I really, really don't like The Beatles. My husband put a Beatles tape on in the car on my birthday, and it was like being stuck in elevator-music purgatory. Paul McCartney's cheeky, chirpy little voice just grates against my ear drums. I can just about bear some of the up-tempo numbers, but I've never wanted to go to an octopus's garden, and I've even less desire to hear Ringo droning on about it.
Ringo Starr needs to be reading stories about Thomas the Tank Engine, which I do enjoy. The Beatles back-catalogue can stay in room 101 as far as I'm concerned. I know, you're all shocked.
I also actually prefer the BBC productions of the Narnia books. I've seen the new films on ginormous screens, in full surround sound, and it's an exhilarating experience. I look forward to eventually seeing all seven books on the big screen.
But, I think the BBC films work harder to stay close to the plot line of the books, and more true to the characters CS Lewis presented. Edmund in the films is understandably seduced into betraying his brother and sisters, and you quite like him. In the telly production, he's a spiteful wotsit, who has his ego stroked by the White Witch and then doesn't want to go back into Narnia because his guilty conscience is pricking him. You see the wrestling he has with his conscience on the way to the castle of the Witch, and that he chooses to go with his sin.
I was quite ticked off by the portrayal of Peter in the recent Prince Caspian film. He's one of my favourite characters, and the plot changes they made did rather turn him into a petulant, arrogant fool. I understand why they did it, in terms of the length of the story for film, and the seeds in the original story (Peter leading them wrongly and ignoring Lucy having seen Aslan), but I think the extent to which they did it distorted the character of Peter. All very contemporary and all that, but like Faramir in another well-known adaptation, film-makers seem reluctant to give us men who are genuinely heroic and admirable.
I know the special effects are ropey, but I actually prefer the car-seat cover Aslan to the computer generated one, because the children can actually touch him, and I don't have a little thing in the back of my mind reminding me that they are just stroking air. There's an element of radio-play/stage-play to the telly episodes, which still requires you to use your imagination - the films have computer-generated everything, and it sometimes makes it so much less magical.
I'm sure there's some nostalgia mixed in with it, but that's why it works, because of the nostaliga I have for the books, too. I suppose I should just be grateful they didn't give the big screen movies a contemporary setting.
11/14/2008
on things which I am contrary about.
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18 comments:
At least they didn't completely and utterly reverse the whole point of the books (cf. recent Brideshead Revisited)
random comment from random passer-by who is procrastinating ... I do like the colour scheme, by the way.
I don't have quite the aversion to the Beatles as you, but a few years ago a St. Louis radio station spent a weekend playing ALL their recordings. The side B stuff and everything. I had to work that weekend, and all my coworkers wanted to listen to it. It was a VERY long weekend.
Don't like the Beatles? Isn't that, like, unpatriotic? (I love older Beatles tunes; wonderful harmonies.)
Also, for a rarity, disagree on Narnia. I will never for the life of me understand why BBC voiced Aslan as if he were just on the verge of dozing off. Sleepy Aslan makes as much sense as slow Flash.
Plus, sorry, but I can't hardly take my eyes off of that poor Lucy's teeth. Whereas, by contrast, your lass' friend Georgie Henley is absolutely perfect as Lucy.
The only problem I recall having with the BBC adaptation of Narnia is that Dawn Treader is only 4 episodes (Prince Caspian rightly 2, which matches the story length if you dramatise it - hence the problems the film had).
OK, the special effects are awful compared to now, but they seem to be rather good for 20 years ago.
Silver Chair over three hours will be better than the future film - the effects are less of a distraction than the other BBC adaptations, and there's more time to cover the story in a series. Still cuts bits out, like why the underworld people jump into the fire gleefully!
My kids have the BBC "LIon, Witch & the Wardrobe" but not the other 2 productions. We also saw the new releases, and I thought the witch was much more evil in the old ones. Otherwise, I guess I'm w/ Dan on this one.
I don't like the Beatles, either. They bring back nasty memories of my college roommate getting stoned while I was studying in a bong smoke-filled dorm room.
yep, Georgie is a very good Lucy, no question. Got to give small-screen Edmund his due, though, he's a proper little rotter, and yet convincingly reformed in his other stories.
But the BBC versions make me feel as cosy as Christmas. Sleepy-voiced Aslan is all part of the charm. (Although Ronald Pickup seemed to slow him down even more in The Silver Chair, which I don't quite understand, but still)
Besides, I expect film-version Aslan to tell Peter that the force will be with him. Should have gone with Brian Cox like originally planned, imo.
I don't know how they're going to top Tom Baker as Puddleglum. I feel the same about any film version of the Box of Delights and anyone other than Patrick Troughton as Cole Hawlings. Hmm, I spy a Doctor Who themed bias :-D
Nope, small screen for me - big screen enormous sweeping middle-earth setting just isn't really Narnia. Give me cheesy blue screen animation over green-screen hi-tech any day.
I think we tend to like best what we saw first... especially in our childhood.
Having not seen the BBC version, I am captivated - with my boys - by the big screen version... though not thrilled with the departures from the story line, either.
Tom Baker is Puddleglum. There, we agree.
I agree about the new Narnia movies. I felt that Aslan wasn't magical enough. I never saw the second because I thought the first strayed too much from the plot of the book.
I couldn't get past the Beaver's carpet tails in the BBC version!
Oh, and I do love the Beatles such as ~ but only sometimes. At other times, they do tend to grate...I have to be in the right mood ;)
If I have seen the BBC versions I do not remember them. As for Faramir- well, I ask you! The reasoning was, apparently, that they had spent ages building up the concept that the ring was powerful and could bend even the srongest person to its will. Therefore they did not feel that Faramir could break this mould and resist it straight off.....except that that is what the author wanted him to do. Ok, rant over :)
Oh, and not a Beatle fan either.
Susanna, of course you have seen them, we used to watch them together!
Another thing I prefer about the BBC originals was the theme music, strange as it may seem. We recently got all four in a box set for £5 off ebay.
I too dislike the Beatles which is something I hide since my in-laws seems to believe the four gospels are entitled George, Ringo, Paul, and John. :)
I saw TLOTR on film before I read the book. I loved the movies so much I picked up the book and read. When I got to the part with Faramir I actually cried. I was so upset that the film messed with him the way it did. I resolved to never watch another book adaptation on film again. I'm just not that strong.
Hear, hear, on Faramir.
Denethor, also. Both got the shaft. But Faramir worse. Denethor's end is pathetic, in the movie.
Hello, I like some of the Beatles songs, I would not consider myself a Beatle maniac though.
I also am a Baptist, opinionated, and I am so deeply flawed that some of my flaws are headed south.
Glad that I found your wonderful blog by following your link from another blog.
MissDaisyAnne
"...car-seat cover Aslan..." You made me laugh out loud, Libby.
I have to say that I enjoyed both versions of Narnia. The BBC version has the upper hand because it is so very familiar. Puddleglum, the Dufflepuds, Eustice as the dragon, and what's not to love about the giant sea monster with those porcupine quill teeth?
Faramir is just too painful to talk about; though I did think David Wenham did a good job with what they gave him to work with.
The best is when Sam says, "By rights, we shouldn't even be here."
And we always shout, "That's right!"
Hi Libbie,
Thanks for the heads up regarding the BBC's productions of the Narnia stories. We watched "The Lion, The
Witch, and The Wardrobe" and were delighted by it.
It was particularly poignant to my hubby and me that the day we watched it (Nov 22) was the 45th anniversary of the Home Going of
the author.
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