I actually watched the movie for the tenth time or so last night. It's good stuff, but the actors ARE...well...good. I feel so bad for them.
But at least Tad lives in the movie... There's that.
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So true! A line that stands out for me, in its tragic context, is "Tad played with the ducks".All the fuzzy fella wanted was the noise to stop.
I actually watched the movie for the tenth time or so last night. It's good stuff, but the actors ARE...well...good. I feel so bad for them.
But at least Tad lives in the movie... There's that.
yeah, it's a pretty uncomfortable watch. I love the first forty minutes or so, before they are trapped in the car. The build-up scenes!! Beautifully shot though!!This is one of the few movies I won't watch. It's not that I can't stand a scare here and then, even a BIG one. But there's an instant when the kid's screaming in the back of the car, watching his mother get mauled by the dog that I just can't watch. Maybe the kid was too good an actor, or maybe I just have a delicate spot about kids in such distress. But I just can't.
If Charity Chamber had taken notice of her son re Cujo's awful condition, the whole thing would have been averted. But then there would be a very short story!!I watched the movie again a month or so ago, and the book is in my top three. There are no bad dogs, agreed, but Stephen sure made whatever was lurking inside ol' Cujo utterly desperate and all-consuming. The dog never had a chance, really, and that was the real horror of the story. He was just reacting. All the fuzzy fella wanted was the noise to stop.
Dee Wallace is definately underrated. Movies like Cujo (great atmosphere etc) are never made these days!! It's all just blood and gore and no suspense.I like what Teague did with Cujo. The first 25 minutes of this movie could be a Disney movie, almost (omitting cursing and sex scenes, of course). Teague is very faithful to the novel, I think. There is a lot of tensionThe novel itself doesn't really switch gears until around page 120. I found the entire book fascinating and could feel King trying to achieve a contemporary novel in the vein of Philip Roth or John Updike, but in this instance the mundane and underbelly of suburban life is stripped down to a primal horror. Everything we learn beforehand is boiled down to a simmering metaphor, "the monster in the closet" that each of the character's face finally attacks and must be confronted. Adultery, rage, failed ambitions, etc must be contended with and it comes down to fight or flight. Donna Trenton, (a blue eyed brunette in the book) is the first female character to fight the 'evil' without help. More female protagonists would follow but I believe Donna Trenton was the first to go solo combat. Wendy Torrance had her brave battle but ultimately had help.with Donna trying not to get caught in her affair, and Cujo's gradual change of temperament and even the stress with Vic's losing the Sharp cereal account. Naturally, viewers are anticipating the big scenes with the Pinto dying in the Camber's yard and the subsequent climax, but these other details at the beginning are necessary and give the ending that much more meaning.
Like Misery, this is a straightforward, non-supernatural (more or less) novel, more so in the movie. I agree with King that Dee Wallace deserved an Oscar. Her performance is as good as any Streep performance I've ever seen. Solid book, solid adaptation.
So true! A line that stands out for me, in its tragic context, is "Tad played with the ducks".
The movie, to me, made Cujo a monster. And in the book, HE wasn't the monster...RABIES was.
Yeah, it definitely would be an uphill battle. I thought The Mist movie ending was perfect. Darabont is a courageous visionary and he has an ability to enhance any King book he adapts. King's thumbprint is never erased and Darabont, with a winning streak for morphing print to film, unerringly follows his artistic instincts to cinematic greatness. Please let Darabont make Lisey's Story! (Not sure who has the rights and I understand he is going to do The Monkey and possibly The Long Walk...so let's not press our luck, ha!).Hollywood would not let that movie get made with the same ending as the book. Look at the controversy concerning the ending to The Mist. Frank Darabont took a huge risk filming that ending.
Did you ever see Darabont's short film The Woman In The Room? For a student film it's pretty powerful. Darabont definitely knows how to bring a King book/story to the screen without compromising King's 'voice' in the process.Yeah, it definitely would be an uphill battle. I thought The Mist movie ending was perfect. Darabont is a courageous visionary and he has an ability to enhance any King book he adapts. King's thumbprint is never erased and Darabont, with a winning streak for morphing print to film, unerringly follows his artistic instincts to cinematic greatness. Please let Darabont make Lisey's Story! (Not sure who has the rights and I understand he is going to do The Monkey and possibly The Long Walk...so let's not press our luck, ha!).
I saw it on YouTube. You're so right. That uncompromising commitment is the key.Did you ever see Darabont's short film The Woman In The Room? For a student film it's pretty powerful. Darabont definitely knows how to bring a King book/story to the screen without compromising King's 'voice' in the process.