This film, despite it's cheesy, old movie feel, is good to me. But the novel is sooo much better. Extremely better. Did anybody out there read it?
Some dance to remember... some dance to forget...
I was 10 or 11 years old when I saw the local premiere of CinemaScope and The Robe. Not only the wide screen, but the soundtrack with voices coming from the actual positions of the actors and sounds from behind really impressed me. I remember being strongly moved by the film. A year later I read the novel upon which it was based. I must agree that the novel, as is often the caase, is far better than the film. This is not to detract from the filmed adaptation which is very fine, but as is frequently the case, the novel goes into far greater character detail and is an excellent read. As an example of glaring differences and omissions I'd also like to mention East of Eden, in its own right a fine movie, but it hardly does Steinbeck's novel justice ... that was left to the early '80's TV miniseries which actually presented the major details of the novel convincingly. If "The Robe" is still in print, buy it and read it. You'll understand why Lloyd C. Douglas was a best-selling author.
shareI just finished the novel, and thought it was ok. Dragging in some parts, and fast at the end. Will want to see the movie now. Same ending ?
shareI have the novel and re-read it every so often. My mother had it in paperback, and I was lucky later to find it in hardback I loved the movie. I was about 8 years old when I saw it. I was in Catholic school and we were reading about the early Christian martyrs. It really brought the stories we were reading to life, and the end made me cry. I finally got the movie on VHS and the soundtrack on a record album.I also have the novel. Yes, there is a lot the movie necessarily leaves out. The conversation between Marcellus and his father when the son is given an assignment in Judea as a punishment, gives a better idea of just what kind of place the garrison at Judea was seen as. There is a section where first Marcellus, then Diana flee to a Christian family who own a vineyard; both work in the vineyard to conceal their identities, and make friends among the pickers. They are married there. The film never shows them being married. Diana at the end says, "Marcellus is my chosen husband" and they are still only betrothed. Lucia, Marcellus' sister, has a larger role, and it is through his interaction with her that his undisciplined life before Judea is displayed; she is first introduced as a fifteen year old listening to her hungover brother discuss his drunken exploits of the previous night that would result in his assignment to the hellhole that was the garrison at Judea. Later her marriage to a Roman soldier is the reason that Diana goes to the catacombs to warn Marcellus that they are in danger of being raided and imprisoned. His faith journey and his friendship with Demetrius are also given more space, and are thus made more credible.
Sometimes it is possible to find older novels that can be read online.
"..sure you won't change your mind? Why, is there something wrong with the one I have?"
I read the novel when I was in 6th grade after seeing the movie. I absolutely adored it and was heartsick to turn it back into the library, so I kept checking it out. A few years later in high school, my best friend saw the book in a pile of used books that the library was going to trash and grabbed it for me. It has been and remains to this day my absolute favorite book! I have read it about ten times since then and each time I do, I feel very comforted and alive, like I am discovering my faith all over again. My favorite part is the martydom of St. Stephen (Stephanos in the novel). It's just too beautiful and I recommend it to anyone.
"I see him!" he shouted triumphantly. "I see him! My Lord Jesus - take me!"
I read this book a long time ago, when I was in junior high school, and really was moved by it. I also saw the film the first time on television, and I remember enjoying it, but not thinking it was as good as the book. Of course, back then (the 1960s), I saw it on a black and white TV, so hardly got the full force of the cinematography. Having seen it again several times as an adult, including properly letterboxed to capture all its Cinemascope glory, I think the film holds up well, and generally is a fine adaptation, at least as good as "Barrabas."
The truth is that books can never be "properly" filmed--adaptations of novels are always fraught with difficulties, and indeed, a film that tries to stick too close to a book (or a play or other similar source material) often winds up as a bad film. I tell my students that a film adaptation of a novel should be judged on filmic criteria, not literary criteria (I teach film classes at the university level). It can never be the same as the book, nor should it be, if it is to work as a film.
This is difficult when the book is well-loved, or very moving. But I think of a movie as just a different way to tell the same story. In this case, the film is equally moving as the novel (at least as I remember the novel), but it can't help but be different. I would encourage those of you who have seen the film, but not read the novel, to do so (and vice versa).
"Never trust a bunny"
Thanks, bbaker. I have never read the novel, but I've heard it's out of print and my local library doesn't have a copy. For what it's worth, I think you are very wise to teach your students to evaluate a novel and its adaptation differently. Seems to me that they are very lucky to have you as an instructor (professor, perhaps?)
If you don't stand for something, you will fall for anything.
I'm sorry to hear the novel is out of print and not available in your library. I was hoping to find a copy, since we just watched the film again. I probably will check Amazon and Half-Priced books (there are other sources, too) to see if I can track it down.
And yes, I am a professor of communication specializing in film/media studies at a U.S. university. I teach courses in film genres and film/media theory, along with a general education film appreciation course. Part of the task of that course is to get the students to see a film as something more than just its plot--to focus on the set design, the acting, the cinematography, the editing, the use of sound, etc., and to learn to analyze movies on some other basis than sheer popularity. The material I share on adaptation is part of that process (we also have screenwriting courses that teach our broadcast/film majors how to do adaptations of fictional sources, as well as to craft screenplays from their own imaginations).
"Never trust a bunny"
Sounds wonderful. When can I enroll?
If you don't stand for something, you will fall for anything.
Right now for summer and fall! I wish all my students were as enthusiastic as you seem to be! It would make my job easier.:)
"Never trust a bunny"
I agree with Clara19987. The part where Stephen is martyred is very moving, the perfect factor to turn Marcellus to Christ after tip-toeing around it. When he talks about knowing that Jesus was the Son of God because he knows Stephen saw him, I was moved. At parts it dragged, but it made up for it. Intricate portrayal fitting for an intricate true story.
Some dance to remember... some dance to forget...
I read the book at my mom's encouragement. I resisted for time as I thought the book look to be very long. Once I started I could hardly refrain from continuing. I was in middle school at the time and remember sneaking the novel into my very boring history class (read the chapter and answer the questions at the end). I love film and wanted to make THE ROBE into a movie. I even decided that I would cast Jean Simmons in the role Diana. Then I heard that Fox was producing the film and that it would be their first release in the new wide screen process called CinemaScope. When the film premiered in Salt Lake City I was there for the first performance. That was one of the most exciting film experiences of my life. I returned to the theatre several times to see the movie again and again. Over the years I have seen THE ROBE many, many times. A few years ago I picked up the novel that my mom had given me as a teenager and reread the book. Lloyd C. Douglas' novel holds up and the film compliments it. It was excited to have 20th Century Fox go to the expense of restoring this landmark film and releasing it on Blu-ray. Blu-ray restorations of earlier films such as THE DIARY OF ANNE FRANK, THE ADVENTURES OF ROBIN HOOD, THE WIZARD OF OZ, CASABLANCA, THE SEARCHERS, THE SEVENTH SEAL, Buster Keaton's THE GENERAL and others are the main reason that I upgraded to a HD TV and the Blu-ray system.
shareThey do have copies of the book for sale over at Amazon (both paper and Kindle). I agree there is a good amount in the book that isn't in the movie. For example the Senator knows exactly what his son in going into as he and a few others are in charge of making sure the garrison in that part of the empire is being run properly. That's missing in the movie. I think it's small things like that that add depth to characters.