what was the name of the rock eater in never ending story? thanks
In the book (which preceded the movie by a number of years), the character of the rock chewer was named “Pyornkrachzark.” No, I did not know this from memory–I had to look it up.
In the movie, the character is only referred to as “Rock Biter.”
Pyornkrachzark.
How did it end?
Eh. I got nothin’.
Interestingly enough, in the original his name is Pjörnrachzarck (no ‘k’). Since it seems so much like the name is meant to sound foreign (and vaguely Northeastern European) the change seems kind of odd.
The Big Red Rock Eater, of course. 
Well, if you’re my age, you’ll get that reference. Kids these days don’t know the classics.
Hah! I knew it from memory, but I couldn’t have spelled it. And he lived in a mountain range that was called the Cheezy-Wheezies because it resembled Swiss cheese. The book is roughly 1000000000000000000000 times better than the movie.
[SUB]What? It’s one of my favourite books, and the naming thing in the movie was stupid, and didn’t include the Old Man of Wandering Mountain. So it sucked.[/SUB]
I don’t remember the movie but, well, I couldn’t finish the book. I tried for a month.
I’m obviously a heretic.
Are you being serious or was that a reference to the title?
I’m being serious. I kept going back to it to try to finish, but I thought it was pretty much unreadable. I got to the lion and gave up. It was disappointing in that lots of people think it’s a great book.
I understand entirely. The book radically changes tone halfway through (the first half being more-or-less what was made into the movie), and the change can be very jarring. I did end up finishing it, but it took me rather a while.
I read it when I was nine, and the change is jarring at any age. I really like the later bits, though. Maybe if you treat it as two separate storires? I recommend Momo, since I know you like Diana Wynne Jones and Robin McKinley. It’s got more follow-through.
So the book is worth reading?
I just saw the movie recently, and I can’t express how unimpressed I was. It wasn’t the genre; I usually like movies like of that type. It wasn’t the special effects; although they were crude by today’s standards, I can put that aside knowing the time in which it was filmed.
It was directed by Wolfgang Petersen, and I have always considered him to be a professional (albeit workmanlike) director in his US career. But this just seemed like a string of first takes thrown together with terrible editing, and with a cheesy soundtrack that had no relation to the events on the screen. The sound mix was very muddy, although that might just have been a DVD transfer issue. I’m wondering whether this film had to be made with no budget, and this is the best that he could afford.
Incidentally, IMDB shows this as “Die Unendliche Geschichte” as the primary title. Was this filmed in German and dubbed? It didn’t seem that way to me, but that might explain why so much of the dialogue seemed so flat.
The book is so worth reading. I want to be buried with my copy. It’s been my favourite book since I read it three years ago. I’d seen the film as a child, but I had no recollection of the plot, so I didn’t know what to expect when I started. Upon seeing the movie again, I have to say that it really isn’t all that bad. Yes, it differs terribly from the novel. In fact, I could rant on and on about just how different it is. BUT, if you look at it as just a fantasy film based on The Neverending Story, then it’s not horrific. I beg everyone who’s a fan a the film to read the book though. You won’t regret it.
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Err, maybe you will, actually. However, I question the literary taste of anyone who a hard time reading the book in question. Different strokes for different folks, I guess. >_>;
Also, has anyone here read the German version? How good is the translation in comparison? I’ve always secretly wanted to learn German just so I could read Ende’s work in it’s original form.
Truthfully, I haven’t read an English version in a long time; not since I was about 10 or 12 years old. I first got a German copy from my brother about 10 years ago and I’ve read it several times since then.
I don’t feel there’s anything particularly about Ende’s language or style that really needs to be read in German. It is written to be readable by children, so it’s relatively uncomplicated. There’s not a whole lot lost any more than would be lost in any translation. There is definitely a bit of cultural flavor that could possibly add some richness, but that doesn’t really require learning the language. It is mostly a fantasy book and thematically universal so even that is a pretty minor part; plus, European (and some former colonial) cultures are not so very different .
But far be it from me to stop you from learning German anyway.
(Only one thing to note - Die unendliche Geschichte was written by a man named ‘Ende’, which is sort of funny)
Charming.
I didn’t say that at all. While I was reading the first part, I was very impressed. And upon eventually finishing the second part, I was also very impressed. It was, in fact, a very good book, and I don’t at all regret having read it. But I can also understand how a person might get a bit snagged at the middle, and need some encouragement to finish (which, on re-reading my earlier post, I see I didn’t actually give: I meant to).
I didn’t mean to offend any of you. If it wasn’t already clear from my post, I’m a rabid fanboy when it comes to The Neverending Story. I apologise if you felt insulted by my vastly biased comments, but they weren’t directed at anyone in particular nor should they have been taken seriously. So, uh, yeah… sorry.
And thank you so much, panamajack, for the info.
I’ve never actually seen the english edition.
However, I had the hardcover edition in german. I loved the way the two “worlds” were divided (copper and green-colored ink) and the pictures they used to start each chapter. I don’t know whether they kept the lettering; however one of the major points (to me) was that the first word of each chapter was in an alphabetical sequence.
So many points were lost in the translation to the screen… not the least of which was imagining every character in the book (my “lucky dragon” didn’t look like Fuchur in the movie AT ALL).
And of course, the book has the first “shape shifting” villain I ever read about. If I remember it correctly, its name was something like “Ymir the Multiple”; it was a hive of poisonous insects who, by their sting, granted you instantaneous teleportation to any place you wished, though you had just one hour (I think) left to live.
Ygramul the Many. Awesome character. A cloud of steel-blue insects, with a powerful venomous sting.
“If you wasn’t wearing the Gem”, she wheezed, “We’d eat you up, just to have peace and quiet. Sakes alive!”
Yeah, Falkor doesn’t look remotely like a big smiley dog. He’s a dragon with pearly scales and ruby-red eyes, ridden by Atreyu, who’s supposed to be green. Stupid movie. And the movie doesn’t have Xayide, or Perelin the Night Forest, or Yor’s Minroud!
/rabid fangirl mode off