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Post by Claire on Jun 27, 2017 23:28:11 GMT 1
As part of our Summer Reading Challenge this year we are comparing books and their film versions. There are 2 alternatives (or you can do both if you so desire). The other book/film tie in is The Black StallionThis thread compares the book Odds Against by Dick Francis with the TV show adaptation, The Racing Game Discussion runs from now until the end of the challenge at the end of September. Join in any time. Let us know what you thought of both book and film and how far the TV series is true to the book/how the two compare. There are 3 sections of the poll to vote in: a rating for the book itself, a rating for the TV show and also whether or not you think the screen adaptation is true to the book. Have fun!
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Post by garej on Jul 19, 2017 22:02:02 GMT 1
For some reason it only let me vote once. I dunno whether it was because I am on my phone.
I would give the book 4 stars and the film 3 stars. Mainly because I thought that the dvd was the book made into a series rather than one Dick Francis book per episode. As a consequence a lot of the book was cut out. The boiler sequence wasn't totally as per book. However I feel that the tv episode was fairly true to the book.
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Post by Claire on Jul 26, 2017 19:04:22 GMT 1
Sorry Garej, I stupidly forgot to change the number of answers to 3. Unfortunately proboards does not let one edit a poll so I had to remove it and put it in again properly, so you should be able to vote in all 3 sections now!
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Post by rallycairn on Jul 29, 2017 3:31:39 GMT 1
Ok, I read the book first and it is certainly a very, very good Francis -- who is always good, IMO, so that is very good indeed. It's funny, though, I remembered there was a Francis in which the hero was saving a racecourse being sabotaged and under threat of hostile takeover, but I didn't remember that it was the first Sid Halley. Anyway, I enjoyed the book start to finish, love the re-awakening of a zest for living in Sid, like his relationship with his father-in-law (soon to be former father-in-law), and of course his developing rapport with Chico.
The TV series (I only watched the first episode to keep it fresh in my mind) is very good but not fantastic, at least when judging only the first episode. I was glad I had just read the book, for if I hadn't I'm not sure I could have followed everything -- it really galloped along. Overall I think the episode captured the essence of both the plot and the feel/tone of the book. However, there were quite a few small to middling changes -- no Hunt Radnor and so no boss or staff of Hunt Radnor, Sid's funk was only about 3 months long rather than going on a couple of years, not opening with a gunshot to the gut, minor differences in how Charles humiliates Sid at his dinner party. Greatly shortened "cat and mouse" chase at the racecourse, and Sid's torture is shorter. Sid is also a bit more haphazard in some of his detective work (mainly his search of Kray/Graves' room). Most of the sabotage of the race course was mentioned "off stage" rather than shown, except the mirror incident, and that was altered a bit.
I had vague memories of Mike Gwilym as pasty with forehead for miles and an overly angsty mien. Now that impression (from watching this as a kid) has completely changed! To my adult eyes his performance is great, and now I find him pretty attractive, too. He conveyed a lot with his facial expressions, he really seems like the Sid of the books -- his accent and manner do a great job of suggesting a person from a working class background who is smart and skilled and disciplined. Mick Ford's Chico is cheeky and quick-witted and a cool customer as well. What a pair. The casting of those two is the main strength of the series for me.
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Post by Claire on Jul 29, 2017 22:08:43 GMT 1
THE POST CONTAINS SOME MILD SPOILERS.
Interesting comments Rally. I haven't had a chance to watch the TV show yet. The book I enjoyed, it's a re-read for me, although quite a while since I read it and I found I misremembered a couple of things. The crime/mystery plot of the takeover of Seabury Racecourse is not the most compelling but the character of Sid is I think Francis' best. Although Sid, like most of the author's heroes, is a little too heroic and rather too goof to be true, he has more flaws and is more self-critical than most, which makes him more relatable. Francis describes depression and the coming out of it very well. You really do feel for Sid and what he has been through. I do however think that Sid made too much of the unattractiveness of his hand, I would think that his inability to race again would have been much more in his mind than what his hand looked like. I really enjoyed the dynamics between Sid and Charles and Sid and Chico. Before reading this for the Challenge, I also seemed to remember Jenny being in this book (and being a total bitch) but that obviously happens in the next one in the series! One of the reasons I like this book is that it avoids the main pitfall (in my opinion) of many of the Francis books, which is the rather awkward stock romances which tend to rear their heads at some point in the stories. For the most part these seem superfluous to the plot and rather irritating. However in this one there is a sort of semi-romance with the scarred girl (whose name I have unfortunately forgotten) which is really pertinent to the plot (as it helps Sid get overs his pre-occupation with his disability) and is in fact rather sweet. I think it's a pity the two of them didn't get together in the end. For anyone who has read this one and enjoyed it, the next two books in the series are really worth reading. Come to Grief, the third book is IMHO Francis' best book of all although it is quite different from all the others, less of a stock crime romp and more of a psychological exploration of friendship, betrayal and wrongful accusations. However it does contain some fairly upsetting scenes of animal cruelty - so be warned. Francis revisited the character of Sid many years later with the book Under Orders - which I found a bit disappointing. If not quite as bad as the belated sequel to K.M.P's Flambards series, Flambards Divided, it was in my opinion not really a worthy addition to the series. If anyone else has read it I'd be interested to know if you thought it was up to scratch or not. Will come back and add my views of the TV show when I've finally had a chance to watch it!
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Post by rallycairn on Sept 11, 2017 20:36:47 GMT 1
Just a bump to encourage more to comment! Please share your reactions to either book or TV show!
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Post by darkhorse on Oct 25, 2017 20:22:32 GMT 1
I joined in this later on, due to illness at the time of the Reading Challenge. I really enjoyed the book, I found it was more emotianally complex and had more depth than most detective genre I've read. I really liked the character of Sid and his relationships with Chico and Charles. I will probably read the other books in the series now. I watched the TV show on Youtube which perhaps wasn't the best quality. I found it quite true to the book, with the differences that Rallycairn already pointed out the main discrepancies. I also found the actor playing the part of Sid really good and believable as Sid. On the other hand, compared to modern dramas it seemed rather dated and over-melodramatic. Interesting spotting some well-known actors looking very young!
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