Classic Literary Adaptations
Some stories are just more cinematic than others, including many written long before cinema even existed. This week, we’ve compiled a list of some of our favorite classic literary adaptations — several of which have been brought to the big screen more than twice.
All Quiet on the Western Front
(Im Westen nichts Neues)
A German film adaptation of the epic 1929 anti-war novel by Erich Maria Remarque.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Germany, United States, United Kingdom • 2022
- Director Edward Berger
- Cast Felix Kammerer, Albrecht Schuch, Aaron Hilmer, Edin Hasanović, Devid Striesow, Daniel Brühl
- Genre Action, Drama, War
- Available on Netflix, Netflix basic with Ads
Emma.
A young woman heedlessly meddles in people’s romantic affairs as she tries to play matchmaker.
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- United Kingdom • 2020
- Director Autumn de Wilde
- Cast Anya Taylor-Joy, Johnny Flynn, Josh O'Connor, Callum Turner, Mia Goth, Miranda Hart
- Genre Comedy, Drama, Romance
- Available on Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, Microsoft Store, Freevee
War and Peace
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- United Kingdom • 2016
- Creator Tom Harper
- Cast Lily James, James Norton, Paul Dano, Gillian Anderson
- Genre Drama, History, Romance
- Available on Tubi TV, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, Amazon Prime Video, The Roku Channel, Peacock Premium, Peacock Premium Plus, Freevee, Amazon Prime Video with Ads
Anna Karenina
In St. Petersburg, members of aristocratic society pine after objects of their affection who are seldom their own spouses.
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- United Kingdom • 2012
- Director Joe Wright
- Cast Keira Knightley, Jude Law, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Kelly Macdonald, Matthew Macfadyen, Domhnall Gleeson
- Genre Drama, Romance
- Available on Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, Microsoft Store, YouTube, FlixFling
Hamlet
David Tennant stars in a film of the Royal Shakespeare Company's award-winning production of Shakespeare's great play.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- United Kingdom, Japan, United States • 2009
- Director Gregory Doran
- Cast David Tennant, Patrick Stewart, Penny Downie, Oliver Ford Davies, Mariah Gale, Edward Bennett
- Genre Drama
- Available on Fandango At Home
Pride & Prejudice
Elizabeth Bennet will marry for love, no matter what the consequences.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- France, United Kingdom, United States • 2005
- Director Joe Wright
- Cast Keira Knightley, Matthew Macfadyen, Rosamund Pike, Simon Woods, Donald Sutherland, Brenda Blethyn
- Genre Drama, Romance
- Available on Peacock Premium, Peacock Premium Plus, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, Microsoft Store, YouTube, Spectrum On Demand
Peter Pan
Peter Pan leads Wendy Darling and her brothers over moonlit rooftops through a galaxy of stars and to the lush jungles of Neverland.
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- United Kingdom, Australia, United States • 2003
- Director P.J. Hogan
- Cast Jeremy Sumpter, Jason Isaacs, Rachel Hurd-Wood, Lynn Redgrave, Richard Briers, Olivia Williams
- Genre Adventure, Fantasy, Family
- Available on Starz Apple TV Channel, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, Microsoft Store, YouTube, Spectrum On Demand
Beau Travail
(Beau travail)
Maybe freedom begins with remorse.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- France • 2000
- Director Claire Denis
- Cast Denis Lavant, Michel Subor, Grégoire Colin, Nicolas Duvauchelle, Richard Courcet, Adiatou Massudi
- Genre Drama
- Available on Criterion Channel, Max Amazon Channel, Max, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, YouTube
Alice
(Něco z Alenky)
A memorably bizarre screen version of Lewis Carroll’s novel ‘Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland’.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Czechoslovakia, Switzerland, United Kingdom • 1988
- Director Jan Švankmajer
- Cast Kristýna Kohoutová
- Genre Animation, Comedy, Fantasy
- Available on OVID, Kanopy, Hoopla
Ran
(乱)
The Greatest Shakespeare Film
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Japan, France • 1985
- Director Akira Kurosawa
- Cast Tatsuya Nakadai, Akira Terao, Jinpachi Nezu, Daisuke Ryû, Mieko Harada, Yoshiko Miyazaki
- Genre Action, Drama, History
- Available on Kanopy
The Tin Drum
(Die Blechtrommel)
A savage, sweeping epic of a German society in chaos.
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- West Germany, France, Poland • 1979
- Director Volker Schlöndorff
- Cast Mario Adorf, Angela Winkler, David Bennent, Katharina Thalbach, Daniel Olbrychski, Tina Engel
- Genre Drama, History, War
- Available on Criterion Channel, Max, Apple TV
Barry Lyndon
Redmon Barry is a young farm boy who challenges a British Captain to a duel over the woman he loves.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- United Kingdom, United States • 1975
- Director Stanley Kubrick
- Cast Ryan O'Neal, Marisa Berenson, Patrick Magee, Hardy Krüger, Diana Körner, Gay Hamilton
- Genre Drama, Romance, War
- Available on Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, Microsoft Store, YouTube
Solaris
(Солярис)
A psychologist must keep his mind intact as he navigates a space station full of strange visions.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Soviet Union • 1972
- Director Andrei Tarkovsky
- Cast Donatas Banionis, Natalya Bondarchuk, Jüri Järvet, Anatoliy Solonitsyn, Nikolay Grinko, Vladislav Dvorzhetsky
- Genre Adventure, Drama, Mystery, Science Fiction
- Available on Criterion Channel, Max Amazon Channel, Max, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, YouTube
The Leopard
(Il gattopardo)
Luchino Visconti's enduring romantic adventure, set amidst the social changes of Italian unification.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Italy, France • 1963
- Director Luchino Visconti
- Cast Burt Lancaster, Alain Delon, Claudia Cardinale, Paolo Stoppa, Terence Hill, Pierre Clémenti
- Genre Drama
- Available on Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, YouTube, Hoopla
Throne of Blood
(蜘蛛巣城)
Akira Kurosawa's resetting of William Shakespeare's "Macbeth" in feudal Japan ranks among his most acclaimed films.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Japan • 1957
- Director Akira Kurosawa
- Cast Toshirō Mifune, Isuzu Yamada, Akira Kubo, Takashi Shimura, Minoru Chiaki, Hiroshi Tachikawa
- Genre Drama, History
- Available on Criterion Channel, Max Amazon Channel, Max, Apple TV, Amazon Video
Great Expectations
We follow Pip, and orphan in Victorian England, as he learns the ways of high society.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- United Kingdom • 1946
- Director David Lean
- Cast John Mills, Tony Wager, Valerie Hobson, Jean Simmons, Bernard Miles, Francis L. Sullivan
- Genre Drama, Romance
- Available on Amazon Prime Video, fuboTV, Criterion Channel, FlixFling, Max Amazon Channel, Max, Amazon Prime Video with Ads, Apple TV, Amazon Video, Tubi TV, The Roku Channel, Pluto TV, Shout! Factory TV, Freevee, Plex, Plex Channel, JustWatchTV