Early in Stephen King
at the Movies: A Complete History of the Film and Television Adaptations from
the Master of Horror, Ian Nathan drops some stunning statistics.
Apparently, the Master has written or inspired some 65 movies, 30 TV programs,
and 7 episodes of TV anthology series. That must be some sort of record, and it
certainly justifies the existence of a book like Nathan’s. Fortunately, the
author knew just what to do with this overdue project.
Stephen King at the
Movies is part photo book, sneering with nasty full-color images culled
from the many King screen works, as well as some neat behind-the-scenes looks
at these films and shows’ creations. Nathan does not allow the photos to do all
the heavy lifting though. He supplies satisfying making-of accounts and
critiques of each of the numerous pictures he discusses in an entertaining tone
appropriate to his subject matter and with the critical distance to acknowledge
that Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining is
great despite what King says and that the King-approved mini-series version is thoroughly mediocre.
For the most part, Nathan allows a couple of pages to pore
over each film, but for the cream of this creepy crop—Carrie, The Shining, Misery, Stand by Me, etc.—he devotes as many as eight pages. Along the way,
there’s some interesting trivia, such as a nuggets about how Warner Bros.
offered Stanley Kubrick The Exorcist
and Warren Beatty almost played the James Caan role in Misery. Visual and textual fun, Stephen
King at the Movies should keep fans occupied as they suffer the always
brief wait for another King project to splatter across the screen.
