- Turtle Diary
Infobox Film
name = Turtle Diary
image_size =
caption = Theatrical release poster
director =John Irvin
producer = Richard Johnson
writer =Russell Hoban Harold Pinter
narrator =
starring =Glenda Jackson Ben Kingsley Michael Gambon Richard Johnson Rosemary Leach
music =Geoffrey Burgon
cinematography = Peter Hannan
editing = Peter Tanner
distributor =The Samuel Goldwyn Company
released = September 10, 1985
runtime = 97 min
country = UK
USA
language = English
budget =
gross =
preceded_by =
followed_by =
website =
amg_id =
imdb_id = 0090219"Turtle Diary" is a 1985 romantic-
drama film based on a novel of the same name byRussell Hoban . The film follows a man and woman who meet a the turtle tank at theLondon Zoo , as they plan to help two of the turtles escape to freedom. The film was directed byJohn Irvin , and starsGlenda Jackson ,Ben Kingsley , andMichael Gambon .Plot summary
Two lonely Londoners - William, a bookshop assistant (Kingsley), and Naeara, a children's author (Jackson) - find common ground when visiting the sea turtles at London Zoo. They both feel, independently of each other, that the turtles are unnaturally confined, and hatch a plan with the assistance of zookeeper George (Gambon) to smuggle them out and release them into the sea. Not a lot actually happens in the film, the release of the turtles signifying William and Naeara's release of themselves on a number of levels, including romantically, personally and professionally.
How book and film compare
As in many of Hoban's novels there is a great deal more action in the heads of the characters than in the actual story. Hoban himself is known to have been disappointed by Pinter's adaptation because it made little effort to bring Hoban's original 'interior action' to the screen and instead concentrated almost exclusively on the rather thin plot, and the resulting screenplay seemed much more Pinter than Hoban. The novel is therefore well worth reading for a greater idea of the characters' many preoccupations and motivations. The film taken by itself is also in fairness quietly enjoyable.
External links
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