which watch book to make a movie

Discussion in 'THE WATCH BOOKS' started by edster, Apr 29, 2006.

  1. edster New Member

    I was wonding what you think would be the best wach book to make movie and why?

    I dont which one to pick.
  2. QuothTheRaven New Member

    I think it would be best to start at the begining, so I say: Guards! Guards!.
  3. edster New Member

    but what if they could only make one movie, which on than :?:
  4. Pixel New Member

    I don't think that that is the right question - if one was made well, then it would finance further ones - if it was done badly then it wouldn't matter which one they cocked up - "Lord of the Rings" survived the earlier Ralph Bakshi version.

    In terms of what to start with, I would say start with "Men At Arms" - the character development is a bit more advanced, and movie viewers tend to need more spelled out for them than do readers - there is already the "prequel" precedent of Star wars to allow "Guards Guards" to be made later.
  5. peapod_j New Member

    i think Night Watch because it is the start of Vimes story in the Watch and it covers the start of Noobys and Colons start in the Watch as well.
  6. Pixel New Member

    I don't think that would work - there is too much "prior" history - not just the History Monks, but also Nobby and Colon, plus Vetinari, Reg Shoe, Rosie Palm - I think one needs to know their "modern day" personas to appreciate their beginnings.
  7. Katcal I Aten't French !

    Well, that plus the fact that it does start and end up with the "modern" situation, Vimes expecting his first child, Carcer's murders, etc. To start with that would be giving too much away. I'd go for Guards!² too...
  8. QuothTheRaven New Member

    Guards! Guards! all the way.

    Mainly becasue it and Night Watch are the best Watch books (and NW would not make a good first movie for reasons pointed out above).

    Also: edster, you might consider turming this into a poll, so oppinions can be counted more easilly.
  9. peapod_j New Member

    Gards gards would be a good book to do a first movie. it outlines the wach and some of the new members like carrot. It also has a dragon in it. 8)
  10. drunkymonkey New Member

    Guards Guards is my favourite, and is an amazing book, although THUD would also be awesome, thanks to its 'oh, what a pointless conflict' and fresh look at racism.
  11. tanatie New Member

    night watch would be best but it should also be the last to film, since it's focused so much od the characters...btw a movie called night watch already exists (nochnoi dozor I think it's called...it's russian)
  12. urquhartfay New Member

    i agree that guards guards would be best. i often recommend it as people's first terry pratchett book. the character development thereafte is so much more interesting when your first view of them is in the slovenly, ineffective, drunken watch run by a disillusioned sam vimes. his character development from the drunk in the gutter to the responsible leader and on throughout the books is one of the best aspects of terry pratchett's writings at all. carrot develops as well. in guards guards he comes across as very naive, but that impression slowly dwindles over the course of the watch books. i think it would be odd to be introduced to him as he is later and then have a flash back to him being so naive...because one of the joys is wondering "at what point does he start to catch on?" and being surprised when, for the first time in a later book, he says something unnaive.

    introducing just the central watch characters first, before angua and shoe, etc, join in, will allow for more character development. otherwise you are trying to introduce way too many characters all at once, and you can't go as deep.

    plus i have this wonderful opening shot in my head of carrot walking towards ankh morpork like "an iceberg towards an unsuspecting ocean liner" (or whatever the line is, i don't have my book with me).

    there is my long-winded answer!
  13. Mercyful Fate New Member

    Terrible with remembering the names of books. But what about the one where Vimes has to go to Uberwald as dignitary with his wife.

    I guess you would have to know the characters / story for this to be good, but I think it has enough action and angles to make a good one.
  14. Electric_Man Templar

    That's The Fifth Elephant. I think it might survive without knowing the characters previously, it's not really reliant on past situations that they've been in.
  15. Mercyful Fate New Member

    Yes, thank you. Sad part is, it was the second to last book I recently read.
  16. nutkar97 New Member

    The problem with making any of them a film is that a lot of the books, however good the books are (and they are all fantastic) most wouldn't make good films. I think, although Night Watch does give a lot away, it would be the best one to convert to film
  17. Buzzfloyd Spelling Bee

    Most of them have been converted into plays, though, fairly successfully.
  18. BadEarthMum New Member

    Help - I can't remember!

    Right, I know I have read this book and I'm sure it does exist outwith my own mind. But can some one remind me of the book where - now I'm sure it's Carrot - someone goes off somewhere and there is an upside down mountain and dragons involved. I'm totally lost I just cannot remember the book at all!:question:
  19. Buzzfloyd Spelling Bee

    The upside down mountain is the Wyrmberg in Colour of Magic, which Rincewind visits. Carrot goes off to Uberwald in Fifth Elephant.
  20. alice New Member

    Guards Guards definitly! Carrot being so nieve the letters home! I loved that book
  21. DEATHOFRATS New Member

    I know it's not a good place to start, but Thud! would make a good film. It's very dark with symbols and stuff.
  22. SpiderFromMars New Member

    I was tempted to say Feet of Clay - one of my all time favourites :D, but I now agree that Guards Guards is the perfect introduction, after all it is the first book with them in
  23. Kobble New Member

    I dunno, I started with Night Watch for Vimes (it was the only Vimes one in my library) and it actually made me just appreciate him more as a character. So I kind of felt that Guards Guards was, for me, an insight into his more modern past. I think Night Watch would work as a watch film because the others could work fine as prequels. And I think it was one of the most engaging books to start with.
    My only regret would be that it didn't have much of Carrot or Angua.
  24. Mithras-Kosmokrator New Member

    Guards! Guards! would be the most sensible one to go for, although you could get away with starting with Men at Arms (which I prefer in any case).

    However, if you ignore all the issues of needing to introduce the characters, previous history etc, I'd go for Jingo simply because its oen of my favourites and in some respects a more 'visual' book than some of the others (not least because it draws on one or two movies for inspiration).
  25. Bronanna New Member

    I also vote for Guards! Guards! As mentioned, if it is successful, it could finance a whole series, then you get to see the character development from "just another street gang" into the police force we all wish we had for real.
  26. randywine Member

    Bronanna, I would also love to see Guards! Guards! as a movie.

    Welcome to the board. You can go to the introduction thread if you want to introduce yourself, and have a go at answering the introductory questions if you want.

    Cheers,
    Randywine.

    (Introduction, introduce, and introductory all in one sentence. Yuk.:lol:)
  27. SwedishFan New Member

    I couldn't really say, but I do know... Or I suspect rather, that Russel Crowe would make a pretty good Vimes :)
  28. gemreplica Banned

    the story about yourself

    Late at night, when I think everyone else has gone to sleep, I creep down to the kitchen and deficate in the refridgerator.

    In the morning, my mommy serves it to me for breakfast, and it's the happiest part of my day.
  29. Werewolf New Member

    I'd like to see them start with Guards, Guards and progress from there.
  30. Thereisnopilot New Member

    The Fifth Elephant was the first watch book for me. I think that even if you don't really know the characters in the beginning you definitely get to know them as the story progresses. Also, along with Thud, it's just a great story that pulls you in and it's full of action, mystery, comedy, depth.... Either of those I think would make a great stand alone Watch movie if it had to be so.

    And as much as I don't disagree with the idea of a prequel with Guards, Guards, depending on how long it took to get around to it they may have to go with a whole new cast to make them look younger. Would that work?

    Also, I agree with the Dragon comment. I mean, come on... a huge dragon. how awesome and cinematic is that?

    So I could go either way. I say just make 'em all.
  31. Londo New Member

    Hmmmm

    Which one first..... tough choice but i like the Star Wars reference. Question is though 'what would be commercially successful?'. I would love to see Guards Guards made into a movie but not Nightwatch. Or at least not until several movies have been made to establish the characters. Guards Guards would be great because it has a dragon in it and who doesn't want to see that !. But it remains a tough call. The star wars approach may be the best. Come in halfway when all the characters have been well established in the books and for that i am going to go with Feet of Clay. All the characters have good roles and i always enjoyed this novel. So that is my choice for taking a book and making it into a movie. That is, however, not what i would do if i was to make a city watch movie. I think it should be a standalone totally new story with much broader brush strokes in terms of character display. Same characters, same city but not an established novel. Realistically its the market that drives the story. To get the fan base outside of the original novels would have to be a driving factor. But here i would hate to see the star-wars approach. I loved the first 3 movies of star-wars but hated the last three (or the first 3 depending on how you look at it) because i had matured in the intervening years and wanted the movies to have matured. Unfortunately i got Jar jar binks :shock:
    I would dearly love to see the Discworld novels made into movies. But i just don't see it happening. And i really dont mind that for two reasons. Harry Potter and Star Trek. Harry Potter because there is only so much you can put into a film. I love the Harry potter books (46 year old single male:rolleyes:) but i always felt a little sad at what had been left out. I mention star trek because i dread it becoming a franchise and multiple series coming out. I cite for your perusal Deep space nine (shudder) Voyager (cringe and shudder) and Enterprise (cringe, shudder and squeeze into corner crying with shame and remorse). I want to see the books made into movies but i also don't. I wanted to see the voyages of G'kar made into a series as well. But i am glad they didn't. I wanted to see Garibaldi hunt down and kill Bester but i am glad it wasn't made into a series because there comes a point where you have to leave well enough alone. I cite Crusade (bursts into tears and hugs copies of B5 to chest, all the while softly whispering "Why, why").
    All in all i will always watch any attempt to put Discworld onto the screen. And i will be glad that someone tries to do it justice. But to be honest, i prefer the books to stay as books.

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