Question About The Book
Is this movie more similar to the book than the 1959 version?
shareThe 1959 version is more similar to the book.
In the process of making this version more up to date, some changes had been made to the plot. For example, Mary Holmes and Moira are sisters. Moira is divorced from Julian Osborne. People use the internet. The nature of the war and who fought whom is much more clear-cut. There are many other differences, but the basic storyline is still the same.
If a student who had to study On the Beach in English class was thinking of watching the 2000 miniseries instead of reading the actual book, they couldn't expect to do very well in the assessment. The 1959 version would suit their purposes better.
LMAO!!! That's so ironic that you state the "student in English class" example because that is exactly why I asked.
shareShame on you! But seriously, you really ought to read the book. It's very short, very engaging, and very affecting. And since this is a pretty old post, I hope you have by this time.
shareEgad, I hope the OP will sometime post and let us know how his English class turned out.
I can see why he didn't post back to thank us. If he watched the 1959 film and then tried to fake "I read the book" on that basis, he must have gotten caught. Nevil Shute was rightly angry at the changes that Stanley Cramer made to the story line. If he had to comment on the relationship between Tower and Moira, that would get him. But it's more likely the teacher asked "Explain what you think about the symbolism of the last scene".