The History Boys: Drama VS Film

What are the differences between the book and the movie?

In this assignment we were asked to write an essay on the notes we took in class, on the differences between the Drama vs Film, while watching the movie, “The History Boys”. I came up with a few notes for the minor differences that I noticed.

There are more differences, between the book and the movie, than you would imagine. One of which is that the book is in a slightly different order than the film. One minor difference between the book and the movie is that the Headmaster seems more demanding and serious in the book, where he looks more cunning and nicer, in the movie. Another difference, between the book and the film, is that Irwin, in the movie, is a little more hesitant, I thought he would have been a better liar, at least, but the students seem to work well with the attitude. I also noticed another minor detail, and that was that Irwin’s first class, with the boys, was outside in the movie, but in the book, it was in the classroom. Something that I noticed was different from the book and the movie was that in the book, Dakin actually has sex with Fiona, but in the movie he doesn’t, the book is a little different from the movie. Another change, or difference, between the book and the movie, is that Posner shows that he wants Dakin, in the movie, whereas he was much more discrete in the book. In the movie, they also added an extra character, there was an art teacher in the movie, but in the book they never even spoke of art. Also, Hector’s wife was never mentioned, or anything, in the movie, whereas in the book, they did. When the boys were going to go on a tour of the universities they were applying to, they got into a random bus, that was never mentioned in the book, but I don’t think this minor change plays a big role. Last but certainly not least, in the movie, the crossing guard that saw Hector touching his student was supposed to be the Headmaster’s wife, like it was in the book, but instead it was a random new character in the movie.

These are the differences I noticed between the book and the movie, that I found watching it for the first time, but I think that if I watch the film again, I would find even more differences.