Someone once said there is nothing new under the sun so despite the passion of first love every type of love story has been experienced before. Unsurprisingly, filmmakers have long looked to classic literature and successful novels to adapt to the big screen. Popular literary works have been adapted many, many times. Below are three of the best and perhaps surprising examples of movies derived from novels or classic literature.
10 Things I Hate About You
Ooh, see that, there. Who needs affection when I have blind hatred?
Rated: PG-13; Runtime: 1h 37 min
Anyone nostalgic for the 1990’s needs to watch this film asap. Did you know that it is based on William Shakespeare’s “Taming of the Shrew”? Heath Ledger plays Patrick to Julia Stiles’ Kat but the film convenes in an American high school instead of pastoral Italy. Kat’s sister Bianca is not allowed to date but to appease her pleas to do so her father agrees to let her on the condition that her older, antisocial sister does as well. Soon two different high school boys vying for Bianca’s attention conscript new-to-school “bad boy” Patrick Verona to date Kat. High school drama ensues with one over-the-top full band serenade on the football field but Patrick and Kat’s chemistry is impossible to ignore and stays with viewers long after the credits roll.
For more information about 10 Things I Hate About You visit IMDB, Wikipedia, or Letterboxd.
Clueless
He does dress better than I do, what would I bring to the relationship?
Rated: PG-13; Runtime: 1h 37 min
Another 90’s classic, Clueless is a modern retelling of Jane Austen’s Emma. Originally written in 1815, the plot of Emma is turned on its head and set in a Beverly Hills High School. Alicia Silverstone plays Cher Horowitz the wealthy, only child of her busy lawyer father. The movie takes its name from Cher’s attempts to shepherd a “clueless” transfer student played by Brittany Murphy into a successful social life at their posh high school.
For more information about Clueless visit IMDB, Wikipedia, Letterboxd.
Bridget Jones’s Diary
It is a truth universally acknowledged that when one part of your life starts going okay, another falls spectacularly to pieces.
Rated: PG; Runtime: 1h 34 min
Bridget Jones’s Diary is based on the novel of the same name by Helen Fielding, which is a modern retelling of Austen’s Pride and Prejudice published in 1813. The story centers on Bridget, a 32-year-old British woman who begins writing a diary to better focus on things she hopes to happen in her life. Her immediate New Year’s goals? Stop smoking, stop drinking, lose weight, and find Mr. Right. Renee Zellweger stars as Bridget with Hugh Grant and Colin Firth playing the two very different men soon vying for her affections. The film was released worldwide in 2001 and its box office success led to two sequels Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason (2004) and Bridget Jones’s Baby (2016).
For more information about Bridget Jones’s Diary visit IMDB, Wikipedia, or Letterboxd.
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