The trend of adapting novels and short stories into movies is not new and is as frequently undertaken as is any other trend in the film industry. Sometimes this practice of transferring films into movies is appreciated by the audience and other times it is not. More often than not film adaptations of novels and stories are successful, for eg. Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, Jane Eyre and others. Successful or not, but movie adaptations of novels have always evoked interest in the minds of the public, especially the public acquainted with the works of various writers. People generally are curious to know how far is the adaptation truthful to the written work.
It is very important for public to understand that a movie has many restrictions that are not present in written medium, for eg, films enjoy the liberty of visual appeal and imagery. Similarly, novels have the liberty of time and space whereas in movies everything has to be included within a time period of two or two and half hours. Another difference between movies and novels is the extent and degree of visual effects, emotional effects and sensationalism used. In a visual medium, it is but obvious that impact of a certain scene or dialog is more direct than in a novel which uses the medium of language and restricts the imagination of the reader. The visualization process is indirect as compared to in movies. For in a novel, readers perceive the words first and then may or may not visualize. However, in a movie everything depends on how well the movie is made, directed, acted out and presented. Therefore, directors should be given some advantage as far as adopting a written novel is concerned. It should also be noted that word to word adaptation of a novel is but impossible and unnecessary, it would also not be able to create the desired effect as was created by the novel, when it was read.
Hence, reading and viewing a novel are two totally distant things and comparisons between them are but hindrances. A director is an independent person from the author and presents his own perception of the written text. During this process, he also has to use tools that are needed to create an overt visual stimuli for the viewers. Taking liberties with the story on grounds of film requirements is not advisable. Tampering with the basic story line is not appreciable, inculcating different elements for entertainment and other factors should be granted. Different people have different perspectives and hence, their way of looking at a text also differs a great deal. That is the main reason why some adaptations are accepted and others are rejected. Keeping in view the various factors responsible for successfully transferring a written text into a movie, following is a list of movies that have been successfully adapted from novels and are also regarded as Classics.
- The Godfather
- Jaws
- Lord of the Rings
- Oliver Twist
- Fight Club
- The Thin Man
- The Iron Giant
- The War of the Worlds (1953)
- Howard’s End
- Sense and Sensibility
- Pride and Prejudice
- Gone with the Wind
- A Clockwork Orange
- One flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest
- Charlotte’s Web
- A Passage to India
- 25th Hour
- A Room with a view
- The Hours
The list is by no means complete. Please feel free to add any film that you feel should be included in the list.
