Author: Justin La.Liberty
Date: 01-22-08 02:52
First a comment - A Scanner Darkly both the book and movie are amazing. I have read the book several times, and the movie version is absolutly moving and I think pretty much exactly what one could hope for in a PKD book to movie translation.
Now, the above message has some flaws in it which I would like to correct...
"In the book, initially the authorities have no idea of how Substance D is produced. At the end, Arctor's discovery of it being from a plant makes it even more important what his discovery, after entering the New Path farm, is. In the movie, it's stated in the beginning that they know it is from a plant. This kind of cuts back on the importance of Bob's contribution at the end."
I don't think there is as big a divide between the book and movie on this point as you might think. In the movie they make it very obvious that the plant is the source of the drug, and yes, in the book the authorities do say that the drug is synthesized and not organic. However, there are so many references made to flowers, little flowers that grow in the spring, to make me think that the authorities do know how D is really made. I believe that they are doing their best to program Arctor right from the begining to be able to pick up that plant and bring it back to them, to prove once and for all that New Path is the source of the drug. I think they refrain from telling Arctor this information directly because they believe New Path would sniff it out of him long before they let him near the plants, and either kill him or at least keep him away from the agricultural areas of their operation. Everything is carefully planned with Arctor and he esentially becomes a programmed being by the end of the book and movie, the book is just more subtle.
"The bicycle scene. I remember this as being the three guys trying to help some kid fix his bike, not Barris stealing a bike. There's a big difference there. In the novel, it's three guys trying unsuccessfully to be helpful. In the movie, with Barris having stolen the bike, it's a whole different thing."
This is just wrong both in terms of the book and the movie. In the book Barris claims that he bought the bicycle, in the line "BARRIS: (Standing in the middle of the living room with a great big new shiny bike, very pleased) Look what I got for twenty dollars." This line and the dialogue from the others in the room is virtually identicle to the scene in the movie. They are not trying to be helpful to anyone but themselves in both the book and movie.
The points that I do agree with you on are the scene involving the coke truck, which I thought was brilliant in the book and was completly absent in the movie. I think that might have been due to wanting to get to New Path quickly in the movie and not 'drag out' the ending, or it may have simply been a budget issue, filming and rotoscoping a scene like that would have been somewhat difficult and the movie was made on a very tight budget.
Again, brilliant book and movie, anyone out there who hasn't read the book or seen the movie needs to do both, preferably several times each...
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