From what we’ve learned in class so far, we’ve pretty much established that good books, especially if old and very good, will always be adapted into one form or the other— we have spin-off novels, graphic novels, poems, films, TV series, musicals, and the occasional crazy music video (*cough*Kate Bush*cough*) to attest to the fact. Although we didn’t get to discuss it in class, an aspect of this adapting process that’s always fascinated me is how the covers (the book jacket, movie poster, or DVD case) of these covers/ adaptations can tell us so much about how the altered version works, what part of the plot it focuses on, and what, if any, message it is that it conveys.
For instance, comparing the movie posters of the 1940 edition to the more recent versions of Pride and Prejudice, we can immediately sense the shift in the intended audience as well as the ideals of that time. The tagline for the old one reads: “When pretty girls t-e-a-s-e-d men into marriage!” and we see how the marriage market is mocked and satired- you’d probably go in to the theater expecting a good laugh and fast-paced comedic romance. But then, looking at the 2005 posters and DVD covers, we know the audience is to be romantic at heart, young sentimentalists who believe in true love, and fans of pretty Hollywood faces- they’ll buy the tickets or the DVDs to enjoy the hardcore tear-jerker romance, and the stunningly good looking, beautifully costumed cast – eye candy galore! Ah, the trends of cinema!
Pride and Prejudice 1939
from flixster.com
2005 for Young Romantics
from tumblr.com
Such a happy romantic comedy! Austen’s social commentary gone, though?
from IMDB
Wuthering Heights movies experience the same fate. We have the 1939 version publicized for the ‘strangest love story’ it tells, and then we have modern advertisements speaking of star-crossed lovers. The male gaze is evident- just look at how the females are portrayed!
Wuthering Heights (1939)
from IMDB
How open-cut can a dress be?! Way to sexualize the woman, artist!
Wuthering Heights
from Cinema Quad Movie Poster
Oliver Twist’s movies seem to be doing fine in terms of distribution strategies, though. Still the story of a sad and suffering little boy:
Oliver Twist (1948)
Yup, little boy running. Probably stole something. Eh, but it’s a classic, let’s watch it!
Now Alice in Wonderland goes from sweet and innocent to surreal and scary- what theme from the book are the directors picking on? What story is it that the audience expects and wants to see?
Disney’s adorable little Alice
Tim Burton’s very weird Alice
And then of course we have the reprinted books of the original novels themselves- sometimes with an additional annotation, a couple of essays, updated editing, interviews of an actor or director, or more drawings but always, the same plot and yet a unique cover image.
Alice goes Goth – Same plot, new illustrations!
from mymodernmet.com
Vampire Heights: Thank you, Twilight?
from bronte.nl
The Pride of pride and Prejudice!
These different versions have confused readers so much that now there seem to be several blogposts on which version of the novel you would prefer. I happen to personally know someone who even collects all the different puublications of Pride and Prejudice! Really? Just because of what the cover looks like? You do know that the story doesn’t change, right?
We’ve always been told, “Never judge a book by its cover;” I assume it stands true for their adaptations as well, but with the myriad of images their publishers and publicists are bombarding us with, how can we not? And then the next question is, why shouldn’t we?