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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.   

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.   

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!   

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. 

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. 

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.

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.....  

Episode 30 and we're back with some period drama. Little Women by Louisa May Allcott 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 (not Slater!) Will this american classic leave an impression on us? With the new film adaptation coming out at the end of 2019 starring Emma Watson this is a good time to take a look and learn what this well known story is all about.  - We 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! - Also a bit of chat about The Crown series 3.    

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?      

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. 

Blessed be the fruit! We've reached episode 27 on our book adaptations list. Margaret Atwood's dystopian novel from 1985 was adapted as a TV series on Hulu in 2017. The series has been hugely popular and is due to start it's third series next month. We watch and discuss the whole of series 1, looking at the world in which this series takes place and the main characters we follow.  Sarah has read the book and tells us what is and isn't the same in this adaptation.  Warning! This episode contains spoilers for the whole of the first series! If you've not seen it yet, catch up and come back or listen to this as a beginners guide to the book and TV show. Sarah also eats crisps during some of the chat which you may be able to hear.

Midnight's Children by Salman Rushdie won the booker prize in 1981 and is considered an all time great novel.  We're watching the 2012 film adaptation and discuss it's mix of realism, magic and how the book has been translated to the screen.  Also a few news updates and our usual ratings!   

Lucky Jim is a 1957 film starring Ian Carmichael and based on the 1954 novel by Kingsley Amis. Mark and Sarah give their verdict on this film and if this book  deserves it's place on the list of 100 greatest novels. We also discuss whether comedy can go out of date.   

France during World War II is the setting for our latest novel adaptation. Suite Française is a 2015 film starring Michelle Williams. The book itself has an interesting history, being written during the war but only published in 2004.  Neither of us had heard of this one until we watched it. How will it score?

A few of the books on our list don't have film or tv adaptations! We look at one of these books, Life: A User's Manual by Georges Perec.  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 first replacement..... If you have any ideas for filmss we should watch email us at ScreenSpielPod@gmail.com    

We're off to the green hills of Ireland for this episode on the 16 June 1904 to be exact. James Joyce's modernist novel Ulysses depicts an ordinary day in the life of Leopold Bloom as he goes about his day in Dublin. The novel has been described as one of the most important works of modernist literature.  Will this make a good film adaptation? Mark and Sarah watch the 2003 Irish made film version of the book 'Bloom' and discuss how this work translates to the screen. This could be a tough one to score and not just because Mark has a swollen eye!

We're getting on our raft and heading down the Mississippi river for our latest episode! The next novel on the list is 'The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn' written by Mark Twain and first published in 1885. This is a very well known american classic and there are lots of film adaptations. The film we're discussing is the 1993 Disney produced version 'The Adventures of Huck Finn'. The film stars a young Elijah Wood in the title role.   

It's alive! Episode 21 is alive! It's Mary Shelley's 1818 novel of science gone wrong 'Frankenstein' this time and we're watching the 1931 Hollywood take on the story which starred Boris Karloff as the famous monster.  Mark and Sarah discuss the film version and compare it to Mary Shelley's original novel as there are quite a few differences! Which version do you know best?        

To celebrate getting up to 20 in our 100 greatest novels list Mark and Sarah are quizzed on the titles they have discussed so far.  Our quizmaster is special guest Phil from the Organised Fun podcast. Has any knowledge from these great novel adaptations sunk in?  20 down 80 to go......

We made it to 20 episodes! Our 20th novel on our list is a well known classic science fiction. H.G Wells The War Of The Worlds which was first published in 1898. Mark and Sarah are watching the 2005 film version that stars Tom Cruise and directed by Steven Spielberg. Does that make it a good blockbuster? Mark also talks about the musical version from the 1970's and we discuss the forthcoming BBC adaptation due for release later in the year. You can get in touch with us at ScreenSpielPod@gmail.com. Find us ScreenSpielPod on Facebook and Twitter for more info and to have a look at the list of 100 novels that we're 'watching'.