Stanley Kubrick on How to Adapt Novels Into Films

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Today we're learning from Stanley Kubrick about his thoughts on how to adapt novels into film, what it means to stay faithful to the original work, why actors are the missing tool for writers, and how to write theme into your stories. We focus on Stanley Kubrick's essay "Words and Movies" written a 1961 issue of Sight and Sound magazine.

"Words and Movies" by Stanley Kubrick:

Paring a novel into a two-hour film is a difficult task for even the best screenwriters and directors. Often the resulting movies are far removed from the novel, sometimes to the point of being unrecognizable. Stanley Kubrick's adaptations have consistently been among the best Hollywood has to offer, while still not being exact replicas of the works they're based on. Of the most popular of his films, The Shining has a notorious adaptation history. Stephen King was not a fan from the liberties that Kubrick took.

Chapters:
00:00 Introduction
00:24 "Words And Movies" Essay
00:50 The Best Type of Novel to Adapt
03:09 Let the Audience Discover the Theme
05:23 Actors Are the Most Neglected Writing Tool
09:09 What It Means to be "Faithful"
11:31 What Makes a Great Novel
14:49 Join our Discord server!

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Stanley Kubrick Adapted Filmography:
Eyes Wide Shut (1999)
Full Metal Jacket (1987)
The Shining (1980)
Barry Lyndon (1975)
A Clockwork Orange (1971)
Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964)
Lolita (1962)
Spartacus (1960)
Paths of Glory (1957)
The Killing (1956)

Stanley Kubrick on How to Adapt Novels Into Films


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