A Companion to Literature, Film, and Adaptation [Paperback]

This is a comprehensive collection of original essays that explore the aesthetics, economics, and mechanics of movie adaptation, from the days of silent cinema to contemporary franchise phenomena. Featuring a range of theoretical approaches, and chapters on the historical, ideological and economic aspects of adaptation, the volume reflects today’s acceptance of intertextuality as a vital and progressive cultural force.

• Incorporates new research in adaptation studies
• Features a chapter on the Harry Potter franchise, as well as other contemporary perspectives
• Showcases work by leading Shakespeare adaptation scholars
• Explores fascinating topics such as ‘unfilmable’ texts

• Includes detailed considerations of Ian McEwan’s Atonement and Conrad’s Heart of Darkness

List of Contributors viii

Acknowledgments xi

Foreword: Kamilla Elliott xii

100+ Years of Adaptations, or, Adaptation as the Art Form of Democracy 1
Deborah Cartmell

Part I History and Contexts: From Image to Sound 15

1 Literary Adaptation in the Silent Era 17
Judith Buchanan

2 Writing on the Silent Screen 33
Gregory Robinson

3 Adaptation and Modernism 52
Richard J. Hand

4 Sound Adaptation: Sam Taylor’s The Taming of the Shrew 70
Deborah Cartmell

Part II Approaches 85

5 Adaptation and Intertextuality, or, What isn&lS%