7 replies to this topic

[giwiens]

Yes I have seen the spoof with Woody Allen in fact I own a copy of it. This is just my take on the concept of a serious replication of the book's plot in film form.

Having just finished reading Casino Royale for the 'I-don't-know-how-many' time I have come to the conclusion that no motion picture adaption of the book would be able to do it justice. The book has too much action that occurs inside the head. With Bond thinking about how he gambles and will deal with his opponents (at the tables or otherwise) only about half the action would show up on screen. The big game with Le Chiffre would be painfully boring to watch unless you knew the book/story so well that you were feeling like you were living the game with Bond.

The assination attempt with the bomb and the action in the villa could be fantastic on film with the right director. Most of the other scenes would be okay on film but the big game would not translate well to the screen. Fantastic as a book but not as a movie.

[General Koskov]

Yes, I suppose most rallies are cross-country. But do you know of any names? Are there famous ones? Or are rallies just 'rallies'?

[General Koskov]

Having nearly completed a rudimentary screenplay of CR, I tend to half-disagree with you. While I do agree that the gambling could easily become boring, I still believe that if another story was added to CR, the film would be less reliant on stretching out the casino stuff. For instance in mine I've taken the fact that Le Chiffre is 'adept at driving fast cars' to the point where he makes money for SMERSH by racing in France. Fitting with the continuing '2 girls per film' since Licence to Kill (and before The Living Daylights), I've added Miss Muntz as Le Chiffre's femme fatale. All the talk about good and evil is very hard to translate, though. That's why my screenplay is only 'rudimentary'.

[Hardyboy]

A faithful version of CR certainly couldn't work in the present film continuity--it's too short, too simple, and, yes, too much of it is an interior-driven story. I've fantasized that one day the BBC, ITV, or one of the other British networks might make a series of telefilms based faithfully on the Fleming novels, and I'm sure they could come up with a very good adaptation.

Otherwise, here's how I think CR could work in the present continuity: Bond is sent on a mission to Royale-les-Eau. This was the site of his first major mission, and as he performs his actions in the present, he keeps flashing back to that original adventure when he faced down Le Chiffre and lost Vesper Lynde. Or is that just too corny for a Bond film?

[giwiens]

Interesting comments from General Koskov and Hardyboy. I think that both your ideas do have merit in terms of doing a 'proper' showing of CR as a film however General Koskov if Le Chiffre is to drive a racecar for the KGB his physical description will definitly have to change from the book! But then again we have already seen many plot deviations from the books for the Bond films. I like the idea of it maybe doing a bunch of one hour 'made-for-tv' type episodes. That might work.

[Turn]

A few years ago, there were rumours of Quentin Tarantino wanting to do a version of Casino Royale (imagine his take on the carpet beater torture scene). But, like somebody else said, it just couldn't work as a big screen feature. There's just to much history the series has to live up to.

The ideas about doing it as hour-long or 90-minute productions would be great. I'd doubt many of the other books could translate into that format, though. Maybe a few.

[General Koskov]

giwiens (15 May, 2002 08:21 p.m.):
however General Koskov if Le Chiffre is to drive a racecar for the KGB his physical description will definitly have to change from the book!

Well, I just took the 'Black Hare, Grey Hound' chase and assumed that if Le Chiffre could drive like he did, then he could participate in a cross-country race*.

Has anyone else noticed the blatant similarities between the chases in CR and Moonraker?

*PS. What are some cross-country races in Europe? I'm looking for one that covers much ground and has unwatched patches of road. Thanks if anyone can give me some names of races.

[leviramsey]

General Koskov (17 May, 2002 04:41 a.m.):
*PS. What are some cross-country races in Europe? I'm looking for one that covers much ground and has unwatched patches of road. Thanks if anyone can give me some names of races.

Aren't most Rally type races like that? Since the cars are the sort of vehicles that the street rodders use, you could even draw the Fast and the Furious crowd... :-)