Best Play to Film Adaptations- Page 2

[The Other One]

Posted: 8/30/13 at 10:17am

Jay94: Good additions! I meant to mention Sleuth, and I love Frost/Nixon! I don't know how I forgot it. (Doubt had disappointed me in the same year.)

I hope August: Osage County is good, but I don't have high hopes. The trailer just makes it seem so ordinary.

[Roscoe]

Posted: 8/30/13 at 10:19am

What, no MAMMA MIA?

[Unknown User]

Posted: 8/30/13 at 10:25am

I've got to argue with Picnic. Great screenplay, fine direction, but every time William Holden pops up playing a college student the film is shattered. They needed to add an explanation why Hal spent 25 years in college.

[Smaxie]

Posted: 8/30/13 at 10:44am

Help is on the way, darlings!

(Surprised it wasn't mentioned yet!)

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 8/30/13 at 10:53am

I have to strongly disagree with CAT ON A HOT TIN ROOF being on a list like this, only because of the horrendous changes they made to the script. That's a movie that's in serious need of a remake.

[CarlosAlberto]

Posted: 8/30/13 at 11:01am

~ i also would like to add: driving miss daisy

[dreaming]

Posted: 8/30/13 at 11:08am

Yes! Driving Miss Daisy is incredible! (I cry at so many points during that film-it's one of the best.)

I like "A Streetcar Named Desire" very much as well.

[The Other One]

Posted: 8/30/13 at 11:10am

Betrayal. Terrific film version IMO.

The film of Cat On A Hot Tin Roof works beautifully on its own terms. I've never seen a stage production half as successful. I would still almost like to see a remake to have Brick's love for Skipper dealt with, but I qualify that by adding that the first film's cast can never be equalled.

[dreaming]

Posted: 8/30/13 at 11:19am

I actually like "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" as well Other One.

I think Elizabeth Taylor was actually really great, and getting Burl Ives as Big Daddy is just incredible. He really was the role-such an amazing performance. And Paul Newman was amazing as Brick. I know it's a separate script from the play, but I think it's as good, if not better, than most productions I've seen.

[The Other One]

Posted: 8/31/13 at 12:00am

Surprised none of us mentioned The Heiress.

[all that jazz]

Posted: 8/31/13 at 12:13am

I haven't seen a live production, but I really enjoyed the Equus film.

[Wynbish]

Posted: 8/31/13 at 12:59am

Arsenic and Old Lace

I read somewhere that Cary never liked his performance in it, but I thought his over-the-top physical comedy worked well with the sweetness of the aunts and the sinister character of Jonathan Brewster.

I don't know much about the stage version, but I Remember Mama is such a good movie that makes it seem like the stage version would work

I think my least favorite are Star-Spangled Girl (and I love the play!) and Proof

Updated On: 8/31/13 at 12:59 AM

[Phyllis Rogers Stone]

Posted: 8/31/13 at 1:40am

Beautiful Thing

[AwesomeDanny]

Posted: 8/31/13 at 1:42am

After just watching it again tonight, I have to add Rabbit Hole to the list. I actually liked the film more than the play. David Lindsay-Abaire used the medium very effectively to show us more scenes that happened off-stage in the play. And, of course, the acting and direction was superb.

I now have a lot of movies I'll be watching in the near future--I really appreciate the thorough lists from everyone!

[Reginald Tresilian]

Posted: 8/31/13 at 1:44am

Deathtrap!

[henrikegerman]

Posted: 8/31/13 at 6:07am

"RASHOMON wasn't based on a play."

You're right. I'm wrong. Although the play was based on the stories, just like the film.

"Surprised no one has mentioned The Heiress"

Excellent point. One of the great movies ever. Although like Rashomon, The Member of the Wedding and Dangerous Liaisons, the play was based on other material.

Updated On: 8/31/13 at 06:07 AM

[madbrian]

Posted: 8/31/13 at 7:27am

Of those mentioned, my personal favorites are Auntie Mame, Deathtrap, and Arsenic & Old Lace. As well as Streetcar Named Desire.

[jnb9872]

Posted: 8/31/13 at 7:46am

I'd like to add to the chorus for my personal favorite: AMADEUS. Just a perfect adaptation, adding and cutting just the right amount and perfectly adjusting to the new medium to be maximally effective. Preferably the Director's Cut, but the original cut is fantastic enough that the bonus material is just icing on the cake.

I'll also add:

LENNY
SLEEPWALK WITH ME
SWIMMING TO CAMBODIA

[broadwayguy2]

Posted: 8/31/13 at 8:05am

Beautiful Thing has long been a favorite and they did a great job opening the show.

I did not read every post, but has anyone mentioned the original film adaption of The Diary of Anne Frank with Millie Perkins?

[GavestonPS]

Posted: 8/31/13 at 12:28pm

The film of Cat On A Hot Tin Roof works beautifully on its own terms.

Obviously, you aren't alone, but one can only wonder what you think is going on in that awful adaptation! That someone wants to see Brick's "love for Skipper" explored is good evidence that the film is a hopeless muddle.

[best12bars]

Posted: 8/31/13 at 2:27pm

Sometimes what is left to the imagination and left unsaid is far more interesting than the "uncensored" version, particularly in an era like the '50s when "people didn't talk about such things." It leaves more mystery, more to the imagination, and draws me into the characters and their behavior and interaction even more.

I stand behind my love of the film adaptation of "Cat On a Hot Tin Roof."

And I will add "These Three" which is the "censored" and heavily adapted screen version of "The Children's Hour" with Miriam Hopkins and Merle Oberon.

It is FAR more effective and powerful than the later adaption (with Audrey Hepburn and Shirley MacLaine) that didn't hold back on the lesbian accusations and speculations.

Sometimes saying it all is less interesting.

And Reg, I recently watched Deathrap again, and I really love it. I know most people split on it, but I'm glad I revisited it.

[GavestonPS]

Posted: 8/31/13 at 2:43pm

As always I respect your opinion, best; I just don't understand what I am supposed to make of the film CAT. Unless we're expected to fill in the blanks with our knowledge of the play.

Even STREETCAR, as fine as it is, makes Blanche seem petty and deliberately cruel (despite her denials) by refusing to tell us what really happened with Allen.

[jemjeb2]

Posted: 9/1/13 at 11:44pm

Hair

[jemjeb2]

Posted: 9/2/13 at 12:07am

Re: Picnic
William Holden's age is problematic, although, to be fair, it is somewhat unclear exactly WHEN he and Cliff Robertson's character were in college together. Holden was 38 when the film was released; Robertson was 32. It is a gorgeous looking movie though and remains a favorite of mine.

Updated On: 9/2/13 at 12:07 AM

[jemjeb2]

Posted: 9/2/13 at 12:19am

Re: Cat
The context of Brick's angst regarding his and Maggie's relationship with Skipper seems to work in the era when the film version was made. Big Daddy's discomfort, Brick's hysteria and Maggie's desperation all seem to circle around the forbidden topic of Brick's (likely) homosexuality. Though never explicit, what else could they be all worked up about? I agree with previous post - the mystery makes the situation more dramatic. Taylor and Newman, IMHO, were never more stunning looking and were perfect.



Updated On: 9/2/13 at 12:19 AM