Constant Grieving Man

The author begins by acknowledging a shift in his perspective regarding film adaptations. He states that his past anxieties about "excessively loose or free adaptations" of favorite literary works have long since faded. This evolution, he suggests, comes with maturity and a greater respect for the "legitimacy of poetic license." He humorously notes that Robert Altman should be grateful he didn't encounter his "wrath" in 1987 when he first saw Altman's "The Long Goodbye," a film based on Raymond Chandler's novel.

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The question of fidelity to the original is unfounded, essentially childish, as it is not entirely clear whether the original even exists in this context.

At the time of his initial viewing, as a "belligerent teenager," the author found Altman's treatment of the hardboiled fiction classic unacceptable and heretical. He recalls his youthful outrage, exclaiming "No pasaran!" (They shall not pass!) as he left the cinema. He admits he was too young and "milk-toothed" to grasp the nature of an "irreverent and capricious artist" whose aim might be to deconstruct a classic text. This early experience highlights a common tension between a purist's devotion to a source material and an artist's desire to reinterpret and reimagine it.

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The times when I worried about excessively loose or free adaptations of my favorite literary works are long gone.

The article, however, is brief and primarily serves as a commentary on the author's evolving critical stance. It uses the example of "The Long Goodbye" to illustrate a broader point about artistic interpretation and the subjective nature of appreciating adaptations. The author's reflection suggests that as one grows older, the focus shifts from strict fidelity to the source to an appreciation of the creative choices made by the adapter, even if they deviate significantly from the original.

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Unacceptable, heretical, throw him on the pyre, were the reactions of a belligerent teenager who did not tolerate Altman's handling of the classic hard boiled fiction text.