Last year, I received The Invention of Hugo Cabret as a Christmas gift. This year, Martin Scorsese‘s film of it, Hugo (Gee, was the original title too “intellectual”?), is getting tons of high praise. I didn’t get around to reading the book before the movie hit the screen; now I face a tough choice.
Am I going to experience novelist Brian Selznick’s original vision via the Caldecott-winning book before seeing Marty’s new picture? (It shouldn’t take long. Lots of big pictures) Or, being a devoted Scorsese fan, will I want to see what the revered filmmaker hath wrought first? At the moment, I’m stuck for a decision. Think I’ll Ask Movie Irv:
Have different opinions about the whole book-before-movie, book-versus-movie, movie-better-than-book thing? While you’re thinking up mind-tickling new questions to Ask Movie Irv (he’s already given you his insights about shopping for movie collectors), ante up with some reactions below.
UPDATED: Since the preparation of this post, I (George, not Irv): read the book The Invention of Hugo Cabret; then saw the movie Hugo. Still not sure if that was the “right” choice or not (If you know the story going into the film, you will already be well aware of the movie’s big revelation)…but that was the one I made. Yours?