Page 3 Adaptations of Classics — The Big Barriers Many movies based on classic novels turn out as disappointing in one or more ways if one has already read the book and more so if the book is long and full of silent moments of emotion. Feelings without words are not easy to convey on the screen and it takes a team of great director and actors to pull it off. One example of such successful adaptations in my opinion is The Age of Innocence (1993) by Martin Scorsese. The movie brings out the essence of Edith Wharton’s classic novel on the big screen. Catch-22 (1970) by Mike Nichols is another one, adapted from Joseph Heller’s celebrated novel. Then there are literary works like War and Peace, The House of Mirth, Great Expectations, and many others that haven’t seen equally great adaptations into films. Several elements can be marked as shortcomings in the film versions of such works – a few of them named below. First, filmmakers tend to heavily focus on romance between the lead characters often at the expense of the novel’s crux. Second, film adaptations take lots of liberties with the original work and change it to their own taste, damaging the spirit of the book. Finally, the length of some works alone is a barrier hard to cross without hurting the originality. Hence serialized TV adaptations appear to be more successful in recreating these long classics on the screen. Retro Fandom — Two-Way Déjà Vu with ‘70s Sci-Fi Flicks . The Retro Network published my article “Two-Way Déjà Vu with ‘70s Sci-Fi Flicks” in April. Listing five of the sci-fi movies that I discuss in detail in my book ScreenScope with Ernie, the article was the first in my series of articles for The Retro Network, an incredible asset of retro nostalgia for all things entertainment and culture from the classic Hollywood era to the late 90s. The movies selected for the article include: 1. The Resurrection of Zachary Wheeler 2. The Mind Snatchers 3. Soylent Green 4. Embryo 5. The Cassandra Crossing Read the full article at: https://theretronetwork.com/ two-way-deja-vu-with-70s-sci-fiflicks/. Retro — aka traveling back in time, and there are several ways. Film Quiz — Debut Role of an A-Lister career trivia question. So the last quiz asked about a famous role in a thriller that Michelle Pfeiffer declined and the actress who did it won an Oscar for it. Will it surprised you to learn the role was that of FBI Agent Clarice Starling in The Silence of the Lambs (1991)? Imagine Pfeiffer as Clarice and meeting Dr. Lecter in prison! For this quiz, it’s a movie star’s What Hollywood A-lister, who died a year ago, made his debut lead role in a comedy movie in 1984? Send your answers to: editor@ernestdempsey.com.
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