Some of the Best Movie Sequels
The process of adapting a book is tough work, especially if it is a well-known one since this will increase people’s expectations and curiosity about the upcoming movie. But making a continuation to a beloved film or series is no easy task either.
A movie adaptation comes with the pressure of living up to the expectations of the original work. A movie comes with the burden of living up to the expectations that the first or previous one has set. The sequel maintains or maintains and expands on the world and characters that the previous movie or movies have established. The storyline is consistent enough within the franchise and does not contradict any of the themes that were discussed or handled before the sequel so that fans will be satisfied. This is similar to a movie adapted from a book.
Here are some memorable sequels to some well-known and well-loved movies:
Blade Runner: 2049
The nostalgia of the first Blade Runner movie meets the 21st century’s technology, CGI, and a quality soundtrack in this movie.
Did you know that this film was a pioneer in developing the «cyberpunk» aesthetic, which is now widely used in movies, video games, and other media?
Godfather II
This sequel follows two parallel storylines and has everything a great gangster movie needs: a criminal mastermind, violence, some more violence, drama, betrayal, etc.
Toy Story 3
If we do not count the fourth movie, this is one of the most memorable endings to one of our beloved childhood movie franchises.
A Quick Little Recap
Up until this point, as you have probably noticed, we’ve been chatting a lot about a particular theme: books, translation of books, books with movie adaptations, books, movies, etc.
So it wouldn’t hurt anyone to switch up the theme just a little bit and talk about a video game adapted to a TV series.
Quite a Journey: A Book Series Adapted to Video Games Adapted to a Netflix Series
The Witcher
Originally, The Witcher was a book series that was started in 1986 by Andrzej Sapkowski. It was later turned into a game series. The first game launched in 2007. A total of three games were made, and all of the games became successful. Years and years later, seeing the game’s success, it was adapted to be a Netflix series starring Henry Cavill as The Witcher himself. The Witcher season 3 release date is still unknown as of August 2022, but at least it is certain that the filming has officially started and another season is on the way.
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A Brief History of Books Turning into Other Works of Art
Books have always been multi-functional and have served many purposes. Numerous books have been written about countless topics, such as history and descriptions of unknown lands or various countries, epic stories about wars and heroes, tragedies about grief and loss, love stories, and mysteries where the detective tries to solve the case before it is too late, stories about magical lands where adventurers wander…
Books have evolved and reflected the current society in which they were written, in one way or another. And of course, like everything else, books had to transform and move forward with the times as well. This has caused books to have some sub-variants that feed off of them. Probably the most famous example of this is none other than book translation. If you would like to learn more about the process of book translation and how book translation is done, you can read more here. If you’re interested in comics translation, this article may be your cup of tea. In case you are interested in book publishing check out BookBolt Deals.
Another one of the most well-known examples of this is none other than our main topic: movie adaptations of books. So why not take a look at how it all started?
When was the First Book Made into a Movie?
Ever since the movie camera, which is also known as the Kinetograph, was invented in 1892, books have always been an inspiration for movies, even in the oldest days of cinema.
Movies Lost in Time
Trilby and Little Billee (1896)
This video lasted only 45 seconds and depicted a part of the best-selling novel Trilby, which came out in 1895. In this footage, the main character Trilby sits at a table while eating a cake and talks to her friend Little Billee. Even though the footage of this scene is lost, ironically, another movie named Trilby, which was made in 1915 and based on the same novel is one of the earliest surviving movies.
The Death of Nancy Sykes (1897)
This was the earliest adaptation of another best-selling novel, Oliver Twist. Rather than focusing on the protagonist of the story, it focused on the villain, a merciless thief who murders his girlfriend for preventing a kidnapping attempt on Oliver Twist.
Mr. Bumble the Beadle (1898)
Yet another Oliver Twist adaptation appears on this list. It focuses on another villain this time, who is Mr. Bumble the Beadle, meaning our protagonist loses his spotlight once again. No worries; in the later days of cinema, he will get plenty of time to shine.
Unfortunately, the footage of these said movies is lost and yet to be found along with the information about the cast and the crew.
The Early Days of Survived Film
https://youtube.com/watch?v=uF7ywg_L_ck
Georges Méliès
The first known footage of a book to movie adaptation belongs to Georges Méliès, who was a pioneer that paved the way for many film techniques. In 1899, he released two adaptations: Cinderella, which is based on the Brothers Grimm story; and King John, which is the first known film to be based on Shakespeare’s works. Another one of his works is based on the novel She: A History of Adventure by English writer H. Rider Haggard.
A Trip to the Moon (1902)
A Trip to the Moon, being Méliès’ most well-known work, is loosely based on Jules Verne’s novels From the Earth to the Moon (1865) and its sequel, Around the Moon (1870). Back in the day, it was called a trick film—which means a film made with innovative special effects—but now it is known for being the first sci-fi movie ever made.
The First and Most Well-Known Book to Film Adaptations
When we think about the Golden Days of Hollywood combined with movie to screen adaptations, these two are the first ones to pop into our minds.
Gone With the Wind (1939)
This classic movie was adapted from Margaret Mitchell’s book, which has the same name and was published in 1936. Even though this lengthy book is well over a thousand pages, the movie stays true to the book. With this being said, it would not be such a big surprise that the movie adaptation is almost 4 hours long. With its glamorous clothes, sets, and acting, Gone With the Wind is still considered way ahead of its time.
Rebecca (1940)
(The video above may contain spoilers for the movie.)
This beloved mystery drama movie has the same name as its gothic novel by Daphne du Maurier, published in 1938. Most say that even though the movie is slow-paced like the book, it starts to pick up at one point and the pay-off is worth it.