Sidetracked Movies

Movies have been around for as long as I can remember. They may come in many forms or video types, such as film on a reel, beta, VHS, DVDs and many more. Every successful movie tells a certain story, whether it be original, based on a true story, or based on a book. Whatever the case, the scripts are usually original and closely follow the plot they are based on, if there is one. More recently, unfortunately, movies based on novels are being made closer to the ideas of the screenwriter instead of those of the novel. It is in my opinion that these types of movies should reflect the original works of the authors more closely.

One of my personal favourite pieces of literature is the Harry Potter series, written by J.K. Rowling. Naturally, when I heard about the movies being made I was just as excited as any other fan, and I was at the cinema on opening night. I believe Chris Columbus did an awesome job with the movie, keeping the plot moving, introducing the characters, and still including a large majority of the plot in only three hours. The second movie, I thought was even better because everyone knew all the characters already so he could just jump right in with the plot. However, this past couple of years the cast worked with a new director, Alfonso Cuarуn, who took the film in a new and possibly worse direction. Not only did Cuarуn change the plot around, for example Harry receiving the Firebolt after his encounter with Sirius Black though in the book he received it long before this encounter, but he changed many other things as well. Some of these other changes include the setting, the uniforms, and the characters from J.K. Rowling’s original novels, and from Chris Columbus’ works.

Some of the main examples from the third Harry Potter movie include Professor Flitwick, who is described in the book as having “greying hair.” This is portrayed in the first two movies, however in the third movie Professor Flitwick is portrayed as a small man with a black mushroom cut and a black handlebar moustache. Another point about the third movie that I am very eager to uncover is the origin of the “maggot heads.” The heads were never mentioned in the third book or any other book for that matter; and were completely made up by the director or screenwriter, possibly to add comedy. In a discussion between Harry and Sirius near the end of the third movie, Sirius asks Harry whether he would ever consider living with him. The audience gets a feel that Harry believes Sirius is out of his mind and that Harry would never consider that particular idea. However, in the book it is quite the opposite; in the third book, Harry is very excited about this idea of moving in with his godfather.

These alterations of a novel’s plot are becoming more and more common in movies today. Not only does it occur in movies based on novels, but also movies based on poems. A major epic film that was recently released only last year is the movie Troy. Based on the poem The Iliad by Homer, Troy focuses on the story of the legendary Greek hero Achilles, and his participation in the Trojan War. The film was great as a whole, but there are parts that I believe were made that way just because it was a Hollywood movie. One of these faults was the relationship between Achilles and Patroclus. In the movie Troy, Patroclus was portrayed as Achilles’ nephew, though in the original works of The Iliad, Patroclus is Achilles’ lover. This is the real reason why Achilles was so enraged when he heard of the death of his dear Patroclus. A more minor point, though still important to classicists, is that coins were placed on the deceased person’s eyes before they were burnt on a pyre. This is not accurate for this time period, as the coins should be placed in the mouth of a deceased person to pay the boatman of the Underworld, Charon, in order for that deceased person to cross the River Styx.

In fact, an older movie had been based on the book The Odyssey, which is another novel by Homer. This is the movie O Brother, Where art Thou?. This movie features convicts escaping from jail