Into Film Language
19th Century Novels on Film
1: Adaptation
Useful vocabulary
• Audience/purpose
• Adaptation
• Abridge
• Compression
• Elision
• Novel
• Commercial
19th century novels
Adaptation
Adaptation
What do you think happens to a book when it is
adapted for film?
19th century novels
Adaptation
Behind the Scenes
19th century novels
Adaptation
Research task:
Think of a book that has been adapted into a film.
Find the book covers and the DVD cover online.
1. Do these two covers promise the same characters?
2. The same story?
3. The same experience?
4. How will they be different and why?
19th century novels
Adaptation
Agree or disagree?
Films of books are not for the same audiences.
You don’t have to use your imagination at all when
watching a film.
Reading is harder work than watching a film.
Films of books should always follow the book as closely
as possible.
It’s impossible to compress a long book into a two-hour
film.
You should always read the book first, before you
watch the film.
Watching the film spoils the book.
19th century novels
Adaptation
A Christmas Carol related images
These stills are provided under the fair dealing provisions of the Copyright, Design and Patents Act 1988 for the purpose of criticism and review only.
19th century novels
Adaptation
Image task
1. Can you put the images in date order of when they were
produced? Please give a reason for your selection.
1. What do the images from the different adaptation of ACC
say about the book and its importance?
2. What might they say about story and character?
3. Why do you think this particular novel has been adapted
so many times?
19th century novels
Adaptation
Writing tasks
Either
Write about a book you have read which has been
turned into a film. Which did you read/see first? How
were they different? Which did you find more satisfying?
Why?
Or
Choose two or three of the statements and write in
detail about why you agree/disagree/aren't sure about
them.
19th century novels
Adaptation
Scrooge or Marley’s Ghost
© BFI Cultural Archive, All rights reserved
19th century novels
Adaptation
Credits
‘Scrooge/A Christmas Carol,’ 1951/Renown Pictures Corporation/Renown Film
Productions/Brian Desmond Hurst
‘Scrooge,’ 1970/Paramount Home Entertainment/Waterbury Films/Ronald Neame
‘Scrooged,’ 1988/Paramount Home Entertainment/Paramount Pictures/Richard
Donner
‘A Christmas Carol,’ 1984/20th Century Fox Home Entertainment/Entertainment
Partners Ltd/Clive Donner
19th century novels
Adaptation