Adaptation Of Book To Film

Published Date: 02 Nov 2017

Adaptation of Book to Film

By:

Name: Savio Fialho

Roll No.: 19

UID No.: 121119

Class: FYBMM

Book Review:

For my Book Review I Shall be giving a review of the book A Game of Thrones, which is the first installment of the Song of Ice & Fire Series which consists of 7 books 5 of which have been released, The book has been Written by George R.R. Martin, he began writing A Game of Thrones in 1991 and finished it in 1996, he is currently writing the 6th book in the Series called

the Winds of Winter.

About The Author:

George R.R. Martin was born on the 20th of September 1948 in New Jersey.

He began writing at a very young age, selling stories and even dramatic readings to neighborhood children for pennies. In 1970 Mr. Martin received a B.S. in Journalism from Northwestern University, Illinois, graduating "summa cum laude" which means with the highest honors. He went on to complete a M.S. in Journalism in the following year from Northwestern University itself. In 1979 Mr. Martin became a full time writer though he also had a career in Hollywood as a Story Editor, Producer and Executive Producer for CBS television and Columbia Pictures working on shows such as The Twilight Zone, Beauty and the Beast and Doorways.

(NB: Information on Mr.Martin was acquired from georgerrmartin.com/life )

Relevant Information:

A Game of Thrones is a fantasy novel of epic proportions as some may say, it is set in the Fictional Continents of Westeros and Essos, the Primary focus in this book being on the happenings in Westeros. The Land of Westeros comprises of 7 Kingdoms that were all conquered and made One Mighty Kingdom Known as the Iron Throne some 300 years before the happenings of this First Book, The Iron Throne was ruled for close to 300 years by a dynasty known as the Targaryens who were the last surviving members from a Kingdom known as Valariya which existed in the adjacent continent of Essos, Aegon Targaryen known as the Conqueror was the first mentioned Member of their dynasty who established their Kingdom.

The Targaryens were Dragon Riders who established their Kingdom and ruled it not on the might of their Military prowess but the sheer Strength of their Dragons which served as mounts for them as a horse did for the knights of the Kingdoms. 100 years before the happenings depicted in A Game of Thrones the last of the Dragons Died out and the Targaryen dynasty’s power began to Diminish. 15 years before the Opening of A Game of Thrones The Targaryen dynasty was overthrown and supposedly exterminated by Robert of House Baratheon with the Aid of Ned Stark and Jon Arryn.

The book is 555 pages in Length.

Synopsis:

A Game of Thrones opens in the land of Westeros a place where Summers Last for years and Winters for decades and to the North of the Continent Stands a 700 ft tall Wall of Stone and Ice known as ‘The Wall’, a land where religions have a great bearing on the people and no technological advancements can be seen, the setting can be said to be somewhat Medieval in the sense that there are Knights and a King and his royal family and his vassals below him.

The 7 Kingdoms of Westeros which are ruled by the Iron Throne have 9 Principal Houses(dynasties) that rule its Various Geographical areas in the name of the Throne.

These Houses being House Stark(North), Tyrell(South), Arryn(East), Lannister(West), Tully(Riverlands), Baratheon(Stormlands), Greyjoy(Iron Islands), Martell(Dorne) Targaryen(Conquerors and Creators of the Iron Throne). The Story opens with a prologue regarding some happenings on the Wall and in the Land of winter beyond it, but the main story revolves around the King Robert Baratheon, members of House Baratheon, Ned(Eddard) Stark and Members of House Stark ,

Tyrion Lannister and members of House Lannister and Danerys and Viserys Targaryen the last surviving members of House Targaryen.

Jon Arryn the Mentor and guardian of Ned Stark and Robert Baratheon was a key member in Robert’s Rebellion against the Targaryen King and so when Robert won the war he Named Jon Arryn a man in the winter of his life the Hand of the King(Chief Advisor, second most powerful man in the Kingdoms), 15 Years later Jon Arryn died from a very sudden Illness attributed to Old Age, King Robert with his Family and Personal Army went North to Winterfell the Castle Seat of House Stark to meet Ned Stark, and on arrival asked him to take Jon Arryn’s place as Hand of the King (Chief Advisor), the plot thickens when Jon Arryn’s wife, who is Sister to Ned Stark’s Wife send Ned and his wife Catelyn a secret letter stating that she believed her husband did not die naturally but was killed by members of House Lannister, King Robert’s wife Queen Cersei was a Member of House Lannister and as such Lannisters populated the Kings Court.

Ned Stark due to the Persuasion of his wife goes South as Hand of the King with the King with the purpose of finding out the truth regarding Jon Arryn’s death who was like a second father to him and his Sister-in-Law’s husband. The entirety of the first book is based on Ned’s quest for truth, the Lannister’s activities during this time and the happenings in Danerys Targaryens life in Essos(the other continent) during the same time.

He went south with two of his daughters and a 100 of his own men, yet none of them ever returned. The Lannister’s had Jon Arryn murdered, then King Robert murdered and Ned Stark framed as a member of the plot to Capture the Throne from King Robert’s son and executed publicly. In Response to his Imprisonment his Son a boy of 14 Raised his Father’s Vassals and Bannermen and marched to War to bring his father and sisters back, on behest of Catelyn Stark(Wife of Ned Stark) her Father and Brother, the Lord and heir of the Riverlands raised their Vassals and Bannermen to arms joining the forces of the North and in the following books the War that was to be waged shall be shown.

The Book Ends in a Kind of Ironic way, on the other continent Essos, Danerys Targaryen the last surviving member of her Dynasty was married to a Warlord who possessed an army of 100,000 Cavalry, but to her dismay her husband died after his wounds from battle festered and made him infirm and incapable, her son his rightful heir to their Khalasar (Warring Kingdom having no castle or lands only the standing army that moved about the continent sacking cities and sustaining off whatever they took from the natives of those places) died in Child Birth, the Army followed the powerful and so when her Husband Khal Drogo became infirm, incapable and bed ridden and his heir died the entire Khalasar broke off leaving behind only the sick, old, feeble and few loyalists to her and her husband. Even though the Dragons that had brought her Dynasty to power were gone from the world, she had in her possession 3 of their dragon eggs which she laid on her husband’s funeral pyre to go with him into the afterlife, as the fires rose she walked into the fire to the screams shouts and horror of her people, probably to end her life, when the fires burnt down to embers her people who were mourning her death were astonished to see her standing amonst the ashes of burnt logs her body Untouched by the fire, her hair and clothes burnt away but her body Intact and around her feet three huge Cracked eggs and shielding her body and head with their wings Three Baby Dragons.

Analysis:

The Iron Throne was taken from the Targaryens in Robert’s rebellion and Robert was crowned King, on Jon Arryn’s death, Eddard Stark was offered his position of Hand of the King (Chief Advisor, Second most powerful Position in the realm), Ned Stark was forewarned that the Lannisters (Queen’s House or dynasty) were involved in Jon Arryn’s murder and so he took the Duty of Hand of the King to find the truth. The Lannisters seem to be scheming to take over the Iron Throne, In Essos the last surviving members of House Targaryen (Previous Rulers) are plotting to retake their throne, Viserys Targaryen’s plot revolved around Marrying his sister Danerys to Khal Drogo a warlord with a massive standing army, so that he may gain that army’s allegiance and use it to invade the Iron Throne. With Robert Baratheon and Eddard Stark’s Deaths Robert’s Brother Renly Baratheon, Eddard’s son Robert or Robb Stark(The King’s namesake) and the Lannisters in support of the Queen’s son all raised the Vassals and Bannerman to arms and readied for War, Houses Tyrell, & Tully raised their Troops in support of Houses Baratheon and Stark respectively, House Greyjoy , House Martell and House Arryn all raised their troops but kept them ready Defensively, The Whole Realm seemed like a Powder Keg and The Death of the King and His Hand was all the Spark required.

Meanwhile to the North at the Wall the Night’s watch was facing an enemy long thought to have been vanquished, The Undead or the White Walkers, The Night’s Watch white was once a great Military force of Soldiers and Knights that kept the Realm of Men Safe from the Undead that plagued the Land on Ice beyond the Wall which was the point of End of the known World for the people of Westeros, the Night’s Watch had Diminished to a Force of a Thousand men few noble and even fewer honorable, ‘The Wall’ guarded and held by Rapists, Murderers, thieves and criminals, as well as the disinherited and illegitimate children of Lords great and small.

In A Game of Thrones George RR Martin makes it seem as though women have a small role to play as wives and lovers, yet it is the plotting and intrigue of the women of the Houses that has the greatest bearing on the entire story, another feature of Mr. Martin’s work here is that he gives this fantasy novel a great deal of realism by showing that bad things happen to Good People as well, he kills off Key Characters now and then which is what is absent in a usual fantasy story, he shows as that the great warrior who is noble, honorable and just need not be the leader that protects the people, Knights are just men, men are what their words and actions make them and Words Are Wind. Mr. Martin gives a great deal of attention to detail, each and every character even if only mentioned once in the story can be vividly pictured in one’s mind thanks to the detailed portrayal he gives. To quote Varys the Master of Whispers a character from the book,

"Power is a Curious Thing, It lay where men believe it to be."

A great deal of violence, sexual depiction, plotting and scheming as well and honorable, incestuous, innocent and sad, just, noble and kind behavior is part of A Game of Thrones, and the storyline does make for a compelling read. The Entire Story is told in the Third Person through the point of view of various characters, by the end of A Game of Thrones 8 character’s viewpoints are shown to us the events that these viewpoints depict are sometimes happening simultaneously and sometimes months apart. The Characterization is creative and highly innovative and as stated before done in great detail. The Language of A Game of Thrones I believe is of a medieval nature with some words simply created by Mr. Martin himself, I say medieval because the entire setting has a great influence from the way the Lords and the Knights speak in a regal and elegant way, whereas the commoner has a slang and gruff version of their language, a lot of other languages are depicted in the book, The Common Tongue of Westrosi, Pentoshi, Dothranki, Bravosii, Valaryian, but unlike fantasy series like the Lord of The Rings where a detailed elven language was created and displayed, Mr. Martin simply makes a note of the language a character is speaking and then renders the same in English, as for the words he has created examples could be Ser for a Knight instead of Sir, Turncloak instead of Turncoat, Septon for Priest and Maegi for Herb woman.

In my opinion the Theme of A Game of Thrones is the Struggle for Power, and everything that comes with it, violence, deceit, treachery, shows of strength, courage, fear and every imaginable emotion, to quote Cersei Lannister a character in the Book, "When you play the Game of Thrones, You either Win or You Die," and as mentioned before "Power is a Curious Thing, it lay where men believe it to be."

Film Review (Show Review) :

Game of Thrones is a Fantasy television Series made by HBO which aired in America on the 17th of April 2011, Its first season is based on the book of the Same name by George R.R. Martin

so far two seasons have been aired and the third one is to be released in March 2013.

About The Director:

Game of Thrones does not have a director per say but two developers David Benioff & D.B.Weiss who work on adapting the storyline and screenplay based on the Series a Song of Ice and Fire by George RR Martin.

Here is a small write up about them and their work.

David Benioff was born David Friedman in New York City .

While working as a high school English teacher, he wrote the book called The 25th Hour and received positive recognition for the book. He later adapted the book into a screenplay, which was filmed starring Edward Norton and was directed by Spike Lee. He then wrote a collection of short stories titled When the Nines Roll Over (And Other Stories) in 2004. Benioff drafted a screenplay of the epic Troy (2004) for which Warner Bros pictures paid him $2.5 million. He was hired in 2004 to write the screenplay for the X-Men spin-off X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009), and worked on the script for three years. In 2008, his second novel, City of Thieves was published. He is working with D.B.Weiss as executive producer, Showrunner and writer on Game of Thrones, HBO’s adaptation of George R.R. Martin’s Series A Song of Ice & Fire.

Daniel B. Weiss is an American author. His debut novel Lucky Wander Boy was themed around video games and he has since been linked with the screen adaptations of various science-fiction and fantasy stories. He has expressed an interest in writing for video games. He works on the Screen play of Game of Thrones with David Benioff.

(N.B.: Source Wikipedia)

Show Review:

To quote Joel Williams(CNN) -

"The series, set in the fictional continents of Westeros and Essos at the end of a decade-long summer, interweaves several plot lines. The first follows the members of several noble houses in a civil war for the Iron Throne of the Seven Kingdoms; the second covers the rising threat of the impending winter and the mythical creatures of the North; the third chronicles the attempts of the exiled last scion of the realm's deposed dynasty to reclaim the throne. Through its morally ambiguous characters, the series explores issues of social hierarchy, religion, civil war, sexuality, crime and punishment. It is the most recent big-budget work to have contributed to the popularity of the fantasy genre in mainstream media."

In my Opinion the story seems a bit crunched into the episodes of the first season but I suppose that there was even more to offer but after editing which is a necessary evil in-order to make the series commercially viable it is made what it is, still brings a great deal of overwhelming visual magnificence to it all, there is a great deal of depiction of hedonism, debauchery and incest as well as lustful and deceitful behavior shown which I imagine was a given of the medieval times which this series shows, yet such acts and behavior have never come to light in reality.

In the Television series I believe that one of the key elements are the Stark Children’s Direwolf, they add a sort of cuteness at first and then as they grow a sort of ferocity and regality to each of the Stark Children, the buildings and Structures shown in the series truly do show the dedication the production team put in to make it as I would like to say "Seem Legit".

Adaptation:

In my own opinion the Series gives us a visual picture of the vividly depicted characters and places given in the novel, it is a visual treat to watch in terms of the Landscapes depicted, the castles, ‘The Wall’ and the attention to detail paid in attributing to the characters on screen the details given to them in the novel which is done with excellence, a lot of information that was given in the novel regarding happenings in Winterfell and Kings Landing (Two Castle cities where events mainly transpired) have been left out in the series, an example of the same can be the opening episode, while the prologue to the first chapter states that members of the Night’s Watch are out under the command of the Lordling Ser Waymar Royce and how he dies fighting the Others with their Ice blades against whom he found difficulty in simply parrying and keeping the sword work up, the series simply shows a huge shadowy creature and a scream followed by a man of the Night’s Watch running for his life, while reading the prologue gave me goose pimples and raised my interest in the series from the initial pages itself the show’s first episode simply left me dissatisfied, and I would like to state that I first watched the Television series’ first season and then read the first book. After watching the series I have noted that a great deal of vulgarity and sexual acts that have been openly shown in the Series, were not even portrayed in the book but simply described as making love or Consummating their Wedding or "The Bedding", I believe that such titillating visuals are used simply to attract audiences that are looking for cheap pleasure in viewing sexual acts rather than viewing a fictional "work of art" as some have called it, the sound track and visuals have certainly enhanced the audiences enticement towards the series but perhaps if they had focused more on sticking with the content and not making changes/ skipping integral parts there would be an even greater surge in viewership but in the process of making it commercially viable a lot of minor details and happenings in chapters are left out that make the series somewhat incomplete for those who have read the novel besides watching the Television Series, though the Television Series truly has galvanized people’s attention towards the Ice & Fire Series of novels which was a success in fantasy fiction circles but which had not hit as mass an audience as it has now after the Promotion and attention the television series has brought to it.