B) May-June 2020: MOVIE adaptations

[S.E., Gray Mouser (Emeritus)]

Any S&S movie adaption, such as the below.
Nominate more! And, of course, feel welcome to discuss the movies too. Rewatch them!

Conan the Barbarian by Michael A. Stackpole, for the 2010 Conan

Conan the Destroyer by Robert Jordan ~1984

Solomon Kane by Ramsey Campbell ~2009

Dragonslayer by Wayland Drew ~1981
or the 1981 comic Dragonslayer #1 (by Dennis O'Neil and Marie Severin)

The Sword & the Sorcerer by Norman Winski ~1981

Conan 1982 comic
Conan the Barbarian Movie Special (1982) 1-2 Complete Movie Adaptation
or the novel....if you can find it
Conan the Barbarian by L. Sprague de Camp and Catherine de Camp and Lin Carter

Clash of the Titans by Alan Dean Foster ~1981

[S.E., Gray Mouser (Emeritus)]

FYI: Just spotted the Solomon Kane adaptation for $1.99 on the Amazon Kindle store US
https://www.amazon.com/Solomon-Kane-R...

The US Kindle Stackpole of Conan is ~6.99usd
https://www.amazon.com/Conan-Barbaria...

And Abe Books had the 1982 Conan novelization for under 4$ [ISBN 978-0-553-22544-0]

[The Joy of Erudition]

There are two separate Willow movie novelisations, too, and one for Ladyhawke, though those are more general fantasy, not so much sword and sorcery, perhaps! I was planning to read one of the Willows, anyway, so I could then read the later books set in the same world, but I don't know whether Joan D. Vinge's or Wayland Drew's version is better. And how about Krull?

[S.E., Gray Mouser (Emeritus)]

The Joy of Erudition wrote: "There are two separate Willow movie novelisations, too, and one for Ladyhawke, though those are more general fantasy, not so much sword and sorcery, perhaps! I was planning to read one of the Willo..."

You rock, Joy! Great finds.

BTW more Willow to come via Disney...https://www.digitaltrends.com/home-th...

[Mary]

Has anyone ever found a novelization as good as the movie?

They suffer from the same problem as movies based on books -- the story better fits the original medium.

[The Joy of Erudition]

Mary wrote: "Has anyone ever found a novelization as good as the movie?"

Yes, I have.

[S.wagenaar]

The novelization for Conan The Barbarian by Michael Stackpole is actually BETTER than the movie. Not a surprise, as the film was unfortunately not very good...

[Joseph, Master Ultan]

Krull is definitely on my short list! As is Clash of the Titans.

Yeah, the novelizations are generally not as good as the original source material, but for some of us (he said, tying an onion to his belt, as was the style at the time) there was a point where once you'd seen the movie in the theater (or if you missed the movie in the theater), the novelization was the only way to experience it again -- it was a dark time, a time before VHS tapes and Blockbuster rentals.

Myself, I read Star Wars: From the Adventures of Luke Skywalker so many times that now the cover is held on with Scotch tape.

[The Joy of Erudition]

Joseph wrote: "Yeah, the novelizations are generally not as good as the original source material"

In my own experience (of the 7-10 of them I've read), they have been generally as good, or better, which is why I voted for this one. I'm not generally eager to read bad books.

[Clint]

@Joseph. Amen. The halcyon days of darkness

[Brian]

S.wagenaar wrote: "The novelization for Conan The Barbarian by Michael Stackpole is actually BETTER than the movie. Not a surprise, as the film was unfortunately not very good..."

Blasphemy! Take S.wagenaar to the Tree of Woe! ; )

[Joseph, Master Ultan]

Brian wrote: "S.wagenaar wrote: "The novelization for Conan The Barbarian by Michael Stackpole is actually BETTER than the movie. Not a surprise, as the film was unfortunately not very good..."

Blasphemy! Take ..."

To be clear, this is a novelization of the recent Momoa film, not the original Arnold film.

[Joseph, Master Ultan]

Oh, and it's obviously not even remotely S&S, but I read Alan Dean Foster's Alien novelization many, many times because I was, in my parents' view (and who knows? They may have been right!) entirely too young to see the movie when it came through theaters.

[L.D.]

I'm going to second that Stackpole's novelization is better than the Momoa film it is based on. And I even like that film. From my understanding it was based on an earlier script that offers some characterizations that were cut. It is worth a read, for sure.

[S.E., Gray Mouser (Emeritus)]

L.D. wrote: "I'm going to second that Stackpole's novelization is better than the Momoa film it is based on. And I even like that film. From my understanding it was based on an earlier script that offers some c..."

Well I watched the 1982 Conan again... and also had my 2 Marvel Comic Adaptations beside me to compare. I can't find them specifically in Goodreads, but Michael L. Fleisher is attributed so I assume this is the combined version Conan the Barbarian. The comic was true to the movie for the most part. A few depictions of Osric's daughter are dead-on look-alikes to Princess Teegra from the Bakshi and Frazetta Fire & Ice movie.

I suppose I should track down Stackpole now...but I had in mind reading some Lost Worlds first...and then Campbells' Solomon Kane...

[Joseph, Master Ultan]

I actually watched CtB last night myself. Which means that tonight will probably be Destroyer.

[Joseph, Master Ultan]

And I just started reading the novelization of Krull by, inevitably, Alan Dean Foster. (Truth be told, when I originally suggested this as a groupread theme some years back, it was at least partially to give myself an excuse to read this book.)

[Joseph, Master Ultan]

And finished Krull (it was short), and it was kind of the platonic ideal of an Alan Dean Foster 1980s film novelization -- not necessarily expanding on the source material, but retelling it (with a photo insert).

[The Joy of Erudition]

I know I'm a bit late getting started with this one, but it shouldn't take long. I wanted to finish the other two books I had started (At the Earth's Core for the Lost Worlds group read, and The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat and Other Clinical Tales unrelated to any group read) before starting this one. I went with Wayland Drew's Willow, after having browsed the first chapter of both it and Joan Vinge's Willow: A Novel. Drew's looks to be the better one.

It's not the only novelisation that I've noticed has two versions by different authors -- the double-novelisation of 2001's Tomb Raider movie is another one. Come to think of it now, that sounds like it might have fit both of this month's group read categories!

[S.E., Gray Mouser (Emeritus)]

Anyone here just rewatching the movies? (which ever they may be)

[The Joy of Erudition]

I have a hard time getting around to watching movies at all, let alone rewatching any.

[S.E., Gray Mouser (Emeritus)]

Not even Willow?

[Joseph, Master Ultan]

I actually just started watching Dragonslayer (now conveniently available on Amazon Prime); I need to work Krull into the mix sooner rather than later.

[The Joy of Erudition]

S.E. wrote: "Not even Willow?"

I watched Willow two years ago. I think I need around 10 years before considering a rewatch for anything.

I do want to watch Krull at some point, but I don't know whether I'd rather read the book first or not. I've never seen it.

It's been a long time since I saw Dragonslayer (maybe more than 10 years, in fact), but I feel like it's still very fresh in my mind.

[Joseph, Master Ultan]

For Krull, at least, I'd say you can go to the movie before the book.

[Ben]

Mary wrote: "Has anyone ever found a novelization as good as the movie?


Zardoz!

[Ben]

Simply put "Conan the Barbarian" with Da Governator is the BEST, hands down. The sequel "Destroyer" was deliberately dumbed down and so with subsequent ones.

I consider "Kull" fun but dumb and Conan 2011 literally a VOMIT abortion... Flew into a rage watching Solomon Kane.

But I digress, this is to praise not bury...

"The Sword and the Sorceror" is an excellent movie. Yeah, it's dumb, like D&D by teenager dumb - but doublespeak I mean it's GOOD.

"Excalibur" - of all the attempts to adapt King Arthur into a movie that was the best. IMO it's harder than "Dune" since the KA Mythos is supposed to take a week or so to absorb via sagas bards told. Same for Costner's "Robin Hood" take.

Willow is a good movie - kind of "I wanted a live action Hobbit!" feel, 'cept we have one.

On that - well I'm more a Dunsany than Tolkien fan. LOVED the animated Hobbit. The Jackson movies - well to me I'm reminded of a classic Phil Foglio cartoon in Dragon magazine. "Congradulations you won the award for miniature painting figure - Giant Rampaging Ogre - what's your secret!?" - "Multiple layers of paint...." -"Really? How many?" - "1824...." - "1824 layers!?!?" - "It started out as a halfling that's somewhere in its left knee..."

Hmm... I also loved the "Beastmaster" movie.
The "Deathstalker" Clonan ones are fun. (he admits he wants to be like Conan during one of them...!)

The more thoughtful here might like "Ladyhawke" and would love "Legend" and "Willow" - you are welcome if you hadn't seen them already.

Myself I'd love to see if "Slaine: The Horned God" gets fully adapted into a real legit movie - there's an incredible trailer you can look up on YouTube if you search that some fan made...spent like $70K doing...


Have some stories I've written that would make a neat visual on film, but I don't know if I could deal with Hollow-Wood's usual butchery... I'm nowhere near as Stoic as John Norman - who chuckled at "3% Gor" movies... But let them gather dust (and new fans) on rental shelves for years till the internet helped him bypass the publisher/distributor blacklist. I'd be too close to Beagle/Aul who freaked out at 85% plot.


Oh, on that note the "Gor" movies are pretty fun and not as awful as most would imagine if Gor was made into a full movie due to "3% Gor".

Just some thoughts.

[Joseph, Master Ultan]

And I did rewatch Krull last night and enjoyed it quite a bit. The crystal spider in particular is supremely creepy.

[Richard]

I think I'm gonna join in now with:



The Dark Crystal

[S.E., Gray Mouser (Emeritus)]

Richard wrote: "I think I'm gonna join in now with:

The Dark Crystal"

Richard, have you seen the Netflix series of the Dark Crystal? I enjoyed it. Also got the Soundtrack by Daniel Pemberton.

[Joseph, Master Ultan]

S.E. wrote: "Richard, have you seen the Netflix series of the Dark Crystal? I enjoyed it. Also got the Soundtrack by Daniel Pemberton...."

I loved the series; I'll have to get the soundtrack.

[Richard]

@Seth

I watched the first two episodes and haven’t gotten back around to it. I don’t watch a lot of TV...

[The Joy of Erudition]

I enjoyed that movie. I haven't seen the series myself. I also enjoyed the carbon-copies of the Skeksis that appeared in World of Warcraft.

By the way, I haven't mentioned it here, yet, but I'm really enjoying the Willow novelisation, and it's much, much better than the already-good movie.

[The Joy of Erudition]

Well, I didn't quite finish it for May, but I'll be done with Willow tonight. It has its issues, mostly in time scale and scope, but that's a unfortunately common problem in fantasy and science fiction, and I've enjoyed it anyway.

I also wonder about the frequent use in this book of the word "tuatha" as one of the magic words. As I understand it, that should just mean "people" or "children" as in "Tuatha Dé Danann", the People of Danu.

[The Joy of Erudition]

Jack wrote: "Unpopular opinion: Dark Crystal and Willow are boring movies. (Can I stay in the group?) "

I don't care much about movies, so it's no skin off my nose.

[Richard]

@Jack
You’re right. As an adult I have a hard time watching either. But watching Willow with my grade school kid was a treat b/c for him it was a great adventure(aside from the kissing, lol). I think a lot of people love both movies b/c they watched them as children. Now they are ‘beloved’ movies from the past. And your place among us is safe; differing opinions spice the discussion.

[The Joy of Erudition]

Richard wrote: "I think a lot of people love both movies b/c they watched them as children. "

What about all of the movies I watched as a child that I didn't love?

[Richard]

Lol, more spice I guess.

[S.E., Gray Mouser (Emeritus)]

@Jack! hi. I enjoyed the Warcraft movie. It had a few interesting elements to it (empathetic orcs stories). i didn't know there was a novelization

[The Joy of Erudition]

I've read several of the Warcraft books, but not the movie novelisation, nor seen the movie. Nothing much to recommend so far.

[Jason]

Jack, you're standing's good in my book. Heh. I'm with you part way - I enjoy Willow, think Dark Crystal dumb, never been able to watch it through, never understood the fuss.

[L.D.]

I'm also not a fan of Dark Crystal. It's way too out there for my tastes, and it gave me nightmares as a kid more accustomed to Western movies and The Land Before Time (original of course). As an adult I pretty much avoided it because of those reasons. I saw Willow once as a kid and the only things that stood out to me were "Brownies" and the two-headed elephant seal dragon. The dragon thing was cool, but opinion had already been formed that Brownies are a food, not a fantasy race. Sums up my feelings in gnomes too (garden ornament, not a fantasy race).

But I'm finding I'm not a huge fan of fantasy outside SnS. Even then, fantasy fiction without historical trappings don't really do it for me.

As for the Warcraft film, I did enjoy that well enough, and would have watched a sequel had it been made. My best friend is a huge WoW nerd and told me all about the inner workings of the lore and whatnot. Made it a cool experience despite having never played WoW ever. It was probably one of the best Video Game adaptations I've ever seen. Kudos for that.

[S.E., Gray Mouser (Emeritus)]

@LD.... lol. I enjoyed the Dark Crystal because it gave me nightmares as a kid.

[L.D.]

hahahaha I totally respect that. Face your fears head on!

[Richard]

The Dark Crystal

Cannot recommend it. I expected it to have more in-depth scenes, and they were present, but not in the quantity I wished. I get the same experience whether I read the book or watch the movie; and the movie doesn't take quite as long to enjoy.