Reviewed by Jeanne
In her foreword, Lopez writes that she likes reading the book
before seeing the movie because she enjoys feeling as if she has the “inside track”
on what’s going to happen. Of course, sometimes the movie makes a lot of
changes between page and screen!
This book carries the TMC imprint and while it does feature a
lot of classic movies, there are some newer versions included as well. The book
is arranged chronologically by movie, so it starts with Frankenstein in 1931 and
ends with 2021’s Passing, based on
the 1929 book by Nella Larsen. Titles are the ones used for the movie, but book
title and author are included with each entry, along with the names of the
director and the writer of the screenplay. Each entry is about four pages long, with
brief but insightful comparisons between book and film. The tone is light but
informative, and the book never bogs down. The introduction warns “Spoilers Ahead,” as
important plot points and even endings may be discussed. Lopez sometimes drops
in little tidbits about the production and filming or else about the original
book author.
This is a wonderful little book, whether you decide to read it
straight through or if you pick and choose which selections to read. Some of
the titles included are Psycho, Lord of
the Rings, Children of Men, Rebecca, Joy Luck Club, Remains of the Day, Dune,
The Godfather, Fight Club, Clueless, Jaws, and Coraline. There is no index,
alas, but that’s a minor quibble. The
book is illustrated with some charming color line drawings by Jyotirmayee
Patra.
The author limited
herself to 52 selections, so at times I wondered what criteria she used. I’ll admit that this is in part because I was
greedy for more: not only more titles, but she could easily have doubled the
length of the entries. Then again, it
is a showbiz adage to “always leave them wanting more!”
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