Literature and Film: A Guide to the Theory and Practice of Film Adaptation

Literature and Film is a superb collection of vibrant essays that chart the history and confluence of literature and film. Bringing together the very latest scholarship in the field, this guide contains astute and readable contributions – both theoretical and thematic – on the translation of literary into filmic texts. Subjects range from established classics including The Last of the Mohicans , through consecrated genre works like Cape Fear , to contemporary classics such as The English Patient and Beloved . Almost all of the essays are originals, especially composed for this volume, and written by leading international scholars on both literature and film. The book features an ambitious introductory essay tracing the theory and practice of adaptation, providing the ideal entry point for students or scholars exploring this dynamic and multifaceted field.

List of Illustrations. Notes on Contributors. Preface. Acknowledgments. Introductory Essay: The Theory and Practice of Adaptation: Robert Stam. 1. Improvements and Reparations at Mansfield Park: Tim Watson (Princeton University). 2. Keeping the Carcass in Motion: Adaptation and Transmutations of the National in The Last of the Mohicans: Jacquelyn Kilpatrick (California State University, Channel Islands). 3. The Discreet Charm of the Leisure Class: Terence Davies′s The House of Mirth: Richard Porton (Cineaste magazine). 4. In Search of Adaptation: Proust and Film: Melissa Anderson (CUNY Graduate Center). 5. The Grapes of Wrath: Thematic Emphasis through Visual Style: Vivian C. Sobchack (UCLA). 6. Cape Fear and Trembling: Familial Dread: Kirsten Thompson (Wayne State University). 7. The Carnival of Repression: German Left Wing Politics and The Lost Honor of Katarina Blum: Alexandra Seibel (New York University). 8. Serial Time: Bluebeard in Stepford: Bliss Cua Lim (University of California, Irvine). 9. Boyz ‘N the Hood Chronotope: Spike Lee, Richard Price, and the Changing Authorship of Clockers: Paula J. Massood (Brooklyn College, CUNY). 10. Defusing The English Patient: Patrick Deer (New York University). 11. Carnivals and Goldfish: History and Crisis in The Butcher Boy: Jessica Scarlata (New York University). 12. Mild Revisionism, Failed Revolts: Esquivel′s and Arau′s Like Water for Chocolate, A Retrospective View: Dianna C. Niebylski (University of Kentucky). 13. Beloved: The Adaptation of an American Slave Narrative: Mia Mask (New York University). 14. Oral Traditions, Literature and Cinema in Africa: Mbye Cham (Howard University). 15. Memory and History in the Politics of Adaptation: Revisiting the Partition of India in Tamas: Ranjani Mazundar (Jamia Millia Islamia). 16. The Written Scene: Writers as Figures of Cinematic Redemption: Paul Arthur (Montclair State University). Index

Robert Stam is University Professor at New York University. His many books include Film Theory: An Introduction (Blackwell, 2000), Unthinking Eurocentrism: Multiculturalism and the Media (with Ella Shohat, 1994), and Subversive Pleasures: Bakhtin, Cultural Criticism and Film (1989). With Toby Miller, he is the editor of Film and Theory (Blackwell, 2000) and The Blackwell Companion to Film Theory (2000). Alessandra Raengo is finishing her PhD in the Cinema Studies Department at New York University. Her dissertation explores race and vernacular social criticism in American culture between 1945 and 1968. Among her publications are The Birth of Film Genres (1999) and The Bounds of Representation (2000), both multilingual volumes edited with Leonardo Quaresima and Laura Vichi.

“Stam and Raengo′s Literature and Film offers a wonderful collection of approaches to the multifaceted and sometimes contradictory relationship between the written word and the filmic image, bringing into the discussion a refreshing series of examples drawn from international and minority cinemas.” Richard Pea, Columbia University