Anyone know anything about this new film? Made in Canada by John Harrison in 2003, live action.
It’s playing tomorrow afternoon at the New York International Children’s Film Festival, and I was thinking about taking Banjo and Pianola to see it. I read the book out loud to Banjo (8 yrs old) about a month ago, and he loved it. Read it to Pianola (now 13) several years back, and she loved it too. Hell, I loved it when I was a kid.
It runs close to 2 hours and 20 minutes, I see. The still of Aunt Beast makes her look like a Wookie. Have any Canadian dopers seen it? Does it suck? Is it brilliant?
I read the book four times as a child and once as an adult. It didn’t hold up as well on the fifth reading (how could it?), but I’d still love to see the movie. Hopefully, it will get some distribution.
I don’t wish to be cruel but if your children are Banjo and Pianola I would put the movie money aside for therapy. You may need a few dollars for yourself.
I was going to say “What kid?” The first time I clicked on the link I got a group of alien things. Then I realized the picture randomly changes each time you load the page.
I LOVE that book! I’d like to see the movie, too. Has anyone else read the rest of the series? Their titles are: “A Wind in the Door” “A Swiftly Tilting Planet” and “Many Waters”. I haven’t been able to find the last book for sale in the bookshops I haunt yet, it involes Meg’s twin brothers. Boxed set. Let me know if the movie is any good, please?
My kids are named Rose and Quinn. “Pianola” and “Banjo” were nicknames dubbed by Eve, which I found monstrously clever, so that’s the way I always refer to them on the Board.
Still waiting for input on this film.
I skipped today’s screening, which was all the way up on the Upper Upper West Side, in favor of next weekend’s which is around Union Square. Much more convenient, and we’ll miss the crowds.
I would guess that “A House Like A Lotus” and “An Acceptable Time” are also included in the series, even though they’re about Polly, Meg’s oldest child. I’d like to see the movie. I’m a L"Engle fan.
Does anyone know if Madeleine L’Engle Franklin is still alive? She’s 80-something.
Does it have Whoopi Goldberg in it? I saw a Wrinkle last year which was live action and recent. I wasn’t all that charmed by it, it really wasn’t my vision of the book at all.
Lotus isn’t part of the Wrinkle story arc. It’s described as one of the books which cross and connect the Murry-O’Keefes (Kairos) and the Austins (Chronos) in the endpapers of my old copy of a Ring of Endless Light.
Is this the same one that starred Alfre Woodward as Mrs. Whatsit? I saw a teaser for it on some video (The Grinch?) about a year ago…nothing since then, though. Much to my disappointment.
With my luck, it’ll be one of those things (Like the second Far Side animated special) that’ll never get released in the mainstream U.S. market, and that I’d only be able to find on a probably bootlegged PAL tape on eBay for $50, or something.
An Acceptable Timeis in the series, though, even if A House Like a Lotus isn’t. I saw a box set today…it includes it along with the usual three…part of the “Time Quartet”. AAT does fit there with the other three books quite nicely, even if it is about Polly.
And Madeleine L’Engle is still alive (at least, as of this January). Her website has a greeting from her on the news page.
I’m rather curious about this film, though. I’m almost positive it couldn’t match what I imagined, but I’d like to see if it was a good film all the same.
I was actually lucky enough to meet Ms. L’Engle once…she was at a bookstore when I was upgrading my copies of Wrinkle and (the much superior) Wind in the Door. We had a nice chat about Philip Jose Farmer as I had about 4 of his books in my arms (We both agreed that when he was good he was great, but a lot of his stuff was schlock–especially the early stuff) and she autographed both books for me. Neat lady.
That said, I know nothing of the movie, Aunt Beast does look like a wookie (which is wrong–she’s not supposed to be cute–she should be scary-looking) what’s with the Cantina Band-esque aliens (they’re not from Camazotz—the Camazoids (?) were described as human and they’re not the witches…what other aliens were there?) and whatever happed to that mini-series anyway?
I’ve read Wind in the Door and Swiftly Tilting Planet; I never knew there was a fourth.
Wrinkle was one of my favorite books as a kid. I read it again years later and was disappointed; it didn’t hold up as good as my memory of it. I may have to seek out the rest of her books though.
The books in the Time Quartet are A Wrinkle in Time, A Wind in the Door, A Swiftly Tilting Planet, and Many Waters. These are fairly closely related. They are tied more loosely to other books of L’Engle’s. There’s a chart in my copy of Many Waters explaining the relationship of the books she’s written, including some of her non-fiction works.
I was chair of a convention in 1994 where L’Engle was guest of honor. She was a pleasant person and gave a nice guest of honor speech. Does anyone know if she still does conventions?
This movie was on free-to-air TV here in Aus a few months ago. I was eager to see it as I had always loved the books. It wasn’t great. Rather, it was patchy. I thought Messers Who, Which and Whatsit were well done, also Charles Wallace. Some of the special effects were not so good. The morphing into pegasi looked frankly amateur. OTOH my daughter (who was 6 at the time) was rather taken by it. Judging by her reading tastes, she seems to be a budding F&SF fan.
If you expect the quality of a movie, I don’t think you’ll be best pleased. If you expect the quality of a TV show, you should be pleased.
Okay, so The Arm Of The Starfish, A House Like A Lotus, and A Ring Of Endless Light aren’t part of the Murray/O’Keefe story arc.
I’m sitting here trying to imagine a movie based on Two-Part Invention. I don’t think it could be done. Pity. A Wind In The Door could be cool, though- I want a real live cherubim (“I’m practically plural!”).
