Sulphur on 9/2/2009 at 19:23
Certainly, the Dark Tower series is the absolute worst place to start when it comes to King. Try his older work instead, like Carrie or The Stand. Far less purple prose to be had, and as a bonus, those stories are better.
june gloom on 9/2/2009 at 19:34
I agree. You may want to start with my first King book- a collection of short stories called Skeleton Crew.
Thirith on 9/2/2009 at 20:39
King's short stories are a mixed bag but they avoid his biggest failing - not knowing when to stop and when to edit (read: cut) judiciously. Practically all of his novels, the later ones more so than the early works, would benefit from being cut 10-20%.
Angel Dust on 9/2/2009 at 21:20
Quote Posted by EvaUnit02
That was probably thanks to De Palma's meticulous planning. Majorly under-rated director, Burn Out and Dressed to Kill are masterpieces, IMO.
I think De Palma gets about as much credit as he is due, that is his movies are usually not great, with some notable exceptions of course "Blow Out" being one of them and I've always been a big fan of "Carlito's Way", but contain some great sequences. Technically he is highly skilled if a little self-consciously 'arty' and would greatly benefit from just telling the story instead of trying to show us how clever he is. He probably gets a bit of a hard time too having a similar style and obsessions to Hitchcock, a comparison that does no film maker any favours!
Anyway, while there have been plenty of shitty Steven King film adaptations there are actually quite a few good or great ones as has been shown in this thread. Personally I'm a big fan of "The Shining", "The Dead Zone" and quite liked "Dolores Claiborne" as well.
Scots Taffer on 9/2/2009 at 22:52
The Untouchables is the only De Palma film worth a damn.
Angel Dust on 9/2/2009 at 23:38
Have you seen any of his earlier stuff? Sure he's been churning out complete shit for years now but there is much more to his career than "The Untouchables" and while many of his films aren't worth a damn you must agree that there are plenty of scenes in them that are.
Scots Taffer on 9/2/2009 at 23:46
Earlier stuff? I hate Scarface. Even as over the top 80s nonsense I found it boring. Carrie was okay, some scenes were handled well but on the whole it didn't work for me.
As for the stuff after The Untouchables, it's a middling filmography mostly corrupted by his muddled editing and love of Hitchcockian suspense which he thinks he can achieve through obfuscation. Perfect examples are Snake Eyes and Mission Impossible, films that truly are big ugly messes with some good scenes. The Black Dahlia was just a clusterfuck.
Raising Cain has some great scenes also and I like the psychosexual vibe, but two John Lithgows is more than a man can handle. I should get around to watching Bonfire of the Vanities, if only because the novel sounded ridiculous.
Ultimately the fact that the guy can direct some good scenes in amongst botched films doesn't endear me towards him as a director on the whole, however The Untouchables is a long held favourite of mine that I return to fairly often.
Angel Dust on 9/2/2009 at 23:53
I was meaning earlier than "Scarface", which I hate also, stuff like "Blow Out", "Dressed To Kill", "Sisters" and "Body Double" (actually after Scarface but good trashy fun). None of them are 'perfect' but all are very good, even great thrillers. Although I'm not a huge fan of "The Untouchables" so maybe you shouldn't be listening to me!
And stay the fuck away from "Bonfire of the Vanities".
Scots Taffer on 9/2/2009 at 23:59
Your friend died screaming like a stuck Irish pig, now you think about that when I beat the rap.
EvaUnit02 on 10/2/2009 at 00:37
Oh yes, Femme Fatale. That film was fabulous.
Raising Cain was supposed to be a self-parody. People of accused him of being a hack whom rips off Hitchcock? He indulges them with Raising Cain and throws some Argento in for good measure. Eg the dream, within a dream, within a dream sequence; John Lithgow's super hammy performance that takes Norman Bates to ludicrous extremes, etc.
