This adaptation, by Charles Santino and Joe Staton, was an impulse buy for me. I don’t remember seeing it solicited (and probably wouldn’t have pre-ordered it if I had), but flipping through it in my LCS, I was sold by the artwork. The entire thing is rendered in unlinked pencils, three identical rectangular panels per page. I’ve often used the comparison, “Anthem is to Atlas Shrugged as The Hobbit is to The Lord of the Rings,” but that’s not strictly true. The story is not exactly as I remember it, but that’s likely due to my own faulty memory. Although I’ve read Atlas Shrugged a couple of times (and listened to it on CD once), I’ve read Anthem only once, and that was decades ago. (I really must set a few hours aside to compare/contrast.) In any case, this adaptation can be seen either as quick primer to Objectivism or a beautifully rendered fable. Or both.
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I think I have heard something about an Atlas Shrugged movie now that you mention it. That's something that has the potential to be really good if done well, or really bad if not. ("The Fountainhead" movie suuuuucked.) Anthem is a very quick read; it's classified as a novella rather than a novel.
I read Anthem decades ago and kind of liked it at the time. I read it again a few years ago when the Rand Foundation was offering to give away classroom sets to any teacher who signed a promise to actually assign it. It didn't hold up to adult sensibilities, so I passed.
Atlas Shrugged, Part 1 (really, you expected the whole book in one film?) opens tomorrow (4/15) in 80 markets. DFW is one of them. The full list is at http://www.atlasshruggedpart1.com/theaters.
Sidenote: The film was originally set to debut in only 11 markets. A campaign by Rand fans (encouraged by the producers) increased that number to 80. I wouldn't mind seeing it, but the theatre nearest me is a 4-hour trip.
ah. I thought you were referring to a more recent adaptation, Jeff. I'm a big Gary Cooper fan and my brain couldn't compute that one of his films could suuuuuuck.
I have no desire to see the new flick. Even if it's a cinematic wonder, the themes it professes (if it stays true to the source material) are pathetically flawed.
I thought you were referring to a more recent adaptation, Jeff.
I didn't know there was a more recent adaptation.
I'm a big Gary Cooper fan and my brain couldn't compute that one of his films could suuuuuuck.
You might say it's "a subtle piss-take of the original book." You may add the James Dean version of East of Eden to that assessment as well. The movies are worth seeing if you're a big fan of Gary Cooper or James Dean, but don't expect them to be remotely like the books upon which they are based. (Well, maybe remotely; the characters have the same names, for example.)
Aren't all movie adaptions a commentary on the original works?
I have to confess here that I know very little about Ayn Rand beyond that Ditko is a disciple, and know nothing about the movies they made. Rand isn't taken seriously in Europe at all, and was never mentioned in any of my English Lit courses. I'd like to read something of hers because of the Ditko connection, and to make up my own mind. Maybe someday. Anthem looks like a good place to start.
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Atlas Shrugged, Part 1 (really, you expected the whole book in one film?) opens tomorrow (4/15) in 80 markets. DFW is one of them. The full list is at http://www.atlasshruggedpart1.com/theaters.
Sidenote: The film was originally set to debut in only 11 markets. A campaign by Rand fans (encouraged by the producers) increased that number to 80. I wouldn't mind seeing it, but the theatre nearest me is a 4-hour trip.
And how does the Gary Cooper Fountainhead film measure up to the book?
You must have missed my post above. It "suuuuucked."
When I posted yesterday I obviously didn't realize the movie opens today.
Heard this coverage this morning:
http://www.npr.org/blogs/monkeysee/2011/04/15/135418776/an-atlas-sh...Maybe it'll be a subtle piss-take of the original book, a la 'Starship Troopers'? You never know...
Didn't it take years for people to realise that film was somewhat fork-tongued regarding its source material?
I didn't know there was a more recent adaptation.
I'm a big Gary Cooper fan and my brain couldn't compute that one of his films could suuuuuuck.
You might say it's "a subtle piss-take of the original book." You may add the James Dean version of East of Eden to that assessment as well. The movies are worth seeing if you're a big fan of Gary Cooper or James Dean, but don't expect them to be remotely like the books upon which they are based. (Well, maybe remotely; the characters have the same names, for example.)
Aren't all movie adaptions a commentary on the original works?
I have to confess here that I know very little about Ayn Rand beyond that Ditko is a disciple, and know nothing about the movies they made. Rand isn't taken seriously in Europe at all, and was never mentioned in any of my English Lit courses. I'd like to read something of hers because of the Ditko connection, and to make up my own mind. Maybe someday. Anthem looks like a good place to start.
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