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I love watching films/tv show adaptations of books I love. It’s a way of reliving the events of the book without reading it again, and there’s just something so satisfying and so special about seeing books and characters you adore come to life before your eyes📺
In my opinion, a good film/tv show adaptation is hard to come by. Things are left out, characters are changed or not in the adaptation at all. The real intention of the story and the goals of characters are ignored. Basically, a lot of things can go wrong. One (or should I say, two) adaptations I automatically think of is The Mortal Instruments 2013 film and Shadowhunters 2016-2019 tv show. I personally love the film, but neither really lived up to what the series by Cassandra Clare.
Let’s get to the film/tv show adaptations I loved!
Pride and Prejudice (2005)
I’ve never watched a film more than this one. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen is one of my favourite books, and the 2005 film adaptation is honestly stunningly good. I’ll be honest, it did take me a few watches to fall in love with it as I didn’t think certain things were ‘right’ about it. I think it was the way it was filmed that I first fell in love with – full of grand views of nature, from cliffs with Lizzy’s dress billowing in the wind and misty fields with Darcy walking across them. It is a very romantic film that really warms my cold heart, and it brought me a lot of comfort during the pandemic. Whenever I’m feeling a bit rubbish, I always put this film on.
Shadow and Bone (2021-)
Will I continue to rave about this series? Yes, I will. It’s a bold statement but I think it needs to be said: I think this is the best YA book to film/tv show adaptation there is. I think those who adapted these books to the screen knew what they were doing. Leigh Bardugo created such a complex and interesting fantasy world, and watching the tv show felt like the books had literally come alive. You imagine things in your head while reading, and this adaptation just took all of that and projected it on screen. I adored it. I watched it with my mum (who hasn’t read the books) loved it, too. It is accessible to those who haven’t read the books without being condescending to those who had. Utterly perfect and cannot wait for the next season.
Little Women (1994)
I wasn’t a great lover of the 2019 film adaptation starring Florence Pugh, Saoirse Ronan, Timothee Chalamet and Emma Watson. Something was missing from that adaptation that Little Women 1994 provided. I first watched this film last year, and sobbed my eyes out. I think about the scene where Beth is dying, and she’s trying to reassure Jo that she’s going to be okay, that she’s come to terms with dying – honestly, Claire Danes’ performance messed me up. It was so beautiful and sad. I don’t think anyone will ever beat it.
Emma (2020)
Have you ever had to stop yourself from laughing aloud on public transport? I did while reading Jane Austen’s Emma. It was comedy gold, in my opinion, and the 2020 film was the same. It was the last film I saw at the cinema before Lockdown in the UK, which makes it that more special. It is very camp, and flamboyant which is exactly what the book is like, with folky and dramatic music to go along with it. Autumn de Wilde really captured the tone very well. As well as it’s humor, the romance was perfectly portrayed. The way Emma and Knightley gradually realised their feelings for one another was both cute and funny.
Matilda (1996)
I know all the words of this film and it’s because I was obsessed with it as a child. Matilda by Roald Dahl was a childhood favourite – I remember my mum reading it to me. It’s such a magical, fairy-tale like film without having to include fairy godmothers and evil witches. Miss Honey’s little honeysuckle covered cottage was magical enough. I adored that Matilda was a lover of books, who strived to better herself intellectually and who wanted to go to school. I adore the beginning where we see little Matilda going to the library, and she’s sat on the massive chair with a big book, laughing. It’s just so cute.
Dracula (1992)
Do I just fancy Winona Ryder and Gary Oldman? Yes. It’s hard not to, but they’re not the only reason why I find this Dracula adaptation better than others. For one, I loved old Dracula at the beginning with his red robe on. That was the Dracula I imagined when I read the book. I analysed this adaptation in my Modern Gothic unit at university, and even though the essay wasn’t graded very high, I still enjoyed writing about it. Francis Ford Coppola made this film with the intention of making it a romance – very unlike other Dracula adaptations, and it made it refreshing watch. I loved the costumes, especially Mina’s red dress and Dracula’s grey suit.
Rebecca (1940)
I ignore the fact that there is a 2020 adaptation of this classic starring Lily James and Armie Hammer. The Alfred Hitchcock is the only one for me. What a stunning film. Hitchcock knew how to use the black and white screen to his advantage, and it shows in this film. There were shadows everywhere, places you think Rebecca herself could be hiding in. Judith Anderson who played Mrs. Danvers looked very Bela Lugosi in Dracula (1931) with light making her face very white and her hair very black. It’s creepy and suspenseful, and it’s a great film to watch when it’s autumn and getting darker earlier in the day.
Wuthering Heights (1939)
This may have been a more romanticised adaptation of Emily Bronte’s Wuthering Heights, but goddammit, it made me sob. It took me like ten minutes after the film ended for me to calm down. The ending just really stabbed me in the heart – if you’ve seen it, you’ll understand why. I cried a little when I read the book, but not like I did at this film. This is the sort of film where you watch it once, and cannot bear to watch again (but in a good way).
A Discovery of Witches (2018-)
I read the A Discovery of Witches trilogy by Deborah Harkness in 2018/2019 and loved it. The series is honestly everything that I could’ve asked for. The dark academia aesthetic the first book has is perfectly replicated in the first season, filmed mostly in Oxford, England, on cobbled roads and surrounded by old buildings. The second season came out earlier this year, and I binged it in one day. I was so impressed with how that season turned out as Matthew and Diana travelled back in time to the 1600s England – it was like we were there! It was just perfect, and I can’t wait for the third season next year.
I’m not a big film lover, but if there is a film coming out that is an adaptation of a book I love, then I’m there. Same for tv shows. I can’t wait to see if 2021 has anymore book to film/tv shows for me to look forward to.
💬What are some of your favourite book to film/tv show adaptations?
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