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Adaptations - a difficult task
No, I'm not going to rant about Peter Jackson and what he did with Tolkien's world... this time. *g*
I'm discussing BDSM behind the tag (in connection with films), so if that's not your cup of tea you should stop reading, now.
I had to make some research into bondage and discipline lately for a plotline that won't leave me alone. Among other things, I've re-read "The Story of O", even though I hadn't find it appealing for the first time. Let's just say that it doesn't get better by repetition... unless you're really into that kind of thing. For people with such interests it's definitely a classic.
Last night, German TV brought the film version of the story again. I've already seen it once, decades ago, long before I'd have read the original story, but didn't remember much. So I decided to watch it again, to compare it with the written version. Well... I was not impressed.
The interesting part is that the film follows the story rather faithfully, at least where the plotline is concerned. But it manages to completely lack not only the original's shocking brutality but also its class. It has been unnecessarily romanticized, and at the same time cheapened. Just one example: the women in Roissy were supposed to wear 18th century costumes, complete with bodices and fluffy skirts and all that. Instead, in the film they wore long robes that left their breasts naked (and hanging into their kneecaps that wasn't a very attractive sight, TBH) and stood open on the back. Basically, there was a lot of nudity and (fortunately) implied sex, and the women were flogged a lot, but somehow the coherence of the entire story was absent. In my not so humble opinion anyway.
Of course, it is never easy to adapt for the big screen a story that is based so much on an inner voice, but still, it was all terribly flat, kitchy and boring. Much more than in my memory.
I'm discussing BDSM behind the tag (in connection with films), so if that's not your cup of tea you should stop reading, now.
I had to make some research into bondage and discipline lately for a plotline that won't leave me alone. Among other things, I've re-read "The Story of O", even though I hadn't find it appealing for the first time. Let's just say that it doesn't get better by repetition... unless you're really into that kind of thing. For people with such interests it's definitely a classic.
Last night, German TV brought the film version of the story again. I've already seen it once, decades ago, long before I'd have read the original story, but didn't remember much. So I decided to watch it again, to compare it with the written version. Well... I was not impressed.
The interesting part is that the film follows the story rather faithfully, at least where the plotline is concerned. But it manages to completely lack not only the original's shocking brutality but also its class. It has been unnecessarily romanticized, and at the same time cheapened. Just one example: the women in Roissy were supposed to wear 18th century costumes, complete with bodices and fluffy skirts and all that. Instead, in the film they wore long robes that left their breasts naked (and hanging into their kneecaps that wasn't a very attractive sight, TBH) and stood open on the back. Basically, there was a lot of nudity and (fortunately) implied sex, and the women were flogged a lot, but somehow the coherence of the entire story was absent. In my not so humble opinion anyway.
Of course, it is never easy to adapt for the big screen a story that is based so much on an inner voice, but still, it was all terribly flat, kitchy and boring. Much more than in my memory.