Review of The Sun Also Rises (1957) by Antony D — 04 Jan 2011

Alas, disappointing. First irritation - an adaptation of one of the greatest novels of the 20th century, whose greatest claim to greatness is the story it tells without telling it, i.e. the story the reader infers.

So what does Hollywood do? Add extra scenes to fill in the gaps, including opening and closing voice overs explaining the premise of the book. Voice overs! Also casting not great with most of the main five male characters never really looking comfortable.

Some of the effects are very dated. Ava Gardner wasn't too bad in patches, but she had no one to work with. The dialogue was lifted in huge chunks from the book, but that's not enough.