How Do You Know You 've Witnessed A Murder?

One word-to-screen translation that I found particularly frustrating was the Harry Potter series. I blew a gasket when the Durmstrang and Beauxbaton schools were simplified to purely male and purely female students, I had my head in my hands when the Weasley house caught on fire, and the forced chemistry between Harry and Hermione made me want to gag. These elements that are completely irrelevant to the content of the series were added simply for the fact that they are entertaining. Movie audiences love dramatic entrances, destruction scenes, and love triangles. Meanwhile, elements that added depth to the written series, such as Peeves the Poltergeist, Winky the house elf, and Hermione’s advocation of S.P.E.W, were all left out, for they were not deemed important, or entertaining, enough. The part of this that is the most frustrating is the way that the themes of the series are interpreted by movie fans. I cannot tell you how many times I have talked to people that believe Harry Potter is about whether Hermione ends up with Harry or Ron, or that it’s about ‘wands shooting cool colours.’ The metaphor by which the Harry Potter series and other information is identified is defined by the medium through which people view it. Furthermore, the mediums through which individuals view entertainment shape the way they view the

So much so that we can actually read out paragraphs from the book word by word as we watch the film and the characters in it speak them out. But then, there is a totally altered rendition of The Metamorphosis by Carlos Atanes, the experimental Spanish filmmaker which leaves the viewer in cerebral chaos. Both the films are works of adaptations based on literary classics but poles apart. The filmmakers have made the films in the light of their own elucidation of the books. With this in mind, one cannot help but be perplexed by the continuous debate on whether it is appropriate to identify adaptations as literature on screen. Well, if it is on screen, is it still literature? lurks the question. And so does the looming question of differentiating the literature on screen with literature in

Textual form is an issue which divide many critiques and audiences. Some view texts as a form being superior and more expressive, whereas others may view film as to be losing its credibility of expression. Never the less it is adamant that through a comparative study of two differing forms exploring similar ideas it becomes clear that one form isn’t always superior over another. Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein (1818) and Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner (1982) mirror this thesis. Whilst being

Physical elements were forced entry, broken and dismantled furniture, and missing furniture. The front door shows signs of instruments being forcefully used to pry it open. The hinges appear loose and the lock appears to be tampered with. Entering the house, signs of ransack was there, with furniture thrown all over the floor, tables and other furniture broken, and accessories in the house were turned over. Missing furniture includes two televisions, a radio set, and also jewelry and money. There are numerous amounts of stab and bullet wounds on the victim. These wounds indicated there was force between the victim and the suspect. These elements present the factor of a homicide turned

Coined in 1946 by the French, Film noir, translated literally to mean “black cinema or film,” defines early to middle 20th century film that reflects a trend of dark and grim emotions as art seen on screen in post-war America (Dirks 2016). Stylistics such as people presenting themselves as something they really are not, criminal activity, entrapment, corruption, grim city settings, characters that operate on the margin of society are littered throughout film noir. There are many common narratives presented in film noir. Rational versus evil, femme fetal, investigations, private detectives and atomic anxiety are all narrative patterns embodied through this genre. Film of this era often utilized visual effects that were clear reflections of the emotions many viewers held during this time. Dark shadows, framing of characters, bar motifs, obscure lighting and focusing techniques were all put into motion during this period, creating a space for audiences to connect emotionally to the film they are viewing.

Despite the lack of narration or dialogue, this scene is a highly effective introduction to the film’s protagonist and the setting in which the most of the action will take place. This highly choreographed long take discloses an impressive volume of narrative information using only visual cues; the audience is now conscious of their protagonist’s name, his broken leg, the vibrant neighborhood where he lives, and even the summer heat that envelops the scene. The expositional scene is an excellent example of Hitchcock’s ‘pure cinema’ because it immediately deepens the audience’s participation in the film and gives the film a tangible quality, as if the audience were physically standing in Jefferies’ apartment and surveying the setting.

this thesis will comprise of four parts. The first part will provide some theoretical information concerning novels and film adaptations. The second part will introduce the author of the book, the director and it will also

Narrative as defined by the Oxford dictionary is any report of connected events, actual or imaginary, presented in a sequence (Oxford dictionary). Over time a set of narrative conventions were adopted by Hollywood in the 1950s and have become common practice in contempary Hollywood. This essay will focus on Quentin tarantino’s 1994 film Pulp Fiction, conducting an analysis on its use of narrative and whether or not Pulp Fiction subverts or conforms to Hollywood’s modes of narration. One of the most common modes of Hollywood narration is the three act structure.

Film, though, is more than just entertainment. It often (though not always) intends to entertain, but can also be intended to change opinions and ideas, and to inspire. In addition to carrying out its intended purpose, a film is something of a time capsule: telling us volumes about the people and culture that produced it, highlighting subtle and not-so-subtle differences between then and now.

Your take on Pauline Kael’s comment was intriguing. Looking at her comment as only referring to some films we can see glimpses of truth in it. Due to the time restrictive nature of film, often there are important portions left out of the film iteration. There is no question about whether not there are in fact bad theatrical film translations. Take the Golden Compass for example; the movie translation barely scraped the surface of the original written source material.

Texts and films both are vehicles for narrative delivery. Interpretation of visual media differs from the interpretation of written text on many levels; they have a distinctive impact on the mind of the viewer or reader.

I agree with Paulo Coelho in saying that a reader creates a vision in their head when they read a book. In my essay I will be discussing the difference in mediums of film and text, the Great Gatsby’s novel and film adaptation, then finally Atonement’s novel and film.

Contrary to the general public’s belief, adaptations are much more than a mere visual illustration of a novel. When adapting a literary work, the screenwriter’s integrity towards the author is highly crucial to prevent a disagreement, which could lead to a copyright infringement. This will also ensure the audience’s approval because the screenplay’s plot is less likely to deviate from the author 's fundamental storyline in the original work. Furthermore, adapting a literary work into a screenplay consist of a very rigorous filtering process that is often challenging for the screenwriter. The screenwriter often faces dilemmas in which the decisions to omit or heighten certain aspects could either ensure the movie’s success or its failure.

A literary adaptation is defined as “a composition that has been recast into a new form e.g novel, play or screen production”. (Ross, 2009, p.5) It has been noted that almost a third of all film productions ever created were based on novel adaptations, and in today’s contemporary society the ‘book to film’ adaptation cycle is more present than ever. Although this could to seen as an innocent move allowing ‘great’ texts to be more approachable and appreciated by modern culture, it has been argued that the process damages the original content and understanding that is taken from the source material. By discussing and analysing some of the main factors and issues filmmakers use when adapting a text to film, based on the article Adaptation:

The following is written to examine a connection made between the varying texts using manipulation and how it impacts the audience’s perception of reality. The texts I will include which are evident of manipulation are 'Shutter Island ' a visual thriller directed by Martin Scorsese, 'Inception ' a visual action, adventure conducted by Christopher Nolan, 'Twelfth Night ' written by William Shakespeare, and 'Tell-Tale Heart ' produced by Edgar Allan Poe. I decided to choose texts that are recognized for their brilliance. Both visual and written texts are contrasted in relation to time, the visual texts are of modern era whereas the written texts are of a previous generation.