High Fidelity (novel)
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- For audiophile sound systems, see high fidelity.
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| Cover of the 2000 paperback edition | |
| Author | Nick Hornby |
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| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Genre(s) | Novel |
| Publisher | Penguin Books |
| Released | 1995 |
| Media Type | Print (Hardback & Paperback) |
| Pages | 336 pp |
| ISBN | ISBN 0-575-05748-3 |
| High Fidelity | |
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 Cover of DVD release |
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| Directed by | Stephen Frears |
| Produced by | Tim Bevan Rudd Simmons |
| Written by | Nick Hornby (novel) D.V. DeVincentis, Steve Pink, John Cusack, Scott Rosenberg (screenplay) |
| Starring | John Cusack Iben Hjejle Jack Black Todd Louiso Joan Cusack Tim Robbins Catherine Zeta-Jones Lisa Bonet Lili Taylor Joelle Carter and Bruce Springsteen |
| Music by | Howard Shore |
| Cinematography | Seamus McGarvey |
| Editing by | Mick Audsley |
| Distributed by | Buena Vista Pictures |
| Release date(s) | March 17, 2000 |
| Running time | 113 min. |
| Country | United Kingdom United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $20,000,000 (est.) |
| All Movie Guide profile | |
| IMDb profile | |
High Fidelity is a British novel by Nick Hornby, first published (ISBN 0-575-05748-3) in 1995. It was made into a film in 2000 directed by Stephen Frears and starring John Cusack, Iben Hjejle, Jack Black, Todd Louiso, Tim Robbins, Lisa Bonet, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Joan Cusack, Joelle Carter and Lili Taylor.
The book and film have essentially similar plots, though the setting, originally London, is moved to Chicago in the film. Cusack plays Rob Gordon (Rob Fleming in the novel), a record store owner in his 30s whose girlfriend Laura (Hjejle) has just left him. At the record shop — named Championship Vinyl — Rob and his employees Dick (Louiso) and Barry (Black) spend their free moments discussing mix-tape aesthetics and constructing "top-five" lists of anything that demonstrates their knowledge of music.
Rob, recalling his five most memorable breakups, sets about getting in touch with the former girlfriends, including Charlie (Zeta-Jones) and Sarah (Taylor).
Eventually, Rob's re-examination of his failed relationships (egged on in a lucid dream dialogue with Bruce Springsteen in the film adaptation), and the death of Laura's father bring the two of them back together. Their relationship is cemented by the launch of a new purposefulness to Rob's life, which in the book is the revival of his disc jockey career, and in the film, the launch of his new record label.
Rob also resolves his ongoing desire to be interested in other women by realizing that they're only fantasies, since he hasn't seen their negative, less-appealing sides while his relationship with Laura is impartial. He decides that the overall happiness and fulfillment his relationship with Laura brings are worth the occasional downsides.
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[edit] Trivia
- After seeing the film, the author said he wanted Cusack to play the leads in every film adaptation of his books. This didn't happen, since the leads in subsequent Hornby adaptations were played by Hugh Grant in About A Boy and Jimmy Fallon in the American re-make of Fever Pitch.
- In the scene where Rob and Laura are discussing Ian's sexual prowess, Laura is reading a book with the title "Love Thy Neighbor".
- The 100th episode of Degrassi: The Next Generation was named 'High Fidelity'.
[edit] Differences Between the Novel and the Film
- The book takes place in London while the film takes place in Chicago.
- When Rob is trying to work out whether Laura slept with Ian, he questions Barry about it in the form of seeing a cult movie. In the novel, they discuss Reservoir Dogs. In the film, they discuss Evil Dead II.
- In the book, Rob does have five significant breakups for his top five breakups of all time list. In the film, he gives us five names for his top five breakup list, but admits that the fifth woman on the list did not really hurt him that much when she broke up with him, and that her name was just added to the list in order to keep Laura's name out of the top 5.
- The two skater punks who hang out outside the store and record the album that Rob eventually produces were not in the novel. They were added for the movie.
- In the movie Ian goes to the record store to talk to Rob about Laura, in the novel Ian makes a phone call to Rob while he is at home in order to discuss matters concerning Laura.
- In the film, Laura and Rob have sex in Laura's car after her father's funeral. In the novel, they go to have sex, but Rob speculates about whether Laura has caught an STD since they have been apart, and end up not having sex.
[edit] Musical
A musical adaptation of the film had its world premiere at Boston's Colonial Theatre on September 22nd 2006. It will be in previews in Boston until October 22nd. It will then debut in previews on Broadway in New York on November 20, with an opening on December 7th. It features music by Tom Kitt, lyrics by Amanda Green, book by David Lindsay-Abaire and direction by Walter Bobbie.
[edit] External links
- Kierkegaard's Narrative: High Fidelity
- High Fidelity at the Internet Movie Database
