Film Adaptation of Literature
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Cinema: How Are Hollywood Films Made?
(Annenberg/CPB Projects Exhibits Collection):
Explore the creative process of filmmaking, "from the screenwriter's words to the editor's final cut."  "Looking through the lens of a camera as actors bring to life a writer's story, the filmmaker is also peering into a world of imagination. The director, producer, actors, screenwriter, and film editor are all essential players in the journey from concept to finished film," involving "thousands of small details—and often hundreds of people...":
URL:  http://www.learner.org/exhibits/cinema/

Film Basics: Learning to "Read" and Write About Film
http://www.cocc.edu/cagatucci/classes/eng104/film.htm

Internet Movie Database - IMDb
Search for info on film adaptations of the fiction we read
(for a list of some of those adaptations, see also our ENG 104 course text, 
Appendix 6, "Short Stories on Film and Video," pp. 992-994):
URL:  http://www.imdb.com/

Journal Articles
NOTE:  EBSCOhost articles are available online to COCC students 
from COCC Library

Atkinson, Michael.  "Hollywood Novel-Gazing: On the Gold Rush for Serious Fiction."  Village Voice 42.49 (9 December 1997): 79.  EBSCOhost Academic Search Elite Article No. 9712131080.
Abstract:  Atkinson "comments on several films that were adapted from books," lists many "films adapted from literary fiction," discusses "reasons why producers prefer filming fiction," as well as the implications of film adaptations of books.

Axelrod, Mark.  "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood; or, the Commodification of Form in the Adaptation of Fictional Texts to the Hollywood Cinema."  Literature Film Quarterly 24.2 (1996): 201 (8pp).  EBSCOhost Academic Search Elite Article No. 9608283271.
Abstract:  "Neil Sinyard, in his Filming Literature: The Art of Screen Adaptation, summed up the problem quite effectively by stating that 'the legacy of the nineteenth century novel is the twentieth-century film.  One of cinema's most immediate effects was to supplant the [Realistic] novel as the foremost art form of narrative realism (vii)."  Literature is dynamic in form and so has not been commodified, but "Hollywood film, to a great extent, has."  The successful Hollywood screen adapter's craft requires replication of "200 years of devotion to a standardized, linear narrative garnished by scenes, summaries, and descriptions," and film viewers have absorbed and accepted this "particular way of realizing the world."

Bertrand, Ina.  "'Woman's Voice': The Autobiographical Form in Three Australian Filmed Novels."  Literature Film Quarterly 21.2 (1993): 130 (9pp).  EBSCOhost Academic Search Elite Article No. 9608203676.
Abstract:  Bertrand "examines the issues associated with a woman's film adaptation of an autobiographical text in the Australian filmed novels We of the Never Never, My Brilliant Career, and Monkey Grip."  Bertrand discusses the "loss of control of the discourse in the films," and the "complex interaction between the layers of real authors, implied authors and narrators."

Birdsall, Eric.  "Interpreting Henry James: Bogdanovich's Daisy Miller."  Literature Film Quarterly 22.4 (1994): 272 (6pp).  EBSCOhost Academic Search Elite Article No. 9502034886.
Abstract:  Birdsall defends Bogdanovich's film adaptation of Henry James's Daisy Miller, arguing that Bogdanovich is entitled to offer his own cinematic work of art for a late 20th century film audience.  When Bogdanovich "departs from James, he does so in order to render James's abstractions, implications, and amibiguities in the concrete sounds and images of film," "offering both visual and aural equivalents of James's printed words," as well as Bogdanovich's "own interpretation of the story."   Birdsall concludes that Bogdanovich's film is successful "as an intelligent interpretation of the original" and as a "work of art in its own right."

"Book/Movie Comparisons Bring Literature to Life."  Curriculum Review 36.2 (Oct. 1996): 10. EBSCOhost Academic Search Elite Article No. 9610120220.  .
Abstract:  Viewing the adaptation of a book on television or videotape can "encourage the study of literature."  The article presents "points to consider before viewing the movie version" and offers suggestions for post-viewing discussion.

Crowl, Samuel.  "Zeffirelli's Hamlet: The Golden Girl and the Fistful of Dust."  Cineaste 24.1 (15 Dec. 1998): 56 (6pp).. EBSCOhost Academic Search Elite Article No. 1519594
Abstract:  Crowl "presents an excerpt from the book The Branaugh Renaissance: Reimagining Shakespeare in the Age of Film," which focuses on film adaptations of Shakespeare.

Gardner, Peter S.  "Literature and Film: An Annotated Bibliography of Resources."  Literature Film Quarterly 20.2 (1992): 156 (10pp).  EBSCOhost Academic Search Elite Article No. 9608122448.
Abstract:  Gardner's annotated bibliography on literature and film resources is intended for both teachers and scholars, and includes "introductions to literature and film, anthologies, film adaptations," and "Shakespeare on film." 

Gareis, Elisabeth.  "Literature and Film Adaptations: Dealing with Hot Topics in the ESL and Literacy Classroom."  Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy 41.3 (Nov. 1997): 220 (3pp).  EBSCOhost Academic Search Elite Article No. 9711061327.
Abstract:  Gareis "presents recommendations on how teachers could properly apply hot literature and film adaptations in English as a second language and literature classroom[s] in the United States."  Gareis previews materials, discusses potentially objectionable themes and other "possible problems when handling literature and film in the classroom." 

Gilbert, Sandra M.  "Jane Eyre and the Secrets of Furious Lovemaking."  Novel: A Forum on Fiction 31.3 (Summer 1998): 351 (22pp).  EBSCOhost Academic Search Elite Article No. 1723158.
Abstract:  Gilbert discusses the novel Jane Eyre and the novel's dramatization of issues of the women's movement, interprets Jane Eyre's "furious lovemaking," presents information on the novelist Charlotte Bronte, and compares the novel to its film adaptation.

Hudgins, Christopher C.  "Lolita 1995: The Four Filmscripts."  Literature Film Quarterly 25.1 (1997): 23 (7pp).  EBSCOhost Academic Search Elite Article No. 9705084647.
Abstract:  Hudgins "examines four filmscripts made for director Adrian Lyne's remake of the 1962 film Lolita [based on the novel by Vladimir Nabokov]."  Hudgins judges Harold Pinter's script "the most faithful to the spirit of Nabokov's book"; the other scripts were by David Mamet, James Dearden (whose script Hudgins declares a "resounding failure"), and Stephen Schiff, who incorporated elements of the other three scripts.  "Pinter commented in a 1984 interview that in his adaptations he tries to remain faithful to the spirit of the novel, while retaining the freedom to seek out creative, aesthetically pleasing ways to transfer that core to the screen."  

Kline, Karen E.  "The Accidental Tourist on Page and on Screen: Interrogating Normative Theories about Film Adaptation."  Literature Film Quarterly 24.1 (1996): 70  (14pp).  EBSCOhost Academic Search Elite Article No. 9605150332.
Abstract:  Film critics' differences of opinion on film adaptations of literature, especially novels, "stem from the critics' adoption of differing paradigms for evaluating the film adaptation."  Kline identifies four such critical paradigms: (1) "translation" critics judge "the film's effectiveness primarily in terms of its 'fidelity' to the novel"; (2) "pluralist" critics allow that film exists and presents a "coherent fictive world" in its own right, but expect film to remain loyal to the novel's "spirit"--e.g. to the novel's mood, tone, and values"; (3) "transformation" critics assume that novel and film are "separate, autonomous arts," "consider the novel raw material which the film alters significantly," and often privilege film over text, in approaching the film as "an artistic work in its own right"; and (4) "materialist" critics, practicing the newest critical approach to film adaptation, examine "film as a product of cultural-historical processes" and relegate comparisons between the film and its novelistic source as less important than do the other three kinds of critics.  Kline uses the film adaptation of The Accidental Tourist, Anne Tyler's 1985 novel and winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award, to illustrate these different critical paradigms.  

MacCabe, Colin.  "Lit-Crit Hits the Screen."  Times Higher Education Supplement 30 July 1999: 16.  30 July 1999: 16.  EBSCOhost Academic Search Elite Article No. 2140267.
Abstract:  MacCabe "argues that British university lecturers should use film adaptations to help college students understand literary classics," with examples of such adaptations, objections to film adaptations, and the approach taken by Exeter University.

McFarlane, Brian.  "Bogdanovich's Daisy Miller and the Limits of Fidelity."  Literature Film Quarterly 19.4 (1991): 222 (6pp).  EBSCOhost Academic Search Elite Article No. 9608053355.
Abstract:  McFarlane "discusses of the limits of film adaptation of novels according to the unsuccessful debut of 'Daisy Miller,' directed by Peter Bogdanovich."  McFarlane criticizes "Bogdanovich's treatment of the film's book version written by Henry James," discusses the "portrayal of the book's characters in the film," raises questions about the "parallelism of the book and film," and concludes that the film fails to capture the book's emphases.

Palmer, James.  "Mastering Chekhov: Heifitz's The Lady with the Dog" [Film adaptation, Russia, 1960].  Literature Film Quarterly 19.4 (1991): 252 (6pp).  EBSCOhost Academic Search Elite Article No. 9608053460.  
Abstract:  Palmer "evaluates the film adaptation of Anton Chekhov's . . . "The Lady with the Dog,' by director Josef Heifitz," who emphasizes small details and commonplace dialogue to "capture Chekhov's humor and pathos," expands the story "using leisurely characterization and pacing," and restricts on film Chekhov's "open-ended approach."  

Pellow, Ken, and Rita Hug.  "The Curious History of End of the Road."  Literature Film Quarterly 27.1 (1999): 38 (7pp).  EBSCOhost Academic Search Elite Article No. 1829518.  
Abstract:  Pellow and Hug discuss Aram Avakian's 1969 film End of the Road, survey Life Magazine's criticism of the film at its release, summarize the plot of the story.  They also discuss the "difficulties of transforming philosophical [works] into good films," and the "characteristics of a novel for adaptational purposes."

Pendleton, Thomas A.  "Shakespeare . . . With Additional Dialog."  Cinaste 24.1 (15 Dec. 1998): 62 (5pp).  EBSCOhost Academic Search Elite Article No. 1519595.  
Abstract:  Pendleton "focuses on the manner in which William Shakespeare's plays are adapted in the cinema,"  discussing film adaptations by directors Sam Taylor, Kenneth Branaugh (Hamlet), and Orson Welles (Othello).

Sanoff, Alvin P. "What It Takes to Make a Good Book a Good Movie."
U.S. News & World Report 21 Dec. 1987: 66(3pp). Infotrac Expanded Academic ASAP, Article A6175007.
Abstract:  Hollywood has long "relied on literature for raw material," though the writers of that literature are often less than satisfied with the cinematic results. But Pulitzer prize winning novelist William Kennedy is one of the few fiction writers who has translated his own work successfully into film [Ironweed]. "'You can't translate a novel exactly,'" Kennedy explains, and many writers, adept at one genre, "can't reconcile the differing demands of film and print." The challenges posed by several adaptation projects are surveyed, including the Huston family's work on James Joyce's "The Dead."

Sherrid, Pamela. "'Rarely is justice done.'" [Interview with Director James Ivory.] U.S. News & World Report 21 Dec. 1987: 68(1p). Infotrac Expanded Academic ASAP, Article A6175017.
James Ivory, the respected director of several adaptations of classic novels into film
[e.g., E.M. Forster's A Room with a View and Howard's End], observes, "Rarely is justice done." Yet he is inevitably drawn to "wonderful books" for his material because they fire his cinematic imagination. A filmmaker owes much to the original author but "has the right to make changes. After all, it's your version of the work." Ivory generally restricts himself to literature produced since the advent of photography, because he can't visually imagine and authenticate works set prior to 1839, and he hates "obvious anachronisms" rampant in "big-budget American movies."

Ungerleider, Charles. "Words to Images: Media Education Using Film Adaptations of Novels.." Emergency Librarian 25.2 (Nov/Dec. 1997): 14 (4pp). EBSCOhost Academic Search Elite Article No. 42109.
Abstract:  Ungerleider "examines the use of film adaptations of books in media education," with the "aim of helping students better appreciate the strengths and limitations of novels and short stories.  Ungerleider encourages teachers to "encourage mental effort in reading, viewing, and representing."  Ungerleider  analyzes To Kill a Mockingbird, In the Heat of the Night, and Shane.

Walsh, Michael. "John Huston Raises 'The Dead': The Director Puts Joyce's Classic Short Story on Film." Time 16 Mar. 1987: 92(2pp). Infotrac Expanded Academic ASAP, Article A5076173.
Walsh's behind-the-scenes look at the filming of John Huston's adaptation of Joyce's "The Dead," sketches Huston's failing health and work habits, and the difficulty in getting financing for a film that seemed "hardly the stuff of which box-office triumphs are made."

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WEBSEARCHING THE MOVIES: Edit this link list!!

The Internet Movie Database
The Internet Movie Database Tour
Movie Terminology: Internet Movie Database's Online searchable Film Glossary. "Here, you will find definitions of terms and phrases frequently used in the world of movies, film, acting, and cinemagoing" (The Internet Movie Database Ltd., 1990-1999).

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences (The Oscars)
The Oscars 1999 (The New York Times on the Web, 1999)
Cinemania (Microsoft Corp., 1999)

Movielink

FILM/VIDEO (2/9/99) from VOICE OF THE SHUTTLE: MEDIA STUDIES PAGE (Voice of the Shuttle: Web Page for Humanities Research, by Alan Liu, English Dept. Univ. of Calif., Santa Barbara)

NuReel.com (Kamala Appel, CEO/Founder), founded" to help a diverse group of aspiring film and television professionals get the support and education they need to succeed."
 http://www.nureel.com [last accessed Aug. 2001]

Penn Library Film Studies

Infoseek Guide for Movies

Yahoo search engine for Films & Movies

Starting Point search engine for Movies

Screensite for the Study of Film and Television - Film/TV Education

Martin Irvine's Narrative Matters: Resources for Studying Narrative in Fiction and Film (Georgetown Univ.)
CCT TheoryBase:A Guide to Theory and Inquiry for Studies in Communication, Culture, and Technology with links to Film and Media Resources (from CineMedia), Media Studies (Voice of the Shuttle), and Media and Communication Studies Site (Daniel Chandler, Univ. of Wales, Aberystwyth)

Early Motion Pictures 1897 - 1916 (Library of Congress)

The Film Festivals Server (English version) "portal into the universe of cinema via its actors, directors and films being shown at film festivals all over the world. Over 6000 pages, full of film reviews."
List of all Film Festivals 1995 - 99 Worldwide
Selected Film Reviews: Shakespeare in Love, Life is Beautiful

From filmlinc (Film Society of Lincoln Center): 1998 New York Film Festival and
Film Comment, "a forum for smart, idiosyncratic writing about movies," published biweekly by the Film Society of Lincoln Center, claims to be "the finest film magazine in the English language," each issue "notable for the unusually literate, often elegant, style of its authors" and brimming "with provocative, cutting-edge articles about all aspects of the art, entertainment and industry of filmmaking."

Academic Info Film Studies (Mike Madden): "the primary focus of this page is the critical study and appreciation of cinema in all its forms and functions. " Recommended:
ScreenSite (University of Alabama, the College of Communication, and the Department of Telecommunication and Film; last revised: January 29, 1998) "stresses the teaching and research of film and television and is designed for educators and students. A wonderful resource for the academic study of TV & Film," including Bibliographies and Research Guides
CineMedia (American Film Institute), with "Links to over 18,000 sites," including "both scholarly and tribute pages."
Cinema Connection (Federico Passi, 1999), with many WWW links, including World Cinema

inforM Women's Studies: Film Reviews
Women in Cinema-A Reference Guide, "Philip McEldowney's on-line reference guide to sources concerned with women and film" (Univ. of Virginia)
Women's Studies Database: Film Reviews (Univ. of Maryland)

California Newsreel, founded in 1968, is "distinguished educational video on African American life and history, race relations and diversity training, African cinema, labor studies, workplace issues, campus life, and media and society."

Cinema Related Resources from the Media Resources Center (since 1996, Moffitt Library, Univ. of Calif., Berkeley), including Bibliographies and Full-Text Articles, holdings in special topics such as African Studies (last update 2/25/99), and CinemaSpace, from the Film Studies Program at UC Berkeley, "devoted to all aspects of Cinema and New Media and is the primary link for resources from the UC Berkeley Film Studies Program."

International [Documentary] Film Festival 1996 (Amnesty International)

Teaching for Visual Literacy - 50 Great Young Adult Films

Indiana Univ.'s Black Film Center/Archive

Cross-Cultural Film Guide: Films from Africa, Asia and Latin America ( Patricia Aufderheide, The American Univ.)

Philadelphia Festival of World Cinema's FILMS BY COUNTRY

American Masters, PBS Online
 http://www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters/ 
Award-winning primetime specials, many with companion websites, examine the lives, works, and creative processes of our most outstanding cultural artists. Created in 1984 by Susan Lacy and produced by Thirteen/WNET for national public television, the series boasts more than 90 hours of programming to date, a growing film library documenting the role important individuals, groups, and movements have played in the formation of our cultural identity.
American Masters Database (index to more than 100 past and present American Masters)
 http://www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters/database/index.html 
Hitchcock, Selznick, and the End of Hollywood, An "American Masters" Special
 http://pbs.org/americanmasters/database/hitchcock_a.html  (accessed Dec. 2001)
Companion website, including essay and outside resources, to the "American Masters" program (last aired 23 Dec. 2001) explores the outstanding working partnership of two Hollywood greats, who together created such legendary films as "Rebecca," "Spellbound" and "Notorious." (CC, Stereo, 1 year).

 

You are here: Film Adaptation of Literature & Movie Links ~ Bibliography
URL of this webpage: http://www.cocc.edu/cagatucci/classes/eng339/biblio/film.htm
Last Updated: 03 July 2003

This webpage is maintained by Cora Agatucci, Professor of English, 
Humanities Department, Central Oregon Community College
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