Jekyll & Hyde - Omnibus MultiMedia Edition

I had intended this to be a much longer post but I'm only in a recappy mood. Jekyll & Hyde is a classic tale and so I don't have to explain it much. What I'll focus on is the various formats that I've encountered over the past few months.

Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde - Read the book by Robert Louis Stevenson. I thought it was a good read. It does have kind of an odd narrative structure, but enjoyable on many levels.

Please permit a brief analysis: The novel is typically viewed as about dual/split personalities. Jekyll's stated goal is to create a better man in himself by excising all his evil. However what he does is free the evil which eventually dominates and subsumes the good. And so simply the novel is about how evil will triumph over good if given a window.

But how did that evil get there in the first place? There is always a dark side within Jekyll, especially when he was younger. Initially he views becoming Hyde as freeing, liberating. When Hyde, Jekyll doesn't need to restraint himself or conform. Hyde is almost an addiction for Jekyll. So perhaps it isn't Hyde who is evil but rather there is an evil Hyde persona that Jekyll puts on. It is really all Jekyll, finally becoming the person he wants to be. And then not liking the person he wanted to be. The novel's conflict is not Hyde v. Jekyll but Jekyll desperately trying to put the genie back into the lamp. I would argue that Jekyll would love to continue being Hyde - it is only when he realizes he can't control the transformation does Jekyll panic.

But enough analysis. For our multimedia adventure TL and I also watched the 1931 movie version of the book. It too was pretty good even if it deviated significantly from the book. Good special effects considering the era, and Frederic March got Best Actor for it. We also saw a theatrical version at the Repertory Theatre. This was not the musical version, but a straight play. It too was interesting and enjoyable - but again had minor deviations.

The biggest deviation we experienced was watching The Nutty Professor as part of Hyde Fest '09. I'm talking about the 1963 movie starring Jerry Lewis - not the Eddie Murphy one - though both obviously make the same point. Which is taking drastic measures to change who you are and then not really liking who you have become. In this case, Lewis' nerdy Professor Kelp becomes the smooth-talking, yet very obnoxious Buddy Love. I had never seen the Jerry Lewis version before, but I found it entertaining though somewhat dated. But I really did like the Buddy Love scenes - Lewis is perfect at being the coolest but rudest guy in the room. It makes you wonder if perhaps Lewis wasn't acting then.

Anyway, I enjoyed my multimedia experience and I might have to be on the look out for other opportunities to immerse myself into a world for awhile. For example, The Grapes of Wrath is on the Oscar List and I never read the book so I can do that. But two media is not multimedia, - I need to think bigger. Any Thoughts?