Extremely dissapointing (If you read the book)
I hope some good director want to remake this story, because it's so thrilling and full of twists. Unfortunately the motion picture can not seize that exiting spirit from the book.
shareYeah but aside from comparing it to the book, how'd you like it? Have you ever seen a movie that was better than the book? I haven't, and although I'm sure someone can come up with something, the fact is, they're pretty few and far between.
I found the movie amusing, and it carried its own weight, and is a great early vehicle for two people that, well, who would imagine the impacts that they would have on the media. I wasn't offended, and I got laid later that night, when I first saw it in the theater. It's just a movie.
IMDB isn't "compare me to the book," it's "yeah, but did you like the movie without sitting down to predetermined expectations?"
I, too, had read the book so many years ago and saw this in the theater when it came out. I've seen some well-done adaptations of books in more recent years. Many of the Tom Clancy novels have been adapted well. The Harry Potter books were a real challenge, but the movies hold up to an audience who has almost uniformly read the book.
But, 11 Harrowhouse was a dismal film. It really wasn't very good even if you had not read the book. The book was really an exciting read and brought the characters and the story to life. The movie was really dead and mostly drab and cheap. The 70's was an awful time for movie adaptations of books. There were some great achievements here and there. I had read The Exorcist and they did a great job with it. Same for The Godfather. But, many other films from that era positively butchered the story.
As for IMDB not being "compare me to the book", that's pretty myopic. Read anything about Harry Potter or Lord of the Rings and see what the theme is. Besides, this is a message board and the original poster was specifically discussing the issue of comparing this film to the book. Frankly, I liked seeing a reference by someone else who had read the book, and reading the book made this film even more of a disappointment, since you knew the potential that was there.
BIG SPOILER INCLUDED!!!
I think THE POSEIDON ADVENTURE was better in film form than the entertaining but cluttered novel (Gallico's use of "accents" was annoying on the written page, and there were way too many characters). And yes, I am a big fan of TPA (not so much so of POSEIDON, however).
I liked 11 HARROWHOUSE on the screen, too, though I can see the problems fans of the novel have with it. I found it to be rather fun, and it certainly is Grodin's best work, as far as I'm concerned (of what I've seen of his work, I mean). One thing that a sentimental old fool such as yours truly appreciated in the movie as opposed to the novel is the fact that the two main characters lived. When they were shot down while swimming, I felt like tossing the book out the window. Steve V.