 |
The Dark Half is well-handled from the supernatural point of view but seems to miss the point in character terms – it's a story about alcoholism. Other strong King-derived films include Stand By Me, Thinner, Carrie and (especially) The Dead Zone. The Shining is a nicely worked ghost story but lacks the complexity and urgency of the novel. Pet Sematary is rather a weak film, I thought, lacking in psychological intensity and trying to make it up with gore. While The Shawshank Redemption is well-made but can't transcend a silly and unconvincing storyline. Graveyard Shift is nice pulpish fun with some obvious parody of King dialogue. | ||
| Mick Curtis (Mick) Username: Mick Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 86.179.194.167 |
I can't quite get over how highly some folk rate THE SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION. It was at one time (and maybe still is) the highest rated film on the IMDB. It's ok, but nothing like that good, not compared to every other film ever made. | ||
| Zed (Gary_mc) Username: Gary_mc Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 81.96.253.77 |
Joel - isn't The Dark Half a story about King's experience writing as Richard Bachman? Mick - Shawshank touches people; it has that elusive factor very few films manage. It breaks your heart and then puts it back together again, with just a tiny bit missing. A staggering film, IMHO. | ||
| Zed (Gary_mc) Username: Gary_mc Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 81.96.253.77 |
Also, I think Maximum Overdrive is hilarious. A few beers, a pizza, stick that on teh DVD player, and you've got a night of laughter ahead of you. I'm very fond of the film becaus eit's such simple-minded fun. | ||
| Hubert (Hubert) Username: Hubert Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 178.116.55.86 |
Shawshank Redemption isn't bad, but watch Cool Hand Luke and you'll see how unsatisfying and unrealistic the King adaptation is. I rather enjoyed the Bradbury-esque Stand By Me, though. Graveyard Shift has a nice moment or two. I like the part when the ratcatcher discovers what is underneath the mill - positively Lovecraftian! It's merely a tip of the hat to King's superb story, of course. | ||
| Stevie Walsh (Stephenw) Username: Stephenw Registered: 03-2009 Posted From: 82.17.254.215 |
Weber's list from "best" to naffest imo: 1. The Mangler - one of Tobe Hooper's more memorable efforts of the 90s that successfully broadens out the short story to include a memorably satanic villainous performance by Robert Englund. Great fun! 2. Silver Bullet - a strangely enjoyable mess that rattles along at a fine pace and veers disarmingly from high jinks comedy to surprisingly strong horror at the drop of a hat and has some really quite memorable set pieces. Even the naffness of the werewolf make-up somehow adds charm. 3. Graveyard Shift - mindlessly entertaining and often quite witty low budget splatter horror with enjoyably OTT special effects and a great eye-rolling performance by Brad Dourif. 4. The Running Man - one of Arnie's weakest star vehicles that lurches absurdly into accidental camp it is so badly done. Has nothing to do with the original story. 5. Sleepwalkers - a hopeless mess from start to finish enlivened only by some baffling cameo appearances. 6. The Lawnmower Man - I believe there is a case for suing the makers under the trade descriptions act as this has nothing to do with the story at all, not even remotely. Contains probably the shittiest special effects ever seen in a sci-fi movie. 7. Sometimes They Come Back - brain numbingly cackhanded bollocks that saps the will to live as you watch. 8. Trucks - utter shite, all you can say for it is it's not as bad as King's own adaptation below. 9. Maximum Overdrive - a strong contender for the worst film I have ever seen with no redeeming qualities whatsoever. The night I watched it is the closest I ever came to throwing something through the TV screen. ?? The Rage : Carrie II - haven't seen it and don't want to sully the memory of De Palma's masterpiece by doing so. Does she actually come back from the dead?!  | ||
| Hubert (Hubert) Username: Hubert Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 178.116.55.86 |
Graveyard Shift should have had Nicholson as college boy Hal, and Hopper as the foreman. And a better monster. And . . . | ||
| Zed (Gary_mc) Username: Gary_mc Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 81.96.253.77 |
Hubert - Cool Hand Luke is one of my favourite films. I've probably seen it 20 times. But I still love The Shawshank Redemption. | ||
| John Forth (John) Username: John Registered: 05-2008 Posted From: 82.24.1.217 |
I remember Maximum Overdrive being jolly enough, but I haven't seen it for about 15 years. I think there's a VHS copy lying around here somewhere... The Shawshank Redemption never did much for me, either the story or the film. I appreciate that it's well made and acted, but I never felt involved with the characters at any point. | ||
| Zed (Gary_mc) Username: Gary_mc Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 81.96.253.77 |
Wow, you guys are a tough crowd...  In all honesty, this is the only time I've ever known people not to like The Shawshank Redemption. I actually think the novella is one of King's finest achievments, too. | ||
| Frank (Frank) Username: Frank Registered: 09-2008 Posted From: 85.222.86.21 |
I'm completely with Zed on this. The Shawshank is a wonderful film, and a perfect adaptation. Cool Hand Luke is also a perfect movie, but I think comparing two prison set movies, perhaps with similar themes, certainly as far as characters might be concerned, is a bit unfair on Shawshank. It sounds like an argument based on age and generation. But what do I know. | ||
| Zed (Gary_mc) Username: Gary_mc Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 81.96.253.77 |
Nobody can eat 50 boiled eggs. | ||
| Zed (Gary_mc) Username: Gary_mc Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 81.96.253.77 |
Cool Hand Luke. Midnight Cowboy. One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest. Flawless films...uncomparable, to my mind. | ||
| Frank (Frank) Username: Frank Registered: 09-2008 Posted From: 85.222.86.21 |
What I meant to say is that we seem to feel awkward calling relatively younger films classics. Not that I'm doubting other people's opinions on SR. I'll get my coat. | ||
| Hubert (Hubert) Username: Hubert Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 178.116.55.86 |
Shawshank and Green Mile look as though they are Disney films - films with a kind of fairy-tale sheen to them. Stand By Me retains a similar quality, but there the glow adds to the Dandelion-like feel of the story. When I was young I often went on long afternoon hikes with my mates, so all that is very recognizable: SBM offers a great interpretation of how reality is perceived by youngsters. | ||
| Joel (Joel) Username: Joel Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 91.110.242.119 |
The Shawshank Redemption (film) is a sentimental fantasy filmed in pseudo-realist style. It flows along well enough, but it doesn't convince because it merely borrows the gravitas of social realism to dress up a piece of sheer hokum – like a ferret on stilts expecting to be mistaken for a giraffe. Zed, The Dark Half is only superficially about King's Bachman experience, because the pseudonym theme is only the 'manifest content' of the novel – the 'latent content' is the way that Beaumont changes when writing as Stark, and King tells us that drink is a key part of that. At the end of the novel, when it's clear that Beaumont has lost his marriage, the metaphor is unmistakeable (especially when you link it to The Shining and what King has written about his own drink/drug history). | ||
| Gary Fry (Gary_fry) Username: Gary_fry Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 86.31.133.89 |
I once saw a review of The Green Mile (book) which said, "It's basically children's fiction, but it still made me cry." I agree with that. | ||
| Gary Fry (Gary_fry) Username: Gary_fry Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 86.31.133.89 |
King returns frequently to the Jekyll/Hyde theme: Dark Half, Secret Window, Misery, Lisey's Story - all involve explorations of dual selves, what George Herbert Mead called 'I' and 'Me'. The self in the world and the self which reflects. | ||
| Frank (Frank) Username: Frank Registered: 09-2008 Posted From: 85.222.86.21 |
Regardless of themes, style, etc, I would still say that Shawshank is a classic piece of film-making, as is Cool Hand Luke. I just wouldn't put them in the same genre. But I do find it interesting to find people aren't swayed by popular sentiment, especially when we can 'lay claim to one of our own.' | ||
| Gary Fry (Gary_fry) Username: Gary_fry Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 86.31.133.89 |
King reminds me of Steinbeck. A great, readable, crowd-pleasing moralist capable of some profoundly moving (yet fictionally 'broad') work. Not perhaps the man to go to when an exmaination of the intricate minutiae of the soul is required, but a necessary figure all the same. Theodore Drieser, too. King claims both as a major influence, of course. | ||
| Gary Fry (Gary_fry) Username: Gary_fry Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 86.31.133.89 |
And what's more, King seems to know this. Check out innumerable quotes. Eh, "I'm not a bright novelist like Graham Greene..." Etc etc. | ||
| Frank (Frank) Username: Frank Registered: 09-2008 Posted From: 85.222.86.21 |
Yes, exactly, Prof. Though don't be too quick to judge him on the depth of self-examination, it's there, in his work. Joel - I would have to disagree about the social realism of Shawshank. I personally don't think the film or the book are striving for that, and honestly see the film as a modern day take on the moral allegory, however one wants to read it. Is it hokum? Probably. But what enjoyable cinematic hokum it is. If you take any of the popular crowd pleasers of their day, most of us would say hokum. But, sometimes, just sometimes, buried deep down inside that hokum is something else, something that resonates enough for people to talk about and relate to. But as Zed is always saying, it's all about taste (: And again, I think it's quite healthy that some horror fans don't lap up every lauded piece of cinema simply because it's written by it's most popular practitioner. | ||
| Hubert (Hubert) Username: Hubert Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 178.118.73.145 |
He knows his craft, there's no question about that. A pity that so many intrinsically good stuff is ruined by the absence of a satisfying ending. | ||
| Hubert (Hubert) Username: Hubert Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 178.118.73.145 |
. . . so MUCH good stuff . . . | ||
| Mick Curtis (Mick) Username: Mick Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 86.179.194.167 |
I didn't dislike SHAWSHANK - thought it was good, just not that good. And now, thanks to Joel, I can't stop thinking about ferrets on stilts. | ||
| Joel (Joel) Username: Joel Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 91.110.253.33 |
I should have acknowledged the late, great Steven Wells as the souce of that image. I was tired and being careless after a long day. | ||
| Simon Bestwick (Simon_b) Username: Simon_b Registered: 10-2008 Posted From: 86.24.209.217 |
I believe I first heard it used in an articler in the Metro, in reference to David Coverdale of Whitesnake's attempts to reinvent himself as a sensitive singer-songwriter. Was that by Wells, or did the Metro nick it from him? |