The Emperor's Club Film Analysis

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In the production of its film iteration, The Emperor’s Club, filmmakers added and omitted a number of key elements of Ethan Canin’s The Palace Thief. While of course there is no way to know for certain what the filmmakers’ intentions were, perhaps these changes were made in order to appeal to a wider audience—as the original tale is set at an elite, East Coast school for boys, which is something to which only a relatively small fraction of the population can relate, so it is possible the filmmakers added certain elements to the movie to make it seem more relatable. In addition, it is also very likely the filmmakers simply added certain instances to the film to deliver the story in what they believe a more enjoyable manner. Both of these would improve the overall quality and success of the film. For example, Mr. Hundert is depicted in the film as having a close female acquaintance, of whom there is absolutely no mention in Canin’s original …show more content…

Hundert returns to his teaching position at St. Benedict’s after being skipped over for the headmaster position. This is directly contradictory to Canin’s story, in which Mr. Hundert is asked to retire by Mr. Ellerby, the new headmaster of the school and Mr. Hundert’s former friend. In addition, the final scenes of the film reveal that over time the school has evolved from an all-male institution to a coeducational one—once again, something of which there is no mention in the original story. These two elements were likely added to create the stereotypical ending in which all of the story’s conflicts resolve “happily ever after.” However, anyone familiar with the original tale would know that despite the movie’s depictions, Mr. Hundert does not return to his teaching job, but instead fades away into retirement; the school does not convert to a coeducational institution; and in fact everything does not end in the cliché, Hollywood fashion that the movie

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