The reaction/rebellion scene in District 11...
... was a great addition to the story. One of the rare instances in which a film improves on a pretty good source material.
shareYes, one thing the films do better than the books is to make the connection
between Katniss' words and actions and the development of the rebellion.
Besides the scene you mentioned from The Hunger Games there is the scene
from Catching Fire in Dist. 11 where Katniss eulogizes Rue and the old man
salutes her and is killed. That scene is in the books, but there are two
more scenes in Mockingjay, Part 1 that are new. There is the scene of rebellion
in Dist. 7 following the broadcast of Katniss propo featuring her speech after
the Dist. 8 hospital bombing. And there is the wonderful montage around the
Hanging Tree song. A propo that features her song leads to the attack on the
dam. This is accompanied by James Newton Howard's marvelous orchestral
development of the Hanging Tree melody.
That scene is in the books, but there are two
more scenes in Mockingjay, Part 1 that are new. There is the scene of rebellion
in Dist. 7 following the broadcast of Katniss propo featuring her speech after
the Dist. 8 hospital bombing. And there is the wonderful montage around the
Hanging Tree song. A propo that features her song leads to the attack on the
dam. This is accompanied by James Newton Howard's marvelous orchestral
development of the Hanging Tree melody.
I've said it before, but make no apologies for repeating myself: the "Hanging Tree" sequence is my favourite from Mockingjay Part 1, and one of my favourites of the whole series.
What I find fascinating about it is that all the elements of that sequence actually are in the book: the song, the propo, the attack on the dam, the power failure providing an opening for the rescue mission - they're all in there to varying degrees, however they're not linked (the dam attack, for example, is just a single throwaway line). What the film does brilliantly is combine all these elements into a cohesive, satisfying whole.
And then, as you say, there's the music. When "The Hanging Tree" charted, there were some interesting stories of DJs reactions. One in particular I remember was a couple who initally approached the song with mild amusement, but by the end had to admit how dramatically powerful it was: and that was just the music without the visuals...
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"So I've got bullets, but no gun. That's quite Zen." share
I love the Hanging Tree sequence as well.
the power failure providing an opening for the rescue missionThis made me wonder, did the power failure have anything to do with the rescue mission in the book? The way I remember it, it was after Katniss' panic attack, which it was in the movie as well, but it was much clearer in the book that they chose to go forward with the rescue because the Mockingjay had stopped functioning. Maybe the power failure was also a factor, though? Been a while since I read it..
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"The best fairytale is one where you believe the people" -Irvin Kershner share
The decision to mount the rescue mission was "to do whatever it takes to keep you[Katniss]
going."(164) Beetee's description of the rescue plan involves "a power failure."(174)
The filmmakers made the connection between "A broken dam in 7."(132) and the power
failure.
Ah! Thanks for the clarification. Seems like a pretty logical connection then. That IS impressive, how they managed to be creative using only information from the book.
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"The best fairytale is one where you believe the people" -Irvin Kershner