Stephany's Favorite Literary Adaptations

I'll save a list of my favorite movies for another post, although there may be some crossover.  This is a list of what I consider to be the best literary adaptations.

1.  Pride and Prejudice (1996 Colin Firth/Jennifer Ehle version)...Colin Firth is Mr. Darcy.  Enough said.

2. Little Dorrit (2009)...this ran on PBS.  I have not read much Dickens, so this story was unfamiliar to me.  The character of Amy Dorrit is so fundamentally good in every way.  You will ache for her and love her has you see how unappreciated and humble she is.  There are many lighthearted moments as well.  How can you not think of modern government offices when you see the going-ons at the Circumlocution Office, one of the most comic creations in literature?  And if Edmund Sparkler doesn't make you laugh, you have no sense of humor ("there's no begod nonsense about her").  My one complaint was that the climax scene where the big family secret is revealed is confusing.  In fact, I'm still not sure what happened.  In defense of the movie makers, though, the secret, as written by Dickens, is quite complex and there is much discussion of the confusion on the internet.

3. Sense and Sensibility (1995 Emma Thompson/Kate Winslet)...quietly beautiful.  I think I enjoy this movie even more than the book.

4. Much Ado About Nothing (1993 Kenneth Branagh/Emma Thompson)...my ultimate feel-good movie. This is such a joyful Shakespearean comedy, partly because it almost comes to tragedy, but all's well that end's well, so to speak.

5. Persuasion (1995 Amanda Root/Ciaran Hinds)...every time I watch this I am amazed at how well the filmmakers captured Anne Elliot regaining her bloom.  Amanda Root, as Anne, transforms from dowdy and tired to young and beautiful, just as described in the book.

6. Emma (1996 Gwyneth Paltrow/Jeremy Northam)...I enjoy this one more than the Kate Beckinsale version.  Jeremy Northam is very dashing.

7.  Bleak House (2005 Gillian Anderson)...another Dickens adaptation.  Wonderful Dickens characters; excellent acting.  The lawyer in me thoroughly enjoyed this lambasting of the legal system.

8. Pride and Prejudice (2006 Keira Knightly/Matthew Macfadyn)...I actually enjoyed this more than I thought I would.  I went to the theater with very low expectations, because how could any P&P adaptation live up to the 1996 BBC version?  Because I expected to dislike it, I was pleasantly surprised. Definitely not in the same league as the BBC miniseries, but enjoyable in its own right.

9. As You Like It (2007 Bryce Dallas Howard/Brian Blessed)...another Kenneth Branagh adaptation, although he is behind the camera for this one.  Not sure about the feudal Japan setting, but I like the movie nonetheless.

10. Twelfth Night (1996 Helena Bonham Carter)...see if you recognize the actress playing Viola.  Hint:  she also appears in Sense and Sensibility.

11. A Midsummer Night's Dream (1999 Kevin Kline/Michelle Pfeiffer)