Book to Film
Slaughterhouse-Five
Slaughterhouse-Five
Slaughterhouse-Five, written by Kurt Vonnegut, directed by George Roy Hill, is a very unusual kind of story. It is simultaneously science fiction and an autobiography. It is about mass slaughter and warfare and it is sometimes hilarious. It’s as funny as it is startling. It’s as true as it is insane. It’s the kind of book that leaves images that are hard to get out of your head, not half of them pleasant. It’s the kind of movie that is from a book that’s so nonlinear and erratic that it can’t possibly be made into a cohesive and understandable film, but still manages to come across clear on screen. It’s the story of how Billy Pilgrim became unstuck in time.
To be more clear on that, its the story of the life of Billy Pilgrim, a World War II vet and involuntary time traveller. It’s about his experiences from birth to death, ranging from his time in Dresden, a doomed German city, to his trip to alien world Tralfamadore, home of the Tralfamadorians, and all of it out of order. Billy goes through his entire life from place to place and time to time without any control. One minute he’s in a mental hospital recovering from traumas the next he's experiencing these traumas over again in the war. It looks at Billy’s life and life in general as less of a whole with meaning and purpose and more as a series of moments strung together, some happy, some sad. The Tralfamadorians tell us that this is the best way to look at life, as just things that happened, are happening, and will inevitably happen. The idea is that nothing really matters. For example, it says that the aliens know exactly how the universe will end, but do nothing to stop it, and don’t really seem to care much. Billy’s life is just things that happened, and this book and this film are about those things.
When I said that this was autobiographical, I meant it is somewhat autobiographical. The first chapter is entirely autobiographical, taking place from the authors point of view and telling us what about Billy’s story was borrowed from his own experiences. Obviously all the time travelling stuff is fiction, or at least I hope so. When I said this was a funny kind of story, I meant in a twisted kind of way. It is clear that the humor in the story translates more fully on screen than it does on page, or on audio as I experienced it. Listening to it on audio I realize may have affected my perception of the book, as it is being read in another person’s voice, not my own in my head. That being said, Ethan Hawke’s reading of the book was a memorable one. I can’t type Billy Pilgrim without hearing that voice in the back of my head. Some aspects of the humour in the book were emphasized by his reading, like his matter of fact way of explaining how aliens abducted Billy and took him to their home planet. Other scenes that were funny in the movie came out as more demented in the book, like a scene where Billy’s father throws him in at the deep end.
In regard to how faithful the adaptation was, I will say that it follows the story, but not word for word, as is mostly expected. It’s about as faithful as it is required to be. Not much was left out and what was was either too graphic or simply unnecessary, due mostly to time constraints. The one thing from the movie that I really missed was the character of Kilgore Trout, a science fiction writer. Although, it is still only a minor part in the grand scheme of things.
What’s important is that the essence of what made the book the book transferred well into the movie. It’s full of arresting imagery, black humor, and chaos. I think that’s what Slaughterhouse-Five is ultimately about - the chaos of life, and the random events and coincidences and ironies of it. There is no larger meaning or truth in the world of Billy Pilgrim and the Tralfamadorians. The way the universe ends according to the aliens, is that a Tralfamadorian accidentally hits the wrong button while testing out a new rocket of some sort, or maybe it was a new kind of device, it doesn't really matter which. The entire universe just blinks out of existence. There was no great battle or war. Just a simple mistake, so it goes.
Slaughterhouse-Five is like nothing I’ve ever read before. It was also a very good book, and a very good film. It is not something I can recommend to everyone, but I can say that it is great. When it comes down to it I would choose the book over the film, just because it is more full, although they are both impressive pieces of work.
- The Book: 10/10
- The Film: 9/10
