31 Days of Halloween (2022)

CoffeeHorse

Exhausted, but still standing.
Staff member
Council of Elders
Citizen
I also want to get a nice physical copy of Phantom of the Opera someday, but that one will take a bit of research. Apparently, the quality of the translation vary from edition to edition, and not many stores seem to specify which edition they're selling.

I'm looking too, but my understanding is that there really is no definitive edition yet, just varying degrees of 'not quite'. Even if there were a perfect translation you'd still need some serious annotations. It's not a long book but it's dense.
 

Sean Whitmore

Active member
Citizen
I'm looking too, but my understanding is that there really is no definitive edition yet, just varying degrees of 'not quite'. Even if there were a perfect translation you'd still need some serious annotations. It's not a long book but it's dense.

I last looked into it a few years ago, and I don't remember now much of what I read, but I added the Mireille Ribière version to my Amazon bookmarks at the time. I included a note that said "not the best translation; but has the best annotations".


I would have bought it back then, but the version I found was a paperback, and didn't sound like much of a display item.
 

CoffeeHorse

Exhausted, but still standing.
Staff member
Council of Elders
Citizen
It's hard to tell with Amazon, because they have a bad habit of lumping reviews from different editions all together. They do this with DVDs too.
 

Caldwin

Eorzean Idiot
Citizen
I have some edition of Phantom of the Opera that I read for a book report in High school. I'll see if I can find it this evening for a photo. It was beautifully illustrate. It's been so long since I've read it, so I can't speak to the quality of the translation, if you could even find it today.

Lik I said, I'll try and find it this evening (probably in one of the boxes in the garage).
 

Caldwin

Eorzean Idiot
Citizen
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This is my copy of Phantom of the Opera

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Here's the publishing data for it if it helps on your hunt. I love Greg Hildebrant's art in this.

I did find a $10 eBay listing.

 

CoffeeHorse

Exhausted, but still standing.
Staff member
Council of Elders
Citizen
I'll look into that. Illustrated editions are a lost art.
 

Sean Whitmore

Active member
Citizen
I've been watching mainly old favorites so far this month, but tonight I watched a movie that I'd been meaning to get around to for years.

5. Wishmaster (1997)

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And it wasn't bad; solid B-movie territory. The Djinn is an interesting monster with a unique spin on an old gimmick. It's the standard Monkey's Paw, "be careful what you wish for" shtick, but instead of the victims slowly realizing this over time, the Djinn uses the wishes to kill people instantly and move on to the next person, like a slasher villain. He's played by Andrew Divoff, and spends half his time in the monster makeup and the other half disguised as a human. And honestly, I think he's a lot more interesting when in disguise. Has a real Agent Smith thing going, constantly flashing an arrogant smile that barely conceals his contempt for humanity. When he's in the makeup, especially when smoking or cursing in the makeup, he comes off a little like a Freddy wannabe.

I feel like it could have really been something if it had been either a little less funny, or a lot more funny. As it is, it tries to walk that best-of-both-worlds Sam Raimi road, but without the benefit of Raimi's imagination.
 

The Mighty Mollusk

Scream all you like, 'cause we're all mad here
Citizen
I liked how the Djinn's speech patterns are just slightly off. It's a subtle hint to his true nature.

The second movie is also pretty good, leaning a bit more on the black comedy. But, uh....stop there. Two more were made, but they're not good. At all.
 

Caldwin

Eorzean Idiot
Citizen
The 1931 film has exactly two things going for it.

1: Bela Lugosi was actually a good actor and it's a hugging tragedy that he tends to be more remembered for distorted parodies of his performance than for his actual performance.

2: Bela and Lugosi and Edward Van Sloan (Van Helsing) played alongside each other in the stage version, and they were absolutely unable to hide it. Watching the film you can just tell they know each other. That makes their rivalry a lot more fun. The film's action is very small and boring, but their familiarity with each other makes it seem like a much longer game of cat and mouse finally coming to a head.

I was able to get the Lugosi version for cheap on Amazon Prime digital. It's nice to have just because the version is so iconic. But boy oh boy does it have little to nothing to do with the book...so far as I've read so far. It was rather disappointing.

Though now having read a lot of the book, I see where the Coppola version also took a lot of liberties. I mean, it's closer than Lugosi or the Nosferatu version. But that love story that they included just takes it down so many notches now that I know.

I will say one thing for the Coppola version though...it had awesome atmosphere and awesome music.

 

CoffeeHorse

Exhausted, but still standing.
Staff member
Council of Elders
Citizen
The 1977 BBC adaptation is supposed to be even closer overall, though there's still some things only Coppola gets right. It's frustrating.

This is an excellent rundown.

 

Caldwin

Eorzean Idiot
Citizen
I actually just watched that a couple days ago. It is frustrating that no one has really gotten it right. I mean, I know it's a long book and condensing it to a feature length film would be next to impossible. But it's like on so many points they just don't even try.
 

Sean Whitmore

Active member
Citizen
Day 6. Jason X (2001)

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I got into the Jason series very much after the fact; I saw most of the series for the first time just last year. Jason X was actually the first full one I ever saw. I wouldn't say I have a soft spot for it...it's not a very good movie...but I have enough distance that I can view it fondly as the end point of an increasingly ridiculous series rather than some offensive last gasp for relevance.

We're well out of whatever horror cache the franchise had by this point, though. It's essentially an R-rated version of Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein.
 

Fero McPigletron

Feel the fear!
Citizen
I love the Coppola movie, but it’s weird to talk about its merits as an adaptation. It somehow manages to be the most faithful while simultaneously being built around a story element that was completely original.

(Well, I say “original”, but what I should say is “taken from the Dan Curtis adaptation”)
Um, what story element was completely original?

(Also who's Demeter and what happened to the mom looking for her baby?)
 

Sean Whitmore

Active member
Citizen
Um, what story element was completely original?

(Also who's Demeter and what happened to the mom looking for her baby?)

The whole Dracula/Mina relationship...him trying to romance her because she's the spitting image of his dead wife...is not from the book.

The Demeter is the ship that brings Dracula to London. And the mother of the snack baby was killed...I actually don't remember if it was by wolves, or Drac's human servants.
 

Sean Whitmore

Active member
Citizen
All the Dracula talk put me in the mood, so I checked out one adaptation I've never seen before and one I haven't seen in a while.

Day 7. Dracula (Spanish version) (1931)
Day 8. Count Dracula (1977)


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For anyone who doesn't know, the Spanish version of Dracula was filmed on the same sets as the Lugosi movie, and using the same script. The Spanish cast and crew would come in and shoot at night after their English counterparts finished for the day. What's really interesting about it is that, between the different sensibilities of the two directors and the slightly more permissive nature of the Spanish market, this version of the movie is often thought of as the superior of the two. At least from a story perspective. The last act in particular is hugely improved, but the whole thing just makes a little more sense in this version.

Count Dracula was a BBC movie. I saw it once, was unimpressed, and mostly forgot about it. Watching it again, and paying closer attention to the fidelity of the adaptation, it really does edge out the Coppola movie as the closest to the book. But it's also dull as dishwater. All the right ingredients, none of the flavor.
 


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