Boccs t1_j2bzno3 wrote on December 31, 2022 at 3:04 AM

Reply to comment by opiate_lifer in TIL Frankenstein did not have a hunchback assistant called Igor in either Mary Shelley's novel or the original Universal and Hammer films. The character is a pastiche of multiple characters across several movies. by BringsHomeBones

Right up there with the adaptation of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde in terms of "missing the point of the book" since in the book Jekyll's serum didn't do anything to his personality at all, only temporarily changed his appearance. It's just under the safety of anonymity Dr. Jekyll was allowed to do all the awful hedonistic shit he wanted to do normally but couldn't because it would damage his reputation as a proper Victorian gentleman. No personality disorders, no change of mentality, just a guy who found out how to be an asshole without people knowing it was him.

Meanwhile 90% of movies make it a magic potion that alters his psyche and body to make them two separate entities fighting for control like a less green Incredible Hulk.

temporarysecretary17 t1_j2cbmmn wrote on December 31, 2022 at 4:43 AM

The problem is everyone already knows the book’s twist, so a faithful adaptation would simply not be that interesting,

Boccs t1_j2cckyz wrote on December 31, 2022 at 4:52 AM

At this juncture I'd argue a faithful adaptation would actually be more surprising to general audiences. Most people these days associate the story with the personality disorder interpretation, so sticking to the original story would probably throw a lot of people for a loop.

temporarysecretary17 t1_j2ccp9h wrote on December 31, 2022 at 4:53 AM

Maybe for the first 10 minutes. I don’t think people would be interested enough to pay money to watch it.

Boccs t1_j2cgulw wrote on December 31, 2022 at 5:31 AM

I mean that could be said of any version of Jekyll and Hyde. They've seen the personality monster so many times that's not going to draw any more people than running it accurately to the book would.