I am having a REALLY HARD TIME with this category. I already posted a list of Five Book-to-Movie Adaptations I Don’t Hate, and the only one I can come up with that probably should have been on the list that didn’t make it was High Fidelity, but that’s not a FAVOURITE so I don’t know.
Since that’s the case, I’m going to expand on one of those entries, which kind of makes me laugh because I think I’ve done enough talking about this author recently, but that is just TOO BAD FOR YOU. You knew I was a snake, bitch.
Favourite Book Turned Movie
I successfully avoided this movie for five years. Conversations about it went like this.
Friend: “Hey, sj – have you seen A Scanner Darkly? Don’t you love that book? Is the movie any good?”
Me: ”DKJAF;OLRKEJAWEK, DON’T TALK TO ME ABOUT THAT MOVIE! Keanu Reeves as BOB ARCTOR?! WINONA RYDER AS DONNA?!?!”
Friend: ”Yeah, but – “
Me: ”NO! Do NOT talk to me about that movie. I want nothing to do with that movie. NOTHING.”
For five years. This is almost exactly the conversation I had more times than I can count. I’d been burned by terrible PKD adaptations before, y’know? I mean – as an adult, I even have a hard time watching Blade Runner now (which I used to LOVE) because it makes me so mad, and Ridley Scott just doesn’t know how to leave well enough alone…but that is a topic for another day.
Anyway (I know I talked about this in the post I linked above, but most of you will be too lazy to click through. I know you guys.), last fall, I met Kate on subjot (man, I totally miss subjot). She’d written a review for Clans of the Alphane Moon, which kind of blew my mind. I mean, that’s not a book one reads unless they’re a total Dickhead. Shut up.
So anyway, we started talking about PKD and people were actually commenting just so they could follow the conversation. Really, until I met Kate and Trevor, the people I could discuss his work with (that had read him before they knew me) I could count on one hand.
Kate asked if I’d seen A Scanner Darkly, and I’m pretty sure I had a similar reaction to the one I described up there. I mean, Donna was supposed to be young. Like, jailbait young. How the hell did they decide Winona Ryder was appropriate for that role? HOW, I ASK YOU?
Kate essentially told me to STSU and watch it.
So I did. That day.
And I loved it.
Yes, I have minor quibbles with the way the ending was changed (but Kate actually prefers it, go figure), but really – it’s the strongest adaptation of any of his work I’ve ever seen (and am likely to see, unless they ever snaping release Radio Free Albemuth to somewhere other than a festival I’m not likely to visit since I live in the middle of nowhere).
Um…I seem to have lost my train of thought, completely distracted by the fact that there’s actually a Philip K Dick Festival that NO ONE BOTHERED TO TELL ME ABOUT!
So, yeah. Favourite movie adaptation? This is it. Best scene?
