I watched Stardust last night with my daughter. I’d read the book some time ago and enjoyed it, but I think I liked the movie just a tad more.
As I’m watching, I can’t help but analyze the structure of the story. It’s fairly simple, even though the book felt somewhat complicated. Basically, there is something (the star) that three people/beings are seeking. None of them for particularly altruistic reasons–not even the hero. In fact, in the book I remember being annoyed with Tristan for being somewhat of an ass for only seeing our star as something to acquire, and not of any value just on her own. You could do some major tie backs here to how women were seen for centuries, but let’s skip that. :)
So, one thing I loved about the move was how they extracted the key points and really showed the strengths of the book, without losing any of the story.
In both what I loved were flashes of myth–like the goddess (witch) triad and the cart being pulled by goats. And parts reminded me of an O Henry short story too–the feel you get when reading O Henry as if you’re not quite on even ground.
Anyway, I highly recommend the movie, but I would read the book first. I think it’s almost always better to read the book first. :)
I never read the book, but I thought the movie was great too. I saw Iron Man on Saturday, and that was fantastic! I only suggested it because my husband had sat through two chick movies with me, and this was my payback. Besides, Robert Downy Jr. and Gwynneth Paltrow were in it, so I figured it couldn’t be too bad. Instead it was very, very good.
by Edie May 6th, 2008 at 8:44 pm