h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Entry: The Mars / Barsoom Books of Edgar Rice Burroughs - A811937
Author: Gnomon [196] - U151503

Some classic adventure stories.

Thanks Gnomon,

I became aware of these books after the movie came out (which I haven't yet seen)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Carter_(film)

Were you going to mention it anywhere?

Icy

I've read the books, but not seen the film. I suppose it might be worth a quick mention, but if someone wrote an article about Burrough's character Tarzan, that then briefly mentioned all the films Tarzan's been in, it'd take all day to read...

<BB<

Are you going to do a section on Martian Chess?

Used to play that one, years ago.

Actually quite a well designed game.

Has anyone seen the film? I gather Disney lost rather a lot on it.

I'm not a chess player although I know the rules of play. I tried Martian chess as a child and it seemed to me to be just standard chess with enough random changes to allow it to be called a different game but not enough to make it unplayable.

There are dozens of copies of 'John Carter of Mars' DVDs on sale in our local second-hand CeX shop for 75p each, but I'm waiting for them to come down in price.

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I read the John Carter Barsoom books when I was 18 and travelling to London (and back) every week for three months to provide a busy bank branch with an extra cashier during the busiest months (pre-Internet banking days of course). I have seen the film. I also would not pay 75p for the DVD as I am trying to erase the memory of it and retrain my brain to my earlier thoughts on what Dejah Thoris looked like, with her perfect feet. I was disappointed with the film, having read the books and was expecting to see elements from the books. I know other people who saw the film with no knowledge of the books and enjoyed it for what it was, blissfully unaware of the name of the writer who gave life to John Carter and all the denizens of Mars, or even that he also created the legend of Tarzan. IMHO there's no need to mention the film in this article about the Barsoom books.

GB

Thanks GB. Since I haven't seen the film myself, I didn't know how to interpret the various reviews I read of it. I think I won't bother mentioning it, so.

GB

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Well done!

<BB<

Great!

Did you know that in the late 1950s, Ray Harryhausen considered making a film based on 'John Carter of Mars', which he mentions in his autobiography 'An Animated Life'?

I'm still trying to decide what to do should DVDs of the recent Hollywood adaptation of 'John Carter of Mars' go down in price from 75p. Maybe I could then wait for them to go back up in price. I can be very patient.

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I wouldn't mind watching the John Carter DVD. My idea of the books is fixed enough that I could look at someone else's version without being influenced, even if it was tedious or very bad.

It was very bad, speaking as a connoisseur of the books. But I'm sure you'll enjoy it if you can retain your memory of the original books

PR thread read

GB