Reading and Watching: Gorky Park, book and movie

We just finished reading the 1981 crime novel Gorky Park written by     Martin Cruz Smith.  It was a 1981 best seller and won the Golden Dagger Award from the British Crime Writer's Association.  Set in Russia the story follows Arkady Renko, a police chief investigator, who is assigned a grisly case of three mutilated corpses found in Gorky Park, the Moscow amusement park.  A wonderful story of inter-agency rivalry, failed relationships, a love story, friendship, betrayal and redemption wove together the strands of suspense.  A thirty year old story that aged well.

After reading a book, if there has been a movie based on it, we try to watch the movie, as soon as we can. so the book is fresh.  In 1983  the  movie Gorky Park was directed by Michael Apted.  Dennis Potter wrote the screen play, which won an1984 Edgar Award from the Mystery Writers of America.  Movietime Video in McMinnville has a great selection of movies and Gorky Park was in the Suspense Section.  We wondered if the movie had aged as well as the book.

The movie eliminated and changed many of the relationships but keep the main love story.  Film has to simplify.  Eliminating the wife and failed marriage did not effect the film's story.  What did surprise me was eliminating the New York and FBI part.  It showed a nice parallel with Russia police and KGB and New York Police and FBI.  And changing the KGB Major Pribulda  character to another corrupt Russian, worked for the film story.  I preferred the book Major Pribulda and the interactions with the Renko character which the richness of the characterization.