Vintage Tales discussion

I think it can really add to a classic if there's a brilliant adaptation of it.

The 1995 Pride and Prejudice stands out as being one of the best adaptations. If you flick through the first pages of P&P, it's basically word for word!

Also, the radio play of War of the Worlds is amazing! I listened to it one car journey, and it's fabulous!

My favorite adaptation of The Legend of Sleepy Hollow is the Disney film version of it that was narrated and sung by Bing Crosby. and my favorite adaptations of A Christmas Carol is Scrooged with Bill Murray and Mickey's Christmas carol.

I loved the adaptation of Tess of the d'Urbervilles from 2008. I watched one other one and didn't like it as well, but I can't remember what year it was from and who was in it. The 2008 one was a miniseries with four episodes.

For A Christmas Carol, it has to be the Muppets version... I watch it every Christmas :')

I've been meaning to read Tess of the d'Urbervilles for ages. But my English teacher completely ruined it for me by telling our class the whole plot. I had a go at him after!

I like the muppets version too Holly. Have you ever seen the mr. Magoo version? that one is good too.

I've just watched Joss Whedon's adaptation of Much Ado About Nothing, it was a wonderful experience. He basically got together a load of actors from his shows, and said 'Do you want to film a Shakespeare play in my house in 2 weeks?'.

So they did, and it turned out very good. I actually understood more and more of the play, and though set it modern day, it was still performed in iambic pentameter, which was a good twist. It's definitely up there with Kenneth Branagh's version.

I haven't seen that one, I'll have to check it out - I'm a big Joss Whedon fan. Who's in it?

I love the Kenneth Branagh version - he and Emma Thompson are just brilliant as Benedick and Beatrice.

This is a great idea for a thread! I too like most of those mentioned, and will keep a look out for the others :)

My favourite adaptation is The Barchester Chronicles. It's a TV mini-series from 1982, comprising book 1 "The Warden" and 2 "Barchester Towers" from the 6 Barchester Chronicles. It is an absolute gem, and was the first time most of us had seen Alan Rickman, who played the odious Obediah Slope. In fact ALL the casting was superb. I really wish the BBC had gone on to do the rest of the series.

Jean wrote: "This is a great idea for a thread! I too like most of those mentioned, and will keep a look out for the others :)

My favourite adaptation is The Barchester Chronicles. It's a TV mini-series from 1..."

I saw that. It was marvellous. All the cast was superb particularly Rickman and Geraldine McKewen as Mrs. Proudie.

I can't understand why the BBC does not have a dedicated channel for its old dramas rather than hiring them out to Yesterday and other suchlike channels. It would have been good if all the Barsetshire series had been adapted. Barchester Chronicles was a huge success for the BBC so it is very surprising that they didn't adapt them all.

I thought the BBC's adaptation of Samuel Richardson's Clarissa was really good.

Triple Echo starring Glenda Jackson and Oliver Reed was very good, as was Woman in Love, starring the above and Alan Bates.

Liân wrote: "I haven't seen that one, I'll have to check it out - I'm a big Joss Whedon fan. Who's in it?

I love the Kenneth Branagh version - he and Emma Thompson are just brilliant as Benedick and Beatrice."

Clark Gregg (Phil Coulson in the Avengers/Agents of SHIELD), Nathan Fillion, Amy Acker, Sean Maher. Clark Gregg was just hilarious.

I really want to watch the 1980s adaptation of Middlemarch, now that I've read it...

I loved the BBC's I Claudius with Derek Jacobi & Sian Phillips, absolutely brilliant!

Chatterjak wrote: "I loved the BBC's I Claudius with Derek Jacobi & Sian Phillips, absolutely brilliant!"

Me too, I forgot about that. I vaguely remember the BBC's adaptation of Cassanova starring Frank Finley, but I had just began secondary school and can't recall anything except the tabloid fury lol.

I enjoyed Russel Davis's adaptation starring David Tennent, tho

Holly - there's an excellent adaptation of Middlemarch - a BBC TV mini-series from 1994; again very well cast with Juliet Aubrey very convincing as Dorothea and Patrick Malahide outstanding as Casaubon.

Jean wrote: "My favourite adaptation is The Barchester Chronicles. It's a TV mini-series from 1982, comprising book 1 "The Warden" and 2 "Barchester Towers" from the 6 Barchester Chronicles. It is an absolute gem, and was the first time most of us had seen Alan Rickman"

Great Obediah Slope by Rickman you're right Jean.
I have a family anecdote about this BBC serie: I bought it some 5 or 6 years ago and imposed it on my family once a week - the kids decided to go to bed saying they didn't understand a word!. Tha night has become there the "Serata Trollope" - Trollope night - but now, having grown and learned a bit more english - we see all together! And even we of course are not looking at Trollpe anylonger the name remains.
We have finished yesterday the first serie of "A game of Thrones" and will start next week the last one of "Downtown Abbey"

Jean wrote: "Holly - there's an excellent adaptation of Middlemarch - a BBC TV mini-series from 1994; again very well cast with Juliet Aubrey very convincing as Dorothea and Patrick Malahide outstanding as Cas..."

Liked also this one. But my favourite remains BBC adaptation of Pride and Prejudice with Colin Firth! I went as to a pilgrimage this summer to that particular Pemberly!!!

Here the Peack District as seen in the film with Keira Knightley - not as good in my opinion (don't look at my hair, please!!!)

Chatsworth!!! Oh wow Laura that was a blast from the past! When I was tiny we used to go there and picnic in the grounds. The family (Duke and Duchess of Devonshire - misleading as Devon - the county - is at the opposite end of the country!) wanted to keep the beautiful grounds, including a lake and extensive deer park, open to all. I think it may still be so; free to walk or drive through, and you just pay to visit the house itself, is it?

And again, I found myself laughing out loud. Dear oh dear, "Trollope night"!!! A few years ago, a prime minister of this country caused an absolute furore in the tabloid press when he said that for pleasure he used to "Go to bed with a trollope"! It wasn't much use his protesting the next day that he had meant, "A Small House at Allington"!

Lovely story though, thanks :)

We used to live about an hour away from Chatsworth House, so we were taken there quite often as kids - all I can remember is rolling my eyes teenage-fashion & groaning 'not Chatsworth again'. Horrible ungrateful child!!

Malcolm wrote: "Chatterjak wrote: "I loved the BBC's I Claudius with Derek Jacobi & Sian Phillips, absolutely brilliant!"

Me too, I forgot about that. I vaguely remember the BBC's adaptation of Cassanova starrin..."

I don't remember the earlier series of Casanova, but I did see the David Tenant one & thought it was fantastic!

Chatterjak wrote: "Malcolm wrote: "Chatterjak wrote: "I loved the BBC's I Claudius with Derek Jacobi & Sian Phillips, absolutely brilliant!"

Me too, I forgot about that. I vaguely remember the BBC's adaptation of C..."

It must have been on telly sometime between 1972 & 75

There's so many adaptations that I need to watch...

You know I loved "I, Claudius" at the time, and Derek Jacobi's performance was a marvel. Even the theme music used to make people sit up expectantly.

But I borrowed it from the library recently and we didn't even get through the first episode. It seemed terribly wooden and set-bound by modern standards. Maybe after all we have moved on now and expect more from our adaptations. Some more recent ones are comparable with film quality productions.

Jean wrote: "You know I loved "I, Claudius" at the time, and Derek Jacobi's performance was a marvel. Even the theme music used to make people sit up expectantly.

But I borrowed it from the library recently an..."

I'm not quite sure but I think there is talk of a remake of that or some other spicy period drama of that era which the BBC had produced.

I'm not sure whether to look forward to that or not, Malcolm! I know at the time it spurred me on to read Robert Graves' superb books I, Claudius and Claudius the God and His Wife Messalina

Jean wrote: "You know I loved "I, Claudius" at the time, and Derek Jacobi's performance was a marvel. Even the theme music used to make people sit up expectantly.

But I borrowed it from the library recently an..."

Perhaps I enjoyed it more because I went into it without any expectations - I didn't see it first time around, and hadn't heard any hype at the time, but watched it all on video (pre DVD days still!). I quite liked that it was so set-bound - it was such an intense claustrophobic drama it rather suited it (only my opinion!). One (wo)mans meat is another's poison though! I thought it had aged really well! Ah, it wouldn't do to all think alike though :)

As for 'sexed' up versions - I'm not sure it needs any further spicing!! Really?! I'm truly not a prude (well I don't think so!) but I do hope they stick with quality drama rather than a flesh fest for the sake of it. I had to stop watching 'Rome', thought it was a bit soap-opera in the end! The first time I encountered The Tudors I was abroad so it was dubbed into Spanish & I thought I stumbled across a soft porn channel by mistake! I still haven't watched it in English! Did anyone see it? Any good?

Jean wrote: "I'm not sure whether to look forward to that or not, Malcolm! I know at the time it spurred me on to read Robert Graves' superb books I, Claudius and [book:Claudius the God and His Wif..."

I can't recall if it is I Claudius which is being remade, but I am sure I saw recently a trailer if memory serves for one of those old titillating dramas.

Never read I Claudius, but I'm sure I must have bought it. However, I have his Greek Myths

My favorite adaptation is Age of Innocence by Martin Scorsese. I don't think I've ever seen a more faithful book to movie adaptation. Loved it. On the opposite end of the spectrum, even though not exactly a re-telling of Romeo and Juliet, I loved Shakespeare in Love. So clever. Romeo and Juliet was my least favorite play from Shakespeare but somehow that movie made me appreciate it more.

For the last several years, I haven't watched nearly as much TV as I used to, and never did watch movies as much as some people. But when I do (and did), I've always really enjoyed seeing adaptations of classics, whether I've read the book or not. (If I haven't, the film version usually whets my appetite to read it!). I enjoy comparing the adaptation with the book, and even different adaptations to each other.

I'm interpreting "favorite" here as allowing for more favorites than one. :-) But my top favorite is probably the one Holly mentioned in the first post, the BBC Pride and Prejudice miniseries, with Colin Firth as Darcy and Jennifer Ehle as Lizzie. To me, that's the definitive dramatic version, and the gold standard for Austen adaptations. (Here's the imdb link: www.imdb.com/title/tt0112130/ .) Of course, at miniseries length, they had the scope to follow the book very closely and not have to cut much out. But for regular movie Austen adaptations, I'd be remiss if I didn't mention the wonderful 1995 Sense and Sensibility movie starring Emma Thompson (who also wrote the screenplay) and Kate Winslet. (www.imdb.com/title/tt0114388 .)

Like some others who've posted above, I loved the Barchester Chronicles miniseries back in the 80s, but I didn't remember that Alan Rickman played Slope! I guess back then, he wasn't on my radar as much as he is now. (He's in the 1995 Sense and Sensibility as well, though for once not playing a villainous role.) I did remember one of my favorite actresses, Susan Hampshire, as Countess Neroni.

Of the adaptations of A Christmas Carol that I've seen, my favorite is the 1951 black-and-white version starring Alastair Sim as Scrooge (www.imdb.com/title/tt0044008 ). In most years, I re-watch that one during the Christmas season. Is there anybody else in the group who likes that one?

When I was in high school, back in the late 60s, we finally got a PBS channel that could be received in my hometown (remember that back then, we only had three or four channels!). It quickly became my favorite channel for the next few years, and one of the first programs they aired was the outstanding BBC adaptation of The Forsyte Saga, starring Eric Porter, Nyree Dawn Porter, Margaret Tyzack, and Susan Hampshire (www.imdb.com/title/tt0061253 ). That's still one of my all-time favorite TV shows. (I watched part of the first episode of the 2002-03 Masterpiece Theatre remake; but IMO, it fell so far short of the standard of the first one that I wasn't interested.)

My whole family and I liked the 1995 version of Little Women starring Winona Ryder, Susan Sarandon, and Kirsten Dunst (www.imdb.com/title/tt0110367 ). It follows the original very closely; and I said at the time that I hoped it would make a lot more people realize what a great writer Louisa May Alcott was!

Over the years, I've watched a lot of other versions of classics. In some cases, although I often liked the movie, it's not a faithful adaptation of the original; and in some cases, I can't judge the accuracy of the adaptation, because I haven't read the book (yet!). But even so, I'll probably eventually think of some more adaptations to mention on this thread!

Normally I do not watch the movie adaptation of a book until I've read the book, but there was this one time when I accidentally did because I did not know it was an adaptation. It was What Maisie Knew and The Pupil with Alexander Skarsgard and Julianne Moore. I loved the movie and, once I figured out it was adapted from a Henry James novel, I decided to read the book.
My heavens are they different. They barely resemble each other. But I love that movie. I think I might like it better than the book. I love all the different things that happen in the book, but I wish the book ended the way the movie did. The ending of the book left me disappointed. I wanted to throw it across the room, haha. I want to mash the two together and create something new with them.

Of all those you mention Werner, I find I have read the English adaptations but not the American. Henry James kind of falls between the two, of course, although I don't tend to care for his work (sorry, Hayley!)

I think the Barchester Chronicles adaptation which you mention is actually the best adaptation of a Classic ever made for TV (Yes, I think it nudges ahead even of "Pride and Prejudice"!) All the characters are cast just right! It's such a shame they stopped at just including the first two novels The Warden and Barchester Towers , because the other 4 novels in the series would have made superb dramatisations too. I can watch this one over and over again :D

I think the film of Sense and Sensibility is probably a good contender for the greatest film adaptation - even though Emma Thompson took considerable liberties with the text in some places...

There are many versions of A Christmas Carol which I enjoy. And yes I used to like the Alastair Sim one best too! As it is my favourite novel of all time, I have never watched the Muppets version, fearing what they do to it may stay in my memory...

Now though I like to watch the version with Patrick Stewart as Scrooge. He really captures the character for me :)

Jean wrote: "I think the Barchester Chronicles adaptation which you mention is actually the best adaptation of a Classic ever made for TV (Yes, I think it nudges ahead even of "Pride and Prejudice"!) All the characters are cast just right! It's such a shame they stopped at just including the first two novels The Warden and Barchester Towers , because the other 4 novels in the series would have made superb dramatisations too. I can watch this one over and over again :D"


I DO agree!!! I'd have loved to see the others titles!

Jean, my wife really likes the Patrick Stewart version of A Christmas Carol, too, and Stewart is her favorite Scrooge, though she likes the Alastair Sim version best overall. (Of course, she's a Stewart fan.) I like the Stewart version, too, but I don't rank it quite as high as the older adaptation; and Sim fits my image of Scrooge's physical type better than Stewart does.

Elizabeth, were you referring to the 1995 Masterpiece Theatre adaptation of Persuasion, starring Amanda Root and Ciaran' Hinds (www.imdb.com/title/tt0114117/ )? I really liked that one, too! It follows the book pretty closely, though it has some dialogue Austen didn't write. (She'd probably approve of it, though --it has her trademark wit and insight into character!)

LOL Elizabeth - do you mean the one with Ciaran Hinds? I particularly liked the lighting effects in that one. The candlelight seemed very authentic.

How funny - I am trying hard to think of the actress who plays Anne! It was good - very understated. You've made me want to track down a DVD of it :)

Yes! All clear now :) Thanks Werner and Elizabeth.

Yes, that was a typo; I meant Persuasion! (Sorry, Freudian slip; I liked Emma Thompson's Sense and Sensibility adaptation too. :-) ) I'll correct that ASAP.

Yes, they are both very good, aren't they? Emma Thompson seems to succeed at whatever she turns her hand to.

I remember bridling when they were filming Sense and Sensibility on hearing one of the actresses, whom I'd never heard of (turned out it was Kate Winslet ) say that, "Emma Thompson has improved Jane Austen's dialogue!" What sacrilege!!

But when I eventually came to watch the film, I was impressed with how sensitively Emma Thompson had adapted the novel, injecting humour here and there, but in a way which seems not out of keeping with the original. Sense and Sensibility is actually my favourite Jane Austen novel.

Jean wrote: "Yes, they are both very good, aren't they? Emma Thompson seems to succeed at whatever she turns her hand to.

I remember bridling when they were filming [book:Sense and Sensibility..."

It was quite a good film that one; you're right Jean

Most science fiction fans are familiar with the 1950s adaptation of H. G. Wells' classic The War of the Worlds, narrated by Sir Cedric Hardwicke, even though it has little resemblance to Wells' original. But a much more faithful movie adaptation (and much more low-budgeted, which means it lacked advertising and isn't nearly as well known as it deserves to be) is the 2005 version directed by Timothy Hinds and starring Anthony Piana. (Unlike the former, the latter film preserves the 1899 setting, and follows the novel very closely.) I had a few minor quibbles with this version, but in the main it's an outstanding adaptation. Here's the imdb link for more information: www.imdb.com/title/tt0425638 .

Werner - I got quite excited about this, having never heard of it but also having a little "birthday money" to spend which should be about right for a DVD or two. However it doesn't seem to be available in a format that will play outside the States unfortunately. (I'm region 2) Hope others will be able to take advantage though.

Just a slight headsup for anyone also looking. 2005 was also the year for the Tom Cruise film - a very different interpretation all round. Then there's the musical...

Jean, sorry to hear that! My daughter and son-in-law sometimes run into the same problem in Australia, with VHS tapes from the U.S. that won't play there. :-( (Personally, I think it's stupid on the vendor's part not to sell a technology that will work in every part of the world!) Hopefully it'll air on British TV sometime, and you'll get a chance to see it then.

There's always hope, Werner :)

My favorite is Rebecca. The book & movie were both fantastic.

My favorite movie adaptations would be:

2006 film "The Painted Veil" starring Edward Norton & Naomi Watts

1956 film "War and Peace" starring Audrey Hepburn, Henry Fonda and Mel Ferrer

1965 film "Doctor Zhivago" starring Omar Sharif and Julie Christie

1968 film "Romeo and Juliet" starring Leonard Whiting and Olivia Hussey

and many others....

These are my favorites too:

1998 film "Les Miserables" starring Liam Neeson and Uma Thurman
2012 film musical "Les Miserables" starring Hugh Jackman, Anne Hathaway and Russell Crowe

1997 film "Anna Karenina" starring Sophie Marceau and Sean Bean

2001-2003 film trilogy "Lord of the Rings" starring Elijah Wood

Alice, I loved the entire Lord of the Rings film trilogy with Elijah Wood, too; I can't imagine why I didn't think to mention it when I was listing my own favorites! It's a very faithful adaptation of the novels, although even with the three-film scope there are some parts left out for length, and there are a few details that were changed. (In the book, for instance, the elf who carried Frodo to safety on horseback when he was being chased by the Ringwraiths wasn't Arwen, as it was in the movie; but I actually didn't mind seeing Arwen get a chance to show her mettle. :-) )

Werner wrote: "Alice, I loved the entire Lord of the Rings film trilogy with Elijah Wood, too; I can't imagine why I didn't think to mention it when I was listing my own favorites! It's a very faithful adaptatio..."

Wow, Werner, you have a wonderful memory! I read the three books in 2003 and saw the movies in 2004 (I think), but can't remember such details. Overall, though, I thought the adaptation was phenomenal. I liked Liv Tyler playing Arwen and Orlando Bloom playing Legolas (both my favorite characters).

I'm currently watching the three The Lord of the Rings films again on DVD. These versions are more complete, because all the scenes which had been deleted for reasons of length, have been put back in the DVDs - and in the correct places too, not as "extras" as in so many others. In may ways it's like watching a new trio of films :)

Yes, I too noticed some differences, such as the one you mention Werner. When I first saw the film in the cinema I reread the books in tandem. I seem to remember the book breaking at a different point too, and half of The Two Towers did not seem to be there. I didn't miss it though! I thought that was the weakest book in the trilogy.