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The Guardian's 50 Greatest Literary Adaptations

By: MUBI

This is the first in an ongoing series of Film Lists on MUBI – which will be taken from (or created by) a variety of sources on all topics related to cinema – with the intention of igniting a dialogue between all you passionate users in the forums.

In June of 2006, The Guardian polled its readers to find out what they deemed to be the best novel-to-screen adaptations, with Robert Mulligan’s Oscar-winning To Kill a Mockingbird, adapted from Harper Lee’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, topping their list. You can read Guardian critics Peter Bradshaw and Xan Brooks’ annotations of the top 20 at The Guardian’s website.

We want to hear your opinions, so be sure to head over to the forums to tell us what you think.

 

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Judicial Joe

26Mar12

Only Anglophone films? smh

Nikhil Jayakrishnan

25Jun11

This is restricted to only hollywood films....what about films from the other nations?

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VS Twaystland

19Jun11

This is all wrong from the get-go: If they are literary adaptations, doesn't the original have to be LITERATURE? So shouldn't the Guardian have prioritized adaptations of books that actually are considered to have some lasting value on their own--a lot of mediocre novels have been made into decent or even memorable films, but are scholars of the future really going to be studying Jaws or Get Shorty for their literary value? Come on. You could scratch half this list right there. And then add some depth: Great Expectations (David Lean), Tom Jones, Grapes of Wrath, The Lower Depths (Kurosawa). And for more contemporary stuff: The Sweet Hereafter, The Big Sleep, In Cold Blood, The Thin Red Line --any of those have more right to be on this list than Sin City, Goldfinger or Brokeback Mountain.

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iliketowatch

17Jun11

I think the list is pretty good. It's easy to for auters to get their knickers in a bunch about the placement of To Kill A Mockingbird, but I have no problem with that. Harper Lee was said to have been on set and remarked at how much Gregory Peck reminded her of her dad, simply walking down the street. The scor by Elmer Bernstein, one of the most sublime in film history. One note, for those who like The Talented Mr. Ripley, and it is a fantastic film. Do yourself a favor and see Rene Clement's Purple Noon, think this version is even stronger. Alan Delon playing Tom Ripley - handsome, confused, psychotic - brilliant. And the ending. See it if you haven't.

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