The Art of Adaptation: From Truffaut to Nolan
The release of Christopher Nolan's "The Odyssey" has sparked a contentious dialogue among critics about the nature of literary adaptations, with some arguing that it reduces Homer's monumental work to a mere fantasy action film. This debate echoes François Truffaut's 1954 essay, "A Certain Tendency of the French Cinema," where he critiqued the "Tradition of Quality" in French film. Truffaut dismissed the notion of "unfilmable" scenes, advocating for cinema's artistic legitimacy. Throughout film history, adaptations have been prevalent, from early works by Dickens to Griffith's "Pippa Passes" (1909), Murnau's "Nosferatu," and Renoir's "Madame Bovary." The article suggests a classification of adaptations, highlighting how directors like Howard Hawks defied studio constraints, emphasizing the varied interpretations of source material by filmmakers and critics alike.
Key facts
- Christopher Nolan's 'The Odyssey' has been released, prompting critical discussion.
- François Truffaut's 1954 essay 'A Certain Tendency of the French Cinema' critiqued adaptation practices.
- The essay was published in Cahiers du Cinéma.
- Truffaut opposed the 'process of equivalence' used by screenwriters Jean Aurenche and Pierre Bost.
- Early film adaptations include Dickens, Hawthorne, and Browning.
- D.W. Griffith's 'Pippa Passes' (1909) was the first film reviewed in the New York Times.
- Censorship led to softened details in adaptations like '42nd Street'.
- The article proposes a five-part taxonomy of adaptations.
- Directors like Howard Hawks and Allan Dwan used ruses to gain creative freedom.
- Gregory La Cava worked without a script on 'Stage Door'.
- The article is from The New Yorker.
- The author is Richard Brody.
Entities
Artists
- Christopher Nolan
- François Truffaut
- Jean Aurenche
- Pierre Bost
- Charles Dickens
- Nathaniel Hawthorne
- D. W. Griffith
- Robert Browning
- Edith Wharton
- F. W. Murnau
- Bram Stoker
- Goethe
- Molière
- Jean Renoir
- Émile Zola
- F. Scott Fitzgerald
- William Dieterle
- Max Reinhardt
- George Cukor
- Josef von Sternberg
- Frank Borzage
- Philip Barry
- Bradford Ropes
- Borden Chase
- John Klempner
- Berton Roueché
- Kenji Mizoguchi
- Saikaku Ihara
- Monzaemon Chikamatsu
- Orson Welles
- Nia DaCosta
- Michael Almereyda
- Ethan Hawke
- Guy de Maupassant
- Jean-Luc Godard
- Howard Hawks
- Edna Ferber
- Samuel Goldwyn
- Allan Dwan
- Robert Siodmak
- Nicholas Ray
- Humphrey Bogart
- Gloria Grahame
- Art Smith
- Booth Tarkington
- Gregory La Cava
- Annabel Jessica Goldsmith
- Katharine Hepburn
- Richard Linklater
- Homer
- André Gide
- Stendhal
- Richard Brody
Institutions
- Cahiers du Cinéma
- New York Times
- R.K.O.
- The New Yorker
- Saturday Evening Post
- Cosmopolitan
Locations
- America
- France
- Germany
- Japan
- New York