Does anyone prefer the film to the series?

The film is good but the original series is certainly better, the film just doesn't have the length or depth to compare to the masterpiece that was the TV series.

Until reading the reviews on Rottentomatoes.com i didn't even realize the film was based on anything. and from the general concensus of reviews it seems to be if you have seen the original you won't like the remake and if you haven't, there's a good chance you will like the film alot. i know i do, i can't stand musicals, not on the stage, not in movies, not when the simpsons or family guy does them, but i love this movie. both for it's dark humor which downey plays so well and for the noirish psychodrama that unfolds as the charactor comes to grips with what's in his head. also probably katie holmes' crowning achievement, as far as acting is concerned.

I prefer Downey to Gambon, who I find incredibly repellent. Downey did seem a bit too young for all the rage and nostalgia though, he must have been about 39 when he did the movie.

I" ve seen the bbc version twice here on the dutch t.v.
It was and is still great. The american version is very simple and so I was extremely disapointed.

The original with Gambon is aces. This movie pales when comapred to the original British version.

Saying that, the 2003 movie is good and can stand by itself which is a tribute to Potters inventive story

Here's a great piece about Potter in NY Times Nov 13, 1988;


http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=940DE4DA173FF930A25752C1A96E948260

I LOVE the series. Finally got around to see the movie. It's just OK, disappointing really.

Nurse Mills in the BBC version was sexier, Kathy Holmes is just a sweet girl, nothing major there. Mel Gibson looked so fake as the doctor.

The hallucinations of Philip Marlow (Dark in the american version) are way better.

Mark Vinnie's character is not very well explained as well as the relationship with Nicola.

And they left out all the school scenes! that was also a very important part of the story in the BBC series. The teacher was terrifying, she reminded me of the nuns at the Catholic school!.

There's a lot missing in the relationship between Philip's. In the movie, the mum just becomes a prostitute, no mention of her living with her parents.

I know is hard to squeez 6 hour series into 120 minutes, but this is another example of Hollywoood ruining a perfect story.

I definitely prefer the film over the series. In the nearly 7 hour running time nearly 3 hours of it are wasted with the bitching fellow patient and all the scenes with him as a child. He's got Mommy issues - that's all we need to know. We don't need to see hours of why he has them. It's easy to see why when Potter got the chance to redo it as a theatrical movie he eliminated almost all of those parts.


"My name is Paikea Apirana, and I come from a long line of chiefs stretching all the way back to the Whale Rider."

I also really get annoyed at the remake trends, but bottom line, I did enjoy this movie. It's probably not for everyone, but I applaud them for being different. I followed the character, feeling both sympathy and disgust, which is hard to pull off. And the "Three Steps to Heaven" scene was genuinely inspirational. In general, I was surprised at how well the classic pop songs carried the narrative. I'm used to Broadway attempting this and failing miserably, lol.

"We never win any ball games...but we sure have some interesting discussions."