Stanley Kubrick and the Art of Adaptation: Three Novels, Three Films (Hardcover)

by Greg Jenkins (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Review
"Explores the inherent difficulties of converting fiction into celluloid...reasoned and illuminating" -- Creative Screenwriting

"Tightly focused…thorough, careful comparisons" -- Choice

"highly recommended" -- Small Press

How often have we said that we loved the movie but hated the book, or vice-versa? Adapting a novel for the screen has always been a tricky process and one that can result in a film's success or failure. There are few filmmakers who have had as much of a hands-on approach to adaptation as auteur Stanley Kubrick. Greg Jenkins's thorough and highly readable analysis of several Kubrick films and the original works on which they're based is both an exploration of the process and its end result. Jenkins chose Kubrick for several reasons. He is an eminently successful director-screenwriter whose oeuvre holds great critical and pop culture interest. Kubrick adapted 10 of his 12 commercial films (as of 1993) and has been vocal in his views on adaptive art, and finally, his ability to "control and safeguard his projects is exceptional among directors." The films "Lolita," "The Shining" and "Full Metal Jacket" are explored here and represent an eclectic slate of work by Kubrick matched only by the diversity of the original authors -- Vladimir Nabakov, Stephen King and Gustav Hasford, respectively. The book begins with a primer on adaptation and its journalistic, scholarly and practical consideration, followed by Kubrick's positions and approach and method. Having established those grounds, Jenkins moves onto the three films, simultaneously and seamlessly comparing the book and the film chronologically. Through this method, we have a no-stone-unturned look at how Kubrick has crafted his films and why he has made certain choices in story telling. Highly recommended for film aficionados and those who admire the work of this great cinematic master. -- From Independent Publisher

Product Description
Paring a novel into a two-hour film is an arduous 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.

Kubrick’s film adaptations of three novels—Lolita, The Shining and Full Metal Jacket—are analyzed in this work. The primary focus is on the alterations in the characters and narrative structure, with additional attention to style, scope, pace, mood and meaning. Kubrick’s adaptations simplify, impose a new visuality, reduce violence, and render the moral slant more conventional.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 173 pages
• Publisher: McFarland & Company (February 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0786402814
• ISBN-13: 978-0786402816
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.5 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #3,559,456 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent look at a much neglected subject., November 30, 1998

By	Studebaker Hoch, [e-mail] (Santa Barbara, CA) - See all my reviews

Jenkins writes a book that needed to be written for the longest time: an in-depth examination of the process by which Kubrick has created his various masterpieces. Save for his films made prior to "The Killing", Kubrick has only worked from adaptation. And he has chosen material that has stumped filmmakers, material that in some cases was considered unfilmable. An outstanding, well written, researched, and thought out book. Highly recommended for writers, students of film, and devotees of Kubrick.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Valuable Book - But Why Only 3 Films?, April 8, 2005

By	Michael K. Hall "ubikpkd" (Gresham, OR USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I was particularly interested to read this slim volume because unlike most film books I read, which are full of information on films I've never seen, I had actually seen all 3 films, and read all 3 books. I plodded through a rather tedious introduction where he lays down the matrix for which he examines each film/book (I've found that most academic introductions can be skipped) and this is by far the weakest part of the book. In short, he examines the differences and similarites between the respective novels and films. You really don't need to know any more than that.

While well-written for the most part, I kept wondering, why only three films? I don't remember (even in the introduction) why these three were selected? They are not chronological - Lolita comes at the beginning of his film career and the others were the most recent films he had produced. Nor do they have any stylistic or thematic similarities (either the books or the films), so why these three and not all of Kubrick's work? (99% of which has been adapted from novels or short stories).

It could also be argued that the author chose three "lesser" Kubrick films (although, as a huge Kubrick fan, I love all three). Why not Clockwork Orange? Why not Dr. Strangelove? Why not Paths of Glory? All three are considered by most critics and fans to be three superior films to the ones discussed.

That's one question, but the most important is: Why not all of his film adaptations? At 173 pages this is a rather slim volume and when you deduct notes, introduction and space for a few photos, it makes one wonder why more films were not discussed.

Another flaw is that he seems to miss the basic point of Kubrick's adaptations. Kubrick was never trying to make a great adaptation of a novel. He was trying to make a great films. He took what fit his obsessions (as well as the spine of the film) and discarded the rest. In some cases he drastically altered the story, its focus, and its meaning, to meet his ends. In every case for me but the Shining, the one thing Kubrick did achieve is prompting me to read the original work (I had read the Shining a year before the film, but in all other cases, I sought out the book after seeing his film). To me this is the true test of a successful film adaptation, as opposed to what changes are made in the attempt. I've read more books than I can count because I loved the film version. That is the true power of film adaptation.

In the end I can't say that this out of print volume is worth paying the price you'll have to fork out, but for academic Kubrick fans its certainly worth seeking out at your local library.