BFI Screenonline_ TV Literary Adaptation

29/03/2015 BFIScreenonline:TVLiteraryAdaptation

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TVLiteraryAdaptation

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Fromtheverybeginning,Britishtelevisionhasreliedonliteratureanddramaforasignificantproportionofitsoutput.ThishasbeenvariouslyinterpretedasevidenceofartistictimidityorasatacticemployedbytheBBCtofulfilitsReithianpublicserviceremitto'educate,informandentertain'.Lessremarkeduponistherolethattechnologyhasplayedamidsuchaesthetic,political,culturalandideologicalconsiderations.

Thetechnicalrestrictionsimposedbothbylivebroadcastingandtheuseofcumbersome,practicallyimmobilecamerasinthe1930sand'40smeantthattheBBC'sdramaoutputinitially

consistedentirelyofshortliteraryandstageplayextracts.Oneofthefirstwas,appropriately,LewisCarroll'sAliceThroughtheLookingGlass(tx.22/1/1937),followedthatyearbyextractsfromthirteenShakespeareplays.TheBBCwasabletoclaimby1960thatAnAgeofKings,itsambitiousfifteenpartpresentationof'RichardII','HenryIV','HenryV','HenryVI'and'RichardIII',wasitssixtiethShakespeareproduction.In1964,tocelebratethefourthcentenaryofShakespeare'sbirth,theCorporationtelevisedtheRoyalShakespeareCompany'sTheWarsoftheRosesandthegroundbreakingHamletatElsinore(tx.1/1/1964),madeentirelyonvideoonlocationinDenmark.

Inthe1950s,withtheadventofvideotapeandtelerecording,livedramawasphasedout,whilepressuretofindnewplaystoproducewasexhaustingbothproducersandtheavailableworksofsuchpopularandprolificdramatistsasIbsen,Priestley,Chekhov,Coward,RattiganandGeorgeBernardShaw.

Thearrivalofcommercialtelevisionin1955furtheremphasisedtheneedtobuildviewerloyaltyandidentification,whichdiminishedthevalueofstandaloneplaysinfavouroforganicorthemedcollectionsandgaveimportancetotheserialformatinliteraryadaptations.BBCRadio'sSundayevening'classic'serial,wassoonjoinedbyitstelevisionequivalent,aslotthatstillexiststoday,providingasteadydietofcosy,faithfulbutgenerallyratherblandtranspositionsofpredominantlyVictorianandEdwardiannovels.ThustheBBCbecamerenownedfordecadesforitsabilitytonotsomuchinterpretasdiscreetlyembalmcelebratedliteraryproperties,withtheemphasisontextualfidelityandhandsomedcor.

AlthoughthisresultedinsomewhathomogenisedversionsoffavouriteworksbythelikesofAnthonyTrollope,ElizabethGaskell,theBrontsisters,JaneAustenand,especially,CharlesDickens,therehavealsobeenrealgems,suchasArthurHopcraft'sadaptationsofHardTimes(ITV,1977)andBleakHouse(BBC,1985)andtheRSC'sninehourTheLifeandAdventuresofNicholasNickleby(Channel4,1982).Otherworks,morenotableforthetimestheyhavebeenadaptedthanfortheirintrinsicmerit,includeEmilyBront'sWutheringHeights(BBC,19481953196219671978ITV,1998)andhersisterCharlotte'sJaneEyre(BBC,1956196319731983ITV,1997).

Whilethe'classics'wereplunderedforSundaynights,othergenreswerealsopopularasthebasisforseries,serialsandanthologies,thelattervoraciouslyconsumingvastquantitiesofliterarymaterialfordecades.DetectivestoriesforinstancewerefeaturedinTheRivalsofSherlockHolmes(ITV,197173),TheAgathaChristieHour(ITV,1980),andmorerecentlyTheRuthRendellMysteries(ITV,19872000),whilehorrorstorieswerefeaturedinMysteryandImagination(ITV,196670),aswellassuchstandaloneeffortslikeCountDracula(BBC,1977),starringLouisJourdan,andTheWomaninBlack(ITV,1989),adaptedbyNigelKneale

RelatedFilmsandTVprogrammes

ADVENTURESOFSHERLOCKHOLMES,THE(198485)JeremyBrett'sclassiccharacterisationofArthurConanDoyle'sdetectivehero

AGEOFKINGS,AN(1960)AmbitioushistoryofmedievalBritishroyalty,adaptedfromShakespeare

ALICEINWONDERLAND(1966)JonathanMiller'sstartlinglyimaginativeversionofLewisCarroll'sfantasy

BARCHESTERCHRONICLES,THE(1982)BeautifullyobservedadaptationofTrollope'schurchintrigue

BRIDESHEADREVISITED(1981)Lavish,standardsettingadaptationofEvelynWaugh'snovel

CHRONICLESOFNARNIA,THE(198890)LavishadaptationsofC.S.Lewis'sclassicnovels

CROWROAD,THE(1996)HighlypraisedadaptationofIainBanks'noveloffamilyintrigue

FORSYTESAGA,THE(1967)Groundbreaking26partcostumedramabasedonGalsworthy'sstories

FORTUNESOFWAR(1987)RomanticwartimedramastarringKennethBranaghandEmmaThompson

HARDTIMES(1977)AcclaimedadaptationofDickens'Northernindustrialmelodrama

HENRYIV(1995)TelevisiontruncationofbothpartsofShakespeare'smasterpiece

I,CLAUDIUS(1976)Epic,goryandsalaciousdramaofmurderandintrigueinancientRome

JEEVESANDWOOSTER(199093)StephenFryandHughLaurieasP.G.Wodehouse'simmortalduo

JEWELINTHECROWN,THE(1984)



fromSusanHarris'snovel,andlaterturnedintoamassiveWestEndhit.

Althoughliterarysciencefictionremainslargelyneglectedontelevision,Kneale'spowerfuladaptationofGeorgeOrwell'santiStalinistdystopiaNineteenEightyFour(BBC,tx.12/12/1954)madeahugeimpact,whileOutoftheUnknown(BBC,19651971)remainsBritain'sonlysignificantSFanthologyseries.Fantasy,especiallywhentakenfromchildren'sliterature,hasoftenproducedpopularresultslikeC.S.Lewis'sTheChroniclesofNarnia(BBC,198890),JohnMasefield'sTheBoxofDelights(BBC,1984)andMaryNorton'sTheBorrowers(BBC,1972199293).Amongmoreadultfare,Gormenghast(BBC,1999),fromMervynPeake'sdensenovel,wasanotabledisaster,whileFayWeldon'schallengingTheLifeandLovesofaSheDevil(BBC,1986)washugelypopular.

Weldonscriptedthe1980adaptationofAusten'sPrideandPrejudice,oneofthefiveserialsmadebytheBBCfromthenovelbetween1952and1995.Theimportanceofthe'classicserial'fortheCorporationwasconfirmedin1967,whenBBC2'scolourservicewaslaunchedwithThackeray'sVanityFairandthegiganticsuccessofTheForsyteSaga,JohnGalsworthy'ssequenceofnovelsandstories,brilliantlyadaptedbyDonaldWilsonintotwentysixparts.Thissetthemouldfordecades,leadingdirectlytoeffortslikethemassiveThePallisers(BBC,1974),adaptedbySimonRavenfromTrollope.ItalsopavedthewayforJackPulman's20partserialisationofTolstoy'sWarandPeace(BBC,1973),andI,Claudius(BBC,1976),adaptedfromRobertGraves'novelsaboutancientRome.

Stylistically,Britishtelevisionwasstillintenselytheatrical,atleastpartlyfortechnicalreasons.Mosttelevisiondramawasstillmaderatherflatlyonvideointhestudiousingmultiplecameras,withlongscenesshotstraightthrough.Thisprivilegedperformanceandencouragedscriptstobedialogueheavy,whileminimisinglocationshooting.Videoshotonlocation,usingequipmentdesignedforsportingoccasions,wascriticisedastechnicallyinferior,acriticismlevelledatsuchallvideoproductionsasRaffles(ITV,1977),basedonthestoriesbyE.W.Hornung,andDennisPotter'sadaptationofThomasHardy'sTheMayorofCasterbridge(BBC,1978),starringAlanBates.

ThemonumentaladaptationofEvelynWaugh'sBridesheadRevisited(ITV,1981),shotentirelyon16mm,provedawatershedinthisregard,creatingauniquelytelevisualeventthatcombinedtypicallyslowTVpacingwiththeglossysheenofacinemaproduction,helpingoverseessales.ItssuccessledtotheevenlongerandmoreexpensiveTheJewelintheCrown(ITV,1984),adaptedfromPaulScott'stetralogyabouttheIndianRaj.In1987theBBC,feelingusurped,formallyretireditsSundayteatimeclassicserialslotandbrieflyrecoupedsomelostgroundwithFortunesofWar,AlanPlater'shandsomeadaptationofOliviaManning'stwinnedtrilogies,starringEmmaThompsonandKennethBranagh.

Soaringproductioncostssoonmadetheseglossyperiodserialsincreasinglyrare,andITVabandonedtheformat,concentratinginsteadonmakingfeaturelengthadaptationsofnovelsbysuchcommerciallysuccessfulauthorsasColinDexter,BernardCornwelland,especially,CatherineCookson,fifteenofwhosenovelswereadaptedbythenetworkduringthe1990s.

AndrewDavieshelpedrevivethefortunesoftheclassicserialwithscriptsforPrideandPrejudice(BBC,1995)andGeorgeEliot'sMiddlemarch(BBC,1993),ratingswinnersthatmadesignificantbreakswiththetraditionalstylepopularisedbyForsyte(BBC,1967),withtheirrevisionisttendencytowardsrespectedliterarypropertiesandtheirstressingofmodernattitudestowardssex,classandfemaleemancipation.Thesubsequentavalancheof'classic'adaptationsincludedDavies'versionsofDanielDefoe'sMollFlanders(ITV,1996),ElizabethGaskell'sWivesandDaughters(BBC,1999),Trollope'sTheWayWeLiveNow(BBC,2001)andHeKnewHeWasRight(BBC,2004),Eliot'sDanielDeronda(BBC,2002)andBorisPasternak'sDoctorZhivago(ITV,2002).

Nowadays,contemporarynovelsarerarelytreatedaswellastheseinbudgetaryandschedulingterms,butsignificantsuccessesincludeadaptationsofIainBanks'TheCrowRoad(BBC,1996),ZadieSmith'sWhiteTeeth(Channel4,2002)and,morerecently,JakeArnott'sTheLongFirm(BBC,2004).

TheBBCShakespearePlays(19781985)representstheapexoftheCorporation'sculturalcommitmenttoShakespeare,withtheentirecanonof37playsmadeespeciallytobeshownatprimetimeonSundayevenings.Althoughsomewhatunadventurous,itremainsanextraordinaryfeat,theproductionsprovinginvaluableinteaching.Thebest

Acclaimeddramaseriessetinthe1940sIndianRaj

LORDARTHURSAVILE'SCRIME(1960)OscarWildeblackcomedystarringTerryThomas

MAYOROFCASTERBRIDGE,THE(1978)DennisPotteradaptationoftheThomasHardynovel

MIDDLEMARCH(1994)AndrewDavies'dramatisationofGeorgeEliot'sclassicnovel

NINETEENEIGHTYFOUR(1954)HighlycontroversialinitsdayOrwelladaptationbyNigelKneale

ORANGESARENOTTHEONLYFRUIT(1990)BBCdramatisationofJeanetteWinterson'sautobiographicalnovel

OTHELLO(2001)Contemporaryupdate,withOthelloastheMet'sfirstblackhead

OUTOFTHEUNKNOWN(196571)BBCscifianthologyofthelate1960sandearly'70s.

PALLISERS,THE(1974)MammothproductionofTrollope's'political'series

PASSAGETOINDIA,A(1965)ThefirstscreenadaptationofE.M.Forster'sclassicnovel

PRIDEANDPREJUDICE(1995)AndrewDavies'memorableAustenupdate

TINKERTAILORSOLDIERSPY(1979)ClassicadaptationofJohnLeCarr'scoldwarnovel

TRINITYTALES(1975)Lively,inventiveupdateofChaucer'sCanterburyTales

WUTHERINGHEIGHTS(1962)ImpressivelypassionateversionoftheBronteclassic

RelatedCollections

AGATHACHRISTIEONTELEVISIONMarple,Poirotandothercreationsofthe'QueenofCrime'

BBCTELEVISIONSHAKESPEARE,THE(19781985)Monumentallyambitioussmallscreenadaptationsofall37plays



rememberedincludeTheTamingoftheShrew(tx.23/10/1980),starringJohnCleese,andamagnificentTheWinter'sTale(BBC,tx.8/2/1981).Evenbetter,though,wasGranada'sKingLear(ITV,tx.3/4/1983),oneofITV'sfewShakespeareexcursions,starringLaurenceOlivier.MorerecentlyitalsomadethehighlyrewardingOthello(tx.23/12/2001),adaptedbyAndrewDaviesandsetinthemodernMetropolitanPoliceForce,withChristopherEcclestonas'BenJago'.

StageplayswereotherwisemostlyreservedforsuchanthologiesasFestival(BBC,196364)andPlayoftheMonth(BBC,19651983)andPerformance(BBC,199197),thelastregularlyscheduledanthologyseries.ItincludedanoriginalproductionofRodneyAckland'sAbsoluteHell(tx.5/10/1991),directedbyAnthonyPageandstarringJudiDench,which,inareversalofnormalpractice,waslaterrestagedattheNationalTheatre.

Althoughstageplayproductionshavebecomerarerandlargelyrestrictedtotheminoritychannels,therehavebeensomenotablesuccesses,includingPeterBrook'sTheMahabharata(Channel4,tx.1989)andtheaudaciousBeckettonFilm(Channel4,2001),anumbrellatitlecoveringtheentiretyoftheplaywright'sstagework.TohelplaunchBBC4,itsflagshipdigitalchannel,theBBCreturnedtoitsrootsbypresentingtelevisionversionsofsuchrecentWestEndsuccessesasPeterNichols'ADayintheDeathofJoeEgg(tx.13/3/2002)andMichaelFrayn'sCopenhagen(tx.26/9/2002).

SergioAngelini

DICKENSONTELEVISIONTheauthor'soriginalserialsfindtheirnaturalhomeonthesmallscreen

JANEAUSTENONTELEVISIONTV'stakesonEnglishliterature'smostperceptiveandsubtlesatirist

SHAKESPEAREONTELEVISIONSevendecadesoftheBardonthebox

RelatedPeopleandOrganisations

DAVIES,ANDREW(1936)Writer

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BFI Screenonline_ TV Literary Adaptation