Successful Literary Adaptations: From Bookstores to Movie Screens

For many, these enchantments can go beyond the pages, which is why several works have been adapted to the silver screen.

Today, we brought some adaptations that were successful on shelves and in movie theaters.

A Clockwork Orange

The 1962 book, adapted for the movies in 1971, became not only a literary classic, but a cult classic by director Stanley Kubrik.

Impressing audiences and critics alike, both movie and book are mainly known for extreme violence scenes, which are the main the driving forces of the narrative. This dystopia addresses systemic abuses of power and structural oppression where even the abuser becomes a victim.                                                                    

Emma 

Being a well-known figure in the film industry, British writer Jane Austen has had several of her timeless works adapted for the big screen. With unique and well-developed heroines, her historical romance stories entertain and enchant audiences all over the world. 

The adaptation, of her book Emma, is the most recent one produced in 2020 and features actress Anya Taylor-Joy in the lead role. The story follows the young woman whose goal in life is to make everyone around her happy and in love, bringing together the young people in her town and discovering the adventures that love brings. 

The Lord of the Rings 

J.R.R. Tolkien's book series has established itself as the main reference in fantasy works, both in literature and film. With the successful adaptation of the main trilogy, sequels and even parallel stories from the same universe have been adapted, not only into feature films but also into series. 

 The Unbearable Lightness of Being 

Milan Kundera's novel follows the lives of 4 young people during the Prague Spring, two men and two women, focusing on the ideal of a better world and the eroticism that permeates their relationships.  

The original work was published in 1982 and its adaptation to the movies arrived shortly after, in 1988. Four years after the book was translated into English, the actors who make up the main cast are Juliette Binoche, Lena Olin, Daniel Day-Lewis, and Jean-Claude Carrière. 

Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland 

Popularly known as a Disney movie, many people are unaware that Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland is actually a children's book created in 1862 by English writer Lewis Carol. 

Its engaging story of fantastic adventure charms children and adults alike and has become not only a screen success but also a worldwide pop culture phenomenon, with phrases and excerpts referenced in numerous other works. 

Pet Sematary

The king of modern horror, Stephen King has had many of his works brought to the screens, from films to series, the nightmares and bizarre aspects of his works have gained the affinity of film directors. 

With two adaptations to the screens, the first in 1989 and the second in 2019, Pet Sematary tells the story of the Creed family, who move to a house in the countryside and have their beloved pet cat run over. Moved by the event, they decide to bury the animal near the house, but they did not know that the place had already been a sacred Indian land and, after the burial, various bizarre events take over the family’s life.

Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children 

Drawing attention from the public for its picturesque photographs, Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children was initially conceived as a collection of photos collected by author Ransom Riggs, which became a narrative after the advice of a book editor. 

Set on an island in Wales, its narrative follows Jacob Portman as he searches for answers about his grandfather’s past through photographs that lead him to a time loop containing an orphanage and its inhabitants. 

The Hunger Games 

Being another dystopia, The Hunger Games became one of the favorites of young adult literature in the 2010s, making Suzanne Collins' trilogy not only awarded in the literary field, but also in the film industry. 

The story follows the lives of Peeta and Katniss, two young people who live in the poorest of 12 districts controlled by the Capital of Panem. The government promotes that two young people from each of the districts go to a battlefield to fight until their death, the televised event is the main setting of the plot. 

Coraline

Comic book writer Neil Gaiman’s work charms its readers with its bizarre fantasy, with the constant feeling of strangeness, even the most mundane scenes of the work incite the need for the reader to remain alert as they turn the pages. 

In its adaptation for the cinema, made by the American studio Laika, Coraline and the Secret World became a beautiful stop motion animation that charmingly translates the sensation of fantastic strangeness and the tumultuous relationship of Coraline Jones with her parents. 

Love, Simon

Being the best-known book by author and psychologist Becky Albertalli, Love, Simon, or Simon VS. The Homo Sapiens Agenda is a light and fun young adult romance that follows a 16-year-old who prefers not to openly talk about his homosexuality. 

Simon’s life is turned upside down when one of his classmates discovers his secret by reading his emails. With a light plot that treats homosexuality not as a seven-headed beast, but as something inherent to the boy. 

Do you know these stories? Have you read any of the books or watched one of these movies? Do you intend to delve into their universe? 

Speak out in the comments.