The Difficulties of Film Adaptation: Finding a median - Essay Example

Download file to see previous pages Looking at alternative perspectives of film also creates a different evaluation of how the making of a movie differs from other mediums and what this means when building a specific understanding of adaptation. The main thesis of Lopate is based on adapting films from books and other mediums. Lopate raises the point that most don’t grasp the depth of a novel while many producers admit freely that the idea of the novel is taken without understanding or sometimes reading the book which is being adapted. “Another received truth is that the way to make a vivid adaptation is to cut loose from the novel as soon as possible. Some screenwriters boast that they read the novel once, then never go back to it” (Lopate, 2). The author admits that there isn’t the ability to tap into the novel mostly because of misunderstandings and the inability to adapt to the main points. This particular point by Lopate is seen in a variety of movies which he both shows and which are seen through other adaptations. The concept is important and recognized in most films, making the point a realization which most viewers recognize. While the main point of Lopate is one which is identified with most films, there isn’t an acknowledgment of the nature of adaptation and changing between mediums. The concept of the novel is one which can move into the depths of character while developing plot and other characters. The longer period of time taken to read and the main approach to the craft is the main development that takes place. The film; however, is based on continuous action on the screen, fast movements and different changes in the film. The focus shifts to visualization, images, movement, dialogue and music. The viewpoints and the approach with the adaptation then require a change in the adaptation from a novel to a film, specifically because the techniques alter between the two mediums (Stam, Raengo, 71). The perspective which Lopate doesn’t state at the beginning is the difference in mediums and how this requires alternative techniques to show the main philosophy of the novel or idea presented. The concept of lacking the main attributes of a novel continues with Lopate’s perspective by looking at the hypernaturalist viewpoint. At this point, Lopate notes the dividing lines between the novel and the movies. The concept created is based on the realism that is created with the scenery and the adaptation from the novel to the film based on the realistic viewpoint of the natural elements. The film used to create this understanding is Greed, a movie released in 1924, specifically noted for the naturalistic effects. “This filmic discovery of the poetic resources in naturalistic realism, which derived from Zola, was so important to ‘30s French auters…, that their works were even grouped under the name poetic realism” (Lopate, 4). The ideology is one which adapts the detailed scenery of novels and changes it from the words to images and the screen to combine both the real and the poetic effects from the novels. The interchange between mediums is then recognized with the scenes and the images which are created. The concept of scenery that Lopate states for the adaptation is important in recognizing because of the consistency between narratives of mediums. However, there is also a question of whether this is true to the adaptation of the novel or if it is from other ...Download file to see next pagesRead More