I may give a more detailed review later on but, in the meanwhile, I want to encourage everyone to consider seeing the movie Stardust.
The trailers and commercials for the movie are, frankly, horrible. It doesn't seem like the people who are marketing it quite know how to handle what they have and the result is that they give the impression of something that's cheap and cheesy.
The actual movie isn't perfect (it takes about half an hour to really find its pace) but it is, in my opinion, a very enjoyable and often humorous fairytale (suitable for adults and children) with the sort of stylistic flourishes that one expects from Neil Gaiman.
Monday, August 20, 2007
Stardust
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4 comments:
Alicia and I loved this movie, start to finish. :-)
Have you read the illustrated story, or the novel version? I enjoyed the movie as well, even if I missed a few issues (as in, was sorry they were not there).
I am sorry to say that I have not, beyond a few brief glances. I know that the movie doesn't explain that the magical realm is part of Faery, nor am I surprised that other elements are missing but judging it strictly on its own merits, I surprised at how enjoyable it was.
I am given to understand that Gaiman had much more oversight on this movie than he did with the last adaptation of one of his stories and I think that it shows. Even if there were elements missing I got the impression that the core of the story was preserved (you can correct me if this impression is mistaken, of course).
Actually, I heard an interview with Gaiman. He recommended the adapter, but beyond that had no further input; although he was invited to be around for shooting, he only managed to make it to the first and last day of principal photography. He did say he prefered it that way, because "a parent should never be forced to do that to his own child", "that" refering to the kind of cuts and changes you would need to make to adapt the book to the screen. The basic core story is preserved, indeed; De Niro's character was greatly expanded, and the attitudes of many characters were changed substantially (not for the worst, just for the different, i fyou take my meaning). Think "Lord of the Rings" and the changes made there.
Which brings me back to my point: just as you would probably recommend to someone who enjoyed the Rings movie trilogy to read the books, I'll recommend you to read the original too, especially if you enjoyed the movie.
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