When adaptation rhymes with profanation

Having deplored the laziness of remakes and endless film sequels, our columnist now tackles the pitfall of adaptations of literary works. Or when the’hubris drives us to do better than the original work.

In a previous issue, we argued that creativity is not about inventing something fundamentally new, but that there are universal themes, archetypes and timeless codes.

Cinema has always drawn on literature. Descriptions of landscapes and lyrical flights of fancy give way to cutaways, camera movements, visual frescoes, soundtracks and acting.

Oscillating between one's own creativity and that of one's predecessor is a balancing act, the success of which depends as much on the quality of the original text as on that of the script.