Films I Want To Watch That Were Adapted From Stage Plays
After enjoying the film Glengarry Glen Ross last night I wondered if its origins as a stage play might be a big reason for its appeal to me.
The stellar cast obviously had a lot to do with it being so engaging, but the combination of tight, intense dialogue and just a few scene locations also contribute to the boiler pot atmosphere.
To investigate this line of thought I went on Wikipedia and found a list of plays adapted into feature films. From that I've created a list (below) of films that interest me and will seek out to watch. I was pleasantly surprised to learn that some of my favourite films started life on the stage.
To make my 'To Watch' list, I started at the top of the alphabetical list on the Wikipedia page and took a first pass of films that I'd like to see. There are loads of films there; I got as far as the 'E's before my mind started wandering off.
So this is my starting list - I'll add more when I've watched some of them.
I have no interest in writing film reviews, but I might add some commentary to some of the entries, if warranted.
Note: Films that I've watched in the last couple of years have links to their IMDb entries. Anything without a link I haven't yet seen, or haven't seen recently and want to watch again.
Oh, there won't be any musicals on the list.
Act 1: Films with titles that start with the letters A-E
- Aces High (1976). Poignant film about the very enthusiastic, very untrained British pilots in WW1 that died too young. Watched again quite recently.
- Billy Liar (1963)
- Brief Encounter (1945). Probably my favourite film of all time. Always worth a rewatch.
- Casablanca (1942, from an unproduced play)
- Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1958)
- Creditors (2015)
- The Crucible (1996)
- Death of a Salesman (1966, TV)
- Dial M for Murder (1954)
- A Doll's House (1973, British version with Claire Bloom and Anthony Hopkins)
- A Doll's House (1992)
- Dreyfus (1931)
- East Is East (1999)
- Educating Rita (1983)
- The Entertainer (1960)
Not A-E film titles, but will be on the list when it expands later:
- The Face Behind the Mask (1941)
- A Few Good Men (1992)
- First Lady (1937)
- Gaslight (1940). Top notch psychological drama with some astonishingly high energy French Cancan dancing thrown in for good measure. This is the British film that precedes the American version listed next.
- Gaslight (1944)
- Glengarry Glen Ross (1992). The film that kicked off this avenue of exploration. Hadn't seen it since the 90s, and it was as good as I remembered i.e. very good.
- A Streetcar Named Desire (1951)