Screenwriters don’t have to create an entirely new intricate tale for the screen, but they do have to comprehend and accurately interpret the source material to a certain level, making it both a difficult and simple task to adapt content that has already been published which in many cases, are novels.
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The Best Adapted Screenplay has been a significant category and a goal for any ambitious screenwriter since the first Academy Awards ceremony. Furthermore, many of them were so masterfully adapted that they even went on to win the ceremony’s top prize, Best Picture. There have been 95 Greatest Picture winners during the span of Oscar’s 95-year history, and some of them are among the best in terms of adaptation based on theirRotten Tomatoesscores.
10’Mutiny on the Bounty' (1935)
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 96%
Based on the 1932 novel of the same name byCharles NordhoffandJames Norman,Mutiny on the Bountyfollows Roger Byam (Franchot Tone), a midshipman, who travels to Tahiti with Captain Bligh (Charles Laughton) and Fletcher Christian (Clark Gable) on board HMS Bounty. After six enjoyable months in Tahiti, Christian leads the crew in mutiny on the return journey since Bligh turns out to be a ruthless tyrant.
Despite historical inaccuracies, the movie was a great box office blockbuster, becoming the highest-grossing movie in 1935 and ranking among MGM’s top successes of the era. Moreover, in spite of being nominated for a total of 8 Academy Awards,Mutiny on the Bountyonly won 1 category, which is Best Picture.
9’The Bridge on the River Kwai' (1940)
Based on the 1952 novel of the same name byPierre Boulle,The Bridge on the River Kwaifollows allied POWs in a Japanese internment camp during World War II who are given the task of building a bridge so that the Burma-Siam railway can pass. Their natural inclination is to destroy the bridge, but under Colonel Nicholson’s (Alec Guinness) guidance they are encouraged it should be constructed to boost morale and spirit.
The film is largely acknowledged as one of the best movies ever created. It was also the highest-grossing film of 1957 and earned largely favorable reviews from reviewers. At the 30th Academy Awards,The Bridge on the River Kwaiwon 7 out of 8 nominations including Best Picture.
8’The Godfather Part II' (1974)
Based onMario Puzio’s 1969 novel of the same name,The Godfather Part IIis the second installment inThe Godfathertrilogy and serves as both a prequel and sequel to the 1972 film. The movie features two concurrent storylines: one with Michael Corleone (Al Pacino), the new Don of the Corleone family, defending the family enterprise following a life-threatening attempt in 1958; while the other one chronicles his father’s (Robert De Niro) journey from Sicilian boyhood to the establishment of his family business in New York City.
The film is the best illustration of how a sequel may be better than its predecessor and it’s still regarded as one of the greatest movies ever made.Part IIreceived 11 Academy Award nominations and won 6 of them including Best Picture, becoming the first sequel to win this category.
7’Argo' (2012)
Adapted from U.S. C.I.A operativeTony Mendez’s 1999 memoirThe Master of DisguiseandJoshuah Bearman’s 2007 Wired article “The Great Escape: How the CIA Used a Fake Sci-Fi Flick to Rescue Americans from Tehran,”Argois aBen Affleckhistorical drama thriller. The movie recounts the “Canadian Caper,” in which Mendez (played by Affleck) oversaw the release of six American diplomats from Tehran, Iran while pretending to be filming a science fiction movie during the hostage crisis in Iran in 1979–1981.
Argois incredibly remarkable and well-made, and it would still have resonance even if it weren’t for current events. The film was nominated for seven Oscars at the 85th Academy Awards and proceeded to win three including Best Picture, Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Film Editing.
6’The Lost Weekend' (1945)
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 97%
Based onCharles R. Jackson’s novel of the same name,The Lost Weekendfollows a man living with alcoholism, Don Birnam (Ray Milland) who has been “on the wagon” for ten days and appears to be through the worst, but his craving has only grown more sly. Don starts a four-day binge after avoiding a country weekend that his brother Wick (Phillip Terry) had planned.
The Lost Weekenddepicts the humiliation, depravity, and horror that alcoholism can cause with remorseless realism and successfully upgraded it from its source material. The film was nominated for seven Academy Awards and proceeded to win four including Best Picture, Best Director forBilly Wilder, Best Actor for Milland and Best Adapted Screenplay.
5’All the King’s Men' (1949)
Based on the 1946 novel of the same name byRobert Penn Warren,All the King’s Menrevolves around Willie Stark (Broderick Crawford), an ambitious and brutal politician in the American South, and his rise and collapse.
The film is bursting with vigor, tough-minded commentary, and astute insights about the less savory facets of real-world politics. All the King’s Men garnered a total of 7 nominations and went on to win 3 of them including Best Picture, Best Actor in a Leading Role for Crawford and Best Actress in a Supporting Role forMercedes McCambridge.
4’The Godfather' (1972)
Based onMario Puzo’s best-selling 1969 novel of the same name,The Godfatheris the first installment inThe Godfatherfranchise that covers the Corleone family’s history from 1945 to 1955 under the patriarch Vito Corleone (Marlon Brando). The film focuses on how his youngest son, played by Al Pacino, goes from being a hesitant family outsider to a violent mob boss.
The Godfatherstood out artistically and redefined notions of mob flicks and is anOscar-winner that left an impact on cinema historythanks to its own interpretation of the original source as well as its talented cast. At the 45th Academy Awards, the film won Best Picture, Best Actor for Brando and Best Adapted Screenplay for Puzo and directorFrancis Ford Coppola.
3’All Quiet on the Western Front' (1930)
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 98%
All Quiet on the Western Frontis aclassic 1930 American anti-war filmbased on German novelistErich Maria Remarque’s 1929 novel of the same name. The movie centers on a group of German schoolboys who were persuaded by their nationalistic teacher to serve at the start of World War I. The narrative depicts the sorrow of war via the experiences of the young German recruits and is fully based on their accounts.
The movie is deserving of high praise for its inventive editing, production design and other technical elements that help the movie feel authentic and relatable over a century later. The film garnered a total of four Academy Awards nominations and became the first Best Picture winner based on a novel. Its 2022 remake has already earned nine Oscar nods – only time will tell which version will come out on top.
2’Schindler’s List' (1993)
Based onThomas Keneally’s 1982 novelSchindler’s Ark,Schindler’s Listfollows the real-life figureOskar Schindler(played byLiam Neeson), a German manufacturer who employed predominantly Polish-Jewish refugees in his factories during World War II and thereby rescued more than a thousand of them.
Schindler’s Listis a beautiful, horrifying, pitiful and moving work of cinema because of all the characters it brings to life. Moreover, Neeson portrays Schindler admirably, guiding him through his heroic arc. Thestriking black-and-white filmwas nominated for twelve Academy Awards and won seven, including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Adapted Screenplay.
1’Rebecca' (1940)
Based on the 1938 novel of the same name byDaphne du Maurier,Rebeccafollows a shy woman’s companion (Joan Fontaine) who is staying in Monte Carlo with her conservative employer and encounters the affluent Maxim de Winter (Laurence Olivier). They fall in love, get married and go back to his enormous country home in Cornwall, Manderley where everyone still hasn’t gotten over his first wife’s death, Rebecca.
Rebeccais a captivating romantic-gothic movie, brimming with the humor and ingenuity ofAlfred Hitchcock. One of Hitchcock’s best films,Rebeccais still regarded as one of the best suspense thrillers and the best adaptation of the book so far. At the 13th Academy Awards, the movie received eleven nominations, more than any other movie that year, and brought home Best Picture.
