Films Can Be As Good As the Literature

Films Can Be As Good As the Literature

Norca M Vincent

In this research paper, I will explore what goes into transforming written work into a feature film. There are many moving parts such as Cinematography, Narrative Form, Editing, Casting and many other structures. How are these films transformed into masterpieces? It is challenging for a film- maker to present a movie taken from a classic or literature that is popular to the audience and not jeopardize the actual events of the original work. Most viewers prefer the feature film to be an enjoyable and intellectually stimulating experience without a drastic change in the adaptation.

In the past, there have been claims of success stories of the film with the use of written literature such as fiction/nonfiction, autobiographies, comic books, journalism, etc. For example, the Shawshank Redemption book was only 106 pages long and most critics would argue that the movie was more interesting than the book. It is the adaptation that forms the outline between literature and film with the management of physical experience with the subject matter itself; therefore, this process is absolutely necessary to film-making. One factor that works in a film favor is, “A sight is immediate, whereas language requires time”. It takes less effort to feel the impact of storytelling in a visual format rather than verbally.

Nonetheless, there are films which fail at a successful storytelling and the audience suffers as their expectations are high from their experience of reading the book. The Da Vinci Code is one of those feature films that fell short to the book. The movie was criticized for being dull; yet, the book was a top seller as it encompassed thorough and methodical storytelling. The film had an impressive cast with Tom Hanks as the protagonist. In addition, Ron Howard directed the film; one could expect paramount visual storytelling. However, many critics walked out of the movie theatre feeling absolutely disappointed.

Great filmmaking consists of what events need to be omitted and which ones need to be presented. This process must be performed in a manner that the “syuzhet” or story line is not compromised. There are no definite rules in storytelling, “The student, film buff, or movie connoisseur should give up the naive claim that a film should be faithful to the book”. Books have played major roles to the best films in history; nonetheless, gifted screenwriters have been instrumental in these adaptations.

It is general knowledge that there is a significant problem in Hollywood, “the growing scarcity of original stories coming from Hollywood”. More and more movies are being adapted from published books. The reason for this is that Hollywood is an investment industry. Investors prefer to place their bets on films which were blockbuster books than on films with screenplays no one has ever heard of. In 1981 there were seven original films from the top ten lists. Moving to 2011, not one of the top ten were original ...