The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo Series

[jaghetersimon]

I really think that the Swedish version (and Rapace's portrayal in particular) elevated the source material. It seems like the Swedish team viewed the story through an explicitly feminist lens, whereas Fincher and Mara repeatedly denied that the book or the Lisbeth character was feminist.

Apparently the studios made a loss on the Hollywood version and they haven't committed to making the sequels.

[huntergrayson]

It was a "modest loss" for MGM but they say they still remain committed to the sequels if they can work out a co-financing partnership with Sony (I think Sony is definitively committed), but a director still hasn't been announced.

[Deleted]

I haven't read any of the books, I am curious which is generally considered the best one? I liked both versions of TGWTDT but didn't love them. I found one of the problems was the pacing. Both of them seemed like they should have ended but then went on for like another half hour. I just wondered if the next book/movie has the same issues.

[Deleted]

Mar 30, 2012 15:21:18 GMT -4 @crow said:

Mar 26, 2012 17:05:12 GMT -4 @bstewart said:

Fanboy here. The BluRay package just arrived today and it's OUTSTANDING. The care and detail in which everyone involved in the project strove to get it not just right but *perfect* is staggering. It really is the best possible movie of the source material.

Did you not see the Swedish version? Noomi Rapace, to me, was a waaaaaaaaaaay better Lisbeth. Now if Fincher had directed Noomi? That would have been something to see. I did prefer Daniel Craig as well as Trent Reznor's score in the english version. I rewatched the movie and I still really hate that they changed the ending so that Lisbeth was the one that wanted more instead of Mikael. Did the extras shed any light onto why they made that change?

I heard nothing about their rationale for the story changes at the end. I wasn't superhappy about the changes but I don't think they really detracted from the source material.

And for realz I've seen the Swedish films, all of them. I've read the book and have seen the first Swedish film five times now, watching it back-to-back with Fincher's version three of those times. I'm not saying Noomi was shite -- she was very good -- and I recognize that being male (and old) makes me immune to perhaps the most appealing aspects of her portrayal: Girl Power. Though Lisbeth's age was repeatedly hammered home in both versions, I found Noomi was girlish and accessible; Rooney young womanish and darker. It's personal preference: I prefer the latter when it comes to Strong Female Characters.

When I say it's the best possible retelling of the source material I'm not suggesting the Swedish version = 2/10 and Fincher's is 10/10. I'm saying the Swedish is 8.5/10 and Fincher's is 9/10. I think the source material isn't worthy of a 10/10 for its annoyingly contradictory aspects of righteous feminism combined with a hero who's male and is apparently irresistible to anyone with a vagina who crosses his path.

[glitterbug]

I just saw the new version this weekend, and loved it.

The good: the lead performances were superb. I'm a Noomi fangirl so I was prepared to dislike Rooney Mara, but I thought she did a really good job. She was definitely more waif-like than Rapace, but I don't think she was any darker; I never found Rapace to be either girlish or accessible, in fact I found her very tough and closed-off (although part of that could be the language barrier). Anyway, for someone whose previous film appearances have been, shall we say, wooden, RM knocked it out of the park and definitely deserved her Oscar nom.
I already love Daniel Craig, and his wardrobe was ace in this film I liked the fact that they downplayed his irresistibility to women; his relationships made sense. The soundtrack was spot-on. The Bjurman scenes were dealt with intelligently, keeping the tension but at no point being gratuitous. Stellan Skarsgard is made of win. I thought the ending was accurate, as far as the book is concerned - Salander goes to see Blomkvist, sees him with Berger, and leaves in a strop, angry at herself for nearly letting him get emotionally close to her.

The bad: WTF were the accents about? DC didn't bother, yet RM's accent was so thick I couldn't tell what she was saying half the time. Really annoying.

The ugly: Robin Wright's hair. Seriously, love. It's called shampoo. Try it sometime.

Overall, I think the two films are on a par. I loved them both, which came as a surprise to me as I thought I'd prefer the Swedish version (as per Let the Right One In).

[Deleted]

Apr 3, 2012 5:46:16 GMT -4 glitterbug said:

Overall, I think the two films are on a par. I loved them both, which came as a surprise to me as I thought I'd prefer the Swedish version (as per Let the Right One In).

I'd consign this. And your observation's pretty-much borne out looking at the Metacritic scores (and, more importantly, the review contents), too. I gave a slight edge to the US version for Mara, Skarsgard and Fincher.

[Neurochick]

Mar 30, 2012 17:28:39 GMT -4 huggingotters said:

But isn't that how it is in the book? Lisbeth saw Mikael and Erika together at the end and did not care for it at all.

That's right because that sets the stage for what happens in the second and third book. I was on a cruise and read the first two books and just HAD to read the third, didn't even care that I had to buy it in hardcover, I HAD to have it.

[huntergrayson]

Question: do I *have* to read the book for stuff that happens in the next two if I've seen both movies? Also, Lisbeth gets a boob job? Why? That just irks me for some reason.

They actually kind of DO tackle the reason for the changes/ending in the special features/commentary but without the screenwriter giving much input. Neither Rooney nor Fincher say they were really thinking of it as a romantic thing. One of the things David keeps saying is that he wanted us to have a sense that Lisbeth didn't WANT to be the way that she is - constantly distrusting and socially autistic and cut off - but her experiences made her that way. Mikhail offering her the money is the first time anyone - romantic or otherwise - trusted her completely.

Per Rooney, when she sees Erika at the end, she's not mad at Mikael, she's more angry at herself for trusting anyone and then kinda retreats back into her old ways.

My main issues with the Swedish version were (a) I absolutely hated Blomqvist and the way the actor played him and (b) it was almost more cheesy/Hollywood in parts than the Swedish version. Granted, I saw it second but I just thought it seemed really...generic in comparison. Plus, I've said it before but can't emphasize enough that Lisbeth and Blomqvist so much more seem like equals in this version.

FWIW - Swedish version: Lisbeth goes to her mom and fully says "I have a boyfriend." Fincher's: Goes to her guardian and says "I have a friend."

I really wish the visual effects montage from the supplementary Blu-Ray was available online. Because (a) it is amazing. And (b) it's like "oh, that's how this cost 90 million." That and the "in the editing room" one. Seriously, if one is remotely interested in filmmaking or behind-the-scenes stuff or the material itself, the fullblown deluxe SE package is one of the best I've ever seen because they pretty much took all the material during production/post itself rather than doing it after the fact (i.e. we actually see Fincher in the editing room, etc) so it really gives you a great look into how they did it and why.

[Neurochick]

FWIW - Swedish version: Lisbeth goes to her mom and fully says "I have a boyfriend." Fincher's: Goes to her guardian and says "I have a friend."

I think in the book neither happens.

As for the boob job, yeah, she does that in the second book using the money that she stole. Also in the first book, she never knew that her first guardian was alive; she doesn't find that out until the second book, and then she pays for his care.

I think the reason the movie didn't do well by US standards is because we in the US are used to seeing our kick ass heroines look like Angelina Jolie or Scarlett Johansson, it's like you can be a kick ass woman but you've got to have been boobs and be hot according to American standards.

[jaghetersimon]

I don't think it did well because the marketing was poorly done and turned off the main audience of the books (i.e., women). Also it came on the heels of a lauded Swedish version.