I'm currently watching the new tv adaption of The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas starring Sam Claflin. So far I have enjoyed the show, which made me think about other recent adaptations of either classics or contemporary literature.
Are there any new adaptations that you would recommend and what are your overall favorite shows/movies based on books? Do you think the adaptation should be faitful to the original story or do you enjoy creative changes that bring new dimensions to the story?
by Pettysouls
5 Comments
May be seen as a sin but I dont think adaptations need to be really faithful. Truth of the matter is that things in books don’t always translate well to tv shows and movies.
I will say. I think tv format is a medium that may work best for books or book series
The BBC His Dark Materials adaptation was really good.
Netflix has 100 Years of Solitude’s first season. It was great
The Royal Shakespeare Company’s theatrical adaptation of Dickens’ Nicholas Nickleby, which was filmed for TV and was in the range of 8 hours long, was brilliant.
Also the PBS adaptations of The Jewel in the Crown trilogy by Paul Scott, and the Karla series by John LeCarre ( Tinker Tailor Solder Spy, etc).
Also the original filmed adaptation of Shogun by James Clavell (the one with Richard Chamberlain).
And don’t overlook the filmed adaptations from the movies’ golden age such as The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck.
I think that filmed versions can be as good as the novels if they accurately depict the feel of the book and the writing, even if by necessity they have to condense it.
I don’t know of any new adaptations but one of my favorites is Last Picture Show movie based off the Larry McMurtry book