Monday, September 3, 2007

The Hours as a Movie

It’s always difficult turning a great book into a great movie. It becomes even more difficult when trying to turn a book filled with great detail and very little dialogue into a movie, as in The Hours. Here’s what I would do if I were given the opportunity to create a movie version of The Hours.

First off, music speaks very loudly when words can’t. I would make sure I had very powerful music depending on each scene, whether it’s the suicide of Mrs. Woolf, or the burial of the bird. No movie is complete without heartwarming music. And the music doesn’t have to have lyrics either. Orchestral pieces are some of the most moving ways of showing emotion.

Because there is very little dialogue in The Hours, I would have first person narration from each of the three main women, the thoughts that come from their heads, as if they were speaking. This would help the audience understand the character’s train of thought and help them see past the obvious ideas into the real mind of each woman.

Another thing to keep in mind is the transitions from each character’s perspective, and also the fact that the entire book takes place in one day. Fading in and out of different scenes helps tell the audience that you’re moving on to a different character, so that the viewers aren’t totally confused about what is happening. I would keep the movie as true to the book as possible, partially because I can’t stand movies that stray away and/or take out details from the book. In my opinion, a movie can never be better than the book from which it originated (except for The Lord of the Rings series), but I would do my best to at least do the book justice.

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