In honour of the 2016 Oscars: Classic films of books part II

It’s a special moment in the film year, and time for me to own up to my personal failure at keeping track of all of 2016’s high profile book-to-film adaptations.  So many of this year’s big hitters were originally books and while I’ve seen some and read others, the two have rarely matched up.  Take ‘The Revenant’, I didn’t even know it was also a novel until the ‘based on… ‘ publicity started.  My excuse for ‘The Big Short’ is that it was a non-fiction book and so I was unlikely to read it anyway, but it was all still seeming a bit feeble.  Then I decided to postpone viewing ‘Carol’ until after reading the Highsmith source novel.  Result, I haven’t finished the book and have missed seeing the film in advance of the awards ceremony.  In fact, my only winner was ‘Brooklyn’ which I read a couple of years ago and did manage to catch on the big screen … but all in all it felt like rather a poor attempt for someone who thinks of herself as up to date with books, culture and awards.

Still, prize giving seasons should be about celebrating success rather than wallowing in guilt.  Instead of worrying about 2016, I’ve decided to take a broader view and continue my list (started here) of great film adaptations – those classics which are watched time and time again, those films and books which are strong enough to stand alone, but which also increase popularity for the alternative media version.

Top Film Adaptations Previously Mentioned on this Blog

The List Continues…

‘The Turn of the Screw’, a weird, atmospheric novella by Henry James, is all about the power of suggestion.  It’s billed as a ghost story and is clearly a tale about madness and obsession, but the power of the narrative is that it’s never really obvious where these themes overlap.  A tale about love and fear, about power and vulnerability, it is a wonderful piece of writing, and, in ‘The Innocents’, Jack Clayton shows how cinema can be just as evocative and eerie as any book.

You really can’t go wrong with Highsmith.  I recently read ‘Strangers on a Train’ (review pending) and was completely in thrall to the story it tells of the plan and repercussions of ‘the perfect murder.’  Having already seen the Hitchcock adaptation only added to my enjoyment.  The book and the film take the story in different directions, but both show a masterful understanding of how writing and cinema can explore the dark side of human nature.  I honestly can’t say which version of the story I prefer.

It’s easy to forget that ‘The Princess Bride’ was originally a novel.  In fact, it has its own charming origin story as William Goldman claims the book is his own edited and abridged translation of a ‘Florian’ legend.  Take the full title of the first edition: ‘The Princess Bride, S Morgenstern’s Classic Tale of True Love and High Adventure, The ‘Good Parts’ Version.’  As in the film, this gives a layering to the story, with the ‘editor’ interrupting to make sure the readers aren’t too scared or bored.  Essential reading material for all of the ‘Princess Bride’ fans out there.

My last book review was about Malory’s ‘Le Morte D’Arthur’ and, while I loved it in its own right, I can’t deny that having the theme tune to ‘Monty Python and the Holy Grail’ going round my head did help me along.  I don’t want to overstate the similarities (there are no coconuts in Malory’s version and no horses in Python’s, for a start).  I do however want to claim this as a wonderful, and ridiculously quotable filmic version of a classic text, and if you do not agree, I will taunt you a second time…

Finally.  I can’t help noticing a book-film adaptation out at the moment which has received zero Oscar attention.  I refer of course to ‘Pride and Prejudice and Zombies.’  I can’t comment on the success of the project; I don’t actually know the book, though I have  read the graphic novel version of the story.  A part of me wants to watch the film, but another part of me is too scared to…