Stephen King Thread (Merged)

[the dude]

Does anyone know the title of a Stephen King documentury that was on at least 5 years ago on the BBC. I think it was two 1 hour episodes

Is it available on DVD? Or does anyone have a copy that they could burn on DVD (I will supply blank DVD).

Cheers

[Curious Goods]

The only documentary of King released as a dvd as far as I know is "Stephen King: Fear, fame & fortune".

http://www.freerecordshop.nl/pages/p...664117&navid=3

If I'm not mistaken, it's the one where King visits the Green Mile set during filming.

[Grant]

Seems like George's comeback has a lot to answer for

King's currently writing a novel, 'Cell' in which mobile phone users are turned into mindless zombies because of the signals.

Bit like real life then!

Here's an excerpt

Grant

[se7en45]

I've noticed that Stephen King arouses real interest on these Forums so I thought we'd have a dedicated thread where we could talk about all things related to Stephen King here. Anything to do with his books, television work and films, etc. Dang it, we could even discuss his views on writing horror, his methods, etc. Also, what's been his most successful television adaptation to date, eh? And has anyone ever sampled the radio versions of his tales? There's also the many audio-books available. Come let's sit and have a pint and talk about the King.

King fans will also be delighted to know that BBC-4 are tonight showing his lengthy interview.

Catch it.

[Pecker]

I've been reading Stephen King since I was very young.

I liked his first three books 'Carrie', 'Salems Lot' and 'The Shining', but thought he really started to hit his stride just after this with 'The Stand', 'Dead Zone', 'Firestarter', 'Christine' and 'Misery', which I love.

Since then I think he's gone down hill a bit, and I've not had the same sort of enjoyment from 'Tommyknockers' and 'The Dark Half' onwards.

I thought the 'Dark Tower' books started well, but finished poorly (I don't mean the very end, I just think they went down hill a bit).

Strangely, this drop in quality appears subsequently to tie in with his re-hab from drug and alcohol addiction.

Steve W

[se7en45]

I began reading the uncut edition of The Stand but gave up after several chapters due to it being so boring. Does it get better?

[NPC]

I started to lose interest in King with Christine. While its a great concept the structure and changing narrators make the book a mess. Trouble is King sells so many books no one dares tell him they need editing, King's success was partly responsible for the trend of breeze block sized books-I think Americans in particular believe they get better value for money from a thick book than a thin one. The Dead Zone is for me his best book and he's turned out some great short stories. I read Cell and wasn't impressed, after the opening carnage it just goes nowhere new. He's also taken on a resemblance to Joe E Brown from Some Like It Hot

[LoungeLizard]

I'm afraid I found both Cell and Lisey's Story to be absolutely dreadful. He appears to have completely lost the plot of late.

[embmmusic]

I don't know what his most successful TV adaptation was, but for me the best one was The Stand. I agree with NPC that The Dead Zone is his best book. My three favourite movie adaptations are Stand By Me, The Shining and Shawshank Redemption.

[orgasmo]

his three best horror adaptions for me are cujo,pet semetary and christine.
his three worst Im afraid to many to answer but the lawnmower mans a personal topper.
works that still need to be filmed for me has to be the long walk but in the current climate theres no chance of someone doing it.
on a better note the mist is about to start filming for release next year so with any luck we should have a creepy horror to look forward to.

[embmmusic]

Wasn't the mist already made as a short film a while back?

[CJ34]

It's pretty much a mixed bag when it comes to King adaptations. The best adaptations, for me, would be The Shining, Pet Sematary, Misery, The Shawshank Redemption and Riding the Bullet.

As for King's books - I've pretty much enjoyed most of what he's written. The first King novel I ever read that was a complete letdown was Dreamcatcher. I thought it was dreadful - and, furthermore, I was amazed when it was given the mega-bucks Hollywood treatment. The story is just so weak, I don't know why anyone would attempt a movie of it. Anyway, the movie turned out worse than the novel, unsurprisingly.

He seemed to pick up a bit again with From a Buick 8, which was definitely taking steps in the right direction and was an enjoyable, if not brilliant read.

[steve52b]

Have to admit I've not read much King lately. My favourite King novels would be The Shining, Salem's Lot and Pet Semetary, while his Danse Macabre is a much-thumbed item in my collection. On the film front, I'd cite Pet Semetary as his best though I've only been able to stand seeing the film (and reading the book) on one occasion. Anyone whose family has suffered the death of a child will be moved by PS but, for me, not a novel or film I'd care to revisit.
Must try to catch up on my King as the last I read was (I think) Gerald's Game.

[the dude]

I began reading the uncut edition of The Stand but gave up after several chapters due to it being so boring. Does it get better?

I don't think it does. I found this book really slow and boring. Considering I loved all his books up to that point, I just couldn't get on board with it.

In my opinion It and Pet Semetary are his best books.

[CJ34]

Well, y'know, I really enjoyed reading The Stand - I thought it was excellently written. I wouldn't put it up there as a top favourite of mine, but it's damned good all the same IMO.

[Al Garcia]

Anyone looking forward to the film of King's THE MIST (short story about a fog that covers a small coastal town, containing monsters and featuring the Romero-esque breakdown of its bunch of survivors), or the TV series of THE TALISMAN (which King co-wrote with Straub, meant to be one of his best fantasy novels)?

[Al Garcia]

Misery has to be his best book. It's just brilliantly intense. Less bloated than some of King's other work, doesn't feel the need to give us the history of all things, really lean, brutal and intelligent.

The best King films for me are THE SHINING (great film, but as an adaptation it cares little for the source), CARRIE & MISERY.