Netflix acquired the rights to create an original film based on the novel Animal Farm by George Orwell. Andy Serkis, most known for his performance as Gollum in The Lord of the Rings trilogy, is set to direct. Joining him as producer is screenwriter Matt Reeves (The Pallbearer). It’s great to hear that Netflix is teaming up with these two Hollywood heavy hitters to bring this classic piece of literature to life. That said, one very important question remains: How true will Serkis and Reeves stay to this allegory that critiques the Russian Revolution of 1917?
I lived out my teenage years in the 1980s. There’s no denying that America’s “cold war” with the Soviet Union shaped me nearly as much as it did the entire decade. Like most high school students in that era, I had to read Orwell’s Animal Farm as part of a literature and composition class. Being familiar with the source material, I’m interested to see which direction Serkis and Reeves will take with this film. As I look into my crystal ball, I see this film could take one of three directions:
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It will remain faithful to Orwell’s vision, which was a critique of the Soviet Union. (Orwell considered it to a brutal dictatorship.)
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This film will be a highly stylized yet fairly predictable critique of America’s current highly-polarized political climate.
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Serkis and Reeves could completely surprise viewers with a take on Animal Farm that no critic expected or predicted.
No matter which way Netflix’s Animal Farm turns out, I know I’m going to watch it. I enjoyed this book, and I hope that Netflix stays true to the author’s meaning and intent. That said, there have been occasions when a director has taken a different direction and the film version outshined the novel. Two examples off the top of my head are Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining and David Lynch’s Wild at Heart. In most cases, though, diverting from the original material usually spells disaster. I guess we shall whenever this Netflix original movies is released.
Speaking of Netflix, here’s the list of everything new to the streaming service provider this month:
August 1
Batman Begins
Chernobyl Diaries
Clerks
Constantine
Dreamcatcher
Edge of Fear
Eraser
Gran Torino
House of Deadly Secrets
Los tiempos de Pablo Escobar: Season 1
Million Dollar Baby
No Reservations
Once in a Lifetime Sessions with Moby
Once in a Lifetime Sessions with Nile Rodgers
Once in a Lifetime Sessions with Noel Gallagher
Once in a Lifetime Sessions with TLC
P.S. I Love You
Secretariat
Silverado
Steel Magnolias
Stripes
Switched (Netflix original movie)
The Aviator
The Golden Compass
The Informant!
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement
August 2
Emelie
August 3
Brij Mohan Amar Rahe (Netflix original film)
Cocaine Coast (Netflix Original)
Dinotrux Supercharged: Season 3 (Netflix original series)
I Am A Killer (Netflix original)
Like Father (Netflix original film)
Marching Orders (Netflix original)
August 4
Flavors of Youth: International Version (Netflix original)
Mr. Sunshine (Netflix original movie)
On Children (Netflix original film)
August 5
Paid in Full
August 9
Perdida (Netflix film)
The Originals: Season 5
August 10
72 Dangerous Animals: Asia (Netflix original)
Afflicted (Netflix Original)
All About the Washingtons (Netflix film)
Demetri Martin: The Overthinker (Netflix original movie)
Insatiable (Netflix film)
La casa de las flores (Netflix movie)
Million Pound Menu (Netflix original film)
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society (Netflix film)
The Package (Netflix movie)
The Ponysitters Club (Netflix original film)
Voltron: Legendary Defender: Season 7 (Netflix original)
Zion (Netflix Original)
August 11
No Country for Old Men
August 13
Alexander: The Ultimate Cut
Splash and Bubbles: Season 2
The Nut Job
August 15
Adventures in Public School
Hostiles
The 100: Season 5
August 16
Evan Almighty
Wish I Was Here
August 17
Disenchantment (Netflix original)
Magic for Humans (Netflix movie)
Pinky Malinky (Netflix original film)
Spirit Riding Free: Season 6– (Netflix original series)
Stay Here (Netflix original)
The Motive (Netflix film)
To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before (Netflix film)
Ultraviolet (Netflix movie)
August 19
The Investigator: A British Crime Story: Season 2 (Netflix Original)
August 21
Year One
August 23
Deadwind (Netflix Original)
Follow This (Netflix Original)
Great News: Season 1
August 24
Ask the StoryBots: Season 2 (Netflix original series)
Bert Kreischer: Secret Time (Netflix original)
Ghoul (Netflix original movie)
The After Party (Netflix film)
The Innocents (Netflix original film)
Trolls: The Beat Goes On!: Season 3 (Netflix original series)
Young & Hungry: Season 5 (Netflix original series)
August 28
The Good Place: Season 2
August 29
Inequality for All
August 31
Inside the Criminal Mind (Netflix original)
The Laws of Thermodynamics (Netflix movie)
Ozark: Season 2 (Netflix original series)
Paradise PD (Netflix original)
The Comedy Lineup: Part (Netflix film)
Ultimate Beastmaster: Survival of the Fittest (Netflix original)
Undercover Law (Netflix movie)
