Fahrenheit 451

Now that Dan is done with school, he has more time to read, and he has decided to read classic books that he never read before...and, consequently, I am also reading these books. Several of them, including Fahrenheit 451, have been made into movies, so I will be reviewing the book and movie together, and comparing them to each other. I will start by reviewing the book, then the movie, then I will compare the two.

The book was a very creative view of how our society could have developed as a result of technology. It is definitely reasonable that an author would fear the downfall of books when television was becoming so popular, or at least have ideas come to his mind about what such a society would look like. I'm not sure I liked Ray Bradbury's writing style...I felt that in some areas he was very descriptive, allowing me to picture every detail of the horrifying Hound (for instance), but in some ways I feel like Bradbury's thoughts were left dangling and never completed. I understand that he wrote this novel in less than a month in a library, paying 10 cents per half an hour to use a typewriter, but this was not his first work, and is known as one of his best. The concluding remarks regarding war were very confusing to me, considering there was no discussion about what was causing the war. But despite the few shortcomings, this book helps me to remember that writing is still the ultimate method to express and describe something. That is one thing that books have going for them...they are ALWAYS better than the movie because they are more expressive. I will give this book 3 pigs, for it's creative plot and descriptive qualities.

In regards to the film version, I am very biased...I am not a huge fan of films made during the 1960's in general, so I was not expecting to be impressed. One thing that the movie demonstrated that I did not pick up on in the book was the idea that people in this society were blindly following authority without questioning why they are asked to do the things they do. Obviously, in this day and age, while I was reading the book I imagined things such as the "wall screen" and the 3-D "family" in a more futuristic way than was actually presented in the movie. I understand they had some limitations due to the era it was made on film, but they left out some of the most important parts of the book. For example, Faber (who is an essential character) is not even present, and neither is the Hound (which was my favorite part of the book). In addition, I think the screenwriter took too many liberties in adapting Clarisse's character...she had a very small but important role in the book, and a HUGE role in the movie, taking the place of Faber as well as several other characters. In addition, when reading the book, I pictured Clarisse as a child due to Montag's referring to her as the "girl" and "child". I think this movie should be redone, and IMDB has informed that a remake has been in progress and is scheduled to come out in 2010 (with possible stars including Brad Pitt or Tom Cruise...however Tom Hanks (who was rumored to play the Captain) is no longer a part of the upcoming film). Overall, I give this movie 2 1/2 pigs... and I can't wait to see the remake!