Between pages and screens

Many novels have been turned into movies but not vice versa, this mostly takes from the novel more than it gives, even financially a person would buy a ticket rather than buying a book, but any way the authors get millions of dollars so there is no need to worry about them :D.

When a novel is turned into a movie, the movie will have two types of audience: people that read the novel and people who haven't, clearly the second type will be larger that's why the director will try to reach and satisfy them more than the first type, this leads to you watching something totally different from what you expect (in case you are of the unfortunate first type).

I just been to Sherlock Holmes by Robert Downey and Jude Law, the movie is great from the perspective of a person that never read any of Sherlock Holmes cases, but when I recall the cases and the voices (as Sherlock Holmes was presented by the BBC Radio in sixtieth) I see Sherlock Holmes as a man in his late fourties or early fifties, maybe in a good shape but not so athlete, we can say quite fat with a moustache, and as I hear the strong sound of Dr Watson, I see him similar to Sherlock Holmes but little older maybe, and with a full rounded face, a typical gentleman of London in the 19th century, well all this "imagination" of mine might be what Sir Arthur Conan Doyle wanted the reader to say or maybe not, but I am quite sure that while he was writing he never thought of Sherlock and Watson as two men destroying London while they are chasing criminals like the movie put them, actually the movie made them closer to cowboys rather than gentlemen of the 19th living in London, when you read any of the cases, you will rarely see the kind of extensive force and action that existed in the movie.

This surely puts the largest part of the audience in great satisfaction as they watch the two men jump, hit and make jokes, and they will surely enjoy Sherlock's mad acts and expressions, which doesn't match with the cases, maybe he was a little bit "weird" and unorganized but not a lunatic that is closer to insanity than geniosity.

Anyway as the director wants ALL the audience satisfied, he will make up with you be emphasising on details that might not be of importance but they were in the original Sherlock Holmes like: the address of the rooms where Sherlock and Dr.Watson lived which is 221 Baker Street, the names of the landlady "Miss.Hudson" and the detective "Lastrade". These things could have been ignored without disturbing you but the director kept them, just to tell you "hey man don't be upset this is still Sherlock Holmes of Sir Arthur".

I guess the same thing happened with "Angels and Demons" of Dan Brown and "The Twilight Saga" by Stephenie Meyer, on the other hand stories like "Troy" and "300 Spartians" were sent to life again by movies.

So what do you think about novels turning into movies.

 

Statue of Sherlock Homes in Edinburgh

A Drawing of Sherlock Holmes

 

Dr.Watson (left) and Holmes (right)

The ALL NEW Holmes and Watson

 

COOL isn't it? :D :D

Mysteries Again

Dan Brown comes again to the best-sellers list with his new novel "The Lost Symbol". Full of mystery, adventure and stunning historical facts, "The Lost Symbol" takes you through a tour in the most famous buildings in Washington D.C., reading hidden symbols and fascinating paintings, reveling with this many hidden facts about the Masons and the forefathers who built America.

The novel is great, I can say nothing but this, it's enough great thing that you will read the 509 pages like you read a newspaper. I just wanted to state here some facts that I came through about the novel and the author:

1. I read Angels and Demons (2000), The Da Vinci Code (2003) and The Lost Symbol (2009). The three were best of what I read (maybe because I don't read that much anyway :D) but they resemble too too much, The Da Vinic Code was the best, then I read Angels and Demons you feel like you are reading some things that you already read in The Da Vinic Code, to be fair The Lost Symbol he though very similar in the structure to the other two novels, still has new to offer.

Looking deeper into commons:

• Secret communities:

1 - Angels and Demons:

Talks of a secret brotherhood that was forgotten and thought to have demolished away, the brotherhood is called The Illumaniti, a group of o pressed scientists all over history that tried to keep themselves alive and hide from the church and also waiting for the right time to take the church down.

2 - The Da Vinic Code:

Talks of Priory of Sion, a secret brotherhood that tried always to keep a hidden truth from the church till it was the right time to expose it.


3 - The Lost Symbol:

Talks of the Masons, the well known but still secret brotherhood, They were too much believing in the unfolded potential of the human being especially the human mind, that according to them was capable of doing anything, they hid these Ancient Mysteries in an underground location somewhere in Washington D.C. till it was the right time for human to know the truth.

I think it's crystal clear to you how much the three resemble, in fact they are identical (of course not the brotherhood, I mean the scenarios).

• Beginning of events:

The three novels share one starting point where events start to be exciting and Robert Langdon (Professor of symbology and iconology in Harvard) starts to get into trouble.

The point is a crinimial act to an old man:

1 - Angels and Demons:
The murder of Leonardo Vetra, a scientist in CERN.

2 - The Da Vinic Code:
The murder of Jacques Saunière, curator of Louvre Museum in Paris.

3 - The Lost Symbol:
The kidnapping of Peter Solomon, Smithsonian secretary, billionaire, and Freemason, which happens to be a close friend of Langdon.

• Female role:

Like all novels, a female role is necessary to acquire balance and to be able to describe different feelings. Any way, Dan Brown never tries to hide his intentioned "Stuffing" of a woman to be beside Langdon all the novel.

1- Angels and Demons:
Vittoria Vetra the daughter of the murdered Leonardo Vetra. She worked with him in CERN on researches.

2 - The Da Vinic Code:
Sophie Neveu is the granddaughter of Louvre curator Jacques Saunière, that
has been murderd. She works as cryptographer for the French Police.

3 - The Lost Symbol:
Kathrine Solomon, sister of kidnapped Peter Solomon and a Neotic Scientist that reached astonishing scientific facts about human mind.

Again the three characters are relatives of the old man that was murdered or kidnapped in the beginning of the novel.

• Endings:

The end in each of the three novels is rather unsatisfying, although they are realistic but they are much less than what I expected while I was reading the thrilling novel.
The three novels end up with reaching the fact that whatever Langdon was after during the novel, was actually in front of him all the time.

1- Angels and Demons:
The bomb hidden under the Vaticane is found only one minute before it blows up and is carried in a chopper to blow it in the air, something that is not convincing and rather absurd.

2 - The Da Vinci Code:
Langdon finds out after following the trails that The Holy Grail is not a treasure like many legends say but rather refering to Mary Magdelne who is claimed to have married to Jesus, which is a clear proof that he was human which destroys all what the church is based on.

3 - The Lost Symbol:
The Lost Word which is claimed to have enormous power comes out to be the Bible which is of course ridiculous because Langdon himself in other novels stated that the Bible was written by humans and that it had many contradictions and many many versions. Something else, if it is "just" the Bible, why the Masons hid it all this time although every one knows about the Bible !!!

• Shocking Turnings:
  

In each novel there is a character that all the time is on the good side then suddenly it turns up to be the person who did all the harm all over the novel !!

1 - Angels and Demons:
Camerlengo Carlo Ventresca is wise, helpful and you like him and see him as a very good man, then at the end he turns out to be the one who set every thing up.

2 - The Da Vinci Code:
Sir Leigh Teabing, a friend of Langdon that knows about the Holy Grail more than any one, and helps Langdon in his search for it also comes out at the end to be the one who planned the whole thing to put Langdon in his quest for the Holy Grail and then take it from him !!

3 - The Lost Symbol:
Mala'kh the tattoed man who believes in evil and dark magic, the man who killed Zach (Peter's son) will come out to be Zach himself !!

• In the begining of every novel, Dan Brown states that all the art and history mentioned in the novel is real, anyway many critics say that there are many wrong and false historical events in his novels.

• If you want to know more about the novels or Dan Brown, I recommend the Wikipedia !!
  

• Really after I read these novels, I figured out how much lucky I am to be Muslim, because while so many are running, hiding and believing in mysteries and the unknown, creating with this rituals and rules that they escaped religions to avoid, my religion is based on facts not mysteries and asks me for only simple prayers, doings and sayings that don't confuse me with contradictions.
  

These were the things I wanted to say about the novels, they are my personal opinions and surely you can disagree with my.
Comments are welcomed.