Re: The Novel and the Cinema

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My dear Mr Langlais,

You are right, of course.  This view has often been put to me, and I
acknowledge its justice.  But reluctantly.  And perhaps I deserve some
sympathy.  It is strange experience indeed for a parent to see his child
dressed in another's clothes.

Faithfully yours,


Charles Dickens
________________________________________________________________________________

>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
>
>

======================
Charles Dickens
charles_dickens@rmplc.co.uk
Author

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