Category Archives: Comparing Different Adaptations

Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella Three-Way Faceoff

In The Sound of Music‘s words, let’s start at the very beginning. Well, OK, not the very beginning. That would require getting into the complete oral and literary history of Cinderella. Let’s start with 1957 when CBS did a musical … Continue reading

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Two Adaptations of Great Expectations that Deserve Commendation

Great Expectations by Charles Dickens has been adapted into several miniseries and you’d expect that I, as a fan of the book, would prefer those to the film adaptations. After all, they’re longer, slower paced and theoretically include more from … Continue reading

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Giving De Vil Her Due Part 2 (Hey, That Rhymed!)

Better the Devil You Know: 102 Dalmatians (2000) Since I specifically mentioned the opening credits sequences for the first two Dalmatians movies, I should note this one has a surreal visual one much like the original animated film. It’s not … Continue reading

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Giving De Vil Her Due Part 1

In my last post, I mentioned that one of my favorite things I’ve written on this blog has been a series about the 2014 movie, Maleficent, despite my having-at best-a very mixed opinion on it. I published it to coincide … Continue reading

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The Greatest David Copperfield but Not the Greatest David Copperfield

When I was writing my post about two movie adaptations of Charles Dickens’s David Copperfield, my original plan was to do a quick summary of my thoughts on my favorite adaptation, the BBC’s 1999 two-part miniseries. Maybe something along the … Continue reading

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David Copperfield vs. David Copperfield

David Copperfield, Charles Dickens’s beloved novel about friendship, marriage, parenthood and life in general, doesn’t necessarily lend itself that well to a movie. Not only is it long, like all of Dickens’s major novels, but it’s structured like an autobiography … Continue reading

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Charlie, Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factories

One of the most inflammatory questions you can ask is which of the two movie adaptations of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl is superior. OK, not really, but it’s still pretty controversial. Both Willy Wonka and the … Continue reading

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Top 4 Nicholas Nicklebys Part 2

The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby (2002) The 2002 Nicholas Nickleby movie, written and directed by Douglas McGrath, makes an interesting counterpoint to the 1947 one. It doesn’t include nearly as many of the novel’s characters, but it arguably … Continue reading

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Top 4 Nicholas Nicklebys Part 1

Charles Dickens’ third novel, The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby, is one of my favorites though that’s not a universally held opinion. Many critics, while commending the book’s youthful energy, deride its stock characterizations and meandering, melodramatic plot. I … Continue reading

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Emma Movies That Aren’t Clueless

As I’ve mentioned on this blog before, not one but two movie adaptations of Jane Austen’s Emma came out in 1996. This makes them rather a pain to talk about since while both follow the book’s plot fairly closely, they … Continue reading

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