The Lion, The Witch, and The Waredrobe.

To make an effective film translation of The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch, and The Waredrobe, it has to contain many major events and parts from the book. Some of these would be Lucy first finding Narnia on her own, followed by Edmund who lies to the others about it, then finally everyone discovers it. Also, the character of Mr. Tumnus should still be involve alot, and the idea of the White Witch and her evil ways, and her turning Edmund against the others. The beavers still need to be involved to help and inform the children, and the whole idea and character of Aslan MUST stay intact. Finally, the big battle at the end of the book must be in the film, along with the ending of the children being crownd in Narnia, but then returning home to the real world.

To make this film effective not only towards a children audience, but also to an adult, mature aduience as well, the movie needs to incorperate different things. For the children, the storyline of a magical world with mythical creatures and animals, and a child's fantasy of being a King or Queen is played up to be very effective. For the adults, the film and the book both have huge battle scenes with gore, along with other conflict and ideas that are prehaps a little more complex for a child to understand and go right over their heads, but the adult viewer catches it, making it interesting for them, too. The idea of fantasy can sometimes also be effective on adults, especially when paired up with violence, and internal conflix with characters, that are MADE for an adult to understand, and not in the mind set of only a 4 year old.

Radical Translation

My reaction to the radical film version of Great Expectations is somewhat complex. Although I love the film and I think it was very interesting, it was almost completely different from the orginial text. The basic main ideas of the orginial text is the same, but many details are changed. Examples of this would be the whole setting and time period, which orginially was England and London in the 1800's, and was changed to mid 1990's in Florida and New York. With the same core ideas adn points geting across, the film can still definitely bare the Great Expectations title, but for someone who had never read the book before, they would totoally get the wrong idea of the book and of Dickens himself. I think with keeping the same core ideas and values, adn getting the same points across, though in different ways, the film seems to keep Dickens' integrity. However, the complete change of setting, deletion of major characters, and even some changed minor details also take away from the orginial integrity of the text and from Dickens. In my opinion, even though it may take away from the book, the film shows the ponts Dickens wanted to express in a new, modern view, which allows the audience to relate, and as a result, gives is a different kind of intergrity than Dickens did.

Translation

A successful film translation all begins with the correct understanding of the written work. Next is the addition or subtraction of details to make the film flow, but trying not to alter the storyline. It ultimately ends up with ability fo make the movie all go smoothly and having a plot. Unfortunetly, this plot is not always the same as the original one.

I believe three critia a film must fill to be successfully translated are that the screenwriter and/or director should understand and try to protray the same feel as author did in the original text, that the film has a beginning, middle substance, and an ending, and that although trying to stay true to the original text and subject matter, details be added or deleted to make words into an actual flowing movie. Without these three things, the book and the movie will be so different that the only thing they end up having in common is the name, the movie will make no sense, and it won't flow or have a significant plot/message.

Adaptation

My reaction to watching Adaptation was, in one word, shock. The whole movie, almost nothing happens. It is just Charlie struggling to write a screenplay about flowers, which is basically writing a screenplay about absolutely nothing. Then all of a sudden, the ending of the movie comes, and it's pure craziness all over the place. There's drugs, love affairs, sex, murder, death, and ALLIGATORS! It makes no sense, but yet in a mixed up way, it does. The movie itself is hard to follow because it does back and forth from when Orleans was writing the book to after when Charlie is writing the screenplay, until eventually the two different times meet up, and you don't know which is which.

The problems the screenwriter faces seem quite challenging to me. No doubt he must have been creative to take the job, but who in their right mind makes a film just about flowers? As the movie shows, it is impossible, unless other elements are added into the story. Another problem he has in writing the screenplay is making an ending. If the movie is just about flowers, there is no substance, which leads to no ending. So in order to find an ending, he follows the author of the book. And where does that get him? In a swamp with cuts and bruises, the police, and with a dead brother. I find it terribly ironic, in the most melodramatic way.