Classics Club Meme #25

Thursday, August 07, 2014

I haven't done the Classics Club meme in a while (like, maybe more than a year) but I really liked this question.

What are your thoughts on adaptions of classics? Say mini-series or movies? Or maybe modern approaches? Are there any good ones? Is it better to read the book first? Or maybe just compare the book and an adaptation?

I love adaptations of classics. I love mini-series, and movies, and modern approaches. So, now that we have that out of the way... I will say, though, that I prefer to read the book first, not because the book is better, per se (it usually is, but not always), but because the book came first, if that makes sense. It is the original, and I like to start with what came first.

But... I love seeing a book in another medium (although I think it is important to recognize it is another medium, and not expect it to be a carbon copy of the book). And I love hearing the main thread of a story in a different setting, or time period, or so on. I like seeing how our most important stories evolve and change, making up a sort of mythology.

Some of my favorite on-screen adaptations of classics:

:: Pride and Prejudice (the one with Keira Knightly, don't stone me)
:: Sense and Sensibility (with Kate Winslet and Emma Thompson)
:: Les Miserables the musical
:: The Last of the Mohicans (a rare case where the movie trumps the book)
:: Anne of Green Gables
:: Little Women
:: Gone with the Wind
:: East of Eden (with James Dean)
:: The Lizzie Bennet Diaries
:: Emma (with Gwyneth Paltrow)
:: Clueless

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