Any adaptation of the novels is dangerous because it runs the risk of being worse than the book, remaining misunderstood by the audience. But there are directors who did a wonderful job, even though they recreated the novels of women writers on the screen.
Screen version of Austin’s novels: “Pride and Prejudice”
The English writer Jane Austen does not have so many works. But they have invariably attracted the attention of filmmakers from around the world for hundreds of years. This is especially true of the work “Pride and Prejudice”.
The adaptation of Jane Austen’s novels is not an easy task. Her works contain many psychological and emotional moments and very little actual action. The closest and most understandable adaptation of the work “Pride and Prejudice” to the modern viewer is the film by Joe Wright with the participation of Keira Knightley.
The plot is based on the manners of the late XIX century. and a difficult system of relations between nobles. The main characters (Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy) first meet at the ball. And although Fitzwilliam liked the girl, he behaves with restraint, since Lizzy belongs to a poor family. Lizzy responds to his new acquaintance with contempt, because he considers him too prim. Throughout the film, young people cannot find a common language because of their prejudices. But in the end it all ends with the wedding of Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth Bennett.
The picture of Joe Wright was repeatedly nominated for an Oscar, Golden Globe and BAFTA, however, she received only the last award for a successful directorial debut.
Screen adaptation of Ustinova’s novels: “Always say always”
Tatyana Ustinova began her writing career in 2000. with detective stories and melodramatic works. The film adaptation of Ustinova’s novels is the lot of television people. Repeatedly various television channels released series based on the works of the writer: we are talking about the films “Goddess of Prime Time”, “Divorce and Maiden Name”, “Vices and Their Fans”, “Seventh Heaven”, etc.
But perhaps the most famous film adaptation of the novels “Tatyana Ustinova” is the television project “Always Speak Always” with the participation of Maria Poroshina. A total of 9 film seasons were released.
The main heroine of the whole story is Olga Gromova, who suddenly loses her usual and understandable life: her husband dies, two children and lots of problems remain in her arms. But the woman pulls herself together, remains steadfast, for which she receives a reward in the form of a new, more successful life.
Anne and Serge Golon: the story of the indomitable Angelica
Filmmaking of the novels is beneficial for directors in that they initially get well-designed and well-structured material into their work. Sometimes not just one woman, but an entire married couple works on this material, as was the case with Anne and Serge Golon: together they created a long epic story about the beautiful Angelica. The last, 14th book about Angelica was published in 2011 under the title “Angelica and the French Kingdom”.
The best adaptations of the novels about the beautiful adventurer are the works of Bernard Bordery. In total, the director made five films based on novels. In these films, the viewer is amazed by everything: the beauty of the actors, the elegance of the scenery and surroundings, the high cost of the costumes. However, Anne Golon herself admits in an interview that she did not like Borderie’s paintings, since the director was too far from the original plot of the novel, and the performer of the main role could not convey the mind and quick wits of her charming heroine.
Margaret Mitchell and Gone With the Wind
The screen version of Margaret Mitchell ’s romance novels , filmed by director Victor Fleming, has long been a cult. We are talking about the unforgettable film "Gone with the Wind", which was released in 1939 and became the first full-color color film in the world.
The main character of Mitchell’s novels is Scarlett O'Hara. She is beautiful, capricious and prone to adventures. Scarlett is also very stubborn, so for many years she has been hunting for one single man - Ashley Wilkes. After going through a series of ordeals, meeting a loving husband, having given birth and losing a child, Scarlett continues to hope for a reunion with Ashley. In the end, the beauty loses everything, and the only person she truly loved (Rhett Butler) leaves her.
Gone with the Wind Fleming earned 8 Oscars, which for a long time was considered an absolute record. And Vivien Leigh and Clark Gable turned into world celebrities, which were known even in the Soviet Union.
Sylvia Nazar and The Mind Games
Sylvia Nazar is an American writer who wrote a book in 1998 about the fate of economist John Forbes Nash. A little later, this plot was developed by Hollywood director Ron Howard.
For Ron, the adaptation of novels is a familiar thing. He is the creator of two films based on the works of Dan Brown: we are talking about “The Da Vinci Code”, as well as “Angels and Demons”. In The Mind Games, the director entrusted the actor
Russell Crowe with the main role
.The tragedy of John Nash (the main character) was that he was a brilliant mathematician and economist, but at the same time suffered from a serious mental disorder: the Nobel laureate constantly suffered from hallucinations, which ultimately destroyed his life.
For the adaptation of this dramatic story, the Ron Howard team received four Oscars at once, as well as many other prestigious awards.
Emily Bronte and Wuthering Heights
Another writer who excites the minds of cinema figures with her works is Emily Bronte. Her novel, entitled Wuthering Heights, is filmed with an enviable frequency. There is a television version of 2009 with Tom Hardy, as well as a 2011 film. However, the latest version differs quite a bit from the book: an African American was invited to play the role of Heathcliff, although the main character of the novel looks like a gypsy (apparently, the creators decided to return to speculation on racial discrimination).
Based on all this, the most worthy version of 1992 can be considered, in which the main roles went to Juliette Binoche and Rafe Fiennes. The story, once written by Bronte, and then recreated on the screens by actors, cannot but touch the audience: two lovers become hostages of their passion and prejudices of society. Unfortunately, this story has no happy ending.
Agatha Christie and Murder on the Orient Express
An adaptation of romance novels is a popular project. But much more intriguing are films made on the basis of talented detective works.
Everyone knows the famous Agatha Christie. She created iconic heroes such as Mrs. Marple and Hercule Poirot. In 1974, the Hollywood director Sidney Lumet was seriously carried away by Christie’s works, as a result of which he created an amazing detective film “Murder on the Orient Express”. This painting was nominated for six Oscars, but received only one gold figurine.
According to the plot, the brilliant Hercule Poirot was isolated from the whole world in one express train with 12 passengers, after the body of the thirteenth was discovered in the morning. They killed the American in cold blood, will the detective manage to unravel this matter?
Daria Dontsova and the series "Dasha Vasilyeva"
It is impossible not to mention another Russian writer, whose novels become rich material for television projects. We are talking about Daria Dontsova - the famous author of ladies' detectives.
The best adaptation of the novels by Daria Dontsova is the series “Dasha Vasilyeva” with the participation of Larisa Udovichenko. This project can be called the most successful due to the fact that a total of 52 episodes were released, while other television films based on the writer's works were completed after 20-30 episodes.
The main character, according to the plot of the novel, suddenly gets a big inheritance. Therefore, Dasha Vasilyeva gives up her teaching work at the university and, finally, gets the opportunity to do her favorite thing - a private investigation. The adventures of an amateur investigator are dedicated to the series.
Joan Rowling and the Harry Potter Series
Films-adaptations of novels bring good income. But with the box office of a series of films about the boy wizard Harry can not be compared, perhaps, not a single project.
Thanks to the fact that Joan created a new fabulous universe, she became the richest female author in the history of the publishing industry.
Miss Rowling's story is like a fairy tale. She began to write the fateful book about Potter at age 30, after she lost her husband, work and her own mother. Rowling has long lived on one social allowance. She sent her work to all British publishers, but refused to cooperate with her. Only the small Bloomsbury company responded. Five years after the publication of the first Harry Potter book, Joan became a multimillionaire.
The Harry Potter films deserve the right to be in the Best Films of the Novels category, if only because they together made up a very profitable movie series, the box office of which is second only to the Avengers franchise. It turns out that Harry Potter even outperformed Pirates of the Caribbean and Bondiana.
And Joan herself at the moment took herself a male pseudonym and switched to the genre of detective.