Has anyone seen the movie and read the book? I am reading the book. It is amazing. Being a fan of somewhat macabre humor, I would love to see the movie, but cannot find a copy anywhere. I don't expect to find it in any popular movie chain (Blockbuster, Hollywood Video, etc.) There are some independent film stores in a city near me, so I will look there.
Any comparisons/contrasting things from the book and movie?
i just rented it at blockbuster today!!!
shareThis film is genius. GEE-NEE-US, I tellya. I saw it many times over, back in the late 70's when it ran on HBO or Cinemax. Many of the lines have become stock references in my family.
The book, The American Way of Death, doesn't have some of the more outrageous elements and is a little more dry, British author and all that.
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The American Way of Death" was writen by Nancy Mitford
shareWell yer absolutely right about that "American Way of Death". Where'd I get that? I dunno. Yes, Waugh's written work was "The Loved One," same as the film.
Please to forgive the Vinyl.
Well, if you liked this film, "The American Way of Death" is a terrific book to fill you in on the facts behind what you see here. It's been updated for the 2000s.
shareAmerican Way Of Death was written by JESSICA Mitford.
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She was a great lady and a broad!
Her husband was a labor lawyer who had to deal with unscrupulous funeral directors leading to her book. She also wrote The American Way Of Birth and Kind and Usual Punishment: The Prison Business. She joked that she wanted to have a grand funeral with six matched white horses, a funeral band, the works but likely her husband would have her cremated and put on a shelf.
Mitford also tried her hand at music as singer for "Decca and the Dectones." Her nickname was Decca. Part of PEN's The Remainders band. My ex played back up kazoo for her once. My autographed copy of A Fine Old Conflict never got returned from an ex-friend. Jessica Mitford died of lung cancer, aged 78.
i just ordered the DVD version on Amazon. It's available now.
shareThis is a rare case where the filmmakers changed a lot for to make the story more filmic, and yet the spirit of the book is still intact.
The book is generally a lot more subtle than the film, and the film has some really broad moments, but the two complement each other nicely, in my opinion.
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The continuation in a satirical vein had to be Terry Southern, right ? I just rewatched this film with my wife, and yes, we are also fans of "excessive cinema." We just don't think it's excessive. It's intelligent. How many ways could we recommend this film to younger moviegoers ?
shareI thought that in the Book the Loved One, The cremated Aimee at the Pet Cemetary. Before Dennis leaves for England he insures that Mr. Joyboy will receive a card every year on the anniversary of Aimee's death that says something like "Your little Aimee is thinking of you in heaven and wagging her tail." Am I remembering this wrong? I loved the book because the characters were so flat so I ended up not feeling for them and could view the whole thing as comedy. In the movie I felt a little sorry for Aimee.
"One road is paved in gold One road is just a road."
---Patti Smith
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One way I've found some classic movies on DVD to rent is Blockbuster.com, if it's on dvd, it's likely there. Hope that helps!
"Was it a ghost? Was it fun?" Midge, Vertigo
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IMO, this is one of those rarest of creatures: a film that is better than a very good book. There have been some good movies that were based on bad books (Straw Dogs and Who Framed Roger Rabbit come immediately to mind), and there have been plenty of good movies that were based on better books, but The Loved One actual improves on Waugh's original. Contrary to what others have said here, the movie does take much of its outrage from the Jessica Mitford book, which was a very popular book a the time the movie was made (I'm not just postulating on this, Terry Southern says so in his out-of-print--and really hard to find--Journal of The Loved One). The movie pushes the outrageousness further than Waugh ever would have dared, but the subject needed the outrage. The result is a movie that makes me laugh every time I see it, and I've seen it a lot.
shareSorry to dissent from what appears to be the majority here, but the book is far superior to the movie. The latter is virtually unwatchable, I'm afraid. Soporific and sophomoric. It's a shame that some might encounter the movie first and be dissuaded from ever reading the novel, which is (wisely) shorter and funnier.
it all depends on your tolerance of Terry Southern...I found him to be a hack, and his novels (Magic Christian, Candy) to merely be episodic bits with no real storyline
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