Classics Considered

Call of the Wild, Little Women, and Emma – New Movie Adaptations

I’m always interested in screen adaptations of classic literature—at least, the ones which promise a modicum of “trueness” to the story. We have at least three (!!!) coming up in the next three months:

Little Women (Dec 2019) – Link to trailer on YouTube

Emma (Feb 2020) – Link to trailer

Call of the Wild (Feb 2020) – Link to trailer

Ok, my thoughts…

The feminist take on Little Women is somewhat misleading since the trailer doesn’t even show Jo’s love interest Professor Bhaer (who is going to be in the film, albeit as a Very Young and Suspiciously Handsome Guy). However, the plot looks fairly close to the book, so I may go see it. If I’m disappointed, at least we’ll still have the amazing 2017 PBS version, which has become my new gold standard. (I still like the Winona Ryder film, too).

Emma—wow. I’m curious about this one, but it looks potentially horrible. (For one thing, Mr. Woodhouse is completely out-of-character.) Again, I’m really happy with the 2009 Masterpiece Classic series, which managed to be hilarious and classy, so I’m not itching to see this.

I haven’t read Call of the Wild, so I can’t comment on the trailer as it pertains to adaptation. It looks like a traditional, feel-good, Disney live-action film for families, which is not a bad thing. The CGI is a bit unfortunate, but other than that, it looks like it might be the best of this bunch.

I’d like to take this moment to observe the dearth of adaptations of other, equally worthy classics. I posted a list of suggestions earlier this year, but there’s so many, many more.

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alcott, Austen, London, movie trailers

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Marian

Responses

Tim (RT)

November 24, 2019 at 7:03 am

I’ve never seen a film version of a novel that I thought improved upon the reading experience.

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1. Marian
  
  November 24, 2019 at 9:25 pm
  
  I’ve seen a few… but a *very* few!
  
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Mudpuddle

November 24, 2019 at 9:25 am

“potentially horrible”: haha, it is to giggle to oneself… was that the Harrison guy in”Wild”? it’s always a bit of a start when you see movie actors all of a sudden be old… and then look in the mirror lol…

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1. Marian
  
  November 24, 2019 at 9:27 pm
  
  That’s him!
  
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smellincoffee

November 26, 2019 at 8:22 am

My heart leapt at the mention of a “Call of the WIld” movie, but it didn’t take long at all for me to start watching with a scowl. Doesn’t sound a thing like London’s Call of the Wild…strikes me as another ‘dog’ movie like that NASCAR one that was advertised not long ago.

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1. Marian
  
  November 26, 2019 at 3:13 pm
  
  That’s a bummer. It seems like, with all of these, the filmmakers are trying to force the story into a completely different type of narrative, even if the basic plot points are the same.
  
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smellincoffee

November 26, 2019 at 7:21 pm

Well, perhaps it will entice some children to read the real novel, who knows. Speaking of, I might do the same. It’s been a few years. 🙂

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Karen

December 22, 2019 at 7:01 pm

I will probably watch the new Little Women movie when it comes out on DVD. However, the one with Winona Ryder is my favorite and I’ve yet to watch one that I’ve liked better. 🙂 And I think it would be hard to find a version of Emma I like better than the PBS Masterpiece series. It’s by far my favorite! I do like the Kate Beckinsale version and also the Gwyneth Paltrow one; but the PBS Masterpiece is still my favorite. 🙂

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1. Karen
  
  December 22, 2019 at 7:07 pm
  
  Oh, and I just watched the trailer for the new Call of the Wild with Harrison Ford. It looks really good!
  
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2. Marian
  
  December 23, 2019 at 2:24 pm
  
  I might watch it on DVD, too. 🙂 I guess I’m pretty picky, but at least there are options, lol!
  
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