The Evolution of Science Fiction discussion

I was curious if anyone had seen the movie Arrival and/or has read the short it's based on, Story of your Life by Ted Chiang? What did you think overall and which did you prefer?

Haven't seen the movie. The collection that includes Story of Your Life is Stories of Your Life and Others. It made Ted Chiang a favorite author of mine. He is, unfortunately, not prolific. I think I've read just about everything he's published. His stories range from good and very good to outstanding.

I saw the movie Arrival. I enjoyed it, but have not read the short story, so I can't compare. I usually enjoy the book more than the movie. Movies are so limited in detail, which I thoroughly enjoy. So I try to be generous with movies. If they can get the general idea and feel through to the audience, I'm satisfied.

I saw the movie this week. I enjoyed it. It was moving through a nicely done emotional build up. A lot of the time there was this suspense atmosphere, which I don't necessarily like, but it was part of the story so it wasn't just for excitement. Did you yourself have a chance to see the film?
It has made me enthusiastic to read the stories of Ted Chiang.

Buck recommended Ted Chiang to the group and we read The Lifecycle of Software Objects which was an excellent short story. I have since read other stories by him and they are all great.

I saw the film a few weeks ago and it was also good, I know there are differences with the book but the film works in it's own right. I went with somebody who has not read the book and they really enjoyed it as well. I try not to compare film and book too much as in almost all cases the book is better so you are always disappointed.

Did you yourself have a chance to see the film?

I did - I saw the film first. Went blind into the movie not knowing anything about Chiang nor the story, and I was so moved and amazed by the movie I immediately checked out a sci-fi anthology with Story of Your Life.

I agree that typically the book is better than the film, but I much preferred the film over the book this time around! For me, the written story had a faster pace and seemed to be missing story details that the movie had provided. Additionally, the soundtrack for Arrival had me feeling all the feels. I just couldn't connect with those text characters like I did with the film characters.

I've put a request for the film at my library so I rewatch and confirm my initial impression.

The director is also doing the Bladerunner sequel.

I finally got around to watching the movie. I thought they did an amazing job of bringing that story to life on the big screen - it wasn't a story that I thought would translate well to a mass audience. Seeing the alien language represented visually was very well done.
Director Denis Villanueve continues to impress me - his prior films Prisoners and Sicario were both amazing.

I really loved Arrival. I've watched it three times already. The third time I was still catching new details I had missed.

i guess youre not talking about the one with Charlie Sheen..? :3