The most obvious differences between film and book exist in
the plot. In the movie, the setting is in the Vietnam War, while the setting of
the book is the Congo Free States. The time periods differ, and the contexts
differ; the film’s theme centered around war in Vietnam, while the book’s theme
centered around colonization. However, these glaring differences matter little.
The essential theme of the book persists within the movie, and in both forms of
media there remains a sense of battle and of contempt with the native peoples,
and a sense of infiltration into a foreign land. Other plot points matter
somewhat more, and are intriguing. For example, Kurtz is murdered by the main
character in the film. Opposingly, in the book, Kurtz dies of natural causes,
watched over by the main character, Marlow. The death of one of the story’s
central characters varies. Furthermore, the pieces end differently. The film
concludes with the wind murmuring “the horror”, while the book ends with Marlow
meeting a woman who loved Kurtz, and he tells her that his last words were her
name. This difference has minimal significance simply because the book ends
with the main principle—that Kurtz murmured “the horror” upon his death, and
that this haunted the main character.
Of course, there are also plot similarities which are
striking. The steersman of the boat in both pieces is speared, and dies before
the protagonist; afterwards, a character becomes distraught by some minute
detail (in the book, it is Marlow, by the blood in his shoes; in the movie, it
is Lance, by the loss of the puppy, comparatively minor). There are also heads
on the stakes; Kurtz is dying; there is a woman present, idolizing him. These
inclusions of elements from the book into the movie emphasize their importance
in the story.
Between movie and book, the main character differs. In the
book, Marlow travels because he craves adventure, and he becomes disenchanted
by what he finds. In the film, the main character journeys because he is forced
to by the army, on a predestined mission to terminate Kurtz, unlike Marlow, who
believes he is merely going to visit Kurtz. While motivations contrast, the
relationship between the main character and Kurtz remains intact. Marlow is
undyingly curious about Kurtz, and is drawn to him, while the main character of
the film is also drawn, studying papers and history of Kurtz in his spare time.
The mystery enveloping Kurtz remains in both stories.
The emphasis on the natives between book and film are
somewhat similar. In the book, Marlow witnesses disturbing scenes, such as the
Valley of Death, but he does not focus on them. Similarly, the film views
scenes which are disturbing—dangling dead bodies, natives shot—but does not
focus on them. Rather than the idea, the essence of the horror with the natives
is given both in film and in the book.
The book, however, has a more modern view on racism—it seems to decry it
more so, fixating more on the death of the natives rather than discussing
unlikeable traits of their culture, like Heart of Darkness is prone to do.
Finally, the character of Kurtz is largely similar. Kurtz is
powerful, mysterious, reads poetry—yet in the film, he is large and strong, and
determines his death, wanting to go like a soldier. In the book, Kurtz steps
over the ledge, but it is a ledge of the natural world, not on of murder. His
impact is great. Yet, in the movie, the relationship between Kurtz and the
protagonist seems to be fostered more. In the book, there is almost no evidence
of a developing relationship until after the fact, leaving the reader confused.
This, I believe, is a strongsuit of the film that the book failed to deliver.
Again, though, both movie and novel capture the main principles surrounding Kurtz
and his death, despite minor plot and character differences.
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