Direct adaptation (sometimes literal adaptation). The frame replaces the lines. What is screen adaptation? This is how Hollywood sees it

A film adaptation is a work of cinematic art created on the basis of a work of another art form: literature, dramatic and musical theater, including opera and ballet. However, most often the concept of “film adaptation” is associated with the translation into film language of a fairly well-known literary work.

The relationship between cinema and literature is complex and diverse. At first, they came down to film illustrations of literary plots of famous works, to “living pictures”, film sketches inspired by these plots. Over time, film adaptations acquire greater depth of interpretation of literature and greater artistic independence.

Screen adaptations have been part of cinema practice since the first years of its existence. Immediately after its birth, it began to experience a shortage of original stories and turned to literature for them. Some of the first film adaptations were created by the French director J. Méliès, who in 1902 directed the films “Robinson Crusoe” and “Gulliver” based on the works of D. Defoe and J. Swift. At the beginning of the century, the first film adaptations of William Shakespeare's works appeared. With the advent of sound cinema, Shakespeare's characters found their voice on the screen. Already, about 100 films have been based on the plots of Shakespeare’s plays, and many of them, for example “Hamlet”, have been filmed several times.

The first Russian feature film “Ponizovaya Volnitsa” (1908) was an adaptation of the famous folk song “Because of the Island to the Rod”. Soon Russian cinema found a rich source of plots and images in literary classics. Its adaptations for the screen in the 1910s. constituted the so-called “Russian Golden Series”. Films based on the works of A. S. Pushkin, L. N. Tolstoy, F. M. Dostoevsky, N. A. Nekrasov, A. P. Chekhov and other domestic writers were staged. These films most often represented an illustration of individual episodes of works, their plot (the main chain of events). Many had to be sacrificed, adapting the literary plot to the possibilities of silent cinema, which had not yet sufficiently mastered its editing and visual means. Successful adaptations of Russian pre-revolutionary cinema include the films “The Queen of Spades” (based on A. S. Pushkin, 1916) and “Father Sergius” (based on L. N. Tolstoy, 1918), in which director Ya. A. Protazanov made an attempt using external expressiveness to convey the intention of the authors.

In the history of Soviet cinema, the best film adaptations are distinguished by their depth of interpretation of literary works and artistic expressiveness. In 1926, director V. I. Pudovkin directed the film “Mother” based on the novel of the same name by A. M. Gorky (script by N. A. Zarkhi). Due to the peculiarities of silent cinema, it was necessary to rework the literary material: reducing its volume, the range of characters, and some compositional restructuring. The filmmakers managed to find an expressive, dynamic form to convey the meaning and revolutionary spirit of Gorky’s work. Later, director M. S. Donskoy turned to this novel; his film “Mother” was released in 1956.

With the advent of sound in cinema, the possibilities of embodying literary images on the screen have significantly expanded. One can name a number of successful film adaptations in our cinematic art: “Chapaev” (1934) by G. N. and S. D. Vasilyev based on the novel by D. A. Furmanov, “Peter the Great” (1937-1939) by V. M. Petrov based on the novel A. N. Tolstoy, film trilogy “Gorky’s Childhood”, “In People”, “My Universities” (1938-1940) by M. S. Donskoy based on the works of A. M. Gorky, “The Young Guard” (1948) and “Quiet Don” "(1957-1958) - film adaptations by S. A. Gerasimov of the novels by A. A. Fadeev and M. A. Sholokhov, “The Forty-First” (1956) by G. N. Chukhrai based on the story by B. A. Lavrenev, “Pavel Korchagin” (1957) by A. A. Alova and V. N. Naumov based on the novel by N. A. Ostrovsky “How the Steel Was Tempered”, “Othello” (1956) by S. I. Yutkevich based on W. Shakespeare, “The Fate of a Man” (1959) based on M. A. Sholokhov and “War and Peace” (1966-1967) based on L. N. Tolstoy - film adaptation directed by S. F. Bondarchuk, “Hamlet” (1964) by G. M. Kozintsev based on W. Shakespeare, “Brothers” The Karamazovs" (1969) by I. A. Pyryeva, "Crime and Punishment" (1970) by L. A. Kulidzhanov - film adaptations of novels by F. M. Dostoevsky. In the 70-80s. “An Unfinished Piece for Mechanical Piano” by N. S. Mikhalkov based on A. P. Chekhov, “Vassa” by G. A. Panfilov (the film is based on A. M. Gorky’s play “Vassa Zheleznova”) and others were released. literary heritage helps filmmakers to solve in their films also problems that concern modern people.

Cinematography willingly turns to the plots and images of modern Soviet literature - to the works of K. M. Simonov, Ch. T. Aitmatov, V. V. Bykov, V. G. Rasputin, V. P. Astafiev and many other writers.

Among the best adaptations of literary works for children and youth are “The Lonely Sail Whitens” (1937) by V. G. Legoshin based on V. P. Kataev, “Timur and His Team” (1940) by A. E. Razumny based on A. P. Gaidar , “Dirk” (1954) by V. Ya. Vengerov and M. A. Schweitzer based on the story by A. N. Rybakov.

A number of serious and interesting film adaptations of works of classical literature have been created in foreign cinema. These include Shakespearean films produced in England by L. Olivier (“Henry V”, 1944; “Hamlet”, 1948; “Richard III”, 1955), film adaptations of D. Lean’s novels by Charles Dickens (“Great Expectations”, 1946; "Oliver Twist", 1948); in France - “Therese Raquin” (1953) by M. Carne based on the novel by E. Zola, “Les Miserables” (1958) by J. P. Le Chanois based on the work of V. Hugo and others.

A new impetus to the relationship between the screen and literature was given by television with its accessible principle of multi-series, which allows drama and fiction to be transferred to the language of cinema in a fairly complete manner, with multi-layered plot lines and images.

The task of embodying and interpreting literary ideas and images through cinema is responsible and difficult. There are often cases when, with all the wealth of technical means and expressive possibilities, cinema offers viewers a dull illustration of a literary work. Conversely, a “free” cinematic interpretation of a literary work sometimes results in a distortion of its idea and spirit. The release of almost every new film adaptation, especially when it comes to literary classics, is accompanied by controversy: those who jealously count all the deviations from the original source in the film adaptation, and those who defend the filmmaker’s right to his own, time-appropriate reading of a literary work. For example, they argued about film adaptations of the novels by I. A. Ilf and E. P. Petrov, beloved by readers, “The Golden Calf” (1968, directed by M. A. Schweitzer) and “The Twelve Chairs” (1971, directed by L. I. Gaidai) or about the film directed by E. A. Ryazanov “Cruel Romance” (1984) based on the play “Dowry” by A. N. Ostrovsky. The main criteria when evaluating a film adaptation are the filmmakers’ respect for the literary source, their desire to penetrate the essence of the author’s intention, to convey the idea, style and system of images of the work, taking into account the opportunities that the art of screen provides.

In the practice of cinema, this type of film adaptation is also known when only individual plot lines and characters of the original source are used to create a work with a changed plot, with new semantic and ideological accents. This is specifically stated in the credits with the words “based on...”. Another form of relationship between cinema and literature, which has become widespread mainly in foreign cinema, is the transfer of the plot and heroes of a literary work to a different historical and national environment. Thus, in some foreign cinemas over the years, modern film versions of Gogol’s “The Inspector General” were made. Other examples can be mentioned: “White Nights” (1957) by the Italian director L. Visconti and “The Idiot” (1951) by the Japanese director A. Kurosawa - both films based on the works of F. M. Dostoevsky; “Money” (1983), based on the story “False Coupon” by L.N. Tolstoy, the film was directed by the French director R. Bresson. A similar experiment in our cinema was undertaken in 1969 by screenwriter R. L. Gabriadze and director G. N. Danelia, who created the film “Don’t Cry!” (1969), in which they transferred Georgia at the beginning of our century into the outline of a novel by a French writer of the first half of the 19th century. K. Tillier “My Uncle Benjamin.” This film became a successful experience in creating tragicomedy in cinema.

The encyclopedic dictionary formulates the answer quite clearly. Screen adaptation is an interpretation of works of prose, drama, poetry, as well as opera and ballet librettos through cinema. V. Kozhinov says that film adaptation in the proper sense of the word is a deeply unique sphere of cinema art, which has specific laws of creativity. V. Shklovsky argues that film adaptation is not just a translation into a new language, the language of another art, a work that has already been created and cast into a finished literary form, but the creation of a new work of art that speaks the language of another art - cinema.

That is, the main thing in a film adaptation is to convey what is inherent in the original source, using film means that differ significantly from literary ones. And therefore, it is natural that the viewer will evaluate any film adaptation primarily by how much it falls short of the level of the original source or exceeds it.

Books are filmed mainly to transfer a well-known, popular and beloved work into a new format. That is, the film adaptation gives the viewer the opportunity to once again experience what delighted and touched him in the book, only through cinema.

M.I. Turovskaya says: “Humanity knows problems that are usually called “eternal.” But there are issues that, far from being “eternal,” nevertheless remain forever on the agenda. In cinema, for example, the problem of film adaptation always remains unresolved."

After all, the question still arises: is the film adaptation good or bad?

There is an opinion that the key to success lies in fidelity to the original. There is an even more widespread opinion that the task of a cinematographer is akin to the work of a translator and boils down to adequately translating a work from the language of literature into the language of cinema.

According to Turovskaya, the film adaptation is only at first glance a respectful adherence to the great example. In reality, it is always a martial arts. Naturally, the more comparable the forces of the opponents - that is, the allies - are, the more free the author of the film adaptation feels in relation to what is being filmed, although, perhaps, he does not always realize this and honestly tries to convey the original.

Types of film adaptations

magical fairy tale movie adaptation

We can say that there are three main types of film adaptation: adaptation, new reading and retelling-illustration. At the initial stages of film history, film adaptations were more consistent with the first type (direct adaptation or adaptation). Over time, a trend of films “based on” appeared, the development of which, paradoxically, led to both simplification and complication of the primary form. There is a simplification of the original sources and an increase in the entertainment function, often to the detriment of the meaning.

Direct film adaptation (or literal adaptation). Such a film adaptation should repeat the book, giving the viewer the opportunity once again, only in film format, to come into contact with the source. An example is “The Chronicles of Narnia” by C. L. Lewis, in which the book is meticulously, episode by episode, conveyed in all its glory, sometimes quite literally, down to all the dialogue and voice-over texts.

This approach recreates the atmosphere of the original source and transfers the book to the screen. The goal of film adaptations when “translating” is to convey to the viewer the essence of the work, the features of the writer’s style, meaning, and spirit of the original, but with the help of film storytelling. Film adaptations of this kind are almost always good, kind films that are pleasant to watch. But very rarely with this approach you can create a masterpiece.

C. Geronimi's 1953 film Peter Pan is one example where a direct adaptation turns out to be more than a neat, cozy and unpretentious adaptation of a famous text on tap. From the modern - the first two films by K. Columbus about “Harry Potter”, in which the director successfully combined following the plot with many visual and directorial discoveries.

Based on (or a new reading). These are those film adaptations in the credits of which we find subtitles: “based on”, “based on” (based on the novel) and even “variations on a theme”. The main task of such films is to show a familiar work from a new perspective. Often, this form is used when the book physically cannot be literally transferred to the movie screen: due to a discrepancy in volume, for example, or when the action in the book is closed to the internal experiences of the hero, which are difficult to show without being converted into dialogues and events. This type of film adaptation does not strictly adhere to the original source, but it conveys the main thing and adds something new. That is, the author of the film adaptation considers the literary original only as material for creating his film, often not caring about whether the picture he creates will correspond not only to the letter, but even to the spirit of the work being filmed. There are an overwhelming majority of such film adaptations in modern cinema and, perhaps, in the history of cinema in general.

An example is “Peter Pan” by P. J. Hogan (in which J. Barry’s fairy tale was modernized and found a new context, becoming interesting to today’s children and teenagers) and most Soviet film adaptations of children’s books: from “Mary Poppins, Goodbye!” and “Little Red Riding Hood,” which were often worthy adaptations of the book into film language, before Disney’s “Treasure Planet,” which advantageously presented the old adventure plot in a new setting.

Film adaptation (or retelling-illustration). “Retelling-illustration” is characterized by the least distance between the script and the film from the text of the literary work being filmed. With this approach, the goal is not to convey the book as accurately as possible, but to create on its material a new, original work, which, nevertheless, is clearly interconnected with the original source and complements it. Probably the most striking examples of film adaptation are the 1989 Disney cartoon “The Little Mermaid”, the stories of Alice in T. Burton’s 2010 film “Alice in Wonderland” and the 2015 J. Wright film “Pan: Journey to Neverland”.

In such cases what happens:

A. The text is shortened if it is larger in volume than the estimated footage of the film, or (which happens less often) it is increased due to fragments from other works of the same writer.

B. Prose descriptions of the thoughts and feelings of the characters, as well as the author’s reasoning, are translated, if necessary, into the form of dialogues and monologues, into various types of voice-over.

B. If a play is being filmed, then dialogues and monologues, on the contrary, are shortened.

This type of film adaptation does not always lead to great success, since the specific advantages of cinema are not used to the proper extent and, at the same time, the advantages of a prose text or the strong side of theatrical action - its living connection with the audience - are lost.

Perhaps now we can say that we should not evaluate the film based on extreme positions. Any film adaptation, even the most distant from the original source, uses its ideas, material, plots, images, atmosphere. That is, it takes certain resources of the “source” and manages them. And therefore it is fair that it is by the degree of implementation of these resources that we will evaluate the result. To paraphrase Saint-Exupery: “...the one who films is responsible for what he films.”

briefly

1. Retelling-illustration, or direct film adaptation.

1. The text is shortened or enlarged.

2 . Prose descriptions are translated into the form of dialogues or monologues, into various types of voice-over.

3. If a play is filmed, then the dialogues and monologues, on the contrary, are reduced.

Example; S. Gerasimov “Quiet Don” (1957-1958); D. Galsworthy “The Forsyte Saga.” S. Bondarchuk “War and Peace” 1966–1967; V. Bortko “Idiot”; G. Panfilov. "In the first circle."Bad retelling F. Zeffirelli "Romeo and Juliet"; S. Bondarchuk “Boris Godunov”.

2. New reading, or based on.

1. Modernizing the classics.

Example; B. Luhrmann "Romeo and Juliet"; B. Luhrmann "Romeo and Juliet"

2. Transferring the action of the original to another time and to another country.

Example; A. Kurosawa “The Idiot” and “Throne of Blood”; G. Danelia “Don’t Cry!”; A. Konchalovsky “Mary’s Lovers”; M. Forman "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest."

3. Reworking the original in all directions (mainly style postmodernism).

Example;A. Kurosawa "Rashomon" (1950); Tom Stoppard's Rosencrantz and Guildestern are Dead (1990);failed processing I. Annensky “Anna on the Neck” (1954).

3. Transcription, or film adaptation.

This is an adaptation or translation of a literary work into the language of cinema, while preserving the peculiarity of the writer's style and the spirit of the original. So that the story told to the viewer, using cinematic techniques, would remain clear that this is Chekhov or the Strugatsky Brothers. (With)

Example; S. Samsonov “Jumping”; S. Bondarchuk “The Fate of Man”; L. Visconti “Death in Venice”; A. Sokurov “The Lonely Voice of a Man.”

full

Based on the above and agreeing with the need to schematize the material, we can say that there are three main types of film adaptation:

- retelling-illustration, or direct adaptation.

- new reading, or based on the.

- arrangement. or film adaptation.

Retelling-illustration

This is the least creative way of film adaptation from a dramatic point of view. Abroad they call it "adaptation"(from lat. adaptatio - adapt), i.e., adapting a literary text to the screen. "Retelling-illustration" characterized least the distance between the script and the film from the text of the literary work being filmed. What happens in such cases?

A) The text is shortened if it is larger in volume than the estimated footage of the film, or (which happens less often) it is increased due to fragments from other works by the same writer.

B) Prose descriptions of the thoughts and feelings of the characters, as well as the author’s reasoning, are translated, if necessary, into the form of dialogues and monologues, into various types of voice-over.

C) If a play is being filmed, then dialogues and monologues, on the contrary, are shortened. The director of the film “Romeo and Juliet” F. Zeffirelli said: “The film contains all the big scenes and monologues of the play, but there is more action in it. More than half of the author's text has been removed..."

Some of the scenes that take place in interiors are transferred to nature. In this case, large theatrical scenes are usually divided into several fragmented ones, taking place at different venues. This is exactly what happened, by the way, in F. Zeffirelli’s film with the very first scene of Shakespeare’s play, the location of which is designated as “The Square in Verona.”

This essentially reproductive method of film adaptation does not always lead to great success, because the specific advantages of cinema are not used to the proper extent and, at the same time, the advantages of a prose text or the strong side of theatrical action - its living connection with the audience - are lost.

Thus, the film by the great master of Russian cinema, Sergei Bondarchuk, his adaptation of Pushkin’s drama “Boris Godunov,” can hardly be considered a serious success. In the course of working on the dramatic basis of the film, all the above methods of adapting the play to the screen were used: lines and monologues were noticeably shortened, crowd scenes were filmed on “historical” location. However, all the efforts of a powerful creative team did not lead, unfortunately, to the creation of a truly cinematic work - the theatricality was never overcome.

In truth, it should be said that cinematic retellings of classic literary works can also turn out to be their strength. We sometimes see this in serial adaptations of novels. Here the original property of this type of work with a literary text is revealed: the possibility of reading a great work of literature on the screen together with the audience, as if “page by page”.

A. Hitchcock once admitted: “If I had taken on Dostoevsky’s Crime and Punishment, nothing good would have come of this venture either. Dostoevsky's novels are very verbose, and each word has its own function. And to translate the novel equivalently into screen form, replacing written language with visual language, you need to count on a 6-10 hour film.”

Multi-part films provided filmmakers with such an opportunity.

An excerpt from F. Dostoevsky’s letter to Princess V. Obolenskaya is often quoted, who asked the great writer for “permission” to remake “Crime and Punishment” into a drama: “... almost always,” the writer answered the correspondent, “such attempts failed, at least at least quite. There is some secret of art, according to which the epic form will never find a match in the dramatic one.”

But it turned out that the “epic form” of novels began to find a completely worthy “match” in serial films.

Almost the first and very successful attempt to film a Russian classic novel was S. Gerasimov’s production of a film in 3 episodes based on M. Sholokhov’s novel “Quiet Don” (1957-1958).

The multi-part English television film based on the novel by D. Galsworthy “The Forsyte Saga” enjoyed great success among viewers.

A major success for Russian cinema was the film created in 1966–1967. S. Bondarchuk four-part film based on the epic novel by L. Tolstoy “War and Peace” (Oscar Award). It is significant that both while working on the film and during its discussions, the authors, film playwright V. Solovyov and director S. Bondarchuk, strongly emphasized: this is not their film, this is L. Tolstoy. In the credits of the film, in large font, first appeared: LEV TOLSTOY, and then in much smaller font - the names of the scriptwriters and director.

Notable events in Russian culture in recent years have been serial television film adaptations of the novels by F. Dostoevsky “The Idiot” (directed by V. Bortko) and A. Solzhenitsyn’s “In the First Circle” (directed by G. Panfilov). A particularly respectful attitude towards the original source in the latter case was also indicated by the fact that in the voice-over speech “from the author” the voice was heard not of the director or actor, but the voice of the writer Alexander Solzhenitsyn himself.

The conclusion is best in retelling-illustration, or direct film adaptation; many serial films are obtained.

New reading

These are those film adaptations in the credits of which we find subtitles: “based on...”, “based on...” (“based on the novel...”) and even “variations on a theme...”

“It’s another matter,” F. Dostoevsky further wrote in the letter to V. Obolenskaya quoted above, “if you rework and change the novel as much as possible, retaining only one episode from it, for processing into a drama, or, taking the original idea , completely change the plot?..

In contrast to " retelling-illustration» new reading involves an extremely active introduction of filmmakers into the fabric of the original source - right up to its complete transformation. With this approach to film adaptation, its author considers the literary original only as material for creating his film, often not caring about whether the picture he creates will correspond not only to the letter, but even to the spirit of the work being filmed.

Released last week a new film adaptation of Thomas Hardy's novel Far from the Madding Crowd starring Carey Mulligan. Hardy is a classic of English literature, whose works have been transferred to the silver screen more than once, but always with varying degrees of success. Filming a classic is always difficult, and viewers often give a verdict not in favor of the director. We decided to recall 10 equally successful novels and their brilliant film adaptations. We are sure that you yourself remember about such obvious hits as “Gone with the Wind”, “Lolita” or “War and Peace” by Bondarchuk, so here are a few more films worthy of their original source.

Dasha Tatarkova

Hamlet

Many have seen Hamlet, a classic for the post-Soviet space, with Smoktunovsky in the title role - a very academic, but no less brilliant film adaptation. Playing Hamlet is a point of honor for most actors, and the tragedy has been adapted hundreds of times, from film to kabuki theater. For example, this year in London's Barbican Theater production Hamlet is played by everyone's favorite Cumberbatch. Actor and director Kenneth Branagh, who directed the new Cinderella, has devoted most of his career to Shakespeare. Without waiting for invitations from others, he himself played most of the main roles - including in Hamlet. Branagh's film adaptation received extremely rave reviews from critics, not least of which was played by the fact that the director did not sacrifice the text of the source material in favor of screen time. Just like on stage, Branagh's Hamlet runs a full 4 hours and looks epic: the film's visuals go against the usual asceticism of other interpretations. Among the new film adaptations, the less literal Indian “Haider”, whose action is transferred to modern Kashmir, also deserves attention.

"Tragic story
about Hamlet, Prince of Denmark"

William Shakespeare, 1600–1601

Mind and Feelings

Sense and Sensibility, 1995

Few works have been filmed as often as the legacy of the main English novelist Jane Austen. There are a lot of worthy examples, and most of them belong to the BBC, which has become adept at turning famous novels into equally successful mini-series. If we talk about films, “Pride and Prejudice” with Keira Knightley immediately comes to mind, but we decided to recall another famous work of the writer. Sense and Sensibility is Austen's first published novel, published under the laconic pseudonym "The Lady". In 1995, Ang Lee made a very tender film based on it with an enviable star cast: Emma Thompson, Kate Winslet, Hugh Grant and Alan Rickman - what more could you ask for. Thompson not only played one of the main roles, but also adapted the script. Although Lee's film lacks realism, the director successfully interprets the source material while remaining attentive to detail and humor.

"Reason and Sensibility"

Jane Austen, 1811

Wuthering Heights

Wuthering Heights, 2011

Emily Brontë managed to publish only one novel before her death, but it was enough to forever inscribe her name in the annals of English classics. Brontë's "Wuthering Heights" is one of those books that is difficult to film, but directors try their hand over and over again. Beautiful and dark, Andrea Arnold's film builds a sense of imminent danger with every frame, echoing the spirit of the original. The director did not even think about filming another Victorian drama with heroes in perfect curls and with starched collars - the hyper-realistic scenes of violence, animal horror and the dark sides of the human soul described by Bronte and so frightening to contemporaries are shown in Arnold's film without embellishment. The director was especially praised for his interpretation of Heathcliff: not following Hollywood standards, Arnold chose a black actor who was much more similar to the book hero than his screen predecessors like Tom Hardy. “Wuthering Heights” is a real book out of time: the intimacy of events pushes to the fore the tragedy of passions, equally understandable to readers of the 19th century and our contemporaries.

"Wuthering Heights"

Emily Brontë, 1847

Idiot

Another novel, for many inextricably linked with the Soviet film adaptation. Due to contradictions between director Ivan Pyryev and the leading actor Yuri Yakovlev, the two-part film remained unfinished. Kurosawa's adaptation has an even more heartbreaking story. The director has always been a big fan of Russian literature, considered Dostoevsky his favorite writer and dreamed of filming him. After the success of Rashomon, Kurosawa dared to take on the Russian classic, but transferred the main conflict of the novel from distant Russia to post-war Japan. When the first version of the film, which stretched over four and a half hours, was received coldly, the producers forced Kurosawa to cut the picture by more than half, which he naturally did not like. As a result, the cut scenes were not preserved anywhere and it is now impossible to see the original. Either way, Kurosawa's The Idiot proves that the best film adaptations of great works are not those that follow every letter, but those that seek a new approach.

Fyodor Dostoevsky, 1869

Howards End Manor

Howards End, 1992

E.M. Forster is a film we've only recently seen - based on his novel, a film was made with the young Hugh Grant, "Maurice". Howards End, like many of the other classics on this list, sets out to capture the writer's contemporary era. In Forster's case, it is Edwardian Britain at the turn of the century, shown through the intertwined history of three families of different origins. Only the best were involved in the film adaptation: in addition to Anthony Hopkins, the main roles went to Helena Bonham Carter, Vanessa Redgrave and, as befits any good film based on a British classic, Emma Thompson. The latter received an Oscar for this role. The director of the film, James Ivory, is half of the legendary duo Ivory and Merchant, who have been adapting cult literary works for cinema for several decades in a row. The duo has long become a household name, and its works evoke inevitable associations with pathetic historical dramas. However, this does not negate the well-deserved success of Howards End.

"Howards End"

E. M. Forster, 1910

East of Eden

East of Eden, 1955

Steinbeck is one of the whales on which American classical literature rests. It has been approached more than once - for all the main great novels there are Hollywood film adaptations of different years: from the black and white “The Grapes of Wrath” to “Of Mice and Men”, filmed in the 90s. You can watch any of them (with the possible exception of the recent efforts of James Franco), but it is “East of Eden” that is called the most ambitious work of the writer, towards which he spent his entire career. The film adaptation of the second half of the book was undertaken by Elia Kazan (grandfather of actress Zoe Kazan), who by that time had managed to bring to the screen the incredibly successful play A Streetcar Named Desire. East of Eden became a cinematic classic, and James Dean played his first leading role in it. "East of Eden" is a true canvas that places the biblical story of Cain and Abel in American reality. According to rumors, Jennifer Lawrence will play one of the main roles in the new film adaptation.

"East of Eden"

John Steinbeck, 1952

To Kill a Mockingbird

To Kill a Mockingbird, 1962

In just a few days, the scandalous prequel to the novel “To Kill a Mockingbird” will be released: they say that “Go Set a Watchman” will see the light solely thanks to the sneakiness of the publishers, who publish the book against the wishes of Harper Lee. The writer's main work, which remained the only one for all these years, ensured her fame during her lifetime and became a classic of American prose. The film adaptation of Pulitzer's novel about an Alabama lawyer during the Great Depression was not long in coming. The film, without unnecessary pomp, shows the main thing: destructive racism and those who have the courage to fight it, the formation of the spirit and the cultivation of kindness in people. Atticus Finch was played by the leading Hollywood actor of the time, Gregory Peck, receiving an Oscar for his role. Harper Lee herself was delighted with the film and more than once admired Peck’s performance.

"To Kill a Mockingbird"

Harper Lee, 1960

flying over Cuckoo's Nest

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, 1975

One of those cases when a book is read after watching its film adaptation, which in no way detracts from the merits of the first. In the 60s, Kesey's novel about the confrontation between the individual and the oppressive regime was a mirror of the changes that were taking place and the growing strength of the civil rights movement led by Martin Luther King. At the same time, American healthcare began to take a fundamentally new approach to the treatment of mental illness. Kesey's best-selling book is loosely based on the writer's personal experiences working in a hospital similar to the one described in the novel, as well as his experiments with LSD. Milos Forman's film is an exemplary adaptation, and Nicholson in the title role is a great success. At the same time, Kesey was against Jack Nicholson playing McMurphy, and Nicholson and Foreman could barely stand each other’s company on the set.

"Flying over Cuckoo's Nest"

Ken Kesey, 1962

Blade Runner

Blade Runner, 1982

Possibly the best science fiction adaptation ever made. Philip K. Dick became a classic of sci-fi during his lifetime, raising complex issues of humanity, consciousness, ethical and political dilemmas in his works. "Blade Runner" is a loose interpretation of the novel "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?" Ridley Scott did not set out to translate Dick's book word for word onto the screen, and perhaps that is why the film ended up being so successful. Both works easily exist as independent masterpieces, not requiring the support of a source or, conversely, visual interpretation. Hunter of fugitive replicants, Deckard remains one of the best roles of Harrison Ford, who risked forever being stuck somewhere between Indy and Han Solo. If everything is clear with the book, then the film must be watched carefully: the best thing, of course, is the director’s cut, without the voice-over of the main character and the stupid happy ending imposed on Ridley Scott by the studio.

"Do Androids Dream?
about electric sheep?

Philip K. Dick, 1968

The Unbearable Lightness of Being

The Unbearable Lightness of Being, 1988

Kundera's novel about Czechoslovakia during the Prague Spring has undoubtedly become a modern classic. “The Unbearable Lightness of Being” was filmed with the active participation of the writer himself, but in the end he was disappointed with the result. In one of the Czech reprints of the novel, Kundera says that the spirit of the film has nothing in common with the book, but I don’t want to agree with this. The story of people captured by love and the inevitability of choice took on a new life on the screen. This is largely due to the cinematography of Sven Nykvist (he shot Bergman's Fanny and Alexander), who brought appropriate naturalism to the frame. Part of the film's charm lies in its diverse cast, from Englishman Daniel Day-Lewis to Frenchwoman Juliette Binoche and Swede Lena Olin, who was nominated for a Golden Globe for her role as Sabina.

"The Unbearable Lightness of Being"

Milan Kundera, 1984

Screen adaptation

film adaptation, interpretation by means of cinema of works of other kinds of art: prose, drama, poetry, theater, opera, ballet. From the first years of its existence, cinema saw literature as a source of images, tackling with equal energy the Gospel, issues of pulp books (Nick Carter by V. Jasse, the series by L. Feuillade “Fantômas” based on the novels of M. Allen and I. Souvestre) and W. Shakespeare (“Hamlet” was filmed already in 1900, and the total number of films based on the tragedy is in the dozens). J. Méliès, following the fairy tales of Charles Perrault, filmed J. Swift, D. Defoe, W. Goethe. The first Russian feature film was “Ponizovaya Volnitsa” (1908) - an adaptation of the folk song “Because of the Island to the Rod”. About 50 films based on the works of A. S. Pushkin were shot in the year that Russian film production began. Among further appeals to Russian classics, the paintings of Y. A. Protazanov (The Queen of Spades, 1916, Father Sergius, 1918) and A. A. Sanin (Polikushka, 1919, issue 1922) stand out for their seriousness and culture.

The relationship between cinema and literature is quite complex and diverse. At first, reduced to illustration, to “living pictures” inspired by the plots of famous works, the film adaptation subsequently acquires an ever greater depth of interpretation of literature and greater artistic independence. On the one hand, cinema allows itself to use images of literature with the same rights as it uses images of folklore, plots of history or modern chronicles. The opposite attitude also arises when the filmmaker sees his task as maximally complete and accurate approximation to the source (for example, “from line to line” the French director R. Bresson strives to film D. Diderot or the novels of J. Bernanos). There are plenty of creative options in between these extremes. For example, S. M. Eisenstein believed that the condition for a film adaptation is the “cinematic” nature of the writer’s thinking, and argued that the battle from the poem “Poltava” can be filmed according to the instructions already existing in Pushkin’s text for changing plans, camera movement, editing, etc. The interpretation sometimes becomes polemical. Thus, the film “The Gospel of Matthew” (1964) by P. P. Pasolini, while adhering to the text of Scripture verbatim, is at the same time riddled with controversy with traditional Christianity.

Often a film adaptation is accompanied by a change in the historical and national flavor of the scene. In Soviet cinema, this principle was not established (although one can name G. N. Danelia’s film “Don’t Cry!”, filled with the realities of Georgian life, based on the novel “My Uncle Benjamin” by C. Tillier, 1969), but in world cinema it is often used. Thus, A. Kurosawa transferred the action of F. M. Dostoevsky’s novel “The Idiot” to a Japanese city after World War II, and by turning Shakespeare’s “Macbeth” into “Castle of the Web” (“Throne of Blood”, 1957), he created the atmosphere of Japanese medieval legend. J. Renoir brought the action of the film “The Beast Man” (1938), based on the novel by E. Zola, closer to the threshold of World War II. L. Visconti, having begun “White Nights” (1957) with the reproduction of the Russian text of Dostoevsky’s story with “yats” and solid signs, then unfolds the action on the streets of Livorno in the mid-20th century. If for artisan directors modernization only leads to a violation of the realistic principle of typical characters in typical circumstances, for great masters the result of the same experience gives high artistic and philosophical results.

The stylistic aspirations of the film and the work being adapted can diverge quite far. For example, based on the pulp fantasy novel about Dracula by B. Stoker, director F. W. Murnau staged the famous work of German film expressionism “Nosferatu, a symphony of horror” (1922), and vice versa the philosophical romantic prose of M. Shelley (the novel “Frankenstein”) was used in “horror films” about Frankenstein (USA, UK). Changes in the genre nature of the filmed work are allowed; Thus, the novel “The Adventures of Oliver Twist” by Charles Dickens was filmed as a musical comedy-stylization (“Oliver!”, 1968).

An “optimal”, “normal” film adaptation is considered to be one when the goal of filmmakers is to create a screen analogy to the work being filmed, translating it into the language of cinema while preserving the content, spirit and words. At the same time, it is natural to reject the “literalism of translation”, reduce side lines, and concentrate the action. This type of film adaptation became established with the advent of sound in cinema, with the emergence of “prose cinema” and the novel form on the screen. An example of such a film adaptation is the American film “Gone with the Wind” (1939) based on the novel by M. Mitchell.

In the USSR, the period of silent cinema was marked by such diverse films as “The Overcoat” by G. M. Kozintsev and L. Z. Trauberg based on N. V. Gogol (screenwriter Yu. N. Tynyanov), “Mother” by V. I. Pudovkin M. Gorky (screenwriter N. A. Zarkhi) both 1926, the herald of a new type of film adaptation was the film “Pyshka” (1934) by M. I. Romm based on G. Maupassant, and its samples “Chapaev” (1934) by G. N . and S. D. Vasiliev based on D. A. Furmanov, “Peter the First” (19371939) by V. M. Petrov based on A. N. Tolstoy, film trilogy “Gorky’s Childhood”, “In People”, “My Universities” (193840) by M. S. Donskoy after Gorky, “The Young Guard” (1948) by A. A. Fadeev and “Quiet Don” (195758) by M. A. Sholokhov both directed by S. A. Gerasimova , “The Jumper” (1955) by S. I. Samsonov based on A. P. Chekhov, “Othello” (1956) by S. I. Yutkevich based on Shakespeare, “The Fate of a Man” (1959) based on Sholokhov and “War and Peace” (1966 67) by Tolstoy both directed by S. F. Bondarchuk, “Hamlet” (1964) and “King Lear” (1971) by Shakespeare both directed by Kozintsev. Among the best film adaptations are also: “The Forty-First” (1956) by G. N. Chukhrai based on B. A. Lavrenev, “The White Steamer” (1976) by B. T. Shamshiev based on Ch. T. Aitmatov, “The Brothers Karamazov” (1969) I. A. Pyryeva and “Crime and Punishment” (1970) by L. A. Kulidzhanova both according to Dostoevsky, “The Ascension” by L. E. Shepitko after V. V. Bykov, “Unfinished Piece for Mechanical Piano” by N. S. Mikhalkov based on Chekhov, “The Tree of Desire” by T. E. Abuladze based on the short stories by G. N. Leonidze all 1977.

Literature:
Pogozheva L.P., From book to film, M., 1961;
Romm M., On cinema and good literature, in his collection: Conversations about cinema, M., 1964;
Manevich I., Cinema and Literature, M., 1966;
The book argues with the film, in: Mosfilm, v. 7, M., 1973;
Zak M., Literature and director, “IK”, 1980, No. 7;
Markova O., From the literature of kam ekrana, Sofia, 1981.

I. N. Solovyova.

Cinema: Encyclopedic Dictionary. - M.: Soviet Encyclopedia. Ch. ed. S. I. Yutkevich; Editorial team: Yu. S. Afanasyev, V. E. Baskakov, I. V. Weisfeld and others.. 1987 .

See what “Screen adaptation” is in other dictionaries:

Screen adaptation- Screen adaptation is an interpretation of works of another type of art, most often literary works, by means of cinema. Literary works have been the basis of on-screen images of cinema since the first days of its existence. So, some of... ... Wikipedia

SCREENING- SCREENING, film adaptations, many. no, female (neol. cinema). Adapting something to be shown in cinema or on a screen. Screen adaptation of the novella. Ushakov's explanatory dictionary. D.N. Ushakov. 1935 1940 … Ushakov's Explanatory Dictionary

film adaptation- production Dictionary of Russian synonyms. film adaptation noun, number of synonyms: 2 production (22) ... Synonym dictionary

SCREENING- interpretation through cinema of works of prose, drama, poetry, as well as opera and ballet librettos... Big Encyclopedic Dictionary

SCREENING- SCREENING IA, i, g. Ozhegov's explanatory dictionary. S.I. Ozhegov, N.Yu. Shvedova. 1949 1992 … Ozhegov's Explanatory Dictionary

SCREENING- [Dictionary of foreign words of the Russian language

film adaptation- and, f. screen m. Making a movie based on what book? works of theatrical art or literature not specifically intended for cinema. BAS 1. Lex. Ush. 1940: film adaptation... Historical Dictionary of Gallicisms of the Russian Language

film adaptation- shooting a film or television film based on a work of another type of art (literature, theater, etc.). The director of the film adaptation can refuse side plot lines, details, episodic characters, etc., introduce episodes into the script that ... Literary encyclopedia

film adaptation- And; and. 1. to Screen. E. novel E. opera. This short story cannot be filmed. 2. A film created on the basis of a literary work, play, performance, etc. Lucky e. story. Old e. Dostoevsky's idiot. New e. Shakespeare. * * *… … encyclopedic Dictionary

film adaptation- creating a film or television film based on a literary work. Rubric: Structure of a dramatic work Other associative connections: staging, script Screen adaptation translates a literary, that is, verbal, image into the language of images... ... Terminological dictionary-thesaurus on literary criticism

Books

• White Guard. 8 episodes. Remaster. (DVD) , . Screen adaptation of the novel of the same name by M. Bulgakov. The film was awarded the prestigious Golden Eagle award... and the dead were judged according to what was written in books, in accordance with their deeds... (Apocalypse of St....