About five years ago I decided to challenge myself, cinematically speaking, and open my mind to films I thought I should see, I was told I had to see and films I had never heard of but apparently people liked. It was at the point I moved forward on my quest to watch IMDB’s Top 250 Films. I printed the list and eventually made my way to John Ford’s 1940s classic, The Grapes of Wrath.
By the time I reached that film I had seen a handful of Henry Fonda features and had heard about this adaptation of John Steinbeck’s novel but what I didn’t expect was how much I would like the film, in fact I loved it. I raved about it to family and friends and eventually bought the DVD when I saw it for sale at my local library.
Why is this relevant? Because DreamWorks is currently in talks with Steinbeck’s estate to acquire the rights to the novel with Steven Spielberg set to produce, but not direct, a new adaptation of the classic which just so happens to be celebrating its 75th anniversary next year. Coincidence? I think not.
While I’m not one for remakes of many classics, I think this could work if it is under the direction of a patient director, one who can handle slow moving films and make them engaging, someone like Tomas Alfredson who directed Let the Right One In would be a good example.
For those that don’t know the story “The Grapes Of Wrath is about a poor family of tenant farmers forced to move off its land in Oklahoma because of drought and hopeless economic conditions. Spurred by the promise of high wages for farm workers, the Joads head to California, but are beaten down by poverty and hunger in the Great Depression. The film introduced the defiant and tragic protagonist Tom Joad (played by Henry Fonda), who has been an enduring symbol for social reform.”
What are your thoughts of this being adapted for the screen again? Are you cool with it or should John Ford’s version be the only one?
via Deadline
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