Adaptations - Are They Better Than The Book?

After having thoroughly enjoyed my night at the theatre watching Phantom of the Opera, I decided to watch the film version of the show this evening. I have watched it many times over the period that I have owned the DVD, although I must admit that I often indulge in some knitting or other handicraft when I watch it because, after all, it is the music that is the most important thing.

This led me to start thinking about the many books that have been turned into plays, television series, musicals, and films. Which are best? The original books or one of the other creations that have derived from it. So I started to compile a list of books that I have read that have also been presented in one or more of the other forms.

Perhaps the first thing that springs to mind is the Harry Potter books. There can be no doubt that these just cried out to be made into films, and the films are very good, but Joanne Rowling is such a good writer and she packed so much into the books, that the books definitely win here.

The next author whose work I am going to look at is R F Delderfield. I have read a number of his books including To Serve Them All My Days, Diana, and the Horseman Riding By trilogy all of which were serialised by the BBC in the 1980s. In the case of the first two books, the television adaptations were good, perhaps even excellent, in that they significantly followed the storyline rather accurately but for logistical reasons some changes were necessary. Perhaps the most significant change, which did impact on the story as it was portrayed on the screen, was in To Serve Them All My Days where the serial had both of David Powlett-Jones' twin daughters die in the car crash that also killed his wife, whilst in the book one of them, Grace, survived. The television production of A Horsemen Riding By concentrated solely on the first of the three books about Paul Craddock, and while a creditable attempt, again it was not able to convey the story to the depth and with the nuances that were present in the written word.

A few years ago I was shopping for some books to take on holiday with me and I managed to get The Phantom of the Opera as a deal with a couple of other books that I wanted to read. I have to say that I was more than a little disappointed in the book and for me the adaptation of it into the musical was the best thing that could have happened. Here we have an adaptation that is better than the original, probably because of the added dimension that is brought to the story by the addition of music.

As you know I also went to see Les Miserables recently. As a result of seeing the show many years ago I decided to get the book and read it. Again I took it on holiday with me; I used to do a lot of reading when I went on my holidays to Corfu. I'm afraid that I found the book dull and very heavy going. I read it all, but it wasn't read while I was on holiday, it had to wait until I was in hospital and needed something to help to while away the hours of the day and night. Obviously the musical does not contain everything that is in the book, but it does cover the main focus of the story and does it exceedingly well. So I would say that the adaptation of Les Miserables into a musical was a brilliant idea, and millions of people around the world seem to agree with me.

The last book that I am going to consider in this look at adaptations to another medium is Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice. Probably the subject of more adaptations for film, television and the stage than any other book, the BBC alone has been responsible for five adaptations over the years. The book will always been seen as a masterpiece, and rightly so, but a masterpiece adaptation has also been created. Most, if not all, books will suffer greatly when a film adaptation is made; it is impossible to tell the story properly in a couple of hours and the most recent film adaptation starring Keira Knightley is just such a case in point. But television adaptations can be different and the 1995 BBC adaptation starring Colin Firth and Jennifer Ehle can bear very close comparison to the book and stands out as a major achievement in the art of creating adaptations.

So, in answer to my original question, I have to say that I think that it depends. Usually the book is best, sometimes the adapted medium produces something that is better than the original, but only because of flaws in the original, and sometimes an adaptation is created that is every bit as great as the original book because of a combination of brilliant scriptwriting and inspired casting.

A Night At The Opera

I'm back. I did tell you that I would write about my night out later. My earlier post was written while I ate my breakfast, but it soon became apparent that after a long and enjoyable day yesterday, four hours sleep wasn't enough so I went back to bed to get a few more hours with my head on the pillow. And now I am back.

While we were lunching yesterday I had talked with Mr Smiley about how much I had enjoyed going to see Les Miserables again after a break of many years. I said that I was considering going to see if I could get a discounted ticket for another of my favourite shows and Mr Smiley asked that he be permitted to pay for it.

The management of the West End theatres do not want empty seats in their theatres if they can help it; the consequence of this is that if you want to see a show that day, you will probably be able to get a discounted ticket. If there is more than one of you and you want to sit together, this will probably reduce your options of available seats. However, if you are looking for just one seat, then you will have far more to chose from and may even manage a greater discount because of the difficulty of selling single seats. The first of the ticket sellers that I visited was only offering me a £2 discount on the best ticket that they had on offer (five rows back and to the right of the stage in the Royal Circle) so I gave it a miss as I was sure that I could get a better deal somewhere. And in Leicester Square, I got it. A 25% saving on a ticket for the front row of the stalls, just a couple of seats off the centre of the stage. Definitely a bargain.

And the show was ...

... Phantom of the Opera.

I am sure that even if you have not been to see the show you will be aware that one of the highlights of the show is at the end of the first act when the chandelier comes crashing down from the ceiling of the theatre onto the stage. When the show was first staged, the centre seats of the first five or six rows of the stalls were removed from the theatre so that no-one was sitting directly under the path of the chandelier's 'fall'. Today, there is no such squeamishness, so the centre seats in the first few rows have been reinstated and as I was sitting in Seat 7 (of 20) the chandelier was just inches away from me when it came crashing down. It was exciting, but I knew it was coming; the young American couple sitting beside me in Seats 8 and 9 were not expecting it and therefore it was even more dramatic for them.

It was wonderful to be able to spend a few hours enthralled by the wonderful performances of cast and orchestra. To be so close to them that it was though they were performing just for you. And to be lost in the wonderful music; the thrilling organ music when the chandelier rises to the roof of the theatre during the auction scene at the start, the caterwauling of Carlotta, the gentle songs Christine and Raoul, the aggressive songs of the Phantom, and the amusing songs of Messrs Firmin and Andre. Amazing.

To say that I enjoyed my evening, and consequently my belated birthday, would be an understatement. Many thanks Mr Smiley, I really do appreciate your friendship, and your kindness in giving me this pleasure.