From Novel To Film - When Are Changes Acceptable?
This is a tricky topic to cover, because as with any form of art the old saying of "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder" truly is the rule. Speaking ONLY for myself, it comes down to have characters been cut out? Were certain scenes reworked to blend into one? Was the flavor or message of the story lost or enhanced? Given the holiday season, I decided to focus on one Christmas movie that I consider a true classic, which definitely took some artistic liberties, yet managed to enhance the story in my opinion. The movie in question is the 1951 version of "A Christmas Carol" starring the legendary actor Alistair Sims as Ebenezer Scrooge. Now before I continue, let me assure you all that I have actually read the original story in Mr. Dickens own words many times before and am familiar with what was actually in the novella itself. And I can safely say his original story was carefully kept intact in this film adaptation. However, certain additions...