Summary
- 2017s IT is considered the best adaptation of Stephen King’s legendary novel, despite making changes to the story and removing controversial elements.
- Splitting the story into two parts, focusing on the Loser Club’s younger years in the first film, allowed for better character exploration and better connection with the audience.
- The film’s effective scares and cast, as well as minor changes such as setting childhood in the ’80s, made it easier for audiences to accept the novel’s changes.
As the Halloween season continues, the latest installment of Screen rantis his own Pitch meeting The series looks back on their analysis IT. The 2017 film was the second major adaptation of Stephen King’s iconic 1986 novel, about a group of misfit teenagers and their later adult years who are haunted by the eponymous shapeshifter, typically taking the form of Pennywise , the dancing clown. Directed by Andy Muschietti and starring Bill Skarsgård as Pennywise, the first film was a critical and commercial success, leading to… It: Chapter Twowhich garnered more mixed reviews and lower box office returns.
More than five years have passed since the film first hit theaters. The latest episode of Screen rant‘S Pitch meeting The series looks back on 2017 IT. As seen at the top of this article, the original video highlighted that one of the film’s biggest problems was that it bypassed many elements of the book, resulting in poorly explained sequences. In host Ryan George’s retrospective, he reflects on some of the jokes contained in the original episode, particularly one of the book’s more problematic moments involving the Loser Club’s orgy after defeating Pennywise as a teenager.
Why 2017 IT is still the best adaptation (despite its changes)
While Tim Curry’s miniseries remains one of the most popular King adaptations for the actor’s portrayal of Pennywise in 2017 IT has largely proven to be the better translation of the novel. While the 1990 version used flashbacks to move between the Loser Club’s childhood and the adult years following his return to Derry, Muschietti and his creative team opted to split the story into two parts, with the first film focusing solely on concentrated her younger years. This not only allowed the audience to better enjoy the group’s cohesion, but also allowed them to better explore the individual characters.
The film’s scares and effective casting also largely allowed audiences to accept some of the changes from King’s novel, ranging from smaller elements like growing up in the ’80s instead of the ’50s to bigger things like the removal of the aforementioned orgy scene were enough. The sequence was already considered controversial when the novel was published, but a more modern audience would have been horrified to see an adaptation. The film already moved in the direction of potentially sexualizing the teenage Beverly, hinting at an abusive relationship with her father and being the target of rumors about some of her classmates, including the bully Henry Bowers.
Although the first IT took some creative liberties with King’s work, Chapter Two attempted to bring back some of the excised elements from the novel, including the ancient turtle god Maturin and the Ritual of Chüd that the group performs to defeat Pennywise. These elements accounted for a large part of the mixed reviews the 2019 sequel received. Critics generally found the plot overstuffed, but also felt that this layered attention resulted in fewer scares, making the first film a success. Regardless of how the duology ultimately turned out, Muschietti’s first IT The film remains one of the most acclaimed King adaptations.
Source: pitch meeting
Source : screenrant.com