Jim Williams

Catcher In The Rye

Does anyone know if there is a specific reason why this great literary classic has never been made into a film?

BrianB

Because the Salinger family don't want it to? That'd be my guess.

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JustinCleveland

I don't know how it could be, since it was such a perspective-subjective book. Great, but it would be tough to adapt.

Adam Lenhardt

Any film version would have to either significantly alter the narrative of the book, downplay the emotional arc of the lead, or severely downplay both.
Besides, Salinger's never been a big fan of the movies.

If you want a movie with a similiar emotional resonance, check out Royal Tenenbaums

Bill J

I don't think Holden Caulfield would like that very much.

Morgan Jolley

AFAIK, J.D. Salinger is still alive.

This book would be extremely difficult to accurately translate. The problem with some books is the amount of internal monologue and narration. What takes 10 pages of a book might just be a few seconds in a movie after you remove all the extraneous descriptions and internal monologue. This causes the movie to suck in comparison.

The movie version of "Breakfast of Champions" sucks because the book goes off on tangents that can't be represented in a movie. The same problem would affect "Catcher in the Rye."

BTW, I heard that Taxi Driver was LOOSELY based on CitR.

Bill J

Yeah, I am pretty sure Salinger is still alive. I remember hearing that he is a recluse and avoids almost all human contact.

andrew markworthy

If I remember correctly, Salinger has specifically refused to permit any adaptations of his book. Although you said it as a joke, Bill, Salinger gave your argument as one of his reasons.

Seth--L

Bill is correct. Salinger is alive and does not want his novel turned into a movie.

He also is an eccentric recluse. Supposedly he's on some goofy diet where all he eats is red meat.



It's The Searchers which Taxi Driver is bassed off of.

Well - There it is.
My Music Collection

larry mac

There are some movies that either used the book or the Holden character as part of the plot. The recent movie The Good Girl with Jennifer Anniston is one. The 2001 movie Chasing Holden is another.

The problem of internal monologue has also plagued many of Steven Kings movies, especially the early ones. The Shining is a good example. Please correct me if I'm mistaken, it's been a long time since I read the book or saw the movie. In the book, the first 10 or 20 pages consist of Jack's "thoughts" while driving his car. In the movie, he's just driving his car. This takes place during the beginning credits (I think). In any case, the viewer gets nothing of the book here. I personally thought The Shining (the movie) was a very poor translation of a Steven King book. A very good one, The Green Mile.

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Member Morgan Jolley,

Where or what is the Scootplex?

Morgan Jolley

Larry -

Look through the HTF meets pages. The ones involving Scooter (my father) should have some pics of the Scootplex. My bedroom is right above the Scootplex.

Randall Dorr

This was discussed previously.

8 Ball gave it a 9:
Yo, Martin and Will are my boys, you know what I\'m saying? They make jokes I understand. The car chase is dope! I give it a 9 but I\'m still 8 Ball.
-user review of Bad Boys II from Metacritic.com


guzzlefish