CR (Film) vs CR (Novel)
bondaholic007
LondonPosts: 878MI6 Agent
Casino Royale (Novel) vs Casino Royale (Film)
Novel
• Gunman tries to kill Bond in the Casino
• Vesper dies from overdose of sleeping pills
• Vesper writes a letter to Bond
• Bond plays baccarat
• Bond smokes
• Money: francs
• SMERSH
• Vesper a Russian double agent
• Car: Bentley
• Torture Scene
• Set in 50's
Film
• Vesper dies in a lift underwater
• Bond plays poker
• Car: Aston Martin
• Torture Scene
• Modern - Mobiles / Terrorism
• Set in 2006
Well that is all I can think of at the moment
Post other things then they will be added on to this list, Post which you would prefer Novel or Film.
Novel
• Gunman tries to kill Bond in the Casino
• Vesper dies from overdose of sleeping pills
• Vesper writes a letter to Bond
• Bond plays baccarat
• Bond smokes
• Money: francs
• SMERSH
• Vesper a Russian double agent
• Car: Bentley
• Torture Scene
• Set in 50's
Film
• Vesper dies in a lift underwater
• Bond plays poker
• Car: Aston Martin
• Torture Scene
• Modern - Mobiles / Terrorism
• Set in 2006
Well that is all I can think of at the moment
Post other things then they will be added on to this list, Post which you would prefer Novel or Film.
Comments
In CR (the novel), Bond earns his Double-O status killing a double-agent in New York. If I remember correctly, he snipers the guy in an upper floor office at Rockefeller Plaza. I can't remember the other guy he kills! Someone help me out . . . the hour is late and my brain's tired!
Bond's second kill is a "Norwegian who was doubling against us for the Germans", killed in his hotel room in Stockholm. "He just didn't die very quickly."
An interesting difference between book and film is that in the book, the clean kill comes first and the dirty one second, whereas in the film the dirty one is first and the clean one is second.
"I admire your luck, Mister?..." "Bond, James Bond."
It's a carpet beater.
There's one thing in the book that I didn't feel they could handle as well in the movie, and that's where Mathis is talking with Bond after the torture scene about heroes and villains. I might have to read it again, but I remember Bond making a point about not being sure who the heroes and the villains are (which was later used in "Quantum of Solace) and he mentioned that as being the reason for his wanting to retire.
The way I interpreted the moment was that he was certain about who he was and who Le Chiffre was, until Le Chiffre made a comment about Bond playing Red Indians. With this, he thought about how he himself could actually be the villain in the scenario. Le Chiffre, if I remember correctly, opened up a chain of Brothels to make some money, but some time later a new law made them illegal, and the Brothel chain failed, and Le Chiffre lost a lot of money for SMERSH. He later set the Baccarat game up in an attempt to get the money back, or be killed. It seems to me that, everything he was doing was not villainous, and not illegal. He was trying to save himself, and Bond comes along to prevent him from getting the money back, and therefore facing death.
I didn't think the movie handled that idea very well. I think the movie really set him up as more of a villain (in the scenario of the movie), by actually having Le Chiffre attempt to destroy an airplane. This made him seem more like an actual villain, to me, and less like a man that's was just trying to make some money and ended up in trouble. That's what I thought anyway....
"We're just too different... I mean, you're dead...." - Tim Burton's 'Corpse Bride'
Roger Moore 1927-2017
How about, (novel) Bond not being involved with Le Chiffre losing his money and (film) Bond being involved with it....
Also, (novel) failed brothel chain and (film) foiled stock market plot...
Also, for the film section, you could put attempted poison to go with the novel's gunman trying to kill Bond scene....
"We're just too different... I mean, you're dead...." - Tim Burton's 'Corpse Bride'
the novel its better than the film. Le Chiffe isn't really a villain he's a messed up guy in a messed up world.
here's the entire baccarat game between bond and le chiffre
Player - (final score) - [cards dealt] - W (winner) B (Baccarat)
The game was strict Chemin de Fer. Le Chiffre was the bank for the length of the game. Bond sat across from le Chiffre, hence he is not the immediate player against him
500,000 Franc bet
The Greek - 7 - (7, Q)
Le Chiffre - 9 - (4, 5) - W
1 million Franc bet
The Greek - 4 - (unk. 3 card hand)
Le Chiffre - 7 - (unk.) - W
2 million Franc bet
J. Bond - 9 - (4, 5) - W
Le Chiffre - 0 - (J, J) - B
2 million Franc bet
Mrs. DuPont - unk. - (unk.)
Le Chiffre - 8 - (unk.) - W
4 million Franc bet
J. Bond - 5 - (unk.)
Le Chiffre - 7 - (J, 4, 3) - W
8 million Franc bet
J. Bond - unk. - (unk.)
Le Chiffre - 9 - (unk. natural nine) - W
16 million Franc bet
J. Bond - 6 - (K, A, 5)
Le Chiffre - 9 - (Q, 5 ,4) - W
^This is the hand where Bond busts and Felix Leiter covers bonds re buy
32 million Franc bet
J. Bond - 9 - (Q, Q, 9) - W
Le Chiffre - 8 - (K, 3, 5)
^this is where Bond essentially bankrupts Le Chiffre
6 million Franc bet
J. Bond - 9 - (unk.) - W
Le Chiffre - 0 - (K, K) - B
^this is where Bond finishes off Le Chiffre
When I used to write on other forums, I remember how others would speculate about it before it even came out, saying things like, "there should be only one action scene" or "they should make it an R-rated movie", etc, etc. Casino Royale (the movie) actually managed to provide an equilibrium for fans of the films, as well as the books. It was just as exciting as Goldfinger, but much like the book in terms of character accuracy and the basic premise. They kept the torture scene, but they augmented it with dark humour. And the opening chase scene and airport pursuit? Probably some of the best stuntwork of the decade. While the book is great as a establing point, I think the best Fleming novels come after it, i.e. From Russia With Love.
1) The Spy Who Loved Me 2) On Her Majesty's Secret Service 3) GoldenEye 4) Casino Royale 5) Goldfinger
However, CR the novel is primarily involved with Bond and his inner self, his thoughts and feelings. As some osts mention above, he is reflecting on his role in the esponage world already and this is a theme Fleming returns to time and again in the novels. It's a very plain story, and it draws the reader in by descriptive brilliance.
The movie while staying true to the spirit of the story misses the point of the novel by a long way and turns it into a rather unsettling sadistic two hander followed by an unlikely love story. We don't get under the character of Bond at all, at least not Flemings Bond, maybe Purvis, Wade and Craig's. And the two extended chase scenes early on are completely irrelevant to the overall plot, they could have been summarised/condensed and saved us about 20 minutes on its running time.
Overall I prefer the novel, which is concise and leaves room for doubt about the main protagonisits, the movie doesn't do this and is much too black and white.
The film is a jumbled up mess that is light-years away from the book.
Texas Hold Em? I don't think so. Bond plays baccarat! And where is my Bentley? She'd never let me down by rolling over 7 times just by swerving. (Unless there was newsprint involved.)
it's the 21st century, after 48 years of making films, you can't expect a film made in 2008 to be set in 1956.
NB: Bond considers the first kill in Cold Blood.
"I admire your luck, Mister?..." "Bond, James Bond."
Yeah, their relationship is badly handled in the film. The deciet of Mathis in the movie was an unnecessary twist which the writers tried to rectify in QOS. I had no idea the airplane scene in QOS was lifted form CR (in terms of dialogue). I think that's a failure of the writers again as it had very little impact. I was more taken aback seeing 007 get drunk than hear him philosophising!
Sadly this is a standard trick employed by writers / producers who are concerned they won't get an appropriate certificate for the movie. A little bit of humour makes all the violence palletable - apparently!
I agree with you however. If I'd had a carpet beater smacked into my nads I'd be writhing in agony. Wisecracks? Doubt it.
I wished they had included the bomb assassination attempt in the street scene from the novel where the bombers end up blowing themselves up. I guess they used this theme in the translation to the script by making it into the bomber Bond chases in the beginning of the film. They probably decided against the book scene as it would remind the audience too much of the daily suicide bombs that kill people in the Middle East.
Le Chiffre in the novel was indeed a villain - not just a brothel owner. He worked for SMERSH, being one of their "chief agents in France". He was chief paymaster to a communist controlled trade union in Alsace. He thought he could skim the money he was getting from Moscow to line his own pockets, but hen he got too deep in the hole and had to play the casino to make up the money. So, I have no sympathy for him. They merely updated this for the film by having Le Chiffre be a financier who skimmed the terrorists money in order to make a killing in the stockmarket dealing with the destruction of the airliner. Different methods but same goals and same type of immoral villain.