Stephen King Best Adaptations - The Shawshank Redemption (1994)

Even with the first book, Carrie, Stephen King had been translated into movies and so, there are many of his works that have been adapted for the screen... here's looking at some of the best....



The Shawshank Redemption (1994)
The Shawshank Redemption on imdb.com
Stars: Tim Robbins, Morgan Freeman, Bob Gunton, William Sadler, Clancy Brown, Gil Bellows, Mark Rolstion, James Whitmore.
Screenplay: Frank Darabont (adapted from Stephen King's novella 'Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption')
Director: Frank Darabont

   
Andy Dufresne is a young and successful banker whose life changes drastically when he is convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder of his wife and her lover. Set in the 1940's, the film shows how Andy, with the help of his friend Red, the prison entrepreneur, turns out to be a most unconventional prisoner.


Nothing I can say about this film will do it justice... I've read the novella and I saw the film and all I can say is, its a beautiful story... both King's novella and Darabont's screen-rendition of it. Remarkable performances from Robbins and Freeman, impeccable direction from Darabont. Undoubtedly the film that started a new era in King-adaptation.


My favorite exchange in the movie is almost at the end:
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1967 Parole Hearings Man: Ellis Boyd Redding, your files say you've served 40 years of a life sentence. Do you feel you've been rehabilitated? 
Red: Rehabilitated? Well, now let me see. You know, I don't have any idea what that means.
1967 Parole Hearings Man: Well, it means that you're ready to rejoin society...
Red: I know what *you* think it means, sonny. To me it's just a made up word. A politician's word, so young fellas like yourself can wear a suit and a tie, and have a job. What do you really want to know? Am I sorry for what I did?
1967 Parole Hearings Man: Well, are you?
Red: There's not a day goes by I don't feel regret. Not because I'm in here, or because you think I should. I look back on the way I was then: a young, stupid kid who committed that terrible crime. I want to talk to him. I want to try and talk some sense to him, tell him the way things are. But I can't. That kid's long gone and this old man is all that's left. I got to live with that. Rehabilitated? It's just a bullshit word. So you go on and stamp your form, sonny, and stop wasting my time. Because to tell you the truth, I don't give a shit. 
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Cheers,
Javed Afridi
http://javedafridiblog.blogspot.com

Stephen King Best Adaptations - The Mist (2007)

Even with the first book, Carrie, Stephen King had been translated into movies and so, there are many of his works that have been adapted for the screen... here's looking at some of the best.



The Mist (2007)
The Mist on imdb.com
Stars: Thomas Jane, Marcia Gay Harden, Laurie Holden, Andre Braugher, Toby Jones, William Sadler, Jeffrey DeMunn, Alexa Davalos, Frances Sternhagen.
Screenplay: Frank Darabont (adapted from Stephen King's novella 'The Mist')
Director: Frank Darabont

   

David Drayton, his son Billy, and their neighbor Brent Norton head to the local grocery store to replenish supplies following a freak storm. Once there, they and other local citizens are trapped by a strange mist that has enveloped the town and in which strange creatures are lurking. As the mist takes its toll on the nerves of those trapped in the store, a religious zealot, Mrs. Carmody begins to play on their fears to convince them that this is God’s vengeance for their sins and that a sacrifice must be made and two groups—those for and those against—are aligned. When it is realized that staying in the store may prove fatal, a small group including the Draytons, store employee Ollie Weeks, Amanda Dumfries, Irene Reppler, and Dan Miller attempt to make their escape. They find that what’s “out there” may be worse than what they left behind.


Frank Darabont brings to life yet another masterpiece from the King of fiction. The Mist, as a novella, was one of my earliest reads from Stephen King and after reading it, I had been unable to read anything else for days... that taste was in my mouth and would allow nothing else to get my attention. When I heard about the movie coming out not too long ago, and that it was directed by Frank Darabont, I couldn't wait.

Darabont does a very good job yet again, fast paced, suspenseful and does not deviate much from the original story that King penned. Thomas Jane is convincing as Drayton, Toby Jones shines out as Ollie, Gay-Harden is scary as the preachy Mrs. Carmody. The effects are brilliant and so are the camera angles. It is not yet another creature movie or end-of-the-world movie, this has KING/DARABONT stamped all over it... fresh, riveting and nerve-wracking.

Some memorable quotes from the film:
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Amanda Dunfrey: You don't have much faith in humanity, do you? 
Dan Miller: None, whatsoever. 
Amanda Dunfrey: I can't accept that. People are basically good; decent. My god, David, we're a civilized society. 
David Drayton: Sure, as long as the machines are working and you can dial 911. But you take those things away, you throw people in the dark, you scare the shit out of them - no more rules.
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Ollie: I killed her. 
David Drayton: Thank you Ollie. 
Ollie: I killed her. I wouldn't have done that if there had been any other way. 
David Drayton: That's why I said thank you. 
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Cheers,
Javed Afridi
http://javedafridiblog.blogspot.com