Wise Blood

"Wiser 'n yours."

Huston's unique ambition seems to have been adapting unadaptable literature. Under the Volcano is an animal all its own, but he did tame it, and The Treasure of the Sierra Madre, though more readily broken in, surely ain't no house pet. But Wise Blood? Really?

Well, yes. And even with no access to the gutty inside-language of words, Huston masterfully translates the sordid, clumsy, nervous beauty of the novella into an image of rank dignity or sour accomplishment:

I present to you, mutilated and free, the New Jesus.

Slothrop: Sorry to hijack your post, Koko, but I've still been thinking about Walkabout and your gorilla photo here convinced me that what I really wanted to say about it, Walkabout, is that it is the best porn flick I've ever seen and Slothrop, too, is a gorilla or one of them lizards that slither in every other scene. And so also, do I need to replace my Jesus avatar?