The Academy is a place where the thinkers enrolled in Philosophy for Teenagers can share their thoughts, doubts, speculations and assertions. Each student must post at least 4 substantial comments by the end of the quarter; no one may post more than two comments in a single day. (A "substantial" comment is 125-200 words long.) Remember to be respectful of others--you can, of course, question, support or refute anything on the blog, but please do so in a respectful manner.
Wednesday, December 19, 2007
Bonus Blog!
Discuss any differences that you have encountered so far in the film. You can talk about any devices used to build suspence that were not available to Henry James, or specific directorial changes. Have fun!
12 comments:
Anonymous
said...
Sweet, I'm first. So far the movie seems pretty good. They definitly had no trouble with the children. They are very wierd. Miles freaks me out and Flora already seems possessed. I don't get though that Miles has been saying "dear" throughout so far. That was such an interesting scene in the book and very peculiar, but now it is common. There are differences though that bother me. Finding out Miss Jessel died at the start of the movie is dissapointing. Also, I wanted to see a little bit more of Peter Quint when he appeared. The song, oh man, the song, that really is wierd. I think it being sung by Miss Jessel because they whole death thing and i think she taught Flora and now she is singing it. Good start to the movie.
I have noticed a few things that are different between the story and the movie. To start with there is no frame tale and the movie starts off with the interview. At the interview the Uncle tells the Governess (who has a name in the film) or Miss Gibbons that Miss Jessel, the previous governess, is dead. In the story Mrs. Grose was the one who told her. There are also some things I would like to note about the children. They are creepy. Not so much Miles, but Flora. In the book Flora never really came off weird but in the movie they drop hints that there is something wrong. She somehow knows that Miles is coming home before the letter arrives. She also enjoys watching "a lovely spider" eat a butterfly. When she draws a picture, it is of a thunderstorm. None of those things were in the story but definitely enhance the creepiness of Flora and make it more obvious. Another difference in the film is that the Governess brings up school with Miles right away. I do not remember her being so straight forward about the situation of him getting kicked out. When Miss Gibbons does bring it up, Miles cries. The last difference I remember was that after Miss Gibbons sees Peter Quint at the tower she goes there and finds Miles surrounded by a bunch of doves. Nothing of this sort happened in the story.
The movie "The Innocents" has a very close parallel to the book "The Turn of the Screw". Although they both include the same characters and storyline there are a few differences which are expected because there is no possible way to remake this movie exactly the way the book describes it because so much is left up to our imagination. The first difference came up in the very beginning. The book started out with the interview between the Uncle and the Governess, but in the movie the first scene is a forshadowing device, you see the governess crossing her hands and praying for the children. Another difference seems to be the repetiton of the word "imagination". Durring the interview the uncle asks the governess is she has a good imagination. Also Flora tells the Governess that Miss Gross had told her to pretend you don't hear things that way you can't imagine. I think that these differences are put into the movie so create more susspence and also to fill people in on key things incase they haven't read the book.
Perhaps one of the most interesting uses of the of the movie so far is the opening scene, in which we say that the governess is praying and saying that she only wanted to help the children. This is a hook, as it makes us pay attention to the story carefully, in order to look for clues that might show what she will do to the kids to cause an injury to them. Thus, mystery caller of Flora's name could be one of the first signs of trouble, and even though it was dismissed by Grose as a servant calling, the fact that Flora did not hear it is suspicious. There also seems to be a rather large stressing of the point that the governess is rather new to this job and that she is rather imaginative. The idea that Flora and Miles have both played to the largeness of the house and how it can be lent to the imagination makes the idea of crazy happenings by the governess seem even more possible. Overall, with the increased stressing of the imagination, and a more direct hook for attention, these changes I believe greatly help the movie.
The movie is different from the book in many ways. The children seem to be more mysterious about the ghosts. They seem to lead the governess on more then they do in the book. The song in the beginning is a little creepy and when Flora sings it, Miss Jessel appears. It adds more suspense and makes it seem like the ghosts are really there. The book doesn’t show the things happening, so when you see the movie it makes it creepier. Also, when the children are at the lake, Flora starts humming the song from the music box, and Miss Jessel appears. The governess asks Flora if she saw her, meaning Miss Jessel and a few seconds later Flora gives her a weird look, but doesn’t say anything. The movie is scarier than the book, and builds up more suspense as your watching it.
Unlike in Henry James, the movie is actually able to raise eyebrows—literally. James wrote eyebrow raising scenes, but the actors in the movie version can actually raise their eyebrows without having to write all about it. Discrete facial expressions also can be utilized without long descriptions about them. The director is able to show how a character says something. Miles’s last words, therefore, may actually shed some light on his meaning rather than reader speculation, although the way he says it is really based on his perception. In addition, the director can have little ghost children running around across the screen without the reader getting confused because if James suddenly mentioned a ghostly Flora flitting across the church graveyard, the reader would be really confused. In a movie, though, “apparitions” and “shadows” can be used more effectively without confusing the audience. Therefore, the director of The Innocents can more effectively infer the supernatural’s effect upon the children without having to build up to it in several chapters.
The film so far does not seems so far off from the novel. Although there are some major differences which do stand out. The film cut out the scene where the Governess encounters Peter Quint at the bottom of the staircase. Also, Miles and Flora are made out to seem much more creepy than in the book! Both of them sort of smile at each other and glance toward each other making them appear more suspicous. The director obviously added in the dream Ms.Gibbins has. The director also used sound to add suspense that the book could not. When the Governess is wondering around at night with the candle, she hears screaming and noises and talking. Although there are some differences, I think Henry James would approve of the film and really does capture the atmosphere and tone of The Turn of the Screw.
I think a really big difference from the book is the ambiguity that the director adds. However, I think that he does this with both sides of the arguement. For example, he makes the kids even more devious than James seems to have them. The director makes the children look at each other when they are talking about secrets, and Miles almost squeezes the governess to death. Flora and Miles are definitely creepier when we can see them, rather than imagine them. At the same time, the director added things that were not in the book to make the governess seem crazy. In the book, the governess could accurately describe Peter Quint without ever having seen his picture, but in the movie, she sees his picture then describes him to Mrs. Grose. She also faces more opposition from Mrs. Grose in the film than in the novel, which adds skepticism to the governess' claims. Lastly, the director makes it so that the governess seems to hear voices in her head when she is in the hallway. This leads the viewer to believe that she is suffering from some severe mental hallucinations, which may also be her cause for seeing the ghosts. The director makes it so the kids are more devious and that the governess is more crazy, so he does not favor one side of the situation, but rather gives the viewer a harder time deciding which is true.
Well, there are definite subtelties in this movie that were not covered in the book. For example, the excessive usage of showing the possible evilness of the children was not shown in the book. Throughout the book, the children were good two shoes, but today, I saw the scene where Miles was "hugging" the governess in the attic as she screamed "Miles, stop. You're hurting me," and the look on Miles' face was enough to reveal his intentions. This face was seen again, but this time it was Flora. She had the same look of evil intent when she was at the lake. The governess' inquiry about what Flora saw resulted in the child looking at her in with cold, dangerous eyes. The biggest difference I saw between the book and the movie was the lack of the 2nd meetings with Miss Jessel and Peter Quint. In the book, Quint is seen by the governess on the top of the stairs and Miss Jessel is seen weeping there a few encounters later. Overall, the book and the movie have similar effects in my opinion.
The ghosts were found in different places excluded the first two sightings of Peter Quint, yet even that sighting was different because she was playing hide and go seek with the children and was literally on the window when he appeared din the movie. Ms. Jessel did not appear on the stair case like in the book. The children were seriously spooky; when I read the book it was different. The children were strange in the book, but in the movie they seriously looked to be possessed. There was no doubt in my mind they were possessed. In the book i was not sure. Also music in the background did wonders to the mood and fright factor of the movie were as there was no music in the paper version.
As we watched the Innocents, I noticed that there were a few differences between the book and the movie. One difference is that in the book, we are not told the governess’ name. The Turn of the Screw is from the governess’ point of view. But in the movie, we find out the governess’ name is Miss Giddens. There is a slight difference in the scene where the governess sees the ghost of Miss Jessel in the schoolroom in the book and the movie. For instance, in the book, Miss Jessel is said to be sitting in the governess’ chair and looking at the governess. But in the movie, we see that while she still sat in the governess’ chair, she did not act as if she was aware of Miss Giddens’ presence and she was crying. These were only a few of the differences I saw after we finished watching The Innocents.
Excellent job with your posts! You really took note of the differences, and it really made you think about the film. Keep up with good work! This post is now closed.
12 comments:
Sweet, I'm first. So far the movie seems pretty good. They definitly had no trouble with the children. They are very wierd. Miles freaks me out and Flora already seems possessed. I don't get though that Miles has been saying "dear" throughout so far. That was such an interesting scene in the book and very peculiar, but now it is common. There are differences though that bother me. Finding out Miss Jessel died at the start of the movie is dissapointing. Also, I wanted to see a little bit more of Peter Quint when he appeared. The song, oh man, the song, that really is wierd. I think it being sung by Miss Jessel because they whole death thing and i think she taught Flora and now she is singing it. Good start to the movie.
I have noticed a few things that are different between the story and the movie. To start with there is no frame tale and the movie starts off with the interview. At the interview the Uncle tells the Governess (who has a name in the film) or Miss Gibbons that Miss Jessel, the previous governess, is dead. In the story Mrs. Grose was the one who told her. There are also some things I would like to note about the children. They are creepy. Not so much Miles, but Flora. In the book Flora never really came off weird but in the movie they drop hints that there is something wrong. She somehow knows that Miles is coming home before the letter arrives. She also enjoys watching "a lovely spider" eat a butterfly. When she draws a picture, it is of a thunderstorm. None of those things were in the story but definitely enhance the creepiness of Flora and make it more obvious. Another difference in the film is that the Governess brings up school with Miles right away. I do not remember her being so straight forward about the situation of him getting kicked out. When Miss Gibbons does bring it up, Miles cries. The last difference I remember was that after Miss Gibbons sees Peter Quint at the tower she goes there and finds Miles surrounded by a bunch of doves. Nothing of this sort happened in the story.
The movie "The Innocents" has a very close parallel to the book "The Turn of the Screw". Although they both include the same characters and storyline there are a few differences which are expected because there is no possible way to remake this movie exactly the way the book describes it because so much is left up to our imagination. The first difference came up in the very beginning. The book started out with the interview between the Uncle and the Governess, but in the movie the first scene is a forshadowing device, you see the governess crossing her hands and praying for the children. Another difference seems to be the repetiton of the word "imagination". Durring the interview the uncle asks the governess is she has a good imagination. Also Flora tells the Governess that Miss Gross had told her to pretend you don't hear things that way you can't imagine. I think that these differences are put into the movie so create more susspence and also to fill people in on key things incase they haven't read the book.
Perhaps one of the most interesting uses of the of the movie so far is the opening scene, in which we say that the governess is praying and saying that she only wanted to help the children. This is a hook, as it makes us pay attention to the story carefully, in order to look for clues that might show what she will do to the kids to cause an injury to them. Thus, mystery caller of Flora's name could be one of the first signs of trouble, and even though it was dismissed by Grose as a servant calling, the fact that Flora did not hear it is suspicious. There also seems to be a rather large stressing of the point that the governess is rather new to this job and that she is rather imaginative. The idea that Flora and Miles have both played to the largeness of the house and how it can be lent to the imagination makes the idea of crazy happenings by the governess seem even more possible. Overall, with the increased stressing of the imagination, and a more direct hook for attention, these changes I believe greatly help the movie.
The movie is different from the book in many ways. The children seem to be more mysterious about the ghosts. They seem to lead the governess on more then they do in the book. The song in the beginning is a little creepy and when Flora sings it, Miss Jessel appears. It adds more suspense and makes it seem like the ghosts are really there. The book doesn’t show the things happening, so when you see the movie it makes it creepier. Also, when the children are at the lake, Flora starts humming the song from the music box, and Miss Jessel appears. The governess asks Flora if she saw her, meaning Miss Jessel and a few seconds later Flora gives her a weird look, but doesn’t say anything. The movie is scarier than the book, and builds up more suspense as your watching it.
Unlike in Henry James, the movie is actually able to raise eyebrows—literally. James wrote eyebrow raising scenes, but the actors in the movie version can actually raise their eyebrows without having to write all about it. Discrete facial expressions also can be utilized without long descriptions about them. The director is able to show how a character says something. Miles’s last words, therefore, may actually shed some light on his meaning rather than reader speculation, although the way he says it is really based on his perception. In addition, the director can have little ghost children running around across the screen without the reader getting confused because if James suddenly mentioned a ghostly Flora flitting across the church graveyard, the reader would be really confused. In a movie, though, “apparitions” and “shadows” can be used more effectively without confusing the audience. Therefore, the director of The Innocents can more effectively infer the supernatural’s effect upon the children without having to build up to it in several chapters.
The film so far does not seems so far off from the novel. Although there are some major differences which do stand out. The film cut out the scene where the Governess encounters Peter Quint at the bottom of the staircase. Also, Miles and Flora are made out to seem much more creepy than in the book! Both of them sort of smile at each other and glance toward each other making them appear more suspicous. The director obviously added in the dream Ms.Gibbins has. The director also used sound to add suspense that the book could not. When the Governess is wondering around at night with the candle, she hears screaming and noises and talking. Although there are some differences, I think Henry James would approve of the film and really does capture the atmosphere and tone of The Turn of the Screw.
I think a really big difference from the book is the ambiguity that the director adds. However, I think that he does this with both sides of the arguement. For example, he makes the kids even more devious than James seems to have them. The director makes the children look at each other when they are talking about secrets, and Miles almost squeezes the governess to death. Flora and Miles are definitely creepier when we can see them, rather than imagine them. At the same time, the director added things that were not in the book to make the governess seem crazy. In the book, the governess could accurately describe Peter Quint without ever having seen his picture, but in the movie, she sees his picture then describes him to Mrs. Grose. She also faces more opposition from Mrs. Grose in the film than in the novel, which adds skepticism to the governess' claims. Lastly, the director makes it so that the governess seems to hear voices in her head when she is in the hallway. This leads the viewer to believe that she is suffering from some severe mental hallucinations, which may also be her cause for seeing the ghosts. The director makes it so the kids are more devious and that the governess is more crazy, so he does not favor one side of the situation, but rather gives the viewer a harder time deciding which is true.
Well, there are definite subtelties in this movie that were not covered in the book. For example, the excessive usage of showing the possible evilness of the children was not shown in the book. Throughout the book, the children were good two shoes, but today, I saw the scene where Miles was "hugging" the governess in the attic as she screamed "Miles, stop. You're hurting me," and the look on Miles' face was enough to reveal his intentions. This face was seen again, but this time it was Flora. She had the same look of evil intent when she was at the lake. The governess' inquiry about what Flora saw resulted in the child looking at her in with cold, dangerous eyes. The biggest difference I saw between the book and the movie was the lack of the 2nd meetings with Miss Jessel and Peter Quint. In the book, Quint is seen by the governess on the top of the stairs and Miss Jessel is seen weeping there a few encounters later. Overall, the book and the movie have similar effects in my opinion.
The ghosts were found in different places excluded the first two sightings of Peter Quint, yet even that sighting was different because she was playing hide and go seek with the children and was literally on the window when he appeared din the movie. Ms. Jessel did not appear on the stair case like in the book. The children were seriously spooky; when I read the book it was different. The children were strange in the book, but in the movie they seriously looked to be possessed. There was no doubt in my mind they were possessed. In the book i was not sure. Also music in the background did wonders to the mood and fright factor of the movie were as there was no music in the paper version.
As we watched the Innocents, I noticed that there were a few differences between the book and the movie. One difference is that in the book, we are not told the governess’ name. The Turn of the Screw is from the governess’ point of view. But in the movie, we find out the governess’ name is Miss Giddens. There is a slight difference in the scene where the governess sees the ghost of Miss Jessel in the schoolroom in the book and the movie. For instance, in the book, Miss Jessel is said to be sitting in the governess’ chair and looking at the governess. But in the movie, we see that while she still sat in the governess’ chair, she did not act as if she was aware of Miss Giddens’ presence and she was crying. These were only a few of the differences I saw after we finished watching The Innocents.
Excellent job with your posts! You really took note of the differences, and it really made you think about the film. Keep up with good work! This post is now closed.
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