The Perfect Storm Adaptation - Essay Example

The perfect storm adaptation The film was created in the year 2000 by Wolfgang Petersen and was ified as a dramatic disaster. The story is adapted from the book titled the perfect storm whose author is Sebastian Junger. It tells a story of a boat crew that was caught in a storm in the year 1991. The casts in the film include John Reilly, George Clooney, William Fitchtner, Allen Payne, Mark Wahlberg, Diane Lane, Michael Iron side, John Hawkes, Mary Mastrantonio Elizabeth and Karen Allen. It was released in 2000, October by the Warner Group Motion pictures. Though the movie follows the book in narration, it shows significant differences. Moreover, some differences can be perceived as improvements that make the viewers understand the author’s point in particular. And last, but not least, the movie makes the story in order. Supporting Paragraphs Sebastian Junger’s book the perfect storm was an exceptionally enjoyable and captivating story but the problem was that it was written poorly. It tells an entire story of a boat, called Andrea Gail in its first hundred and fifty or so pages. It then goes back to tell a story of what is happening somewhere else during a storm attack. Wolfgang Petersen and William Wittliff correct this situation, and they tell the whole story fully, citing what is happening on land, sea and rescue missions and on the boat Andrea Gail. The reader at least has to have some background in weather forecasting so as to understand the storm and its operation and the reason for its danger. The main reason why the book was adapted to film was that it took advantage of unique effects to offer the viewers of how incredible the storm was. The book does not have a definite ending, and so the movie is much easier to comprehend other than the book was. One tends to like the film more than the book. Similarities between the book and film are that there happens to be a boat called Andrea Gail and how it suffers through a storm. (Welkos 124-130). In the year 1991, month of October, the fishing boat, also referred to as Andrea Gail, docks in the port of Gloucester which is in Massachusetts with an exceptionally poor yield. They seem to be extremely desperate, and under the direction of their Captain Tyne, they all decide to go on a fishing expedition into the deep seas. This time, they go beyond their normal fishing territory and leave a thunder storm behind their trail. At first, their efforts bore no fruits, but this does not diminish their hopes. They head further to a place called Flemish Cap where they have a breakthrough through which they have some success in catching fish. (Perfect Storm 120-135). The book does not go along the way to describe these scenarios and only covers a small part of what is in the movie. It only covers the part of the act where the vessel undergoes and eventually turns to explain about the storm. This makes the film to be more preferred by the viewers since it is captivating and makes one glued just by watching it from the start till the end. What is similar about the film and the book is that the boat crew does everything to make sure they get a fair catch. This is so as to make enough money to feed their families since they are generally the sole bread winners of their families. (Welkos 124-130). As the crew, continues with their fishing trip they begin to face problems and their ice making machine breaks down. They have to rush back to the harbor if they would sell their catch before turning stale. A debate ensues about selling through the storm or whether to wait for it to come down and the team comes to an assumption that they would try and risk the raging storm. What is not known to them is that the place they want to sail through is inhabited by a hurricane which is a product of the merging of two weather fronts by which the boat crew underestimates by all means. What we see is that the book does not care to explain on the action carried out by boat, and it only gives a sneak peek in its first a hundred and fifty pages of the happenings. Also, about the ravaging storm, it only gives a preview of what happens to the fishing boat and its crew members. The book cares to explain about the storm and not the expedition that is experienced by the boat crew. The film takes time to explain and elaborate the detailed coverage of which the boat undergoes and their journey into the deep seas. Most of the covering of the book is about the thunderstorm which attacks the boat by force. (Perfect Storm 120-135). They receive a lot of warnings from close-by ships not to sail in the storm and in the process they lose their antenna, which forces the other ships to call for help. A rescue helicopter from the Air Guard responds, and tries to refuel the boat but their efforts are futile and the aircraft is ditched before it has to crush. All crew members of the fishing boat are rescued by the Coast guard and only one looses his life. The vessel faces a lot of problems like the 12 meter waves that crush into its deck, two of the crew men are thrown overboard and a stabilizer which was broken hitting the side of the ship. The book does not care to narrate about the other ships which warn the Andrea Gail and how the storm affects it to the position of losing its antenna. It also does not explain how help is called for and how a chopper comes into the picture. Refueling of the boat by the helicopter is only the idea of the film and not the book. What is similar about this case is that waves attack the boat and some of the men on board the boat are plunged into the sea. The film does not state clearly the members on board the helicopter and how they get lost. (Welkos 124-130). The crew comes to a decision that they have to go back so as to avoid the ravaging storm and any further damage. When they do this, they encounter more problems and in the process they are met by an enormous wave. The captain instructs one of the crew members to use full power so as to get through the wave, at first, one may think that they would make it through the storm but it over powers them and the boat capsizes. Billy the captain offers to sink with his boat and only Bobby a crew member manages to survive the ordeal. In the end, we come to see that none of the crew members came out of the ocean alive. A memorial service is done in their honor, and Captain Greenlaw reads a eulogy and a number of people include Ethel, Christina and Bobby’s mother who console each other. The decision of the crew to go back through the direction they came with is also an independent idea of the film. The book does not clearly state the actions of the captain whom decided to sink with his boat. The ideologies that are similar in both cases are the problems that are encountered while at sea and that people die in the process. (Perfect Storm 120-135). As one approaches the film after reading the book, the perfect storm, there is a mixture of skepticism and curiosity. One is pleasantly surprised by what is achieved in the film. It follows the book faithfully as a non-documentary would have done, striking, and numerous subplots of the novel. Scientific jargons which are detailed in the book are removed in the film but there enough concepts are left so as the viewer can understand what is exactly happening and what is bound to follow. The film which happens to run for a hundred and twenty eight minutes creates a sense of urgency and danger which makes the viewer turn pages of the book to look for the true evidence. Secondary Sources In the foreword Junger mentions that he had always desired to write about the dying moments of the Andrea Gail crew members and the events that lead that final point. Secondary sources are used since primary sources are few and hard to find if any exist since the boat’s crews are dead. A secondary source makes use of the crew’s last moments to seem real to a reader. They mainly rely on other people’s information or they are dependant on other things or sources. These sources include; research, factual information, shipping logs, weather charts and interviews only to mention but a few. (Bunger page 100). Junger uses weather charts as his source of secondary information and shows the lows and highs of atmospheric pressure. This makes the reader have a clear progress on the weather pattern throughout the book (page 123- 132). By the use of weather charts, the final moments of the boat seem real and it cares to explain how the winds are so that the reader can form an image on how the boat dealt with the wind. (Page 123-132). Radio contact is also used as a secondary source in both the novel and the film. It is applied during check-up also in distress calls (page 119). It has been effectively used so that the person reading can fully understand events towards the last moments of the boat Andrea. (Perfect Storm 120-135). Interviews are relied heavily by Junger as the main secondary source. They give account also views of points in the actual events and the ideas of particular individuals who recognize certain people or things. By this, uses interviews to reveal the personalities of the crewmembers and their lives back in Glouceste (Junger page 15). Historical information research is also used; scientific and weather are also used as secondary sources. The writer explains what could happen to the boat if it was to lose its antennas (page 144- 145). It gives an understanding of the boat and its functions and how it would suffer if it were to lose its antenna. This makes the Andrea boat crew last moments seem unusually real and it also shows that without the antenna they are alone and by themselves at sea battling the rough waters. Anecdotes are also used in this case as secondary sources. Certain people’s interviews are used for the events that take us to Andrea Gail’s last moments. A case example is that Murphy’s ex-wife Debra had dreamt that Murphy had apologized to her that he would not make it to her birthday. The next morning, she wakes up to the news of the disappearance of Andrea Gail for a number of days. She reports this to Murphy’s parents whom are shocked by the news. This is particularly relevant to the reader and it gives him/her the after shock and how it affects family and friends of the crew and how it felt for them to accept that they had long gone. The Andrea Gail’s last moments represents the impact by which their friends and family face after their deaths. This anecdote gives hints of the happenings that faced the crew under case example is Dale’s dream of which we are not exactly told of what happened during that night. Junger uses stories of survival as an anecdote for those that have survived and are in similar situations. The reader is given an understanding of how it would be in specific circumstances. A case example to this is that the writer uses an account (drowning) which speaks about James Lowson who happens to be a doctor who had survived after a typhoon had hit their ship. The doctor explains on his feelings and thoughts of how close he was from being unconscious and almost drowning (page 182- 184). What he believes is that laryngospasm is what saved him from dying also water not to enter his lungs. This brings out the picture of how it is to drown and how one may react or think in such a situation. This can be compared to the crew’s last moments since their ship sunk and had to drown and be dead. (Unger, Howard page 123- 132). Conclusion What I would add to the scene is a bit of more action which would make the movie more captivating and entertaining. I would also show how the boat’s crew members reacted as they faced their last gasp for air. Also, show what happens to the remains of the boat and the crew members. The suspense created from the time the storm began does not answer what eventually occurs to the crew members and their families. To make the movie more entertaining I think I would make the cast know about the dangers they are about to face but in the end neglect them. When some of the words are impossible to narrate in the film, action might be used to create an understanding since actions speaks louder than words. (Junger page 150). In retrospect, the film received two nominated awards which included best sound and visual effects at the Academy Awards. It received critics from generally mixed reviews. It was considered to have distinct effects and quite impressive and captivating. Works Cited Berardinelli, James.The Perfect Storm Film Review. Denver Mac Murray, 2007. Print. Butler, Judith. 1991 sea storm. New York: Routledge, 2007. Print. Court Revives Perfect Storm Lawsuit. St. Petersburg: Times Online, 2010. Junger, Sebastian the Perfect Storm. (2000). New York; Random 2007. Print. The 73rd Academy Awards (2001) Nominees and Winners". The Perfect Storm. Dir. Wolfgang Petersen. Perf. Sebastian Junger and William D. Wittliff. 2000. Film Unger, Howard M. Perfect storm review Sarasota Herald Tribune. Welkos R. Prepare for Good. New Yok: Pengin, 2000. Print. . Read More