the scarlet letter ( 1995 film )
featured in the scarlet letter / the celluloid closet / jade / blue in the face / les miserables (1995). see more »
the bulk of the scarlet letter - - the
freely adapted
film - - is devoted to the back story of the scarlet letter - - the strictly written novel .
the scarlet letter movie analysis: from the small page to the big screen .
october 20, 1995 web posted at: 3: 02 p. m. edt
( 18) nathaniel hawthorne. the scarlet letter. london: penguin, 1994. , 219 .
here are some of the best or most noteworthy versions of the scarlet letter to help you study and better understand the work .
- the scarlet letter: an analysis of puritanism and sin the scarlet letter is a modern classic of american literature written about controversy and published with controversy. the main topic of the book, adultery, is written in a dark and sad way, as hawthorne describes injustice, fate or predetermination and conscience (van doren, 1998). no other american novel of the time has such a controversial theme as hawthorne' s, the scarlet letter. the setting of nathanial hawthorne' s the scarlet letter is the seventeenth century puritan new england... . [ tags: scarlet letter hawthorne ]
the scarlet letter is rated r. that' s for nudity (surprise !), sexual situations and violence .
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mla citation :
the scarlet letter freely adapted as a movie .
urltoken. 09 jul 2018 < urltoken > .
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despite the cast taking themselves very seriously indeed, the scarlet letter is a great comic turn, complete with cod - accents and other period jiggery - pokery .
those in search of a more faithful adaptation might check out 1926' s the scarlet letter starring silent film siren lillian gish as hester prynne. this one touches on many themes that the modern take has left out .
- the novel vs. film of the scarlet letter films of this era are criticized for substituting violence and special effects for
substance
. many believe that creating a movie script is a juvenile form of writing, a shrub to the oak of a novel. upon reading both the novel the scarlet letter by nathaniel hawthorne and viewing the film produced by roland joffe, one notices the tremendous effort put into both. this essay will explore the many differences and similarities between the book and movie... . [ tags: movie film comparison compare contrast ]
- written in 1850, the scarlet letter stood as a very progressive book. with new ideas about women, main characters’ stories intertwined, and many different themes, the scarlet letter remains today as a extremely popular novel about 17th century boston, massachusetts. not only was the 19th century a time for the abolition of slavery movement but it was also the beginning of the first wave of feminism. women such as elizabeth cady stanton, susan b. anthony, and lucretia mott catalyzed the women’s rights movement... . [ tags: the scarlet letter ]
once you have to seen the the scarlet letter movie staring demi moore, gary oldman and robert duvall, and hear the wonderful music, you will want to have the soundtrack. beautiful and spiritual! !
barry' s score was released on cd by sony records upon the film' s release in 1995. a cd of bernstein' s rejected score was released by varèse sarabande in 2008. no recordings of morricone' s score have been released to the public .
one area where this movie version of the scarlet letter is masterful is in its depiction of the setting. the mock - up of colonial boston is convincing, and great care is taken to assure that there are no obvious anachronisms. the forest, which is virtually a character in the novel, has its own life in the film, as well. on the whole, this is a beautiful - looking picture, but the scarlet letter is in need of more than a nice appearance .
- the scarlet letter: the significance of the letter adultery has been around almost as long as people. it has maintained a harsh punishment, from banishment to death, but in the puritan world of colonial america (from about 1620 - 1640), its punishment may have been worse than either. in the scarlet letter by nathaniel hawthorne, hester prynne is a lonely puritan woman who commits infidelity with a preacher and has a son from the untruthful union. to punish her for this act, the council of leaders forces her to wear a large “a” on her bosom, to let all know what she has done... . [ tags: scarlet letter essays ]
it & apos; s amazing what a single box office turkey can do to a great filmmaker & apos; s career. before he tragically directed demi moore and gary oldman in the critically savaged 1995 mess the scarlet letter, roland joffé was a very respected shotcaller with a pair of oscar - nominated movies to his name: the killing fields (1984) and the mission (1986) .
- the secrets of the scarlet letter nathaniel hawthorne' s the scarlet letter is considered by many to be the greatest accomplishment of an author hailed as the master of the american short story. it is set in salem, massachusetts. in this strictly controlled puritan town the inhabitants live by harsh laws and fierce prejudices. hester prynne, a young wife whose husband is presumed dead, is being publicly humiliated for the sin of adultery. the proof of her sin is her baby girl pearl. she conceals the identity of pearl' s father to protect him from the harsh judgement of puritan law... . [ tags: scarlet letter essays ]
oldman is good. this film is not too good. do not have the flick .
- morality in the scarlet letter
... pain is in itself an evil; and indeed, without exception, the only evil; or else the words good and evil have no meaning .
( chase 127) in the novel the scarlet letter, nathaniel hawthorne presents a very clear view of his stand on morality, which he carefully cultivates through the course of the story. the moral, which is
be true !
applies equally well to all of the characters in the novel. though his view does seem to stand as true through the length of the story, it does not, unfortunately, transfer as smoothly to our lives today... . [ tags: scarlet letter essays ]
- the double life exposed in the scarlet letter irish novelist brian moore observed ,
there comes a point in many people' s lives when they can no longer play the role they have chosen for themselves
. from hollywood movie stars to professional athletes, people have and will continue to lead false lives, under the public spotlight, concealing their personal travails. in literature, the preceding statement has held true numerous times, in works such as nathaniel hawthorne' s the scarlet letter. minister and respected citizen, arthur dimmesdale, was perceived as an upstanding member of the community who preached the word of the heavenly father... . [ tags: scarlet letter essays ]
let’s face it, it’s tough for any film to recreate the spirit of a novel. but once in a while, a film perfectly brings the magic of a book to the big screen. on the other hand, a film can also completely destroy a classic piece of literature. in honor of international literacy day, dmg entertainment reviews the five best and five worst book to film adaptations .
- the themes of the scarlet letter the scarlet letter is a romantic novel, mainly because it is a long, fictitious tale of heroes and extraordinary events. unfolding over a seven year period, we are treated to the heroism of hester prynne and her adulterous beloved, the reverend arthur dimmesdale and the mysterious actions and behavior of their love child, pearl, and the witch, mistress hibbins. the story is set against the background of puritan, new england, a stern, authoritarian, colony founded by a group of religious reformers. before the novel begins, hester is guilty of an affair which produced pearl while her husband was abroad. her husband, roger chillingworth, comes to a... [ tags: scarlet letter essays ]
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fayed & apos; s father owns london & apos; s famous harrods department store, as well as fulham football club and the ritz - carlton hotel in paris. fayed was best known for his flamboyant lifestyle, but made his way to a career in film, working as a producer for 1980 & apos; s breaking glass, 1981 & apos; s chariots of fire, and 1986 & apos; s f / x, along with its sequel and television series. he also served as executive producer for 1991 & apos; s fantasy film hook, with robin williams, and 1995 & apos; s film adaptation of the scarlet letter. he founded his own production company, allied stars inc .
the credits acknowledge that this new version of “the scarlet letter” has been “freely adapted from the novel by nathaniel hawthorne, ” which is one of the understatements of the year. opening with what look like outtakes from “the mission” and continuing with fat slices of “the last of the mohicans, ””the crucible” and hothouse eroticism that’s [ … ]
the movie scarlet letter was not a great film by any means, but the soundtrack is simply astounding. the romantic melodies are sweeping, and the mix of indian tones works. i would recomend buying it if you like john barry or james horner. it' s a must own, i would say it is more impressive than titanic with ease .
not only does the film bear little resemblance to the source novel, but it' s cluttered with ridiculous symbolism .
read the book. forget this movie. if you can track down the pbs version of the scarlet letter of a number of years back (starring meg foster, i believe) try that. it' s not great, but it is faithful to the spirit of the story .
the sense of place is as pervasive as a character in “moss, ” a film by daniel peddle .
the music is just what you' d expect from john barry: full of lust and romance, with lovely lyrical themes, and all with a perfect musical structure. it' s quite similar in a lot of ways to his score for roland joffe' s ill - advised 1995 version of the scarlet letter (not surprising, since that too was a romantic period drama). but those who have criticised swept from the sea as being just yet another reworking of the same idea by barry are mistaken .
in this essay i set out to find the basis for a dialogue among three texts under the same title, the scarlet letter: nathaniel hawthorne’s novel, and victor sjöström’s and roland joffé’s film versions. the aim was far from listing the differences in the texts or from simply condemning any of the films for not following closely enough the plot line of the „original” novel. my attempt was to see how one medium informs the other via a story, and what this transposition reveals about that story. although i worked with a limited number of examples, i think they proved to be enough to see how the very same „scarlet letter” appears (or disappears for that matter) in each and every textual or visual manifestation .
- nathaniel hawthorne’s the scarlet letter is one of the most respected and admired novels of all time. often criticized for lacking substance and using more elaborate camera work, freely adapted films usually do not follow the original plot line. following this cliché, roland joffe’s version of the scarlet letter received an overwhelmingly negative reception. unrealistic plots and actions are added to the films for added drama; for example, hester is about to be killed up on the scaffold, when algonquin members arrive and rescue her... . [ tags: nathaniel hawthorne ]
this hungarian film is a careful, compassionate and beautifully acted character drama with a social conscience .
the credits acknowledge that this new version of “the scarlet letter ” has been “freely adapted from the novel by nathaniel hawthorne, ” which is one of the understatements of the year. opening with what look like outtakes from “the mission” and continuing with fat slices of “the last of the mohicans, ””the crucible” and hothouse eroticism that’s pure hollywood, this borderline campy look at the puritans is politically correct melodrama with sex on the brain. demi moore’s feisty hester prynne could prove inspiring to teenage femmes, who rep the film’s best commercial hope, but mainstream audiences are unlikely to make this a red - letter b. o. draw .
run time: 2: 15 u. s. release date: 1995 - 10 - 13 mpaa rating :
r
( sexual situations, violence, nudity) genre: drama subtitles: none theatrical aspect ratio: 2. 35: 1
- the scarlet letter: the book vs. the movie demi moore' s portrayal of hester in the movie the scarlet letter proved her worth as a feminist actress, which led her to other, more modern female empowerment roles ranging from striptease to gi jane. but in the moviemakers' attempt to give the story what they might think is a little modern flavor, they barbarously misconstrued the theme, and thus the importance, of a timeless story. in the novel, there can be little doubt that hester is a strong person, but the movie made her out to be a martyr for women' s rights. the female empowerment theme of the movie also inevitably led to the characterization of christians and their ethics as tyra... [ tags: movie film comparison compare contrast ]
sjöström’s film sheds light on the dialogic nature of the study of adaptation: it shows how the specificity of one medium (words – literature) can be transposed very differently, yet with the same purpose into another medium (images – film). this film version goes beyond the limits of comparative analysis: it is in futile to match the character descriptions of the novel to the characterization (including the casting policy) of the film, as one can learn about hester more by „reading” lillian gish back into the novel than vice versa, struggling to find all the buttons on her garment in the image .
the tomatometer score — based on the opinions of hundreds of film and television critics — is a trusted measurement of critical recommendation for millions of fans. it represents the percentage of professional critic reviews that are positive for a given film or television show .
( 20) i deliberately use the word „invader, ” as this is joffé’s to be released film this year .
there are a few things keeping
the scarlet letter
from being a bad movie classic among the likes of
the room
or
troll 2 .
while the dialogue is bad, it' s not especially weird or quotable. the movie' s too long, the pacing is sluggish, and there are long periods of time between the truly outrageous moments .
credit should be given to the film makers for attempting to adapt a classic american novel for modern audiences. (the most recent previous english - language motion picture treatment was made over sixty years ago .) unfortunately, poor casting and script choices have reduced this film to little more than a period piece soap opera. the letter placed upon hester' s breast may be an
a
, but roland joffe' s film doesn' t deserve much better than a
c -
on its report card .
before i tackle specific questions in the process of adaptation of hawthorne’s novel to film, i wish to claim the theoretical stand i am taking in the following investigation. this is imperative since i will not join the debates centering upon the issue of fidelity, for my concern here is not whether the film remains faithful to the original or departs from it, and if it does, to what extent. listing such details would simply mean condemning a film adaptation because it fails to „be” the novel one reads (or praising it for taking up all the details of the novel). however, i think a film adaptation should „transform” the literary text in order to „become” a film and change from the medium of literature. otherwise, the film fails, i. e. it does not become an adaptation, but a mere parroting mechanism. this is the basic difference between the dominant view on adaptation and the view i am advocating in what follows .
as adaptations go, easy a takes a refreshing turn from the average remake. while it may be a teen rom - com version of hawthorne' s novel, it doesn' t try to be the exact same story. set in modern day california, the film' s laced with similar themes and plot points as the scarlet letter, in a clear homage to the novel. it follows a high school student, olive, who acts as a modern day hester prynne .
the credits acknowledge that this new version of
the scarlet letter
has been
freely adapted from the novel by nathaniel hawthorne ,
which is one of the understatements of the year. opening with what look like outtakes from
the mission
and continuing with fat slices of
the last of the mohicans ,
the crucible
and hothouse eroticism that' s pure hollywood, this borderline campy look at the puritans is politically correct melodrama with sex on the brain .
( 13) jennie rose, „women in film, ” available at urltoken; accessed on 7 aug, 2004 .
she leans back and the dark cascade of hair ripples over her shoulders. now i see why english director roland joffe had to have her for hester prynne, the outcast heroine of the scarlet letter .
her face was beautiful from regularity of feature and richness of complexion ,
wrote nathaniel hawthorne, describing prynne .
she has dark and abundant hair, so glossy that it threw off sunshine like a gleam .
there' s no sunshine in this hotel room but if there were, moore' s hair would fling it against all four walls at once. hair, however, will not save her from the critics lining up to massacre the scarlet letter .
scientology founder l. ron hubbard published battlefield earth in 1982. although the book received mixed reviews by critics, it became a new york times best seller and sold over 150, 000 copies. john travolta, a strong supporter of scientology, was eager to create the film version of hubbard’s novel. after a series of financial and distribution problems, franchise pictures released the film version of battlefield earth in 2000. between the film’s bad acting, horrible cgi, and terrible writing, the film earned seven razzies. although the studio considered a sequel, the idea was quickly scrapped due to the poor reception and franchise pictures’ bankruptcy .
oldman has heard the criticisms of the changes and shrugs them off. moore is much less relaxed. she feels compelled to repulse the charges as though her big salary makes her the poster girl for hollywood' s artistic values - but then many have said the scarlett letter is her audition to become a more serious character actress. the reception the film gets is probably more important to her than oldman .
: pip’s name was changed to finn for the film, which was the name of ethan hawke’s dog; finn’s name was changed to jimmy for the novelization, which is the name of jimmy fallon .
hmm. inasmuch as there is an actual scarlet letter, which moore' s hester prynne has to slap on her dress as a punishment for having a baby out of wedlock, the film stays close to the book. it also covers the overwhelming guilt of her lover, the reverend dimmesdale (oldman) and the planned revenge of her husband, roger chillingworth (duvall). it details puritanical life in colonial america (a favored subject of nathaniel hawthorne and the cornerstone of his novel), and it touches on the sense of guilt that the puritan lifestyle stressed so deeply .
english teachers still wake up screaming in a cold sweat to memories of the infamous demi moore version of the scarlet letter. it has all the hallmarks of a swanky high - end product: lush visuals, a classic novel at its source, a prestigious director in roland joffé, and a talented cast that includes gary oldman, robert duvall, and joan plowright .
dodi fayed was an egyptian heir and film producer who dated and was killed with princess diana of wales in a paris car crash .
the ballad of narayama
is a japanese film of great beauty and elegant artifice, telling a story of startling cruelty. what a space it opens…
i must inform you that that roland joffé has utterly bastardized nathaniel hawthorne' s work with this film, but i find i must review the film as a film, rather than an adaptation due to the strength of the film itself in comparison to the original literary work. as an adaptation, it is a sexed - up, stylized - down piece of detritus. but as a film... this work stands alone, as it will not bear up under scrutiny when compared against hawthorne, but aside from that, this
based on
work is a fabulous dramatization of hawthorne' s story. i have to say the performances are marvelous, the story is captivating, and the emotion of the portrayals is wrenching. i highly enjoyed this bastardization, and rate it at a 7. 6 / 10 from... the fiend: .
( 9) brian mcfarlane. novel to film. an introduction to the theory of adaptation. oxford: clarendon press, 1996. , 65 - 66 .
crime novel writer mario puzo the godfather made it to book stores in 1969. the novel was an eye - opener for american audiences, providing new insight into the history of the new york mafia. hollywood was eager to make the godfather into a movie, allowing puzo to team up with francis ford coppola to write the film version. paramount pictures released the godfather in 1972 and became an american cinematic essential, considered the second greatest american movie by the american film institute .
winston groom had his book forrest gump published in 1986. the enchanting novel touched the hearts of readers and caught hollywood’s interest. paramount pictures released the movie adaptation in 1994. although hollywood changed some parts of the story, such as forrest’s nasa mission and primate companion, forrest gump was a box office triumph. the film earned six academy awards and landed a spot on the american film institutes’ 100 years…100 movies list .
stephen king’s horror novel the shining hit the bookshelves in 1977. inspired by his own struggles with alcoholism, king’s novel quickly became a bestseller and solidified his status as a prominent horror writer. stanley kubrick and diane johnson adapted the shining for film and released the movie in 1980. although the shining was a tremendous success, launching jack nicholson and stanley kubrick into fame, king publicly detested the film, believing it was unfaithful to the book .
with the scarlet letter, a universally panned nathaniel hawthorne adaptation that barely broke double - digit box office grosses but cost $ 46 million, joffé squandered all of his hard - earned good will, and it & apos; s been uninspired torture porn (captivity, 2007) and poorly reviewed, minimally released historical pics (there be dragons, 2011) ever since .
to make sure that we grasp this elemental symbol of adulterous guilt, joffa, in a remarkable gesture, provides a symbol of the symbol, a red bird that comes flying through the film at significant moments (e. g. , the reverend’s nude swimming scene). how did they get a bird this shade of magenta, anyway? it looks like a canary that fell into a cherry slurpee. somehow, though, it’s an appropriate mascot for this clunky, dawdlingly literal - minded scarlet letter, a movie that doesn’t so much adapt the book as give it an expensive makeover .
where are you, john morris? where have you gone with your thematic accessibility? your knack for simple but effective harmonies? your wonderfully reserved orchestration? please, come backand bring with you whatever muse was at your side when you scored the scarlet letter. the fact that this the score to this' 70s mini - series has grown on me so is all the more remarkable in that i don' t really care for the source material. i found hawthorne' s novel over - rated, and have yet to see a film adaptation which transcends it. good film music, however, has the ability to stand quite well on it' s owneven if it was written for utter dreck. morris' score transcends the program for which it was written in a manner at once delicate and powerful .
yet this raises a question: why adapt the scarlet letter in the first place? what lasting power could this grimly gothic nightmare possibly hold? the answer, i think, lies in the way that hester, for all her sensuality and pride, remains spiritually bound to the society that shuns her. in the novel, she wears her disgrace on the outside but also, in a more ethereal way, on the inside (most dramatically, by giving birth to a mystic demon child). the book is a parable of how american societal repression can tear apart even the freest of souls .
the huge sums she now earns may faze some people, but not moore. she sees her pay days as a standard for other women .
the sum itself is inconsequential. the mark in time that women are finding an equivalent box office response to men is what' s more important. the attitude changing is more important .
in other words, she brought in the punters for disclosure, not michael douglas, and she' ll do the same for the scarlet letter. qed, demi moore gets the bucks and so should her fellow actresses .
( 3) robert stam, „the dialogics of adaptation, ” in james naremore (ed .) film adaptation. new jersey: rutgers university press, 2000. , 57 .
i’d vote no; the film still clearly cashes in our cultural passion for the tale of two doomed dudes sharing a single body - - and, as per this film, a single crush on julia roberts as the titular housemaid. despite the many technically impressive weird cgi baby arms rising out of john malkovich’s skin during this jekyll - hyde transformation scene, the film was a critical and commercial flop, nominated for more than one razzie in the year of its release and making back only $ 12 million worldwide off of its $ 47 million budget, which, as you’ll see, is kind of a theme here .
although michael crichton’s jurassic park became a bestseller in 1990, steven spielberg had acquired the film rights in 1989 for $ 1. 5 million. in 1993, universal studios released spielberg’s adaptation of the novel jurassic park. the film was a hollywood game changer through its groundbreaking use of cgi and animatronics. jurassic park not only became one of spielberg’s personal triumphs, but also sparked multiple sequels to the beloved classic .
finally, i have to emphasize that my aim with this essay was far from „proving” anything about either of the texts under discussion or meticulously study the adaptation process from word to word and from image to image – the length of this essay would not have allowed such an exercise. what i wished to offer is merely to outline an alternative way of looking at novels and film adaptations without the unnecessary constraints of fidelity criticism (i. e. without the compulsory and fruitless questions of a text being faithful to another one, or whether the quality of an adaptation matches the quality of the original, etc .). the scarlet letter proves to be a classic not because it is part of the literary canon, but – from the point of view of the present essay – because its numerous film adaptations cannot exhaust its interpretative capacity and even add further potential readings to it. this is what is at stake in a study of adaptation, which – i might venture to claim – is a richer study of the novel as well .
in that spirit, let’s examine five of the most egregious book - to - film adaptations in recent history, rated against the golden standard of “i, frankenstein” on a scale of one to five gargoyles, five being the absolute worst .
the scarlet letter was the first, and the tendency of criticism is to pronounce it the most impressive, also, of these ampler productions. it has the charm of unconsciousness; the author did not realize while he worked, that this “most prolix among the tales” was alive with the miraculous vitality of genius. it combines the strength and substance of an oak with the subtle organization of a rose, and is great, not of malice aforethought, but inevitably. it goes to the root of the matter, and reaches some unconventional conclusions, which, however, would scarce be apprehended by one reader in twenty. for the external or literal significance of the story, though in strict correspondence with the spirit, conceals that spirit from the literal eye. the reader may choose his depth according to his inches but only a tall man will touch the bottom .
the scarlet letter without this scoring would have just been another period film with a gorgeous woman... .... lack lustre... .. but john barry does it once again... proving why he is the king... . from the beginning native indian inspired traveling to a new land... .... . till the ending vindication as love triumphs over old world... harsh beliefs... . another great score by barry that would remind you of this
the last valley
... his soundtrack is getting harder to find at a decent price... get it while yah can... . .
between hawthorne' s earlier and his later productions there is no solution of literary continuity, but only increased growth and grasp. rappaccini' s daughter, young goodman brown, peter goldthwaite' s treasure, and the artist of the beautiful, on the one side, are the promise which is fulfilled in the scarlet letter and the house of the seven gables, on the other; though we should hardly have understood the promise had not the fulfillment explained it. the shorter pieces have a lyrical quality, but the longer romances express more than a mere combination of lyrics; they have a rich, multifarious life of their own. the material is so wrought as to become incidental to something loftier and greater, for which our previous analysis of the contents of the egg had not prepared us .
imagine if quentin tarantino came to england and directed tess of the d' urbervilles as a romance in which tess did not hang and all her enemies were annihilated by marauding celts. that' s about the kind of liberty joffe has taken with the scarlet letter. the ending has been radically altered from the book. moore has a saucy love scene with co - star gary oldman that certainly wasn' t written by hawthorne, and native americans massacre most of prynne' s foes. in the movie, oldman and moore both do some serious over - acting .
and christopher crowe to produce a body of work also entitled the scarlet letter. the effort to introduce the american audience to this classical piece of literature was undertaken, as the film’s star demi moore asserts, because
not many people have read the book
( qtd. in mr. showbiz, par. 4). however, in doing so, joffe has taken away the essence of hawthorne .
it [ is ] sorrowful to think how many days and weeks and months and years of toil [ have ] been wasted on these musty papers [ of hawthorne’s ] never more to be glanced at by human eyes. but, then, what reams of other manuscripts - filled [ · ] with the thought of inventive brains and the rich effusion of deep hearts - [ have ] gone equally to oblivion
( hawthorne 46; the
the film was shot in british columbia on vancouver island, in and around campbell river (beaverlodge lands—now rockland road and north island college / timberline secondary, lupin falls and myra falls in strathcona provincial park, little oyster river, and white river), and in the nova scotia towns of yarmouth and shelburne in 1994. in shelburne, the waterfront area was substantially altered to resemble a puritan new england town in the mid - 17th century. some of the buildings on dock street retain the grey - tone paint finishes used for the film .
welcome to massachusetts, 1666, where puritans, indians, and adultery come together in roland joffe' s overlong, overwrought re - interpretation of nathaniel hawthorne' s classic, the scarlet letter. literary purists will be aghast at some of the liberties taken with the original text, but my complaints have more to do with cinematic misjudgments than with those in the book - to - screen translation. and, believe me, there are plenty of problems with this production without having to resort to a cry of
it' s not faithful to the book !
well, no; let' s talk about demi moore first. the actress was in new york last week to promote her new movie, the scarlet letter, based on the nathaniel hawthorne classic. she has top - billing and looks like she' s always been hollywood' s number one, the best - paid actress in tinsel town. her dark hair hangs down like some rare substance found only on other planets. maybe that' s how she spends her money - buying impossibly exotic hair products at $ 1m a bottle .
when the minister wants to talk to him, he discovers his dead body hanging from the roof of the room. he runs back to town and offers his throat instead of hester' s, admitting that he is the father of the child. when he is about to be put to death, the indians save him and hester, and a battle between them and the villagers starts. both sides sustain heavy casualties, with no clear winner. later, after visiting hester' s husband' s grave, the three leave on a horse - driven buggy after hester abandons her scarlet letter, and pearl, who had been playing with it, drops it on the ground .
: hard to call, as this works from martin’s novel, which is, by all accounts, pretty good—but the fact that jekyll and hyde are very clearly and obviously the same actual person from minute one of the film can’t be what martin or stevenson envisioned .
whether or not you enjoy this hyper - stylized take on the dickens’ coming of age classic is probably mostly a question of taste and / or taste for ethan hawke. it had the most mixed critical reception of any film here, and was helmed by alfonso cuaron, who’s actually made a whole thing out of doing excellent book - to - film translations in
a little princess
and
children of men .
set in puritanical boston in the mid 1600s, the story of seamstress hester prynne, who is outcast after she becomes pregnant by a respected reverend. she refuses to divulge the name of the father, is
convicted
of adultery and forced to wear a scarlet
a
until an indian attack unites the puritans and leads to a reevaluation of their laws and morals .
the weakest part of the script is the ending. aside from straying significantly from that of the book, the final quarter - hour turns this rather lugubrious melodrama into an action film. someone tuning in late in the proceedings might mistake the finale for a scene from the last of the mohicans. in principle, i don' t have a problem with changing hawthorne' s downbeat conclusion, but the result should be more thoughtful than this painfully facile ,
hollywood - ized
version .
after refusing to name the father of her child, hester is condemned to wear a scarlet letter on her bodice. her daughter pearl is born, and grows up as a willful little vixen. it is revealed that the father of the child is arthur dimmesdale (gary oldman), leader of the local bluenoses denouncing hester. and then her long - lost husband, roger prynne (robert duvall), turns up, assumes another identity and tries to determine who was the thief of his wife' s affections. the novel ends with poor dimmesdale confessing his sin, crying out
his will be done! farewell !
and dying .
rage, love, defiance, confusion, fear - - moore just sticks out her chin and makes her eyes brim with tears. she' s the stolidly immovable object at the film' s center, and there' s no getting around her .
it' s hard to imagine who would dare to pay her less than a man, let alone suggest that $ 12m may be too much .
the day that happened to me, when i got that deal, i was really grateful. it changed the business for all women .
moore says the fees for a scarlet letter and striptease have set a new standard for female stars that the industry will now have to follow .
tomorrow, it may be another woman earning more than me, and that' s ok, because in turn, that feeds back to me .
in film, the viewer sees a story from the director’s perspective. when experiencing a novel, the reader is drawn into the authorâs story and relates to the characters and events created by the author. he is allowed to bring forth his own imagination to recreate the characters and events by visualizing what the writer describes. he chooses the voice of each character, pictures how the character looks, and brings his own personal experiences forth to enhance the written word. he has an opportunity to be one - on - one with the author, hear his words, and experience for myself the charactersâ emotions .
inspired by a string of shark attacks along the new jersey coast, peter benchley published jaws in 1974. through a successful marketing campaign, jaws sold millions of copies and was on the bestseller list for 44 weeks. before the book was published, steven spielberg and richard d. zanuck bought the film rights. universal pictures released jaws in 1975 and shocked the nation. spielberg’s jaws became the first summer blockbuster and forever changed the way we think about the deep - sea .
with its dewy - eyed love story, its reverend dimmesdale looking like a goateed college rock star, its fiery ”action” climax that pits settlers against noble native americans, the new scarlet letter, ”freely adapted” from hawthorne, is a ponderously overstuffed hollywood package that’s too busy canonizing its heroine to make much sense of her. almost anyone would agree that hester prynne, the original feminist martyr of american literature, suffers to an outrageous degree for her adulterous ”crime. ” her punishment, extreme even by puritan standards, can’t help but strike modern audiences as borderline medieval in its cruelty .
anyway. demi moore looks fa - a - a - a - bulous in this film. love the hair. love the basic black with than chic - but - shocking crimson vowel on the bodice (as if ms. moore needed to call further attention to her bosom !). she glistens in the bathing scene and cries quite picturesquely. when it comes to acting, though, she seems clueless about hester' s strength or spirituality. moore is definitely less (a lot less) in this film. period work is not her forte .
this is barry' s first song for quite a while, and the wait has been worth it. most songs for films these days are just shameless cash - ins that have nothing to do with the rest of the score. john barry is firmly of the opinion, though, that if a song is written for the film, it should be based around the themes from that film. in fact, it is for this reason that he declined to score tomorrow never dies. it is often stated that the dispute was over money - - but this is false. the producers simply didn' t want barry to have any involvement at all with the title song, and he refused to work under those conditions. it seems to me like the producers knew nothing at all about the previous scores; just imagine goldfinger without the wonderful instrumental version of the theme cropping up throughout the score !
i class swept from the sea - - by some considerable distance - - as the best new film score from a largely - poor year - to - date (and i don' t include goldsmith' s air force one or the edge in that, and i' ve not yet heard seven years in tibet) .
theodor geisel’s (also known as dr. seuss) the cat in the hat is a classic children’s book that has enchanted children since 1957. the novel’s colorful characters and playful language quickly made the book one of the best - selling children’s books of all time. while various media outlets have adapted the book, the most infamous adaptation was bo welch’s dr. seuss’ the cat in the hat starring mike myers, alec baldwin, and dakota fanning. critics trashed the film and it was nominated for ten razzies, but only won one for “worst excuse for an actual movie” .
another question comes up here: to what should a film be faithful then? „is the filmmaker to be faithful to the plot in its every detail? , ” asks stam. it would lead to „a thirty - hour version of war and peace. ” (4) or should the filmmaker conform to the „intentions” of the author? according to stam, this path would cause further problems, as
in 1666 in the massachusetts bay colony, puritans and algonquian have an uneasy truce. hester arrives from england, seeking independence. awaiting her husband, she establishes independence, fixing up a house, befriending quakers and other outsiders. passion draws her to a young pastor. he feels the same; when they learn her husband has probably died at the hands of indians, they consummate their love. a child is born, and on the day hester is publicly humiliated and made to wear a scarlet letter, her husband appears after a year with indians. calling himself chillingworth, he seeks revenge, searching out hester' s lover and stirring fears of witchcraft. will his murderous plot succeed ?
in 1666 in the massachusetts bay colony, puritans and algonquian have an uneasy truce. hester arrives from england, seeking independence. awaiting her husband, she establishes independence, fixing up a house, befriending quakers and other outsiders. passion draws her to a young pastor. he feels the same; when they learn her husband has probably died at the hands of indians, they consummate their love. a child is born, and on the day hester is publicly humiliated and made to wear a scarlet letter, her husband appears after a year with indians. calling himself chillingworth, he seeks revenge, searching out hester' s lover and stirring fears of witchcraft. will his murderous plot succeed? written by
joffe, who directed the killing fields and the mission, is clearly interested in the conflict between man' s view of sin and god' s. this forms the core of the film. is love wrong just because it contravenes certain man - made laws? themes of guilt, which are so critical to the book, are toned down in the movie, and the character of chillingworth has been reduced from a bitter, betrayed man to a bent, sadistic killer. robert duvall' s abilities are seriously underused in the role as envisioned by joffe and stewart .
the movie axes hawthorne' s more supernatural elements. the
a
appearing in the sky, the dangers of the woods, and the notion that the puritans are living in a wild and uncivilized area are all ignored in favor of another, seemingly scarier foe .
( 12) op. cit. , 39. the term „paratext” is coined by gerard genette, and refers to all the material referring to a given text that is not strictly speaking a part of that very text, only connected to it in some ways, such as preceding it (trailers, posters, interviews, etc .) or coming after it (criticism, memorabilia, etc .). for further discussion and on genette’s relevance for film theory, see: robert stam. film theory: an introduction. malden, mass: blackwell, 2000 .
when hester is finally forced to admit that she’s pregnant, she’s jailed until her daughter is born, after which she’s released but forced to wear an embroidered red letter “a” for adultery whenever she goes out in public. all blame would be shifted to the guilty man if she would only reveal his identity, but their secret is well kept .
( as an aside: david arnold has written a separate song for tomorrow never dies, sung by kd lang, and to be heard over the end credits of the film, and has incorporated this into his underscore. this will probably, in years to come, be viewed as the definitive song from the film by fans, rather than the sheryl crowe opening - title song. another aside: the best use of a song for a main title in recent years is michael kamen' s
have you ever really loved a woman ?
from don juan de marco. he obviously spent an awful lot of time and effort in creating it, and the result is not only an outstanding song, but one based entirely around music from the rest of the score. if you haven' t already done so, be sure to check it out. )
that' s about all we got because the rest of the book—including its most important themes—get chucked right out the window .
thus, even though the silent film version par excellence dispenses with the discursive mode of the prose fiction, it nonetheless succeeds in transforming this field of utterance to a visual aspect. instead of verbally insisting on the differences between the moral, ethical, emotional, and social positions of hester and dimmesdale, „sjöström cuts insistently between hester and dimmesdale, the shot - reverse shot alternation establishing firmly the opposition between man and woman, private guilt and public guilt, agitation and composure. ” (11) the tension between the two sides of the dichotomy – which is ostensibly highly stressed in this adaptation – is furthermore emphasized by the exaggerated facial expressions and the evidently contrasting bodily postures of the actress and the actor. lillian gish’s hester prynne presents her „star - gaze” (frontally looking directly into the camera, with a determined, motionless look) to oppose the pleading, almost crying, helpless look of dimmesdale.
the scarlet letter is a 1995 american romantic drama film . it is a film adaptation of the nathaniel hawthorne novel of the same name . it was directed by roland joffé and stars demi moore , gary oldman , and robert duvall . this version was " freely adapted " from hawthorne and deviated from the original story . it was nominated for seven golden raspberry awards at the 1995 ceremony , winning " worst remake or sequel . " 
the scarlet letter is a 1995 american romantic drama film. it is a film adaptation of the nathaniel hawthorne novel of the same name. it was directed by roland joffé and stars demi moore, gary oldman, and robert duvall. this version was " freely adapted " from hawthorne and deviated from the original story. it was nominated for seven golden raspberry awards at the 1995 ceremony, winning " worst remake or sequel. "
the scarlet letter is a 1995 american romantic drama film. it is a film adaptation of the nathaniel hawthorne novel of the same name. it was directed by roland joffé and stars demi moore, gary oldman, and robert duvall. this version was " freely adapted " from hawthorne and deviated from the original story. it was nominated for seven golden raspberry awards at the 1995 ceremony, winning " worst remake or sequel. "