A recent comment that good books often turn into bad films set me thinking.
The transition from page to screen of Dune in 1984 is a good example. The book has sold about twenty million copies. Although the film was nominated for some Oscars, the only prize it garnered was a Stinkers Bad Movie award for Worst Picture and it lost $10 million on a $40 million budget. As I hadn’t read the book I remember finding David Lynch’s film too long (about three hours) and confusing.
I am familiar with Patrick O’Brian’s series about Aubrey and Maturin so was eager to see Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World in 2003. I was disappointed by the two dimensional portrayals of Aubrey (Russell Crowe) and Maturin (Paul Bethany) and the hectic plot, combining elements of three novels, made for too much action and not enough character development and insights into life onboard a ship in Nelson’s navy. It did gross $212 million on a $150 million budget but that’s no great shakes if you are a Hollywood producer; no sequel was forthcoming.
The majority of poor adaptations of books for the cinema are quickly forgotten. The ones that transcend their original material are screen gold. Here are a few with their authors/directors: Gone with the Wind (Margaret Mitchell/Victor Fleming et al), The Maltese Falcon (Dashiell Hammett/John Huston), The Servant (Robin Maugham/Joseph Losey), Don’t Look Now (Daphne de Maurier/Nicolas Roeg), The Dead (James Joyce/John Huston), Lawrence of Arabia (TE Lawrence/David Lean with a budget of only $15 million), Dr Zhivago (Boris Pasternak/David Lean). You will be able to add to this list.
Then there are good but not great adaptations: Georgy Girl (Margaret Foster/Silvio Narizzano), Kes (Barry Hines/Ken Loach), The Ipcress File (Len Deighton/Sidney J Furie) and most of Raymond Chandler’s novels that made it to the screen. You will be able to add to this list.
Television compensates for a small screen by having more time to depict a novel. There are plenty of failures but The Jewel in the Crown and Fortunes of War are outstanding successes with The Night Manager getting an honourable mention and you will be able to add to this list too. In life I remember more failures than successes; on the silver screen the successes live on gloriously and the failures are forgotten.
The most egregious transition from page to screen was Captain Corelli’s Mandolin. The alteration in the film to the ending in the book destroyed the point of the story, and Hollywood superstars should not play sensitive and thoughtful Latin types
Did you ever see the film of The Magus?
“The film was a critical disaster. Fowles was extremely disappointed with it, and laid most of the blame on director Guy Green despite having written the screenplay himself. Michael Caine said that it was one of the worst films he had been involved in … “ (Wikipedia)
I don’t know if you’ve ever read To Kill a Mockingbird or seen the 1963 film starring Gregory Peck. The book is almost an annual read for me, and the film did great justice to it. I would add it to to your list of screen gold. On the television side, what about Brideshead Revisited with Jeremy Irons and Anthony Andrews?
Agree about Mocking Bird and another good book and film is the Coen brothers True Grit, not the John Wayne one. Brideshead is a bit dated so doesn’t make the cut for me – too many long tracking shots down Castle Howard corridors.
I forgot about The Go-Between by L P Hartley. The 1971 film with script by Pinter and directed by Losey transcends the book. It won the Palme d’Or in 1971 beating Death in Venice – disappointing for Dirk Bogarde and Visconti.