From every end comes a new beginning as we join Roland the Gunslinger in his tireless pursuit of the man in black, across the desert. The Dark Tower is a series of seven novels from the mind of Stephen King that would be best described as a cross between The Lord of the Rings and a Spaghetti Western. Although, I would contend that The Dark Tower is much more bizarre and graphic. There has been recent news about a trio of movies and mini-series that are to be made about this epic adventure. In anticipation of these productions, I have decided to revisit the quest that I embarked upon years ago when I read The Dark Tower for the first time. I use the word "read" loosely, because you don't really read The Dark Tower, you live it. Roland Deschain along with Jake Chambers, Eddie Dean, Susannah, and Oy the billy-bumbler are calling me back to once again be a part of their ka-tet, or group of destiny. The strange encounters, lethal adversaries, and the numerous destinations are vague in my mind, like memories from a previous life.
Although my memory of The Dark Tower is vague, I do recall that my favorite book was the third in the series, "The Waste Lands". Who can forget the haunting city of Lud and the villainous Tick-Tock Man. For me, the creepiest encounter in the whole Dark Tower series took place with an intelligent, yet suicidal train named Blain the Mono. This intense episode pits The Gunslinger and his companions against Blain and his infinite amount of computerized knowledge in a game of riddles, to the death. What sticks in my mind is how Blain the Mono was connected to a fictional childhood book about a train called Charlie the Choo-Choo. The word "Char" meaning death and Jake Chambers wondering if the children riding the train were laughing or screaming to get off. I always think of this when I see the real life children's book Thomas the Train. This is just one of the countless disturbing images I've come away with while on my first run through of The Dark Tower series.
How will scenes like this translate into a Dark Tower movie? I know that there are people on both sides of the aisle when it comes to making movies about a great series of novels. There are those that are dead set against it because they fear the story, as perceived in their mind, will be ruined. I'm of the camp, however, that is for the making of a Dark Tower movie. If it is done right, it could turn out just as fantastic, or even more so, than The Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter films. Those series of movies, according to an overwhelming number of fans, portrayed the characters and settings from the source literature in an accurate and entertaining manner.
Fortunately, The Dark Tower movies and mini-series have a great chance of being a success because the project is being put in the hands of a veteran director with decades of experience in the film industry, Ron Howard. The most important ingredient, though, is the actor who will play the lead role of Roland Deschain. Before I first read The Dark Tower and had it briefly described to me, I pictured The Gunslinger as Clint Eastwood. Obviously, he is too old to play the part. It has been recently reported, however, that the role of Roland has been offered to Javier Bardem who won an Academy Award for his part in the movie "No Country for Old Men". Bardem's gruff demeanor and familiarity with movies in barren western landscapes makes him a nice fit. The only problem is Bardem has brown eyes and Roland Deschain, as described in the books, has hauntingly blue eyes. This is where modern day special effects or simple contact lenses may have to play a part. Other than that, Javier Bardem assuming the role of The Gunslinger has great potential.
I look forward to re-reading The Dark Tower as a lead up to the movies and mini-series. Even if the The Dark Tower movies don't live up to the expectations, I get the thrill of living through the whole series of books once again. I highly recommend this Stephen King masterpiece to those who haven't experienced it yet because this is one adventure that shouldn't be missed.
Join the quest for The Dark Tower by visiting A.P. Papoon's Roland and The Dark Tower Movies blog. Also, if you like things that are creepy, be sure to check out the Creepy and Haunting Songs blog.
