The crimes are seen in advance of the events by three precognitives, or “precogs.” Though present in both, these beings are portrayed quite differently in the story than in the film. The agent catches the ball as it goes over the edge, prompting Anderton to ask, “Why did you catch it?” The response: “Because it was going to fall.” But it didn’t fall, precisely because it was caught – does that negate the fact that it would have fallen if no one had intervened? It’s convoluted enough thought to make your head spin, and both the story and the film leave the reader/viewer’s head spinning with all the implications. police rolls a ball across a table toward a federal agent who challenges what he does with that very question.

Let’s start our discussion with one of the main concerns of any story adaptation – how true is the film to the source material? Well, I think I can state pretty confidently that the story and the film are based on the same idea (preventing crime) and that both wrestle with the complex metaphysical theme of the nature of “guilt.” Can a person be considered guilty of a crime if he has not yet committed it but is predicted to commit it sometime in the future? In the film, Captain John Anderton of the Precrime Unit of the Washington, D.C. But when the chief of the Precrime Unit is himself accused of a future murder, he has just 36 hours to discover who set him up – or he’ll fall victim to the “perfect” system he helped create.”īook or film? Read on to find out. has been murder-free thanks to three “precognitives” who can see future events, as well as astounding technology that lets the police tap into their visions, identifying and arresting killers before they commit their crimes.

The story was originally published under the title “The Minority Report” in 1956, and it was adapted for the screen by Oscar-winning director Steven Spielberg in 2002 with the title simply “Minority Report.” For those of you unfamiliar with the basic premise, here is a brief synopsis adapted from the DVD cover: Dick’s stories that was adapted for the screen. Today we’re going to be discussing “The Minority Report,” another of Philip K. The series’ intention is to track a number of books’ progression from the printed page to the silver screen and assess how well or how badly the filmmakers accomplished each of the adaptations. This look at Minority Report (From Short Story to Movie) is the next in our series of “Have You Watched a Good Book Lately?”

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