Reading List Revisited
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 literary adaptations — several of which have been brought to the big screen more than twice.
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
The King
Young King Henry V leads the English army into battle against France to try to save his empire.
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- Australia, United States • 2019
- Director David Michôd
- Cast Timothée Chalamet, Joel Edgerton, Sean Harris, Tom Glynn-Carney, Lily-Rose Depp, Thomasin McKenzie
- Genre Drama, History, War
- Available on Netflix
War and Peace
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- United Kingdom • 2016
- Creator
- 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
The Great Gatsby
Midwesterner Nick Carraway is lured into the lavish world of his neighbor, Jay Gatsby.
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- Australia, United States • 2013
- Director Baz Luhrmann
- Cast Leonardo DiCaprio, Tobey Maguire, Carey Mulligan, Joel Edgerton, Elizabeth Debicki, Isla Fisher
- Genre Drama, Romance
- Available on Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, Microsoft Store, YouTube, Spectrum On Demand
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, OnDemandKorea
The Adventures of Huck Finn
(Die Abenteuer des Huck Finn)
Huckleberry Finn sails down the Mississippi River with Jim, a freedom seeker.
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- Germany • 2012
- Director Hermine Huntgeburth
- Cast Leon Seidel, Louis Hofmann, Jacky Ido, August Diehl, Henry Hübchen, Milan Peschel
- Genre Adventure, Family
- Available on Amazon Prime Video, Amazon Prime Video with Ads, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, YouTube, Freevee
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, Amazon Video
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 Starz, Starz Roku Premium Channel, Starz Amazon Channel, Starz Apple TV Channel, 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, Starz Roku Premium Channel, Starz Amazon Channel, Starz Apple TV Channel, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, Microsoft Store, YouTube, Spectrum On Demand
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
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, Criterion Channel, FlixFling, Max Amazon Channel, Amazon Prime Video with Ads, Apple TV, Amazon Video, Tubi TV, The Roku Channel, Pluto TV, Shout! Factory TV, Freevee, Plex, Plex Channel