The Novel and the Cinema
Edward Langlais (langlais@NS.AMSCHOOL.EDU.SV)
Wed, 29 Apr 1998 14:14:26 +0000
Dear Mr. Dickens:
I've been reading through the messages that have been coming my way
from your cite recently and, as always, have found them quite
informative and entertaining. One message caught my eye and,
although it doesn't necessarily have anything to do with your works
specifically, I'd like to comment on it.
One member asked about your opinion of the recent Great Expectations
movie adaptation of your novel. While I understand and respect your
opinion of adaptations of your works to other media, I would like to
suggest that a movie (or a play) should be judged as an entity unto
itself. The modern art of movie making allows for a combination of
other art forms to be presented in a single work. Story writing,
acting, photography, and music composition all work together to make
a film succeed or fail as a work of art. I can't remember who it
was, but a director recently said that making a good movie adaptation
of a novel requires that first and foremost the film remain true to
the spirit and emotion of the original work.
>From my own experience, I have found this to be true. For example,
the 1974 adaptation of Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby, while sticking
very closely to the plot of the book, seemed to be lacking its
emotive qualities. Whereas the recent film adaptation of Ondaatjee's
The English Patient wandered from the plot of the novel to create a
highly satisfying and enjoyable work.
Of the numerous versions of your novels that I have seen as movies,
the major flaw I have found, is that the film makers have failed to
capture the emotions that you were so adept at putting to paper. I
am looking forward to seeing the new film version of Great
Expectations precisely because they have altered the original plot,
simply to see if they have achieved capturing the "spirit" of the
original work.
I hope that this helps people to judge a motion picture adapted from
a novel on its own merits and not by how closely it matches their
previous conceptions of how the story should be told.
Thank you for your time.
Sincerely,
Edward Langlais