Literature and Film: New Perspectives in the Two Narrative Forms

Considering the very common assumption that reading is a much more demanding process than watching a literature-based film, adapting novels, short stories, and plays into films has been a debatable issue for years. It is apparent that both the reader and the audience are involved in a complicated relationship between texts and films which are the most significant means to familiarize the audience with literary masterpieces. Filmmakers are regarded as free artists who are able to make alterations in the texts while translating or adapting them into screen to reflect their distinctive methods and approaches, thus to create profound effects on the viewers. Clearly it is to be admitted that both literary forms and cinematic forms share certain similarities and differences as well. The objective of this study is to explore this complex relationship between literature and literature-based films, by providing a critical analysis of the interdisciplinary, and intertextual nature of both forms and dwelling on the differences between translating and adapting, with reference to one of the most popular literature based films, Moby Dick.