Author Topic: TOTW 15/07: Short story or movie, which one do you prefer?  (Read 39281 times)

Offline Penthesilea

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TOTW 15/07: Short story or movie, which one do you prefer?
« on: November 12, 2007, 08:02:29 am »
Hey BetterMostians,

lovely Monday morning here in Germany, cold but finally sunny after a row of dull and rainy days. Hope we all will have a sunny week, and if you don't you just keep running to this here place and I'll comfort you with a piece a cherry cake  :).
'nuff chitchat, on with business now:


This week we have another premiere for our TOTW  :D. Yep, a poll is joined with this week's topic. Of course voting in the poll is not required to take part in the discussion and vice versa you may vote without elaborating further in the thread. But I hope not everybody will get lazy here and sneak away with only one click ;).

As you may have noticed, we don't stick to the concept of closed questions for the TsOTW like it were gospel. Sometimes it just doesn't make sense to phrase a question so it can be answered with a simple yes or no. Therefore I changed the guidelines for the TOTW from "always a closed question" to "mostly a closed question".
You haven't read the introduction of the TOTW feature yet? Here it is: Read here to learn more about the TOTW feature

Also I'd like to remind everybody that you are welcome to suggest topics to discuss within this feature.

This week's topic was suggested by brokebackjack. Thank you Jack :).



Short story or movie, which one do you prefer?

There's a wide range of opinions; some prefer one very clearly with caring only little about the other; some prefer one but still like the other very much and some may just like them equally. Where's your stand in this range?

Additional info about the poll: you can select only one option, but you can remove your vote and take a new one if you change your mind.


« Last Edit: November 14, 2007, 06:53:00 am by Penthesilea »

Scott6373

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Re: TOTW 15/07: Short story or movie, which one do you prefer?
« Reply #1 on: November 12, 2007, 08:30:13 am »
My opinion isn't based on which I think is better, but I generally prefer books to film.  I find I can let my imagination work in a less constrained manner when I have to mentally visualize something rather than have the images shot into my head,

Offline Jeff Wrangler

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Re: TOTW 15/07: Short story or movie, which one do you prefer?
« Reply #2 on: November 12, 2007, 10:47:43 am »
I went with "both equally" because for me the short story and the film are just different aspects or parts of one single phenomenon known as Brokeback Mountain.

And of course, had there been no short story, there would have been no film.
"It is required of every man that the spirit within him should walk abroad among his fellow-men, and travel far and wide."--Charles Dickens.

Offline Brown Eyes

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Re: TOTW 15/07: Short story or movie, which one do you prefer?
« Reply #3 on: November 12, 2007, 12:00:23 pm »
I love both the film and the story.  Of course!  But, I have to say I don't love them quite equally, so I had to vote for the film on this one.

I saw the film before I read the story so I'm sure that's one factor in my reaction.  And, in discussions here on Open Forum, etc., I usually find myself basing my interpretations on my impressions of the film more than the story (usually).  I also am a huge film-lover in general... and in grad school I was a T.A. for two film history/theory courses, so that may be a factor in my gravitation towards the film too.

But, I really do love the story too.  Proulx's use of language is exquisite.  My favorite elements of the story are her turns-of-phrase and really unique methods of description.  Also, her descriptions of nature are stunning and really deeply meaningful.  I love the beginning italicized prologue in the Close Range version of the story (the whole trailer scene) and I love, love, love the writing at the end of the story.

In general, though, I tend to feel much more emotionally drawn-in by the Jack and Ennis of the film vs. the story versions.  The emotional wallop I feel when I watch the film is not as intense as the emotional impact of the story for me.  The emotional impact of the story for me is more subtle.


the world was asleep to our latent fuss - bowie

Offline tampatalon

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Re: TOTW 15/07: Short story or movie, which one do you prefer?
« Reply #4 on: November 12, 2007, 12:20:57 pm »
Movie or the Canon, This is certainly a very difficult choice! I am naturaly in love with the movie but when it comes down to it, I prefer the Canon. If I want to look up a detail I refer to the Canon. I believe the story of Brokeback is real even though places and the timeline are possibly skewed to protect the real people. Therefore, I more treasure and prefer the Canon.

TampaTalon^">
"Lean on me, Let our hearts beat in time, Feel strength from the hands that have held you so long. Who cares where we go on this rutted old road, In a world that may say that we're wrong."--EmmyLou Harris

Offline Brown Eyes

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Re: TOTW 15/07: Short story or movie, which one do you prefer?
« Reply #5 on: November 12, 2007, 12:49:11 pm »
Chrissi... you know, when the opera of BBM comes out you'll be able to add another option to this question!
 :laugh: ;D

I wonder how people who saw the play of BBM that occurred in Europe a while back feel about the stage-version of BBM compared to the story and the film?

 It's amazing how many "official" versions of this story there are now... especially if you count the Close Range and New Yorker versions of the story as different.  It's actually someting I really love about BBM... that it keeps on going and it takes on many forms.
:)

the world was asleep to our latent fuss - bowie

Offline brokebackjack

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Re: TOTW 15/07: Short story or movie, which one do you prefer?
« Reply #6 on: November 13, 2007, 04:12:03 am »
I love them both.
The film gives a visuality to the short story which i do not think I would have been able to attain in my own head. It brought the characters alive....gave them a face so to speak. It did indeed flesh out Annie's sketchily drawn 'other characters', did indeed bring Jack Twist to life with a bang. [pun intended]. It had an impact which no film had ever had with me.

Insofar as I am concerned it was as faithful to the book as a film could be.

The short story became more awesome with each reading. It made me ask questions, made me want to do things. Eventually it made me want to ask the author questions, which she was gracious enough to answer. Her answers led to more questions and a great deal of analysis, by ME.

Eventually it made me want to write myself. When I did, and wanted criticism of my story, the person to do it was right there, waiting.

That story of Annie's did something which had never been done before, in that it used the principles of classical tragedy within a short story format. That's what Brokeback Mountain is in all its essentials>>>a Greek Tragedy. It is why it bites so damned deep, why there is no need for obvious contrivances to mar its simplicity.

She managed to change the short story itself as we know it, in English.
"I couldn't stand it no more so i fixed it"

Offline jstephens9

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Re: TOTW 15/07: Short story or movie, which one do you prefer?
« Reply #7 on: November 15, 2007, 04:53:40 pm »
I would have to vote for the movie although like others have said the book is definitely excellent. I saw the movie long before I read the book. I actually am quite glad that I had not read the book when I first saw the movie. The ending completely took me by surprise 100%. If I would have read the book first I would have known what was going to happen. For some reason when I watched the movie I was thinking, maybe hoping, for a happy ending. Obviously, that is not what happened. I still remember when I saw the "Deceased" on the postcard. I absolutely could not believe that Jack could be dead. So anyway by seeing the movie way ahead of reading the book I think of Heath and Jake when I hear the names Ennis and Jack. It will always remain that way for me. In fact, that is true of all the characters in the movie and the book. I have never been struck by a movie like Brokeback. I remember hearing about it long before it came out. I even remembering writing the title down, but I didn't go rushing to see it when it came out. I completely and totally never expected for that movie, or any movie, to have that kind of affect on me. I am still surprised somewhat. I'm not even a big movie watcher. I remember I wanted to see it before the Oscars simply to say that I had seen it. But again, I never thought it would be like it is. I didn't even know who Heath Ledger or Jake Gyllenhaal were. Anyway, like someone else said, the book never has never had the affect on me that the movie does. Of course, I am glad for the book because without it there would be no movie.

Jack

Offline delalluvia

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Re: TOTW 15/07: Short story or movie, which one do you prefer?
« Reply #8 on: November 16, 2007, 02:05:06 am »
Both.

They're two different artistic mediums and both have the same story to tell, but tell it in two different ways that affect you in two different ways, but just as impacting either way.  :)

Offline brokebackjack

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Re: TOTW 15/07: Short story or movie, which one do you prefer?
« Reply #9 on: November 16, 2007, 08:15:59 am »
I do have to agree with Jack and say I had never read the book before seeing the film. It was a complete shock, that 'deceased' stamp...

It took a while to get into the book. [a few days lolol] When I read it I was numb, but...but I kept going back. Afrter a certain point I started dissecting it down to the punctuation and ended by believing it to be  the finest story in English since Faulkner was in his prime.

It is PERFECT.

Yet the author still--to this day, late in 2007--tinkers with it. There are several versions of BBM out there, all minutely different. [ for info, pm rodneywy]
Why?
AP keeps tinkering with it. She is the original brokie. It is said she wrote an Ennis story for herself, because she could not sleep wondering what he was going to do....

One can't reach for perfection without trying to make it even more....perfect, can we? It's a human thing, I think. I just started rewriting my best story due to a few offhand comments about the use of the word 'tiny' in BBM by Canstandit and ministering angel. It made me realise I had left out a huge possibility within my own story, with a word I did not develop fully....a word which has great significance, used  several times in regard to one freeze-frame, without developing the end result. When I send the new one up to the person editing it I think I will say you are right, lets publish it LOLOL. This is number what, 29!!! I should be very happy I ain't Annie Proulx with her 60+ admitted revisions of Brokeback roflmao!!!

By the way, she is working on the second story in "the quartet of offbeat love stories " which BBM was intended to be part of.

How she will outdo BBM is anybodies guess!
"I couldn't stand it no more so i fixed it"