Best film adaptations of plays- Page 2

[John Adams]

Posted: 7/23/17 at 9:46am

Another vote for Glengarry/Glen Ross. Kevin Spacey, the addition of Alec Baldwin's character/scene, and especially Jack Lemon are all amazing.

Also Dangerous Liaisons

[NOWaWarning]

Posted: 7/23/17 at 9:50am

Yeah, Dangerous Liaisons is really an improvement on the play.

[nmartin]

Posted: 7/23/17 at 10:15am

The film version of The Night of the Iguana is also an improvement over the play. Ava Gardner is unforgettable as Maxine Faulk. Why she was not nominated for an Oscar is beyond me. She should have been nominated and she should have won.

[henrikegerman]

Posted: 7/23/17 at 10:21am

I like NIGHT OF THE IGUANA and Gardner's Maxine too.

Also, why Jack Lemmon wasn't Oscar nominated for GLENGARRY is beyond me.

[ggersten]

Posted: 7/23/17 at 10:23am

Adding Caesar and Cleopatra. 

The Lion in Winter is so perfect as a film that I forget it was a play! 

[Jarethan]

Posted: 7/23/17 at 10:54am

morosco said: "Auntie Mame

 

I have to say that I disagree with this.  When I was a kid, I would have said that it was one of my favorite movies ever.  But as I have watched it over the years, I realized a few things:

-- She had a tendency to overact, as demonstrated in a lot of her movies, e.g., The Women, Gypsy, Auntie Mame.  I think she may have been repeating the stage performance here.  And I know that it and she received Oscar nominations.  I will just comment that some things date worse than others, whoch we all know.

-- The movie is just so bloated, 2 1/2 hours for a comedy.  They should have removed the entire 'writing a play' portion and Brian, which MAME wisely did.

That said, I still mostly enjoy it, because -- overacting or not -- I have always loved Russell, and some of the scenes are so much fun, e.g., Gooch and the modern furniture.

 

[morosco]

Posted: 7/23/17 at 11:06am

The Trip to Bountiful.  Geraldine Page's performance is astonishing.

[ScottyDoesn'tKnow2]

Posted: 7/23/17 at 11:30am

I saw the most recent revival of You Can't Take it With You and only saw like the beginning of the Frank Capra film version. I have to say from what I saw in the film version, there was already a feeling like something was off with the translation to film. The timing, pace, and even blocking of the scenes seemed to miss the energy and comedy that it had in the stage version. I'll finish it one day, but I know Capra sentimentalizes material to the point of cheesiness and preachiness. The play was actually a lot...edgier with some of the humor (for lack of a better word this Sunday morning) than I imagine Capra films being capable of. Seeing the revival live was one of the best theatre-going experiences I've had.

Updated On: 7/23/17 at 11:30 AM

[hork]

Posted: 7/23/17 at 11:56am

Glengarry Glen Ross is brilliant, with Jack Lemmon giving the performance of a lifetime.

I also second 8 Women.

Another little-seen one that I love is What Happened Was...

Paul Newman's The Glass Menagerie is pretty great.

[ScottyDoesn'tKnow2]

Posted: 7/23/17 at 12:02pm

I think the Katharine Hepburn/Sam Waterston tv version of The Glass Menagerie is my favorite adaptation I've seen. It would have been perfect if not for Hepburn's casting. However, since she's Katharine Hepburn, she's brings good qualities into the role even though she's far from being the ideal Amanda. Joanna Miles as Laura and Michael Moriaty as Jim were sheer perfection and after seeing numerous versions of the piece, no other portrayals I've seen have come close to Miles and Moiraty.

[The Other One]

Posted: 7/23/17 at 12:13pm

Jarethan, Russell is a mixed bag indeed. I loved reading "Auntie Mame" but can't get through either film version.

Stage adaptations seem to have brought out her worst tendencies. The worst example is "Mourning Becomes Electra," which will show up on no one's list of best Play adaptations ever.

[carnzee]

Posted: 7/23/17 at 12:20pm

Auntie Mame is a favorite of mine, I never tire of The Roz.

Wait Until Dark is a good one.

The Letter with Bette Davis.

[MichelleCraig]

Posted: 7/23/17 at 1:50pm

morosco wrote: The Trip to Bountiful.  Geraldine Page's performance is astonishing.

Totally agree with this. Morosco beat me by about three hours. The recent television version with Cicely Tyson (filmed after the revival's run on Broadway) is not bad either...but Geraldine Page will break your heart.

[poisonivy2]

Posted: 7/23/17 at 2:58pm

If we're talking about Shakespearean adaptations, Throne of Blood and Ran have to be among the very top.

[Jarethan]

Posted: 7/23/17 at 5:27pm

ScottyDoesn'tKnow2 said: "I saw the most recent revival of You Can't Take it With You and only saw like the beginning of the Frank Capra film version. I have to say from what I saw in the film version, there was already a feeling like something was off with the translation to film. The timing, pace, and even blocking of the scenes seemed to miss the energy and comedy that it had in the stage version. I'll finish it one day, but I know Capra sentimentalizes material to the point of cheesiness and preachiness. The play was actually a lot...edgier with some of the humor (for lack of a better word this Sunday morning) than I imagine Capra films being capable of. Seeing the revival live was one of the best theatre-going experiences I've had.

 

I guess this is just a 'tomato / tomahto' thing.  I probably think YCTIWY is one of the best movies of the 1930s.  There are certainly few that I enjoy as much, with Mr. Smith Goes to Washington being one of them.  So, I guess that I do love me some good Capra...but I do consider the two of these in a separate class from his other movies (okay, as well as 'Its a Wonderful Life'.

 

[John Adams]

Posted: 7/24/17 at 12:40am

morosco said: "The Trip to Bountiful.  Geraldine Page's performance is astonishing."

Oh, my goodness, yes. Excellent addition to this list!

A movie I don't see on this list that I enjoyed is Vanya on 42nd Street. I thought Brooke Smith's (the 'It Girl' from Silence of the Lambs... as in 'It puts the lotion in the basket' ) performance was very strong.

Updated On: 7/24/17 at 12:40 AM

[rattleNwoolypenguin]

Posted: 7/24/17 at 1:45am

I can't believe I'm the first person here to mention DOUBT.

 

Doubt is in my opinion the best play to film adaptation ever. All 4 acting noms. They all nail it and at its tensest it never feels stagey. You are fully engrossed. 

Also love the shoutout to Wait Until Dark. Even though you just can't help feeling like, LOCK. YOUR. DAMN. DOOR.

Updated On: 7/24/17 at 01:45 AM

[MadsonMelo]

Posted: 7/24/17 at 3:50am

The two best performances from Katharine Hepburn are from play adaptations: LION IN THE WINTER and, my favorite, LONG DAY'S JOURNEY INTO NIGHT.

I would say AMADEUS and DANGEROUS LIASIONS are truly perfect adaptations.

[bk]

Posted: 7/24/17 at 4:58am

Finally, but only in passing, someone mentions what is surely one of the towering achievements in stage to screen adaptations, Sidney Lumet's film of Long Day's Journey Into Night.  It appears no one hear has seen it.  Buy the Blu-ray and be astonished.  

And of course The Miracle Worker is brilliant filmmaking.  

[MadonnaMusical]

Posted: 7/24/17 at 7:41am

Jeffrey Karasarides said: "All the Way
Fences
The Miracle Worker
The Normal Heart
A Streetcar Named Desire

 

"

I would argue that FENCES is a terrible adaption because it wasn't so much adapted as it was "filmed" on location instead of in a theatre. 

IMO movies and plays are two different art forms and a good adaption expands the play to fit the cinematic medium.

Under that theory, STEEL MAGNOLIAS is a perfect adaption. It keeps all of the wonderful content of the play while explanding it into feature film. 

Updated On: 7/24/17 at 07:41 AM

[The Other One]

Posted: 7/24/17 at 7:54am

"CAT ON A HOT TIN ROOF (underrated, shattering, for all the charges of "sanitizing," gets to the core of the play more truthfully, poetically and entertainingly than any production I've ever seen)"

I share this view with (the late or rather later) Henrik Egerman.

[karen24]

Posted: 7/24/17 at 8:31am

How do people feel about the film version of CRIMES OF THE HEART? I just saw a local production of the play and realized I'd never seen the movie. It certainly had an all-star cast (Jessica Lange, Sissy Spacek, Diane Keaton, Tess Harper, Sam Shepard...) I was reading old reviews and they seemed very mixed. Some said it was wonderful and the cast worked together beautifully...others said the three women were never believable as sisters, that the director's (Bruce Beresford) "opening up" of the play with extra scenes and flashbacks didn't work, that Henley's screenplay was stilted, etc. Spacek's performance did seem to get universal praise.

Updated On: 7/24/17 at 08:31 AM

[The Other One]

Posted: 7/24/17 at 8:44am

Karen24, it was a big disappointment.  I had seen the original production on Broadway and its quirky charm did not translate well to film.  The movie edited down the role of Barnette and played up the role of Doc.  I love the three stars and they were fine individually, but none was as good as the woman who'd played her role on stage. Lange may have been a little heavy for this, I can't quite remember.

Tess Harper was good, though.

It was a Hollywood package (three Oscar winners, plus Oscar nominee Shephard, directed by Oscar nominee Beresford) that did not come off.

Updated On: 7/24/17 at 08:44 AM

[After Eight]

Posted: 7/24/17 at 11:22am

Marcel Pagnol's Marius trilogy.

Summer and Smoke, with an incomparable performance by Geraldine Page.

[finebydesign]

Posted: 7/24/17 at 11:32am

BOOM! is Tennessee's favorite film adaption of his work and it is freaking terrific.