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ShareThe AV Club’s recent report on the worst book-to-film adaptations has led to some pretty fierce discussion at my house. Happy as we are to see The Grinch get a ribbing, we’re not so sure The Hours, Bee Season, or the remake of All the King’s Men deserve such scorn. I remember all of those as engaging, even gripping in the case of The Hours, which I watched days after finishing the novel.
Stephen King’s The Shining, however, is more out of place than most here, tossed off as “lousy”, with easy dissings of Steven Weber’s acting talents and some TV-grade special effects served up in place of genuine anti-adaptation argument. AV reports:
King never cared for Jack Nicholson’s iconic performance in the earlier film, which he felt tipped off the character’s descent into madness too plainly, but Steven Weber (a.k.a. that guy from Wings) was no one’s idea of an upgrade.
Except, of course, King himself. And anyone who’s read the book and knows Jack Torrance as an everyday family man, something Weber does far more convincingly that schticky Nicholson. The miniseries forgoes scares, true, but Kubrick’s version was hardly frightening and just as laborious. Garris’s film ran four hours, Kubrick’s felt that way.
On the whole, though, AV has it pretty much spot on. Much could be added—perhaps Re:Print will put its own list together. Any suggestions?
