London Fields is a 1989 novel by Martin Amis. It tells the story of Nicola Six a clairvoyant that foretells her impending murder... Sounds great right? This film version from 2018 has a 0% rating on rotten tomatoes and one of the worst US box office openings of all time. It stars Amber Heard and Billy Bob Thornton with an uncredited appearance from Johnny Depp.  We discuss our thoughts on this film and give a spoiler free review. (available on Netflix UK) perhaps the book belongs on the 100 greatest novels list but what went wrong with the adaptation?    

Books We Watched

London Fields by Martin Amis (2018 Film)

This Charles Dickens classic got it's first theatrical film adaptation for 50 years recently. This new film version stars Dev Patel as David Copperfield and gave this well known book a modern spin but still in keeping with the original novel.  We talk about the link between the story and Charles Dickens life along with our thoughts on how this book has been brought to screen.  The film is due to be released in US cinemas later this year.         

The Personal History Of David Copperfield (2020 Film)

It's off to the 1920's for the next book we're watching. The Great Gatsby was written by American author F. Scott Fitzgerald. It tells the tale of decadence and love on Long Island. The book wasn't a success on publication but is now considered a classic.   The film version we watched was the Baz Luhrmann directed 2013 adaptation and starring Leonardo DiCaprio in the title role.  We discuss the story, characters we meet and how this version of the book has been brought to screen.    

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald (2013 Film)

A new version of Little Women directed by Greta Gerwig was released in Dec 2019 to huge critical success. Fresh from seeing the film at the cinema Mark & Sarah discuss this new version and how it compares to the 1994 film. The 90's film is highly regarded so we were intrigued to find out how this new version has adapted this classic book to the big screen.  If you haven't seen this film yet we recommend you watch it first as there are some plot spoilers mentioned in this episode.   

Little Women by Louisa May Alcott (2019 Film)

This episode we're looking at a more modern book than usual. Disgrace was first published in 1999 and won the booker prize.  The novel is set in set in post-apartheid South Africa and often is included in influential or must read lists of books.  We watched the 2008 film adaptation which stars John Malkovich. Not knowing anything about this book or film before we watched it we discuss the plot and the themes of this story. 

Disgrace by J. M Coetzee (2008 Film)

This episode we're back revisiting an old favourite of ours. In our first episode we watched the 1986 film adaptation of The Name of the Rose a 1980 book by Umberto Eco.  We were very excited when we heard that a new TV mini series would be broadcast in 2019. This is an Italian produced 8 part series starring John Turturro, Rupert Everett and Damien Hardung.  The film version left a lasting impression on us so in this episode we compare what this new version brings to the screen and discuss how this series has been adapted. You can listen to our first episode here: https://www.podbean.com/eu/pb-ysjm6-73e938 This new version of The Name of the Rose was shown in the UK on BBC2 and is currently available on iplayer if you haven't seen to yet. Its also generally now available in DVD.   

The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco (2019 TV Miniseries)

This time we're discussing the French novel by Alexandre Dumas. The Three Musketeers is such a well known story and has had many film adaptations. We chose to watch the 1973 live action film which is one of the more well known film versions.  If you're not sure what The Musketeers are all about then we go through and try to explain what happens and also how this film stands up in its own right.   

The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas (1973 Film)

This is a quick mini episode to give you an update of what we've been up to. We'll be back very soon continuing to watch the 100 greatest books.  Look out for a big update, the podcast will be having a new name 'Books We've Watched' so look out over the next few weeks for the re-launch!   

Update!

One Thousand And One Nights is a series of folk tales complied in Arabic from as early as the 9th century. There are many versions of the book from which famous stories such as Aladdin and Ali Baba and the forty thieves originate from.  We're watching a 2000 TV mini series 'Arabian Nights' which covers some of the original book. Has this version stood the test of time as the book has? If the casting has anything to go by maybe not! Also we actually chat about a current film 'Once Upon A Time In Hollywood' and what else is coming up that we want to see. 

Novels On Screen 33: One Thousand and One Nights (Arabian Nights)

We're back in America for our next film 'The Grapes Of Wrath' which was a 1939 novel by John Stienbeck, well known for 'Of Mice And Men' and 'East of Eden'. Set during the great depression, the film version was released in 1940 and starred Henry Fonda in the title role of Tom Joad. The film follows a family of migrant workers travelling to California toward a better life.  Both the book and the film are considered American classics in their own right. Join Mark & Sarah as they learn what this film is about and how it stands up today. 

Novels On Screen 32: The Grapes Of Wrath

Herman Melville described his 1851 novel as 'A romance of adventure'  - not sure if we would agree! We chose to watch the 2011 TV mini series based on this book. The cast list looks great, William Hurt, Gillian Anderson, Ethan Hawke, Donald Sutherland. At about 3 hours this whale of a mini series tests our patience but will it be worth the time to learn more about this highly regarded novel? Also Mark runs down his top 3 Whales in film.

Novels On Screen 31: Moby-Dick

A few of the books on our list don't have film or tv adaptations. We look at one of these books, Catcher In The Rye by american author J.D. Salinger published in 1951.  It's a hugely successful book and well known as a coming of age story. Why has this book never been adapted into a film? Our challenge is to watch the 100 greatest films, so for any books that don't have an adaptation we'll be swapping it with another from a different list. Sarah chooses our next replacement.....  

Novels Not On Screen 2: The Catcher In The Rye

Episode 30 and we're back with some period drama. Little Women by Louisa May Alcott was not originally on our top 100 but was chosen by Sarah as a substitute for a novel on our list without a film adaptation.  We're talking about the 1994 film which stars Winona Ryder and Christian Bale. Will this american classic leave an impression on us? With the new film adaptation coming out at the end of 2019 this is a good time to take a look and learn what this well known story is all about.  We also talk about the novel we swapped it for on our list 'Life: A Users Manual' and Sarah has discovered another book by the same author that sounds very interesting!      

Little Women by Louisa May Alcott (1994 Film)

After a couple of weeks away we're back with an extra long episode. Our next novel on screen is 'The Tin Drum' a controversial German film from 1979.  Critically acclaimed but also highly divisive the film was banned in some parts of the world for is obscenity and portraying underage sexuality.  Mark & Sarah discuss the plot of the film - trying to make sense of it - this could be another high rating in our Mary Whitehouse scale of morals! Where will this rank our list overall? Does anything shock us any more? Also a few news updates - why has the BBC War of The Worlds still not been shown yet?      

Novels On Screen 29: The Tin Drum

Hear all about it! Scoop was a 1938 novel by Evelyn Waugh. It's a parody of the writers time as a war correspondent for the Daily Mail. We watch the 1987 ITV drama adaptation starring Michael Maloney in the starring role of William Boot. Garanteed no one else has ever produced a podcast about this obscure piece of TV, Mark & Sarah discuss the story and how this book has been brought to the small screen. 

Novels On Screen 28: Scoop

Mark & Sarah are currently on a quest to watch screen versions of the 100 greatest novels.

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Books We Watched

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