I thought of this question while watching a collection of great movie monologues. I thought, “Shakespeare fans may not flock to classic literature in general, but they’ve probably got a higher appreciation for the classics than average.” So here’s my question : Not Shakespeare, what’s your favorite “classic”? Book, or movie. Or both. Tis the season so I’ll put up some props for A Christmas Carol – you simply *must* hear Patrick Stewart (a Shakespeare Geek fav in his own right!) perform his one-man show. Brilliance. I love the way Dickens manages to create characters so vivid that the story has been retold over and over and over again, in every flavor from the Muppets to Mr. Magoo. Another shout out to Dickens for A Tale Of Two Cities, one of my favorite “epic novels” in this category. It certainly screams “high school English”, and I’m not sure that I’d ever sit down and reread it for pleasure, but it might be one of the great “martyr hero” stories of all time. It is a far far better thing that I do, than I have ever done. Gives Shakespeare a run for his money. Lastly, getting back to what originally triggered this post, comes To Kill a Mockingbird, easily one of the top American novels ever, and surely a contender for best book-to-movie translation ever. When flipping randomly through the channels late on a Sunday night, I stumbled across this movie and immediately froze in my tracks, transfixed. 20+ years out of high school and I sat and explained to my wife just how good this story was, and the whole significance of the “Hi Boo!” scene that we’d just spotted. Ok, that’s my list. Who else?
Anything by Henry James.
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. I personally like the 1995 mini-series best for performance value.
Persuasion is very good as well, though I don't have a film version to recommend for that.
And you already mentioned Dickens.
I have to go with Oscar Wilde, Earnest Hemingway, and The Great Gatsby
Tough call… though it would have to include Jane Eyre, Invisible Man, The Age of Innocence, and The Picture of Dorian Gray, for starters
The short stories of Chekhov
My pick on Dickens is just same as you. Dickens always a bit boring but these two really timeless.
Odessey, from poem to movie, it is fantastic.
Sherlock Holmes, Holmes and Watson just so vivid that I enjoy re-reading everytime.