Flowers in the Attic (1987)
Director: Jeffrey Bloom
Based on book: Flowers in the Attic by V.C. Andrews
Rating: 2
Tagline: Home Sweet Home Is Murder
Inspiration:
Out of curiousity, I picked up the 1987 movie version of Flowers in the Attic at the library to compare to the book. I don't remember watching it when it came out so that was another incentive for me.
Director: Jeffrey Bloom
Based on book: Flowers in the Attic by V.C. Andrews
Rating: 2
Tagline: Home Sweet Home Is Murder
Inspiration:
Out of curiousity, I picked up the 1987 movie version of Flowers in the Attic at the library to compare to the book. I don't remember watching it when it came out so that was another incentive for me.
Although it is not an Academy Award winner it was interesting to see in IMDB that this film got some recognition in the movie world.
Louise Fletcher (played Grandmother)nominated in 1988 Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actress
Kristy Swanson (played Cathy)won in 1989 Young Artist Award for Best Young Actress in a Horror or Mystery Motion Picture
And, the sweetest treat of the movie is that V.C. Andrews made a cameo as a window washing maid.
My thoughts:
Per usual, the book was better than the movie. The screenplay picked up most of the elements of the book. However, it barely touched on the incest part which is what made the book so intrigueing to fans. I didn't like the casting for the Grandmother and Cathy. Both actresses are great but I envisioned the Grandmother older with waaay less makeup. And, Cathy should have been younger. Cathy was looking about the same age or even older than Chris in some scenes. The other beef I have with casting is that the Grandmother and Momma had helpers in keeping the children hidden i.e. the butler and the caretaker, so this went away from the book which emphasized the secrecy of the children.
On the flip side, the movie comes off alright for those who haven't read the book. The horror of a mother locking her children up in pursuit of money comes across well.
News flash: The Complete V.C. Andrews site (News page), states that there is deal in the works for the movie remake of Flowers in the Attic with a screenplay written by Andrew Neiderman aka VCA ghostwriter!
Fun fact: Also at The Complete V.C. Andrews site (Bio page), turns out that Flowers in the Attic was based on a true story after all!
