Foot- Great Films

When I go to a movie that is based off of a book, I know that I will probably be disappointed. If I really love the book and the movie doesn't follow it exactly or leaves out my favorite part, I am furious. The first chapter of this book addresses just that. I like how Costanzo mentions that French director Alain Resnais "compared cinematic adaptions to a reheated meal" (10). I know many avid book readers who would say this about the movie adaptations of their favorite books. Many, I am sure, are already worrying about the Hunger Games movies that will start coming out next year. Costanzo goes on to say that despite this outlook on these movies, "three out of four Academy Awards for Best Picture have gone to adaptations" (10). This statistic amazed me at first, but then after thinking about it I realized it was true. Just think about how much each of the Harry Potters, Lord of the Rings, and Twilights have made, even though, in my opinion, Lord of the Rings are the only ones that can hold their weight next to their novel counterparts. Costanzo later says in the same chapter that "a movie adaptation is not so much an illustrated copy of a book but a new rendering of the story, to be appreciated on its own terms" (15). This is a wonderful way to look at movie adaptations, although a very difficult task. Next time I go to see a movie based off a book, I am going to try my hardest to view it as such.

Another thing that Costanzo writes about that struck me was how we are very literate when it comes to movies. We know what a certain shot means if it is at a certain angle. We also don't get lost when we get a view into the character's thoughts or a flashback of their past. I have definitely taken this for granted. It shocked me to find out that people who have never seen a movie before can't truly comprehend what is going on. The examples of this at the beginning of chapter 2 made me chuckle All I could think about when reading about this was how horribly confused they would all be if they tried to watch "Lost."

The last thing that I want to mention is my amazement at how difficult it is to make a movie! I had some idea from watching Lord of the Rings documentaries, but chapters 3 and 4 really show the work that goes into making these works of art. This is one thing that students need to be aware of. They need to know what goes into the movies they watch and how and why movies are considered text as well as art. The end of chapter 4 gives some good ideas for incorporating film into the classroom. It suggests that students be involved in making a movie. I think this is a great idea. I remember students who made miniature movies and shows in high school and it was always so much fun. If we could do this as teachers and make sure to incorporate aspects in the project that would teach students about the production of movies, I think they would learn a lot.