It's sort of a paradox, but a huge, sprawling novel is more likely to adapt well to film when it's bad.
A good example is the hideous novel THE GODFATHER. By the time Coppola got through hacking away all the garbage, what was left was just enough plot to make a great movie.
On the other hand, there's Peter Jackson's FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING. Far too much of interest is lost to the necessity of getting through the plot in the allotted time.
The same fate befalls IVANHOE. Athelstane (and Cedric's dream of a Saxon restoration), the journey of the Black Knight (who is not Ivanhoe in the novel), Bois-Guilbert's membership in the Knights Templar, and many other things which do not strictly contribute to the advancement of the basic plot, are simply lost.
I can imagine people who haven't read the book wondering who this Locksley person is, and what he and his friend "the clerk of Copmanhurst" have to do with Ivanhoe and Richard. Of course, those who know who Locksley is might be even more confused at what he's doing here.
In an example of political correctness *avant la lettre*, Isaac of York is transformed from a rich moneylender who plays both sides of the political fence, into a poor inoffensive victim. This may have been inevitable, but it does make Isaac a much less interesting character.
On the other hand, the acting is passable (and Guy Rolfe steals the show as Prince John), the film is gorgeous-looking, and the battle scenes are excellent (the final "showdown" is far more exciting here than it is in the novel).
6/10.
A good example is the hideous novel THE GODFATHER. By the time Coppola got through hacking away all the garbage, what was left was just enough plot to make a great movie.
On the other hand, there's Peter Jackson's FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING. Far too much of interest is lost to the necessity of getting through the plot in the allotted time.
The same fate befalls IVANHOE. Athelstane (and Cedric's dream of a Saxon restoration), the journey of the Black Knight (who is not Ivanhoe in the novel), Bois-Guilbert's membership in the Knights Templar, and many other things which do not strictly contribute to the advancement of the basic plot, are simply lost.
I can imagine people who haven't read the book wondering who this Locksley person is, and what he and his friend "the clerk of Copmanhurst" have to do with Ivanhoe and Richard. Of course, those who know who Locksley is might be even more confused at what he's doing here.
In an example of political correctness *avant la lettre*, Isaac of York is transformed from a rich moneylender who plays both sides of the political fence, into a poor inoffensive victim. This may have been inevitable, but it does make Isaac a much less interesting character.
On the other hand, the acting is passable (and Guy Rolfe steals the show as Prince John), the film is gorgeous-looking, and the battle scenes are excellent (the final "showdown" is far more exciting here than it is in the novel).
6/10.