It
Stephen King
has created too many memorable horror stories to list, and many of them have
entered into public consciousness. I think it’s safe to say that his two most
popular are The Stand and It. Pennywise the Clown has reached a
level of public awareness just below that of the Universal Monsters. Both
versions are good and offer different things to enjoy for fans of the book.
For
those unacquainted with the book, Pennywise is a supernatural creature that
takes the form of (amongst many other things) a clown. He surfaces every few
decades in the town of Derry to feed, and his favorite delicacy is scared
children. He can take the form of whatever scares you most so he appears in
many different guises (a mummy, a werewolf, a rotting leper, a giant
prehistoric bird etc).
Seven
children, who have encountered Pennywise and lived, ban together to stop him.
They are led by Bill, who lost his brother to the evil clown. They stop the
clown but are unable to kill him and thirty years later return to the town to
finish what they started. The book
alternates back and forth between the two time periods; their childhood and
their adult lives. The true nature of Pennywise is hinted at but not fully
revealed until the end, and even then It doesn’t fit into any easy
classification. Pennywise defies classification, hence the nomenclature of It.
It
(television mini-series)
1990
Director- Tommy Lee Wallace
Cast- Richard Thomas, John Ritter, Harry Anderson, Tim
Reid, Annette O'Toole, Dennis Christopher, Richard Masur, Jonathan Brandis, Brandon
Crane, Emily Perkins, Adam Faraizl, Marlon Taylor, Ben Heller, Olivia Hussey,
Tim Curry
Prior to
the 21st Century, TV and movies were very separate entities. Maybe
it’s not accurate to say that TV stars were the step-siblings of the movie
stars but there certainly wasn’t a lot of movement between the two mediums like
there is today. It has a cast of the
best TV talent from its time; Richard Thomas (John-Boy on The Waltons and also the Roger Corman sci-fi film Battle Beyond the Stars), Harry Anderson
(Night Court), John Ritter (Three’s Company) and Tim Reid (WKRP in Cincinnati). I think the fact
that three of those four are known for comedic roles is interesting. Generation Xers will recognize Jonathan
Brandis , as young Bill, who seemed to be everywhere in the 90’s and sadly died
of suicide. Horror fans may recognize Emily Perkins as young Beverly Marsh. She
went on to star in the Ginger Snaps
werewolf trilogy. Director Tommy Lee Wallace was no novice when it came to
horror. He directed Halloween 3: Season
of the Witch and Fright Night 2 (the star of which ,Roddy
McDowell, was considered for the Pennywise part). He also edited The Fog and Halloween.
The crown jewel of the cast
and crew is of course, Tim Curry. Tim Curry came to fame in the horror themed
musical Rocky Horror Picture Show and his list of TV, movie and
theatre credits would be a book unto themselves. He had experience with both
the horror genre and working through make-up, having played the Satanic figure
of Darkness in Ridley Scott’s Legend.
Curry’s Pennywise is iconic. He seems to be bubbling with menace and cheer in
equal parts. It’s Curry’s voice though, a deep jovial baritone, that gives the
performance character. It’s a testament to his performance that images of his
clown still circle social media and horror outlets and merchandise three
decades later.
The
whole series, without the originally aired commercials of course, is right over
three hours. I think ABC took a lot of big chances for the time. Not only does
it feature the murder of children, it uses the “N word”, and was depending on an
audience that probably hadn’t read the book to tune in for two nights. As for
faithfulness to the book, it does as good of a job as it could for three hours
(It is a 1,000 page tome after all).
It gets the adult half of the story pretty close but cuts a lot out of the
childhood end of things. Like the book it alternates back and forth between the
two.
I would say
that diehard fans of the book might be disappointed with what gets left out,
but I can’t imagine there are any diehard fans that haven’t already seen it. In
fact I would say that this mini-series, and Curry’s performance , probably
created a lot of fans of the book.
2017
Director- Andy Muschietti
Cast- Jaeden Martell, Sophia Lillis, Jeremy Ray Taylor, Finn
Wolfhard, Wyatt Oleff, Chosen Jacobs, Jack Dylan Grazer, Nicholas Hamilton, Bill
Skarsgård
It:
Chapter 2
2019
Director- Andy Muschietti
Cast- James McAvoy, Jessica Chastain, Bill Hader, Isaiah
Mustafa, Jay Ryan, James Ransone, Teach Grant, Andy Bean, Jaeden
Martell, Sophia Lillis, Jeremy Ray Taylor, Finn Wolfhard, Wyatt Oleff, Chosen
Jacobs, Jack Dylan Grazer, Nicholas Hamilton, Bill Skarsgård
Coming
in at a combined total of 5 hours, the theatrical releases had a lot more time
for storytelling and character development. The first film focuses entirely on
the childhood storyline. The second film focuses mostly on the adults but with
a fair amount of flashbacks to childhood. Though both films were directed by
the same person, they feel very different. I suppose this is appropriate as the
films are focusing on different time periods. However, I don’t chalk this
difference in feel up to intentional choice.
Chapter
1 was a surprise hit, but this was no fluke. It’s a quality film in every
respect. The cast of child actors deliver. Finn Wolfhard (Stranger Things) is funny as the foul mouthed Richie. The stand out
though was Sophia Lillis as tomboy Beverly Marsh. Her performance was the kind
that can make a career, and I think it may have. The film is also scary! It has
some really creepy moments and Skarsgård (in both films) delivers a creepy
Pennywise that is unlike Curry’s iconic performance in any way. Given that It
is really about kids, I suppose it’s appropriate that the first film is the
standout.
Comparison
to the Book
This is not to say that Chapter 2 is without merit. It also has a fine
cast (which, I assume,
accounted for most of its bigger budget). It has some creepy moments but
doesn’t capitalize on mood as much as Chapter 1. It also seems to spend a lot
of energy creating story from thin air. Rather than using their spacious 2 and
half hour running time to adapt parts of the book, they spend their time
creating things that add nothing and still end up leaving things out.
If you
are a real fan of the book or a hardcore fan of Chapter 1, you have already
seen Chapter 2. However, for casual viewers, Chapter 1 can be watched and
enjoyed all by itself.
The easiest
criticism leveled against any book to movie adaptation is “The book was better.”
I’ve never been a fan of this mantra as books and movies are completely different
story telling mediums. Personally, there
are a few books for which I liked the movie BETTER. I like Hellraiser the film much more than the book (The Hellbound Heart). The
written description of the cenobites just doesn’t have the visceral punch of
their appearance in the movies. And
regardless of how good the books are, is anyone going to say Tobe Hooper’s Salem’s Lot and Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining aren’t excellent?
Both the
1990 version and the 21st century version do a decent job of
adapting the overall plot. Neither veers off too far from the overall direction
of the story, though both leave out a lot of enjoyable details. The 1990
version had to leave things out due to time constraints. The 21st century
version squandered some of its time (especially in Chapter 2) creating all new
elements. Of course, there is ONE scene from the book that doesn’t make it into
either version (and never will). I want say what it is, but fans of the book
know which scene I’m talking about.
Both
versions do the characters justice. The 1990 version does a better job telling
the story of the adult characters; the 21st century version does
better with the kids.
As far
as the depiction of Pennywise, well, it wouldn’t be fair to say one is better
or worse. Every actor who ever plays Dracula will be compared to Bela Lugosi.
Bela is the measuring stick. Some actors make better Dracula’s some don’t, but
they are all compared to Bela. Likewise with Tim Curry. He is an iconic actor
who turned Pennywise into an iconic character. In 20 years when another It adaptation is in the works, Tim will
still be the measuring stick for this character. Skarsgård’s performance is
creepy. Curry’s performance is menacing.
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