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I just got through reading 'AMERICAN PSYCHO'...my goodness! (1 Viewer)

Inspector Hammer!

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I just now finished reading this notorious book after picking up a copy this past Tuesday, and my goodness gracious, it's status as one of the most hated and controversial book's of the 90's is well deserved.

It was a very good book, involving, i'll say that, but man oh man when it got down and dirty with the murders, I simply couldn't beleive some of the stuff I was reading, truly and utterly horrible acts that one must read to beleive! No film could be made that would top the images that I was forming in my own mind while reading this, nor do I want to ever see one.

Of all the unspeakable acts portrayed in the book, the one that got to me the most, and I still haven't shaken and won't for awhile, was when he stabbed the little boy in the throat at the zoo.
:frowning::frowning:

Indeed, the film is a pleasant dream and Christian Bale's 'Patrick Bateman' a saint compared to the book. Also, it actually worked in my favour that I saw the film first because as I was reading the book, it was Christian Bale's face that I saw which allowed me to form a better mental image of this inhuman monster.

If you haven't done so, I would recommend giving this a read, but it is one tough book to get through. I don't know from what dark reaches of Bret Easton Ellis' mind this story sprung, but I just thank God that it's fiction. I've read many books in my life, but it'll be awhile before I fully shake this one.
 

DanielM

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agreed it is the only book Ive ever had to put down for a second or two while I caught my breath..it is a great book though.
 

TheoGB

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I thought it was a good book, though the ending lacked something.

If it helps you at all,you can remind youself it's all a dream.
 

JonZ

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I thought that it was certain he had in fact commited the murders. It wasnt a dream

I got the book awhile ago but its in a box in my basement while I work on the house. I havent had the chance to read it yet.
 

Magnus T

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I'm actually reading the book right now for the first time. I've gotten to page 250. If Pat Bateman hadn't mentioned what people wear down to the last detail the book could've been a hundred pages. :)

I really liked the chapter with Sean Bateman and would've actually have liked to see James Van Der Beek in the movie. Just one question about that. In the Rules of Attraction movie (haven't read the book) Sean says in the end that he lied when he said he went to New York for the summer but instead spent his time at his parents farm. But doesn't Sean and Pat Batemans father "practically own" Pierce and Pierce?

Anyway, I REALLY like the book so far. One thing that is very obvious to me is that the book is a huge critique of consumerism and the yuppies in the 80's. Something I think the 2000 movie fails miserably to convey. Anyone agree?
 

Inspector Hammer!

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Magnus,
I actually found the book and the film to be very similar in that respect, but the book obviously articulates itself more. The film got those themes across to me very nicely, before I even read the book.

Your so right about the way Bateman explains fashions in the book. Not only is this book one of the most disturbing things i've ever read, but it's also a genuin what's what of exactly what people in that circle were wearing in the 80's.
 

Magnus T

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Well, John, I just found the movie to focus much more on the "Psycho" part, not the "American" part. Yes, you do have that scene in the movie where they compare business cards and I'm glad they kept the stuff about "Dorsia" intact, the Mecca of restaurants. :)

BUT, *I* think the movie fails to show the COMPLETE insanity of Pat Bateman. I obviously am aware of the fact there was no way in the hell the filmmakers could've got the clearance for all the brands of clothes and what not, but still I don't think Pat Batemans fixation of all things shallow came completely across.

Anyway... the scene with Tom Cruise is pretty hilarious. I loved him in "Bartender". :D
 

Inspector Hammer!

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Alright, however one can't discount the many other scene's in the film...

Bateman's obsessive daily grooming regiment that displays his vanity, he thinks of himself as the perfect male specimen.

His constantly comparing what other's have against what he has..."When I get to Paul Allens place I use the key's I took from his pocket before disposing of the body, there is a moment of sheer panic, when I realized that his overlooks the park, and is obviously more expensive than mine."

His apartment being obsessivley clean and his need for constant order, his losing his cool about the use of coasters and putting the ice cream spoon in the carton rather than on the table.

Also during the meeting when he's inner-monologuing on the similarities between himself and Marcus Halbastram, he says "Although I have a slightly better haircut."

And the scene in bed with Christie and Sabrina after their harrowing three-way, he tells Christie "Don't touch the watch.".

Lastly, his reaction when Christie kicks him in the face, his is the reaction of a man who believes this woman has just commited the ultimate crime against perfection.

So the shallowness themes are there, but I do agree to an extent that the film doesn't articulate them as well as the book. Boy does the book EVER articulate, and articulate and articulate, and just when you thought it couldn't possibly articulate any further...;)

That's one of the things I liked about it, though. :emoji_thumbsup:

And oh yes, I FULLY agree that the film doesn't portray Bateman's psychosis as the book does, not even close, if it did, it would be the bloodiest and most disturbing film in the history of cinema. :eek:
 

Richard Travale

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Yeah, there were points during the book that I actually felt nauseous.
I recommend reading his other books as well.

Plus, look at Ellis' picture on the back of the books. He is easily the model for Bateman and the Less than Zero character Clay.
 

JonZ

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I'm not gonna put this in spoiler tags - POSSIBLE SPOILER ABOUT THE FILM, DONT READ THIS IS YOU DONT WANT TO KNOW.....


Theo,actually most people who see the film think the opposite,that it is in fact a dream. Concerning the film,Ive never agreed with that. Most people, especially the J6pack type (I know thats a bad term but..)think it was a dream . At a poll on a weightlifting forum I visit,I was the only one out of a dozens and dozens who didnt view the film as a dream of Batemans.

I dont understand why everyone simply views it as a dream. Without giving anything away,everyone seems to cling to a scene at the end with the lawyer as proof of it being a dream, but through out the movie we are shown examples of "why the lawyer thinks what he does".

I think that aspect of the film went over most peoples head because people seemt to think its proof of a dream, when IMHO it drives home one of the points, the film criticises.(which John W touches on a bit)

I really like the movie, you should check it out.
 

Micah Cohen

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It's a masterpiece of satire, the best book about the 80s and my NYC peers and their mindlessness yet written. It's a masterpiece on par with Dostoyevski's "Notes From Underground."

I have spoken.

Nothing everyone else has not said here in this great thread. I always had a secret hope that no one would notice this masterpiece, and it could be mine alone. Mine mine mine.

It's not a book I would ever loosely recommend, tho. :D

This is not an exit.

MC
 

Chris Bardon

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Great book, and you're right about it being infinitely more disturbing than the movie. I'd already seen the movie, but then a friend showed me a bit about a hamster and some acid, which blew away anything they did on film.

If you want to check out something even harder to follow though, give Glamarama a shot. Similar to Psycho in tone, but set in the 90s, and even weirder.
 

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