Best film adaptations of British classics?

[StaceyL in Canada]

I will be teaching a British Lit survey course this coming year, and would like to include some film adaptations of some of the novels. Please let me know what your favourite film versions are of the following novels (and why!)

--Hamlet
--Pride and Prejudice (I love the BBC mini-series form some years back, as well as the older film with Greer Garson; not as crazy about the latest version)
--Frankenstein
--Great Expectations

Any film versions of the Canterbury Tales? Are there any decent adaptations of Beowulf? I've heard less than stellar reviews of the two films I know of. However, I did come across a bardic performance in Old English by Benjamin Bagby that sounds wonderful.

Thanks.

[Laura Corin]

This Great Expectations (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Expectations_(1946_film)) film is wonderful.

Laura

[StaceyL in Canada]

Years ago, I used to watch lots of old b/w movies on TV Ontario. Never get around to that anymore!

[Hillary in KS]

I will be teaching a British Lit survey course this coming year, and would like to include some film adaptations of some of the novels. Please let me know what your favourite film versions are of the following novels (and why!)

--Hamlet
--Pride and Prejudice (I love the BBC mini-series form some years back, as well as the older film with Greer Garson; not as crazy about the latest version)
--Frankenstein
--Great Expectations

Any film versions of the Canterbury Tales? Are there any decent adaptations of Beowulf? I've heard less than stellar reviews of the two films I know of. However, I did come across a bardic performance in Old English by Benjamin Bagby that sounds wonderful.

Thanks.

I liked the Banaugh Hamlet, but I'm always sort of partial to the Hamlet with Mel Gibson. Maybe because that was the first one I saw? Dunno.

I saw a BBC "Great Expectations" a couple of years ago that was good. I'm sorry, but I don't have another to compare it to.

[StaceyL in Canada]

Do you mean Kenneth Branagh? I haven't seen that one, which is supposedly the only film adaptation to cover the entire text of the play (long!). I do vaguely recall an Olivier Hamlet--is that one well regarded ?

[Hillary in KS]

Do you mean Kenneth Branagh? I haven't seen that one, which is supposedly the only film adaptation to cover the entire text of the play (long!). I do vaguely recall an Olivier Hamlet--is that one well regarded ?

Yes, sorry, I meant the Kenneth Branagh Hamlet. My only complaint with that one is that Jack Lemmon didn't so such a great job. (I thought.) In the opening scene he was very wooden, and it was distracting. But we enjoyed the rest!

[Michelle in MO]

I will be teaching a British Lit survey course this coming year, and would like to include some film adaptations of some of the novels. Please let me know what your favourite film versions are of the following novels (and why!)

--Hamlet
--Pride and Prejudice (I love the BBC mini-series form some years back, as well as the older film with Greer Garson; not as crazy about the latest version)
--Frankenstein
--Great Expectations

Any film versions of the Canterbury Tales? Are there any decent adaptations of Beowulf? I've heard less than stellar reviews of the two films I know of. However, I did come across a bardic performance in Old English by Benjamin Bagby that sounds wonderful.

Thanks.

I have not seen Branagh's version of Hamlet, but the costuming looks "odd" to me. However, there is a scene in Gibson's Hamlet (between Hamlet and his mother) which warrants some good parental editing and supervision.

I loved the A&E Pride and Prejudice, although maybe that's not the one you're referring to. Perhaps you're referring to the one with Keira Knightley? I much prefer the A&E version of Pride and Prejudice to the one with Keira Knightley.

As far as Beowulf, I also really like the performance in Old English by Benjamin Bagby. Here is a link (http://bagbybeowulf.com/index.html) to that page, and you can also order the DVD directly from that website, or you can see if it's available through Netflix or perhaps your local DVD store.

Just a few of my thoughts! I'm not sure if there's a film version of The Canterbury Tales, but I'd be interested to see if such a thing exists!

Good luck, Stacey, and it's good to see you back!

[Eliana]

Hamlet:

I hated Branagh's Hamlet with a violent passion - the show as a whole felt.. garish isn't the right word... overblown, perhaps... more of a spectacle than such an introspective work should ever be. And Branagh's performance was (to me) unbearably narcissistic.

Gibson's Hamlet was less of a torment to watch, but I felt the time spent on it was wasted. The mashup of the script was irritating and the characters fell flat for me.

Burton's Hamlet has some interesting bits, but didn't click for me. (And, visuall speaking, it is harder to watch since it is a video of a live performance. He felt too old for the role (to me) and his interpretation was not one that matches mine...

Olivier's Hamlet is a good film, but doesn't, imho, do justice to the play.

Jacobi's Hamlet (from the BBC's Complete Shakespeare series (http://www.amazon.com/BBC-TV-Shakespeare-Collection-Non-US/dp/B0010EBGJO/ref=sr_1_48?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1238177456&sr=1-48)) is the best I've seen on film and is the only one I would show to students. [Amazon has it available for online rental and many libraries (at least here in the States) have the series.]

Pride and Prejudice:

I very much enjoyed the A&E production, but it was more a modern romance in period trappings than a film production of the book.

This version (http://www.amazon.com/Pride-Prejudice-1980-Elizabeth-Garvie/dp/B000244FDW/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1249434661&sr=1-4) does a lovely job of conveying the wit and romance of the book - it has been a favorite of mine for a long time.

Great Expectations: My favorite is still the one I saw in the '80's (http://www.amazon.com/Great-Expectations-1981-Gerry-Sundquist/dp/B0009PVZK0/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1249429785&sr=1-3)... I appreciated many things about Gruffudd's performance in this (http://www.amazon.com/Great-Expectations-Masterpiece-Theatre-1999/dp/B0002XVRGG/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1249429785&sr=1-4) more recent production, but the production as a whole didn't resonate with me; I couldn't put my finger on why...


Bagby's performance of Beowulf is fabulous!! I highly recommend it!

[Michelle in MO]

Pride and Prejudice:

I very much enjoyed the A&E production, but it was more a modern romance in period trappings than a film production of the book.

Really? I loved the A&E production, and have both read Pride and Prejudice and seen the A&E version, and of course the new one with Keira Knightley (which wasn't very good), but I think that the A&E version is a very good adaptation from the book, and I did not notice that many changes, personally.

I have not seen the version that Eliana linked, and indeed it may be better and a more faithful rendition, but I know that the A&E version is also highly regarded by many moms on these forums (based upon previous discussions of this topic) as a classic in its own right and also as a faithful adaptation of the book, IMO. But, ymmv.

[StaceyL in Canada]

I loved the A&E Pride and Prejudice, although maybe that's not the one you're referring to. Perhaps you're referring to the one with Keira Knightley? I much prefer the A&E version of Pride and Prejudice to the one with Keira Knightley.

>>>Yes, that's the one I meant! 9Did not much care for the Keira Knightly version.) It's too long to show to my class, though : ) So should I show the old Greer Garson version? (Part of the idea behind our watching some film versions of the novels studied is too compare them with the original texts.)

Just a few of my thoughts! I'm not sure if there's a film version of The Canterbury Tales, but I'd be interested to see if such a thing exists!


>>>Haven't come across one, except for something called A Canterbury Tale which is some sort of modern-day murder mystery (I htink) with a bit of a Canterbury Tales reference.

I do plan to get the Bagb performance of Beowulf--sounds great. With my older sons, we listened to Seamus Heaney reading his translation, but I'd love to hear the original Old English.




Good luck, Stacey, and it's good to see you back![/QUOTE]

[Faithr]

I thought the A&E P&P was fabulous but they did change Darcy a bit and had the story told from his point of view in some situations. But on the whole it was a really great interpretation. I too Like the Elizabeth Garvey version that the BBC did back in the 70's. They also changed some stuff and the production values are not good! Garvey who plays Elizabeth does a good job. I absolutely love the scene where they run into each other at Pemberley. However, the scene where Darcy gives Lizzie the letter and then goes walking stiffly off forever it seems had me guffawing out loud. I also hooted at Lizzie running from Pemberley to Lambton which is strangely repeated in the very lame Knightley version of P&P.