Book Vs Movie
Road to Perdition
The Margos Return to Graphic Novels in This Special Episode
The world of midwest Prohibition-era gangster life is the subject of this episode of Book Vs Movie with Road to Perdition--the 1998 graphic novel from Max Allan Collins and the 2000 film directed by Sam Mendes. This returns the Margos to the graphic novel genre for the first time since Batman.
The novel is the first in a series on a gangster family--the O-Sullivan’s. Michael O’Sullivan Sr. works for the Looney family and sees the head boss Michael Looney as a father figure. Michaels is known as the “Angel of Death” and a ruthless enforcer for the Looney family. You owe them money and don’t pay--Michael will make you pay the ultimate price. He is played by Tom Hanks in the movie.
Michael has a wife (Annie) and two sons--Michael Jr. and Peter. One day, Annie and Peter are murdered and it’s up to Michael Sr. and his son as an unlikely duo to find the killers and avenge their loved one’s deaths.
In the novel, we meet a cast of characters including real-life criminals Al Capone and his enforcer Frank Nitti. Eliot Ness also makes an appearance and John Looney is quite a bit different than his movie counterpart played by Paul Newman (called John Rooney in the film.)
The movie sticks mostly with the basics of the plot with just a few name changes and without the appearance of Ness of Capone (Anthony LaPaglia filmed a scene as Capone that never made it to the final cut.) And Conrad L. Hall won an Academy Award for Best Cinematography who had passed away just before the award season.
So between the graphic novel and short story--which did the Margos like better? Click on the link below to find out!
In this ep the Margos discuss:
- The author’s journey to this particular story
- The biggest differences between the short story and the 2002 film
- Trivia about the shooting of the film
- The cast includes Tom Hanks (Michael Sullivan Sr.), Paul Newman (John Rooney,) Daniel Craig (Connor Rooney,) Jennifer Jason Leigh (Annie Sullivan,) Stanley Tucci (Frank Nitti,) Tyler Hoechlin (Michael Sullivan Jr.), Jude Law (Maguire,) and Dylan Baker (Alexander Rance.)
Clips Featured:
- Road to Perdition trailer
- Michael Sullivan Sr. confronts Rooney
- Connor Rooney “apologizes”
- Maguire meets Michael Sullivan Sr.
- Outro music: Score by Thomas Newman
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Margo D. @BrooklynFitChik www.brooklynfitchick.com [email protected]
Margo P. @ShesNachoMama https://coloniabook.weebly.com/