Lecture: Classic Adaptation

CLASSICS IN FICTION ADAPTATION:

What is the appeal of the Classics?
-Adaptations of Classics can be seen as an exercise in ‘nostalgia’ – “Adaptations of classic texts enable contemporary audiences to re- visit the past; as such they can be situated within the broader context of postmodern appropriations of history” (Carrol,
R: 2009: 2)
-Continued appeal of classics means they are frequently part of TV schedules...

Dickens on film
-Most adapted author of all time.
-All his novels have been adapted to some degree.
-There are around 100 silent films made of his works, of which around a third still exist.
-His publications featured illustrations of his stories which again brought them to a wider audience and have subsequently given adaptors a guiding hand in bringing the stories to the screen.

Dickens – mass appeal
-Dickens original works were always intended for ‘the masses’.
-It’s literary form has become more elitist in recent times, however the screen adaptations continue to appeal to a wide audience, thus continuing Dickens’ original aim.
-There were a number of events to commemorate the bi- centenary in 2012, including a Film and Tv Retrospective at the BFI and a raft of new adaptations for the big and small screen –
-Great Expectations and The Mystery of Edwin Drood.

Authors Adapted
-Dickens has become a ‘character’ to be utilised in drama and his ideas taken into new series (e.g. Carlton’s ‘Micawber’ 2001).
-Dickens popular source for TV adaptations.

Classics & Public Service Role
-Broadcasters may utilise classics as a source of adaptation to satisfy the public service remit.
-“[recent TV adaptations are a ] combination of classic author and innovative style [which is increasingly important] ... in a television environment in which the role of public service broadcasting is...questioned and under threat” (Carroll, R:2009:113)
-But with this comes an additional pressure – the need to be ‘faithful’ as
-“there are often pre-existing expectations and knowledge which need to be negotiated, while at the same time .... [keeping] the material fresh and meaningful...the existence of multiple versions...makes it possible to trace changes and transformations over time” (Caroll, R : 2009:111)

Dickens - ‘Serials’ & ‘Soaps’
-Dickens work was produced in serials – editions were published weekly or monthly and regularly featured cliff hangers.
-Maybe it is this which has made the material so perfect for adaptation on television, just like modern day soap operas they tell the story in episodes.
-Contemporary adaptations have utilised ‘soap- like narratives and editing – e.g. Andrew Davies’ 2005 version of Bleak House for the BBC
-This moved away from more ‘traditional’ approaches and used dramatic methods more in the style of other dramas of the time, such as Spooks. (Carroll, R : 2009:115)

Enduring Social Concerns
-They are able to fit into modern treatments and approaches – universality of themes.
-Just like modern dramas and soaps (Eastenders etc), he sought to bring the social ills of Victorian Britain to the notice of his readers.
-He did so through stories involving caricatures of the people he sought to bring to book
-2013 – the first full stage version of Great Expectations at the Vaudeville Theatre in the West End with some of the profits going to a charity set up by Dickens’ great-great-great granddaughter to help with causes such as prison reform, adoption and literacy.
-It’s producer Bruce Athol MacKinnon noted that “Dickens was very keen on access to education and literature” (Evening Standard, 6 February 2013)

The challenges of adapting a classic novel
To take it from the page or stage to the screen involves a series of deeply personal decisions influenced by factors such as :
-Class, culture, religion, politics and personal taste
-It is almost impossible to produce a piece of work which does not in some way “subvert” it from the original text.
-“They not only interpret that work but in so doing they also take a position on it” (Hucheon 2006: 92)

The tone of adaptations can take a number of slants such as:
-Reverential
-Critical
-Satirical
-Contemporary
-Subversive/challenging

Nicholl’s take on Great Expectations
-New film version released 2012.
-Adapted by David Nicholls (author of ‘One Day’ - previously adapted Tess of the D’Urbevilles and Much Ado about Nothing).
-Nicholls described the scenes in the new film in which Pip meets Miss Haversham as “a bit like going to see Hannibal Lector”.
-The film approached "like a thriller".
-The heartbreaker Estelle will be a "femme fatale" and, most contentiously, Nicholls revealed that he has “come up with an ending that isn’t in the book".

New beginnings, new endings
-Most controversially he wrote a new ending for Great Expectations – Dickens himself wrote different endings –
-1st was bleak and unforgiving - Estelle ends up leading a "most unhappy life" having been treated "with great cruelty by two husbands".
-Pip meets her by chance and takes satisfaction in seeing how she has suffered.
-Dickens thought his public would not like such a dark conclusion and re-wrote the book to have the pair meet in a "tranquil light" in which Pip saw "no shadow of another parting from her".

Nicholls’ New Ending
-Nicholls explains:
-"Dickens came up with two endings - one which is incredibly bleak and one which is unrealistically romantic and sentimental. Neither are quite satisfactory and we've come up with an ending that isn't in the book - and is somewhere in between. It draws on events in the book but takes them in a slightly different direction, but is in no way sacrilegious”

Tampering with perfection?
-In attempting to adapt a classic you are inevitably facing a loyal if not fanatical fan base.
-The reception to it is thus affected by whether the audience is what Hutcheon refers to as either ‘knowing’ or ‘unknowing’ i.e. To ‘experience’ the film as a classic you need to have recognition of it being a classic novel.
-If you are unfamiliar with the original text your experience is not affected by memories of the text and therefore it is read in a manner which is unfettered by prior expectations.
-As Christopher Columbus, who directed Harry Potter and the philosopher’s stone explained:
-“People would have crucified me if I hadn’t been faithful to the books” (originally quoted in Whipp 2002:H4)

INTERTEXTUALITY : David Lean’s Great Expectations – the definitive adaptation?
-David Lean’s adaptation of ‘Great Expectations’ was named number 1 in a list of the 25 Best Book adaptations of all time by The Telegraph (Dec 2011)
-It’s iconic opening sequence brings to life the bleak marshes visualised in Dickens’ novel.
-It tells the story of a young boy, Pip, growing up with his Sister and her husband, Joe Gargery, who is feted by a local.
-Is it so ‘definitive’ that all adaptations which followed pay ‘homage’ to and reference it, even inadvertently ? (INTERTEXTUAL ADAPTATION OCCURS)

INTERTEXTUALITY EXPLORED : ‘Inspired’ adaptations
-On occasion the original text is no more than the inspiration for a double-entendre be it the title of the film (e.g. The poem “The Night Before Christmas” becomes “The Nightmare Before Christmas” )
-Alternatively it’s plot merely inspires a new story (e.g. Shakespeare’s Taming of the Shrew inspired Cole Porter’s musical Kiss Me Kate and the recent film 10 things I hate about you)
-Either way, the stories often tap into a shared cultural appreciation and experience of the classics from which they take their inspiration – this is true of many classic works, such as that of Dickens. They are the ‘reference’ point.
-This shared experience is part of the reason for the continuing popularity of classics on screen – THEY ‘REFERENCE’ A COMMON UNDERSTANDING AND EXPERIENCE – PRODUCING COMMONALITY OF RESPONSE

CASE STUDY IN INFIDELITY: Jane Austen -Pride and Prejudice
-A popular choice for adaptors -
-Adapted in 1940 starring Laurence Olivier and Greer Garson - the ending changed so dramatically that the tone of the film was affected and it was criticised for this (it changes the book’s storyling about Darcy’s aunt so that she eventually believes she is an “excellent match” – this is not the case in the book where she does not change her opinion)
-More recently the 2005 adaptation starring Keira Knightly and Matthew McFadyen was given two endings – one closer to the text (for the British audience) and another deemed more appropriately ‘smoochy’ for the US audience!

Inspired by Austen
Several very loose adaptations inspired by the book including:
-Bridget Jones Diary (2001), Bride and Prejudice (2004 Bollywood version) and Lost in Austen(2008) for television.
-‘Pride and Prejudice and Zombies’ (2016) is a notable departure from the original!
-Distinctly post-modern approach to the adaption - it parodies the original book and brings together two very different genres - luke-warm critical reception
-A spin off novel - ‘Longbourn’ sold to US and UK publishers early February 2013.
-It tells the story of the servants at the Bennet’s home and runs a love story, between a housemaid and a new footman, in parallel with the story of Elizabeth and Mr Darcy.
-It is already in the hands of the film distributor behind the 2005 adaptation of Pride and Prejudice. James Schamus from the Focus Features explained their interest:
-"By compellingly exploring new avenues in the world of Pride and Prejudice, she has fashioned a tale of a calibre that film-makers dream about.”
-“Austenland” (2013) – INTERTEXTUAL ADAPTATION - comedy about a girl’s obsession with the 1995 adaptation of Pride and Prejudice.