Don't know what to read? You will not see these books on the screen. Let's take a look at 20 books that seem impossible to film.
But people try anyway. Faulkner's When I Was Dying is being shown in theaters, and Bantock's trilogy, Griffin & Sabine's Incredible Correspondence, is set for release. Let's take a look at 20 books that seem impossible to film.
1. "100 years of solitude." Gabriel García Márquez
Cien años de soledad, Gabriel José de la Concordia "Gabo" García Márquez
Why this book is difficult to adapt. It describes seven generations of the Buendía family, and it is very difficult to master such a time frame. The names of the heroes will be repeated over and over again. Some readers have to refer to the family tree. But if you watch a movie in a movie theater, you won't have a family tree at hand.
Has anyone tried? No, actually. García Márquez did not sell the rights to his book, probably realizing that no one could properly film it. The 1984 Japanese film Farewell to the Ark is a very rough adaptation based on Marquez's book (and not officially approved).
2. "House of foliage". Mark Danilewski
House of Leaves, Mark Z. Danielewski
Why this book is difficult to adapt. There's a note on a note. This complex novel is extremely difficult to read, and trying to get to the bottom of the story is claustrophobic. There are also many unreliable storytellers out there that are hard to trust. This makes reading a book a very exciting experience, although many problems arise. But watching the film adaptation would be unbearable.
Has anyone tried? Thank God no. Danilewski does not want to sell the rights.
(The book has not been published in Russian)
3. "The incredible correspondence between Griffin and Sabin." Nick Bantock
Griffin & Sabine: An Extraordinary Correspondence, Nick Bantock
Why this book is difficult to adapt. This is a novel of the epistolary genre - it is in letters. But not only because of this, because letters and postcards can be removed somewhere. Reading this book is interactive and in many ways tangible, because memorable artwork plays the same role as text.
Has anyone tried? Tries! Renegade Films has bought the rights and will soon be filming Bantok's novel. The author said in his press release: “This is the first film about which I am sure that the essence of the work will be understood. The transformation of this novel from a book into a movie will test the boundaries of dreams and creativity. This will provide an opportunity to create something clever, captivating and visually extraordinary."
(The book has not been published in Russian)
4. "Ulysses". James joyce
James Joyce "Ulysses"
Ulysses, James Joyce
Why this book is difficult to adapt. This best, as it is called, novel of the 20th century in English takes place over the course of one day. It is a stream of consciousness that has baffled readers since the publication of the work in 1922. This is a modern account of Homer's Odyssey in which nothing really happens. Or is it happening? (I do not know.)
Has anyone tried? Yes, twice. The 1967 film Ulysses is a bona fide narrative that even won an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay. Filmed in 2003, Bloom is an attempt to visually capture and reproduce the stream of consciousness.
5. "Paradise Lost". John Milton
Paradise Lost, John Milton
Why this book is difficult to adapt. Well, what kind of characters are there! God, Satan, Adam, Eve. It is very difficult to convey this in the language of the screen. This is not to say that people have not tried to adapt biblical stories before. But "Paradise Lost" is more likely Milton's poetry, and not a plot that everyone already knows.
Has anyone tried? Yes, there were attempts. But for every story about the proposal to film Paradise Lost, there is a different story - about how this venture was abandoned.
6."The Dark Tower". Stephen King
The Dark Tower, Stephen King
Why this book is difficult to adapt. This epic cycle of eight Stephen King novels is written in the fantasy genre and takes us to other worlds. Some are very similar to ours (with slight deviations), and some are completely alien to us. There are characters from other King novels and even Stephen King himself. And in general, everything there is so strange …
Has anyone tried? Yes, but to no avail. First J. Abrams, then Ron Howard. The project hung out between Universal, HBO, and Warner Bros., but none of them filmed anything.
7. "Logging". Thomas Bernhard
Woodcutters, Thomas Bernhard
Why this book is difficult to adapt. The entire action of the novel takes place in the narrative of the narrator, who is present at a dinner party and there expresses his judgments about everyone and everything. Mostly he sits alone in a chair with a glass of champagne and reflects. And what is there to see?
Has anyone tried? No.
8. "When I was dying." William Faulkner
Ulyam Faulkner "When I was dying"
As I Lay Dying, William Faulkner
Why this book is difficult to adapt. There are 15 different storytellers, and some find it very difficult to get their point across. This is a fairly simple story about a family trying to bury their mother. But reading it is incredibly difficult, because each new chapter has its own view, its own perspective.
Has anyone tried? Yes, James Franco just made the film. He co-wrote the adaptation and played Darl Bandren there. Whether the adaptation was successful or not is up to the viewer. But the reviews so far are mostly negative.
9. "To the lighthouse." Virginia wolfe
To the Lighthouse, Virginia Woolf
Why this book is difficult to adapt. There is no plot as such, because this novel is mainly about the hidden thoughts of the heroes. The scriptwriter would have to invent all the dialogues, since there are very few of them in the book.
Has anyone tried? Yes, in 1983 they made a TV movie.
10. "Beletage". Nicholson Baker
The Mezzanine, Nicholson Baker
Why this book is difficult to adapt. The entire action of the novel takes place on an escalator. On the escalator! This is a novel about the thoughts in the head of the storyteller, and although such an idea is interesting for the book, in the cinema it does not make sense at all. And there are also a bunch of notes and footnotes, including a long footnote about the footnotes themselves.
Has anyone tried? No, and thank God.
11. "Eight from the senior class." Daniel Handler
The Basic Eight, Daniel Handler
Why this book is difficult to adapt. This is a satire of how high school students learn English. And although the work is very funny and exciting, it is best to read it, not watch it. For example, Handler writes about forebodings, calling them by their proper names. In addition, there are all sorts of study questions, standard tests and exams. It just won't look on the screen.
Has anyone tried? Rumor has it that offers have been made, but no filming is currently taking place.
(The book has not been published in Russian)
12. "Ridges of Madness". Howard Lovecraft
Howard Lovecraft "Ridges of Madness"
At the Mountains of Madness, H. P. Lovecraft
Why this book is difficult to adapt. And you ask Guillermo del Toro. This is not your typical horror story. Even when describing the plot, many readers may be confused. Ideas familiar to Lovecraft fans require detailed explanations, not to mention the incredible special effects that will be required if you show the elders on the screen.
Has anyone tried? Guillermo del Toro is still trying, and a lot has been written about it. But, despite all efforts, he fails to take this weight, and the project does not move from a dead center. There are many reasons: either the studio intervenes, or there is not enough money, or Ridley Scott's Prometheus interferes, because there is a similar theme.
13. "Sandman". Neil Gaiman
The Sandman series, Neil Gaiman
Why this book is difficult to adapt. This is not even a book, but a series of comics, from which it is very difficult to make a film. Difficult characters and themes, full of links to other myths and allegories. And the plot is gradually changing, turning the work into a fantasy genre with a tragic hero at the center of the narrative.
Has anyone tried? Oh sure. But as Neil Gaiman himself said in 2007, "there is no better film about the sandman at all than there is a bad film about the sandman." There were attempts in the 90s, but rather weak, as people who read the scripts say. In 2010, the series "The Sandman" was filmed, but then they refused.
14. "Atlas straightened his shoulders." Ayn Rand
Atlas Shrugged, Ayn Rand
Why this book is difficult to adapt. It's actually a novel, but it's actually Ayn Rand's allegorical treatise on objectivity. The plot serves the larger message that it tries to convey to the reader. Besides, this book is very long. It has a 70-page speech that would look pretty dull on screen.
Has anyone tried? Surprisingly, yes. The filmmakers have divided the book into three parts. The first two films flopped, but now Kickstarter is funding the third. That's how he is, objectivism.
15. "Endless joke." David Foster Wallace
Infinite Jest, David Foster Wallace
Why this book is difficult to adapt. Try it, adapt it: there are over 1000 pages. The plot is free, sometimes a little incoherent, the characters are endless. Yes, and also footnotes. There are 338 of them in total, and some of the footnotes have their own footnotes.
Has anyone tried? No, although there are many references to her in Parks and Recreation.
(The book was not published in Russian; it is customary among critics to translate the title as "An Endless Joke")
16. "Africa alphabetically". Walter Abish
Alphabetical Africa, Walter Abish
Why this book is difficult to adapt. This is not a novel to a large extent, but a "limited writing experiment." Each chapter presents a new letter in alphabetical order, and in addition, Abish can only use words with the initial letters already presented in the previous chapters. That is, in the first chapter all words begin with the letter "A", and in the second with the letters "A" and "B". Brad, isn't it?
Has anyone tried? No, I didn't have the impudence.
(The book has not been published in Russian)
17. "Pale Flame". Vladimir Nabokov
Pale Fire, Vladimir Nabokov
Why this book is difficult to adapt. It is a 999-line poem by fictional poet John Shade, with annotations and commentary by fictional editor Charles Kinbote. The reader himself can decide how to read it: first the work itself, and then the notes, or read all together at the same time, since the story is gradually revealed in the notes. But it's tricky anyway.
Has anyone tried? No.
(There are several translation options into Russian, the name was translated as "Pale Fire" and "Pale Flame")
18. "Wheel of Time". Robert Jordan
The Wheel of Time series, Robert Jordan
Why is this piece difficult to adapt. This is a cycle of literary works in the style of epic fantasy. Originally planned as a series of six books, there are currently 13 published novels. In addition, there is a lot going on there, there are links to numerous and very different myths and legends. The reader often has to turn to the official reference book for help.
Has anyone tried? Yes, but to no avail. NBC was going to do a mini-series based on the Eye of the World, but nothing came of it. Universal allegedly got the rights to the cycle in 2008, but hasn't done anything yet.
19. "Mouse: A Survivor's Tale". Art Spiegelman
Art Spiegelman "Mouse: A Survivor's Tale"
Maus, Art Spiegelman
Why is this piece difficult to adapt. Films are often made from books about the Holocaust. Difficult to watch, but easy to shoot. But "Mouse" is a special and rather curious case, because in this comic book people appear in the form of animals. In such a picture, animation is indispensable, and cartoon mice and cats create the wrong connotation for such a serious and heavy topic.
Has anyone tried? Actually, no, although there were some conversations. Art Spiegelman said that, despite the suggestions, he did not want to turn his work into a film, because the filming would have to involve too many people.
20. "The Way". Cormac McCarthy
The Road, Cormac McCarthy
Why is this piece difficult to adapt. This post-apocalyptic novel has few dialogues and more lyrical narration. There is little information about the causes of the end of the world, and the characters do not even have names, which makes this story more like a modern fairy tale.
Has anyone tried? Yes. The film was released in 2009, starring Viggo Mortensen and Cody Smith-McPhee. The reviews from critics were very good.
(In Russian, the book was published under the titles "Path" and "Road" - approx.)
