The Hunger Games: Catching Fire dvd release: book vs film

I’m part of the Harry Potter-generation and therefore don’t like The Hunger Games. There. I said it. I’m sorry, but I just can’t get into the Battle Royale-ish story of the trilogy, and although I’m a big, BIG fan of Jennifer Lawrence, I liked her more in X-men than in this movie. Although it’s not my cup of tea, the incredible box-office numbers have proven that millions of other people did like the bloody story of Katniss Everdeen and her Twelfth District. And the fact that those people are likely to buy the DVD or Blu-ray shows I’m perhaps a bit old-fashioned about my opinion, eh? Yes, you got that right, the movie has been released for home viewing, so you’d better start gathering your friends and prepare a truckload of popcorn.

With the latest release, 'Catching Fire', Lionsgate sets on the trend of the first movie; that is creating a beautifully crafted universe, nail-bitting tension and a healthy amount of puppy love. This time there’s even more, because Katniss has clearly developed herself into a fearsome predator after surviving the Hunger Games in the first movie. Her battle against the Capitol – led by ultimate bad-ass President Snow who happens to be the organiser of the Hunger Games – has inspired the twelve districts to start a rebellion against the fear terrorism. People start to revolt below the banner of the Mockingjay, and Snow realizes Katniss – the big example of the rebellion – has to die. Reason enough to drop her in the Hunger Games again, which are even bigger this time because it’s the 5th anniversary of the sickening game.

Although the movie takes quite the time to tell its story (146 min), the director had to make some crucial choices about what would and wouldn’t get in the movie. The book, written by Suzanne Collins, of course holds a lot more context about the Hunger Games throughout its 391 pages. Interesting and beautiful stuff that didn’t get the movie. Here’s five big differences between the two adaptions of the story.

- Beware: we don’t take any responsibility for spoiling the story. Be warned! –

Whipping Gale

Every movie needs a good old-fashioned hero, no? At the start of 'Catching Fire', Gale interferes with the Capitol guards by standing up for an older woman. This gives him a hero status throughout the movie, whilst in the book he gets whipped for being caught while hunting. He’s just a poor bloke there, craving for food. Give him a break, please.

Shorter action incubation time

In the book, the actual Hunger Game only takes about one third of the entire story, whilst the movie is almost entirely dedicated to the gruesome action that takes place there. Of course the viewer likes to get some action, but the disadvantage of a quicker build-up to the actual slaughtering in the movie means we don’t get as much background. The incubation time gets shortened, which leads to less in-depth character development.

Haymitch’s missing background

In the movies, Haymitch is just present as a former winner of the Hunger Games. In the second book, Peeta and Katniss get to see some tapes of Haymitch’s victory, which results in him getting a very interesting background. Although we’d love to see this on screen, the writers decided to skip this part, which results in Haymitch being a flat character.

Plutarch Heavensbee’s watch

Oh, how we're going to miss Philip Seymour Hoffman in the third movie. He joined the cast in the second one as gamemaker Plutarch Heavenbee and did an amazing job with the role. D’you remember the scene where he’s dancing with Katniss? In the book, this scene is even more interesting when he shows Katniss his watch, that has an image of a mockingjay on it. By this, he hints his secret alignment with the rebellion early in the story, so that the reader knows “Hey, this is a good guy.” In the film however, this particularly interesting scene was dumped. A shame, because Seymour Hoffman would certainly have done it great and it would’ve added a few more minutes to his tremendous legacy.

Training is not necessary

We follow Peeta and Katniss during their training in the book. The dialogues there show they’re both very scared for the upcoming game and are doing their best to get in shape for it. In the movie however, it seems that they don’t need any training. Perhaps this scene would’ve cost the production team too much valuable minutes, but we would’ve loved to see Katniss and Peeta sharpening their skills under the heavy pressure of the forthcoming deadly game. They’re only human, you know. They need training.

So, which was better? Movie or book? Save the discussion for at the counter in your favourite pub, but sharpen your knowledge about both of them by re-reading and re-watching. It’s possible to do the latter at home now because of the DVD and Blu-ray release. Get out and go to the nearest DVD dealer to buy it. Join the madness. It’s worth it.

Yarreth Plysier