(Click the links to read favorite imaginary remake #2, #3, #4, and #5)
What else could take the top spot?
The Original:
The original original is a novel by Max Brooks.
What else could take the top spot?
The Original:
The original original is a novel by Max Brooks.
It fits the definition of “novel” in only the loosest sense, in that it’s a fictional story told in the form of over 50,000 words of prose. It doesn’t have any of the other usual elements people associate with novels like, say, a protagonist. As a result, pretty much anyone who reads it regards it as either a dry, textbookish affront to the medium or an incomparable modern classic. I’m in the latter category.
(You can read my full review here)
World War Z chronicles the rise of and recovery from a fictional worldwide zombie plague through a series of vignettes presented as interviews with various survivors, conducted by an unnamed and nearly silent researcher. Everything other than the existence of zombies is 100% realist. Every detail of the apocalypse, large and small, is analyzed and speculated on with meticulous logic. The interviews are from every perspective imaginable and plenty you’d never think of, all dripping with the thoroughly researched authority of the best of nonfiction history books.
There’s an excellent audiobook version, but the only screen “adaptation” of this modern classic currently in existence is a movie that shares absolutely nothing with the book but the name and the global presence of zombies, which also have nothing in common with the zombies of the book. Basically, it’s a hundred and twenty-three minutes of showing how awesome Brad Pitt is.
(You can read my full review here)
World War Z chronicles the rise of and recovery from a fictional worldwide zombie plague through a series of vignettes presented as interviews with various survivors, conducted by an unnamed and nearly silent researcher. Everything other than the existence of zombies is 100% realist. Every detail of the apocalypse, large and small, is analyzed and speculated on with meticulous logic. The interviews are from every perspective imaginable and plenty you’d never think of, all dripping with the thoroughly researched authority of the best of nonfiction history books.
There’s an excellent audiobook version, but the only screen “adaptation” of this modern classic currently in existence is a movie that shares absolutely nothing with the book but the name and the global presence of zombies, which also have nothing in common with the zombies of the book. Basically, it’s a hundred and twenty-three minutes of showing how awesome Brad Pitt is.
I'd make a collage, but the pictures would pretty much all look exactly like this.
(Oh yes, I’ve got a review for that too.)
The Imaginary Remake:
The only way to do justice to a book with all that makes it special tied to a nontraditional format is with a similarly nontraditional format.
The imaginary, worthy screen adaptation is a mockumentary with an academic, History Channel vibe. Our unseen researcher conducts his interviews as in the book, and footage of the interviewees telling their stories is interspersed with staged reenactments which, okay, I guess can be slightly higher quality than the History Channel.
The Imaginary Remake:
The only way to do justice to a book with all that makes it special tied to a nontraditional format is with a similarly nontraditional format.
The imaginary, worthy screen adaptation is a mockumentary with an academic, History Channel vibe. Our unseen researcher conducts his interviews as in the book, and footage of the interviewees telling their stories is interspersed with staged reenactments which, okay, I guess can be slightly higher quality than the History Channel.
The overarching arc, as in the book, belongs not to a set of characters but to the entire human species they represent.
With some difficulty, this could be condensed to a great movie, but with fewer cuts, it could make an even better miniseries. Either way, it’s just that hard, and that simple.
Agree? Disagree? Comments are always welcome! Or keep up with my fictional musings by joining me on Facebook, on Twitter, or by signing up for email updates in the panel on the right!
With some difficulty, this could be condensed to a great movie, but with fewer cuts, it could make an even better miniseries. Either way, it’s just that hard, and that simple.
Agree? Disagree? Comments are always welcome! Or keep up with my fictional musings by joining me on Facebook, on Twitter, or by signing up for email updates in the panel on the right!
