Due to the different characteristics of the written and visual media, adapting plays into films poses many problems. These problems are further complicated when one decides to transform the film into a modern adaptation of a play. Here I will outline some of the problems I have found when adapting Sophocles’ “Oedipus the King” into a feature film. I will also include the difficulties experienced by other screenwriters when taking on this task and the thoughts of film critic André Bazin concerning the adaptation of the stage play into a film.
One of the most fundamental problems of adapting a play is the necessity to bridge the gaps in the play, such as flashbacks that explain how the story came about and how the characters ended up in this
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The usual problem found with plays is that of making it shorter or condensing it to fit within the time limit, but with “Oedipus the King” one has to take into consideration that it is a short play. One also has to take into consideration that since this is a short play, when compared to other plays, every detail counts, meaning that if a few moments from the play are left out, the film could become filled with plot holes and therefore result in an unsuccessful adaptation. In cinema, it is often better to leave out some elements that need a substantial amount of time to clarify and secondary characters that do not have a consequential role in the play since the director has a limited time span to work with. Very often screenwriters are also forced to leave out secondary parts and characters that don’t contribute to the play’s development and plot because introducing too many characters in a film may lead to confusion. In an interview with the playwright Tracy Letts, conducted by “Creative Screenwriting Magazine”, the playwright was asked about his adaptation of the play “August: Osage County” for the silver screen. When asked about the difficulties of adapting this play for the screen he replied by saying that “It was just a matter of sacrificing some depth out in the margins of the piece… But, there’s a reason for the phrase “cut to the chase.” That phrase originates from the movies. Because movies engage an audience differently, they rarely have the patience that we were allowed in the theatre.” In a film, it is often better to leave out some elements completely rather than introduce them without any subsequent
Oedipus’ Costume in Tyrone Guthrie’s Oedipus Rex, 1957 “Oedipus Rex” or “Oedipus the King” is a tragedy play written by the ancient Greek playwright, Sophocles. This play told a story of King of Thebes, who discovered that he has unwittingly killed his own father, Laius, and married his own mother, Iocasta. Over the centuries, “Oedipus Rex” has been considered as Sophocles’ masterpiece (Mastin). On January 1, 1957, a filmed version of Oedipus Rex directed by Tyrone Guthrie, was released by Motion Picture Distributors, Inc. The film was based on the translation and adaptation done by William Butler Yeats.
In William Shakespeare’s well known play Hamlet , there are several acts of violence that often keep the readers on their toes constantly wondering what will happen next. It all begins with the death of King Hamlet and comes to an end with no royal family in control of the castle, Elsinore, in Denmark. Each character has their own unique motive for self gain throughout the play, but Hamlet has a strong drive for the dangerous game of revenge. Hamlet wants to earn justice for his father who had his kingdom, wife, and crown all stolen out from underneath him when his life is innocently taken by his greedy uncle. “To be or not to be?” is the question
Oedipus the King is a tragedy that was written by Sophocles that emphasizes the irony of an irony of a man who was determined to trace down, expose and punish an assassin who in turn became him. Oedipus the King is also known as Oedipus Rex or Oedipus Tyrannus. The art is an Athenian play that was performed in ages approximated to be 429 BC. Oedipus the King would later in the play fulfill the prophecy that he would kill his father and later on marry his mother. There is a twist of an event in the play where Oedipus is looking for the murderer of his father to bring to a halt the series of plagues that are befalling Thebes but only to find he is in search of himself (Rado, 1956).
The world of literature offers many different works; some may offer similarities while there are differences between others. There are more similarities than differences between Odysseus and Oedipus. Two great examples of literature is the tragic play “Oedipus the King”, written by Sophocles and “The Odyssey”, an epic poem written by Homer who were both Greek poets. Both poets’ work shows similar examples of life altering changes that were ultimately controlled by the Greek gods.
With the realization of his demise, Oedipus tries to protect himself from punishment and shame by gouging out his own eyes and exiling himself out to die in the place destiny prevented him from dying originally. After many years of luxurious living, Oedipus’s predestined fate tears his life apart and returns him to the place he should have died as an infant, the mountain. Through the use of, departure, initiation, and return, Sophocles displays the journey of Oedipus. Not only is Oedipus the King evidence of the use of the hero’s journey throughout many famous plays, movies, and books across all cultures and time periods, but it also seen as a perfect tragedy, in which the audience experiences both pity and fear for the main
Every Film Adaptation is Not Necessarily Faithful Throughout history, philosophers wrote thoughtful poems and sophisticated plays; plays sought to challenge the intellectual minds of those who would read them. Inevitably, as time progressed, people found ways to stage the plays for entertainment. When staging the play, whether it would be literal actors reciting lines on a stage or a movie with the reenactment of the play, the director always faces the problem of fidelity of the adaptation and how true their adaptation has to be to the original source. Fidelity in the terms of film refers to the authenticity and familiar similarities an adaptation has to its original source.
Paulo Coelho, an author, once said, “Close some doors. Not because of pride, incapacity or arrogance, but simply because they no longer lead somewhere. ” This is exactly what some movie producers do. When a movie is based off of a book and some parts are not needed they take out that scene.
Countless similarities are displayed between plays and their modern-day adaptations ranging from major influences such as setting to finer details like character traits. Being that they are adaptations, stark differences from the original can be discovered, too. The star-crossed lovers of The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet, a drama by William Shakespeare, and West Side Story are equally affected by their friends but are influenced in dissimilar ways. Despite playing the same role, the Nurse and Anita provide very distinct influences to Juliet and Maria through the course of the stories.
The movie ties in more brutality and violence to appeal to a modern audience that demands intense appeal to the senses. The play uses the simplicity of setting elements such as the balcony and common acting techniques to communicate Shakespear’s original message. Given the time period of the text, Shakepear’s use of these strategies are as modern as those unique techniques used in the movie. The movie and the play attract their audiences based on what appeals to them. Most importantly, both deliver the message to the audience that “For never was a story of more woe than this of Juliet and her
Thesis:In Sophocles play ‘Oedipus the king’,Oedipus is an example of a tragic hero because he changed from a hero at the beginning of the play into a tragic hero by the end by experiencing power,tragic flow,downfall and death. Oedipus changes into a person no can believe of,because in the beginning he was a hero for the city of thebes by solving a riddle to defeat the monster that was killing and taking over thebes. Claim:Before the play Oedipus defeats sphinx and becomes a powerful king,At the beginning of the play people rely on Oedipus’s power and help. Data:For example the priest says “Oedipus greatest in all men’s eyes We pray,find some strength again and rescue or city”. Warrant:From this quote readers can see that how empowered oedipus feels like and how people in thebes rely on him,Clearly this scene represents the power stage of the tragic hero.
In the essay “Shakespeare Meets The 21st Century” (297), Michael Kahn believes that all renditions of Shakespeare’s plays are “interpretations” that reflect the approach to acting and producing at the time of production. In recent times the productions of Shakespeare’s plays have undergone changes to the manner of speaking to be more “conversational” while attempting to retain the rhythm and tone of the play. He explains that Shakespeare’s plays were themselves adapted from those of other playwrights. He marvels at the experience of those who originally witnessed and had no prior knowledge of Shakespeare’s plays must have had. Kahn states “I believe all theater artists who approach these plays envy that encounter and explore strategies to re-create
Brilliantly conceived and written, Oedipus Rex is a drama of self-discovery. Achieved by amazing compression and force by limiting the dramatic action to the day on which Oedipus learns the truth of his birth and his destiny is quite the thriller. The fact that the audience knows the dark secret that Oedipus unwittingly slew his true father and married his mother does nothing to destroy the suspense. Oedipus’s search for the truth has all the tautness of a detective tale, and yet because audiences already know the truth they are aware of all the ironies in which Oedipus is enmeshed. That knowledge enables them to fear the final revelation at the same time that they pity the man whose past is gradually and relentlessly uncovered to him.
Introduction When reading a play, it is fundamental to pay attention to details within the play for a script envisioned in more than one way. Moreover, discovering those critical items found in the play is important in helping one criticize the play correctly since; a critic is able to see the quality and mistakes found in the play. Likewise, the critic is also able to see valuable and critical things missed by the reader since as critics they looked at different functions within the play. With that said, this paper is going to explore two critical approaches seen in “Death of a Salesman” a play written by Arthur Miller (1915 – 2005). Those critical approaches are Reader-Response Criticism and Psychological (psychoanalytic) criticism.
“Godotmania” Samuel Beckett’s Waiting for Godot completely changed our perception of theatre as a whole, thanks in part to the unique and unusual path it took on the wide map of theater. It is perhaps those two words, unique and unusual, that best describe everything we associate with the drama, from its obscure plot and characters, all the way to the stories told of its curious production history. It is safe to assume that when Samuel Beckett’s Waiting for Godot was first released, nobody had expected that a nonsensical ‘adventures’ of two senile old men and their ludicrous inactivity would go on to have such an impact on theater. Ever since its release, the play had been treated as somewhat of an outlier, giving headaches to producers and actors alike. However, the few that had successfully tackled the production of such an absurd drama, can vouch for its importance.
Through the outcomes of both plays, the audience is able to receive some hard truths and be confronted with reality. In their respective ways, the two plays reveal truths about the human experience in the way that the plays are symbolic of very real human or societal problems. Sophocles’ Greek tragedy, Oedipus Rex, has a fateful plot with a tragic ending. His play follows the conventions of tragedy, implementing plot, character development,