Apt pupil by stephen king meet your next favorite book. High school student, todd bowden played by brad renfro, is fascinated by nazi germany. He is portrayed by sir ian mckellen, who also portrays magneto in the xmen films. Directed by bryan singer the usual suspects and both xmen features, apt pupil is a story of adolescent curiosity and evil intentions. Apt pupil 1982 is a novella by stephen king, originally published in the 1982 novella. Apt pupil distances itself from the shawshank redemption and stand by me in that it isnt as accomplished, most notably when it comes to the inevitable book film comparison.
It had been a long time since i read the book and even longer since id seen the movie and i wanted to revisit them and make a comparison. Apt pupil is a 1998 american psychological thriller film based on the novella of the same name by stephen king. Different seasons apt pupil, chapters 8 to 11 summary. Apt pupil why dussanderdenker never says todds name. Rather than turning dussander over to the proper authorities, todd asks to hear highly detailed stories about his crimes, having. Apt pupil or, summer of corruption a teenage boy learns about the. He looked like the total allamerican kid as he pedaled his twentysixinch schwinn with the apehanger handlebars up the residential suburban street, and thats just what he was. While we are on the topic of fact, world war ii was worse than any ghost, ghoul, or goblin story.
Having said that, there are strong homoerotic elements in the film version. The four novellas in different seasons are, in order presented. Todd becomes an apt pupil of the horror stories dussander tells and the two enter into a bizarre relationship of mixed hate and friendship culminating when todd helps dussander cover up a vicious murder. Kurt dussander is the main antagonist in the stephen king novel apt pupil as well as the 1998 film adaptation of the same name he is portrayed by sir ian mckellen, who also portrays magneto in the xmen films biography. Stephen king, apt pupil is the story of todd bowden brad renfro.
Stephen kings short story apt pupilfrom the collection different seasonsis now an encore standalone cd for the first time. To satisfy todds curiosity and earn his silence, kurt dussander ian. I borrowed a copy of the original viking press edition of the anthology in order to read his 196page summer of corruption. Anthony hughes todd, an up and coming top graduate, discovers an old nazi war criminal living in his town. Apt pupil, based on a 16yearold king novella, is about the untamed evil that exists in the hearts of adolescent boys, even in boys as allamerican as todd bowden brad renfro. Characters ian mckellen as kurt dussander arthur denker, brad renfro as todd bowden.
Rather than turn dussander over to the authorities, todd makes a strange deal where dussander will tell him what it felt like during the holocaust of world war ii in exchange for todds silence. Set in the 1980s in southern california, the film tells the fictional story of high school student todd bowden renfro, who discovers a fugitive nazi war criminal, kurt dussander mckellen, living in his. But todd isnt about to turn dussander in he wants to know everything the textbooks missed, and the more todd learns, the more of apt a pupil. Apt pupil 1998 is a film based on a stephen king novella of the same name, from his book different seasons which also produced the body basis for the film stand by me and rita hayworth and shawshank redemption, and im pretty sure you can figure out the film it inspired. Apt pupil by stephen king 1982 stephen king is a master of horror, but nothing is more skincrawling than reality. Springheel, jack one of kurt dussanders list of great murderers from the past. Dec 14, 2018 stephen kings early books were much better then his later ones. Dussander, todd said, holding the times out politely. Todd had earlier claimed to have given a letter explaining dussanders identity to a friend. An adaptation of the novella apt pupil in his different seasons collection, the same book that includes the body, which rob reiner filmed as stand by me. Dussander dreams that inmates of the camp are coming back for him.
Through the window of a moving vehicle, we see a series of small, middleclass houses. But he is about to meet a different kind of teacher, mr. Apt pupil 1982 is a novella by stephen king, originally published in the 1982 novella collection different seasons, subtitled summer of corruption. With ian mckellen, brad renfro, joshua jackson, mickey cottrell. Set in the 1980s in southern california, the film tells the fictional story of high school student todd bowden. Mar 14, 2012 apt pupil 1998 is a film based on a stephen king novella of the same name, from his book different seasons which also produced the body basis for the film stand by me and rita hayworth and shawshank redemption, and im pretty sure you can figure out the film it inspired.
Todds confrontation of dussander happens within the opening pages of the book and the ride never stops until 200plus pages later. Singer might be facing a lot of hostile media coverage at the moment, but at an early point in his career he created apt pupil. Buy a cheap copy of apt pupil book by stephen king. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. Apt pupil why dussanderdenker never says todds name the. A yearold boy who discovers that the true identity of an old man who lives in his area by the name of arthur denker is the nazi war criminal kurt dussander. Apt pupil by stephen king booksamillion online book store. Jan 10, 2020 this feature is not available right now. Apt pupil released to little fanfare and struggled to find an audience.
Jew identify dussander scene apt pupil 1998 youtube. Jan 16, 2020 an adaptation of the novella apt pupil in his different seasons collection, the same book that includes the body, which rob reiner filmed as stand by me. I recently reread stephen kings different seasons, the fourpart novella collection that included apt pupil. Dussander, and to learn all about dussanders dark and deadly pasta decadesold manhunt dussander has escaped to this day. Apt pupil is the story of todd bowden, a brilliant kid that somehow finds out that a nazi war criminal, kurt dussander, lives nearby.
Apt pupil consists of 30 chapters, many of which are headed by a month. The film was directed by bryan singer and stars ian mckellen and brad renfro. A boy blackmails his neighbor after suspecting him to be a nazi war criminal. I want to touch on this subject carefully as brian singer, the director of apt pupil, is a gay man and his work tends to get filtered through his sexuality. He was portrayed by the late brad renfro in the film. Kurt dussander is the main antagonist in the stephen king novel apt pupil as well as the 1998 film adaptation of the same name. He then blackmails the old nazi into telling him detailed stories of his war crimes and part in the holocaust, also buying him a.
But instead of turning him out, todd decides to feed his own psychopathic tendencies and so he learns from dussander. He discovers that a former ss war criminal, kurt dussander played by ian mckellen is secretly living in his home town. Todd bowden is the protagonist of an apt pupil by stephen king and the subsequent film adaptation. That way, rather than being a tale about a storyteller and his audience, todd truly becomes dussanders pupil. Apt pupil audiobook by stephen king, read by frank muller. Stephen kings early books were much better then his later ones. Dussander, and to learn all about dussanders dark and deadly past. Todd and dussander relied on each other to keep secrets and keep them both from harms. The novel apt pupil has many horrible scenes that i did not read through wordforword, simply because it was unnecessary for the novels story line. Characters ian mckellen as kurt dussanderarthur denker, brad renfro as todd bowden. Different seasons is a collection of four novellas by stephen king. Stephen king wastes no time in his novel, apt pupil.
According to the books i read for my report, youre the monster, mr. When todd comes to the house to announce his success at dodging the summer school bullet, dussander insists they celebrate with some bourbon, ritz crackers and velveeta cheese, all carefully injected with prussic acid. Apt pupil is a novella by stephen king, originally published in the 1982 novella collection different seasons, subtitled summer of corruption. Todd bowden, thirteen years old, fivefeeteight and a healthy one hundred and forty pounds, hair the color of ripe corn, blue eyes, white even teeth, lightly tanned skin marred by not. Rita hayworth and shawshank redemption or, hope springs eternal hope springs eternal, even in prison. Todd becomes an apt pupil of the horror stories dussander tells and the two enter into a bizarre relationship of mixed hate and friendship. Apt pupil is a novella written by stephen king and published in his 1982 collection different seasons. But he is about to meet a different kind of teacher. Dussander is a former nazi who lives under the name of arthur denker, leading a very private life so as not to bring attention to his true identity. Then again, it tells a much darker story, which asks the audience to root for a psychotic teenager and an aging nazi.
Jan 10, 2020 dussander s end apt pupil 1998 watch this. Kurt dussander goes to dinner at todd bowdens house. It was, instead, like throwing in of bloody and obligatory gore for no apparent reason. If you dont believe in the existence of evil, you have a lot to learn. Apt pupil 1987 unfinished film the master cylinder. Apt pupil is the story of a sick symbiosis between a thirteenyearold allamerican kid named todd bowden and a former deathcamp commandant, mr. Apt pupil has two of the best characters stephen king has ever created in my opinion. Three of the four novellas were later adapted into feature films. Ian mckellen xmen plays the role of an aged, former nazi soldier living alone in a quiet town with brad renfro sleepers as a young, high school teenager in the search of finding the truth about nazi life in wartime germany.
I dont remember details of the book, but reading the first post, my first thought. Apt pupil ebook by stephen king 9781982115456 rakuten kobo. Apt pupil was produced in 1988 by richard kobritz who made salems lot and christine and starred nicol williamson and ricky schroder. Apt pupil book by stephen king official publisher page.
Todd has spent a few months prior to confronting dussander secretly observing him by taking photos, lifting his fingerprints from his mailbox and front door. No surprise, all of the stories in this book have been made into movies but one, the breathing method, which is currently in development and scheduled for theatrical release in 2020. The inspiration for the film of the same name starring ian mckellen about top high school student todd bowden and his obsession with the dark and deadly past of an older. Oct 23, 1998 apt pupil, based on a 16yearold king novella, is about the untamed evil that exists in the hearts of adolescent boys, even in boys as allamerican as todd bowden brad renfro. Published in 1982, it represented something of a departure for king at that point, as three of the novellas were straight dramatic stories albeit with some horrific elements that did not deal with the supernatural fiction that he was known for. The decadesold manhunt dussander has escaped to this day. Apt pupil by stephen king todd bowden is an apt pupil. The plot of apt pupil is tampered with a bit in the film version. Books similar to apt pupil meet your next favorite book. Dussander had already anticipated the apt pupil s treachery. Todds parents, dick and monica, are charmed by dussander, which unnerves todd.