Vote for the Best Literary Adaptations of the Last 50 Years
Round 5
60 down, and four remain after yesterday’s voting, and it seems like Lit Hub’s bracket voters have a taste for epics. Each of the final movies are big and high stakes: set in far-off lands, war zones, and the violent mind of a cannibal.
As is inevitable at this point, some favorites were eliminated in the quarterfinals. No Country For Old Men lost the coin toss and Jurassic Park went extinct. Remains of the Day got close, holding its own against Apocalypse Now, but the sublimated desire and British stiff upper lip wasn’t enough to hold off Kurtz and Coppola’s mad vision. And sorry but voting against Clueless? That’s virgin who can’t drive behavior.
Just two matchups left before the finals. The comedy and thriller winners, The Princess Bride and The Silence of the Lambs, are two very different films that both use storytelling as a device—the narration from within the film is crucial to how things unfold. But will the reliable grandfather beat out the unreliable Hannibal Lector?
And Apocalypse Now and The Return of the King are about the horror, the horror of contending with a deranged leader who has gone mad with power and is unleashing violence for no apparent reason. Can’t imagine why this might be resonating with people right now.
Only two are going to make it to Monday’s finals! Get in there and vote!
