I thought it was interesting that the book said 1/3 of all films were made from literature and that they discussed films staying "faithful to the book." My favorite movies have always been those that derived from my favorite books. I think this is because as readers we use our imaginations to put a picture to the text, but we still like seeing the stories come to life on the big screen. Though I love these movies, there are also many movies that are merely adaptations. Rene Clair says, "a faithful translations is often a betrayal of the original." (Pg. 10) I hadn't realized that many movies are made by not coping a book exactly. I feel that this is sometimes better, but not always. I read and liked the book Confessions of a Shopaholic, but I couldn't stand the movie. In most cases the book is always the better of the two.
I also really like the idea the book gives on page 118 about how to get students involved in studying film. I think it would help students to work in group and study a film, then make presentations and lead discussions about it. I've always found that I learn more when I have to relay the information back to someone else. To be able to teach someone else, you need to know the information inside and out, so what better way to learn. So I'm excited to look at a film for our class, I think I'm going to focus on Casablanca, since I've never seen it before.
I too, have seen many movie adaptations made from books that I did not like. On the other hand, there are some that I love. I really love the Harry Potter books and movies, but as good as the movies are they do leave out some very important information from the books. My friend is currently making a film 'short' that he's sending out to get into film school, and he told me that I need to realize they are too completely different mediums, which he is right. Once we separate the two and teach them as they are, which are different, I think it may be easy for us.
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