Inca de la inceputurile Hollywood-ului, cinefililor au iubit adaptarile de la carte la film. La randul lor, le-au iubit si filmele cu detectivi, majoritatea celor mai faimoase filme de mister realizate vreodata fiind adaptate direct din literatura. Indiferent daca povestea este in intregime fictiva sau bazata pe o poveste adevarata, nu este nimic mai bun decat sa arunci o palarie de detectiv falsa si sa incerci sa rezolvi misterul cu personajele de pe ecran. Nu numai ca ofera suspansul care se gaseste adesea intr-un thriller sau film de groaza bun, dar ofera si spectatorilor o satisfactie instantanee daca inteleg toate indiciile corecte.
In timp ce majoritatea acestor filme si romane ofera solutii de puzzle la nivel de suprafata, unele dintre ele aprofundeaza mai mult in probleme societale mai raspandite, aruncand lumina asupra deficientelor majore ale sistemului juridic, precum si asupra crimelor nerezolvate. Drept urmare, iata 10 dintre cele mai bune filme cu detectivi, precum si romanele pe care se bazeaza.
BlackKkKlansman (2018)
Adaptarea lui Spike Lee dupa memoriile lui Ron Stallworth, BlackKkKlansman , a fost unul dintre cele mai bune filme aparute in ultimul deceniu. John David Washington preia rolul lui Stallworth, primul ofiter de culoare din Departamentul de Politie din Colorado Springs, care mai tarziu a solicitat sa devina politist sub acoperire. Filmul este axat pe infiltrarea si expunerea lui Stallworth in divizia locala Ku Klux Klan, recrutandu-si colegul evreu alb, Flip Zimmerman (Adam Driver), pentru a intalni capitolul in persoana, in timp ce se da drept Stallworth. Dupa lansare, filmul a primit mai multe nominalizari la Oscar, inclusiv prima nominalizare pentru regie a lui Spike Lee, si a castigat la categoria Cel mai bun scenariu adaptat.
In ciuda faptului ca filmul a primit o multime de aprecieri, cartea in care se bazeaza nu este cunoscuta de multi. Publicat in 2014, Black Klansman a fost intocmit de Stallworth folosind registrul de cazuri pe care il asamblase in timpul misiunii. Ca si in cazul majoritatii adaptarilor de la Hollywood, exista cateva diferente notabile intre BlackKkKlansman si materialul sau sursa. De exemplu, nu exista niciun interes amoros in roman si nici nu a existat o tentativa de bombardament care a inchis cazul. Cu toate acestea, in ciuda faptului ca ii lipsesc dramatizarile, este inca una dintre cele mai importante carti scrise vreodata, subliniind coruptia fortelor de ordine americane si importanta expunerii retoricii pline de ura.
Laura (1944)
Chiar si in timpul Epocii de Aur a Hollywood-ului, adaptarile cartilor erau deja o practica incredibil de comuna. Laura se bazeaza pe romanul cu acelasi nume din 1943 al Verei Caspary si a fost desemnata unul dintre cele mai bune 10 filme misterioase din toate timpurile de catre Institutul American de Film. Urmareste un detectiv, Mark McPherson, care investigheaza uciderea Laurei Hunt, un director de publicitate de succes care a fost impuscat in apartamentul ei. Cu cat McPherson se adanceste mai mult in caz, cu atat incepe sa se indragosteasca de Laura. Ceea ce urmeaza este o poveste intortocheata despre obsesie, care are o multime de dezvaluiri socante.
Inainte de publicarea sa, Laura a lui Vera Caspary a aparut ca un serial in sapte parti intitulat Ring Twice for Laura in revista Colliers . Povestea este spusa prin alte perspective la persoana intai din diferite personaje, Caspary fiind direct inspirat de The Woman In White de Wilkie Collins . Este considerata cea mai buna lucrare a lui Caspary, cu toate acestea, se pierde adesea printre marii clasici ai timpului sau. In comparatie cu adaptarea sa de la Hollywood, se concentreaza in mare masura pe deconstruirea rolurilor tipice feminine, ajutand la stabilirea tropului de femei fatale.
Sherlock Holmes (2009)
Sherlock Holmes a primit o varietate de adaptari diferite, dar versiunea din 2009 a lui Guy Ritchie, cu Robert Downey Jr. este cu siguranta cea mai buna. Bazat pe personajele si povestile lui Arthur Conan Doyle, filmul ii urmareste pe Holmes si Watson in timp ce incearca sa-l impiedice pe miticul Lord Henry Blackwood sa preia controlul asupra Marii Britanii folosind ocultismul. Downey Jr. surprinde perfect natura boema si excentrica a lui Holmes, subliniindu-i perfect stralucirea. Portretul lui a fost atat de stelar, incat i-a castigat un Glob de Aur si aprecierea criticii la nivel mondial.
In timp ce filmul din 2009 se bazeaza pe o poveste originala a scenaristilor Michael Robert Johnson, Anthony Peckham, Simon Kinberg si Lionel Wigram, inca surprinde complet esenta lucrarilor lui Conan Doyle. In total, iconicul scriitor a scris 62 de povestiri cu Sherlock Holmes intre 1887 si 1927. Conan Doyle a continuat chiar sa-si planga propria creatie, datorita popularitatii sale semnificative, facandu-l sa-l omoare pe Holmes in The Final Problem , inainte ca strigatele publice sa-l determine inverseaza acest lucru in The Hound of the Baskervilles . In ansamblu, Sherlock Holmes a ajutat la popularizarea fictiunii criminale, opera lui Conan Doyle ramanand o influenta semnificativa in film, televiziune si literatura.
O bantuire in Venetia (2023)
Agatha Christie’s Poirot novels are some of the most famous of all time, yet Kenneth Branagh’s adaptations of them all failed to do them justice. That is, until the release of A Haunting in Venice, loosely based on Christie’s 1969 novel Hallowe’en Party. On Halloween night, Poirot is invited to a seance by crime writer Ariadne Oliver, who wants to prove that not everything can be explained. However, after the psychic winds up dead, Poirot is determined to uncover the dark truth that one of the attendees is determined to keep hidden. Compared to Murder on the Orient Express and Death on the Nile, A Haunting in Venice perfectly refreshes the franchise, seamlessly blending both the crime and horror genres to create a truly chilling mystery.
However, while the film is by far the best compared to the others, it isn’t as directly based on Christie’s work. Instead, Hallowe’en Party follows Poirot and Oliver as they attend a Halloween party where one of the attendees claims to have witnessed a murder, where she is then found drowned in an apple bobbing tub later on. While the premises are different, A Haunting in Venice does well to take various elements from Christie’s story to create a new one, amplifying the haunts and drama. Though the film and book both have the same killer, the motivations are largely different, making it worth the read to spot the major changes.
In the Heat of the Night (1967)
In the Heat of the Night is based on John Ball’s 1965 novel of the same name, and is famously known for its iconic line „They call me Mister Tibbs!” and its immense critical acclaim, which has earned it a spot as one of the American Film Institute’s 100 best films in American cinema. It follows black police detective Virgil Tibbs, who is mistakenly suspected of a local murder while traveling through a hostile Mississippi town. After the police chief learns that Tibbs is actually a renowned homicide detective, he clears him and asks for his help on the case.
John Ball’s novel is remembered for its fearless confrontation of how black people were treated in the southern states of America, especially in the midst of the Civil Rights movements. The film perfectly captured how revolutionary this novel was, featuring the infamous ‘slap heard round the world’ which occurred after a Plantation owner slaps Tibbs who then returns the slap. This scene was suggested by Tibbs’ actor, Sidney Poitier, who previously was heavily involved in the Civil Rights movement, ensuring that his character wouldn’t be viewed through a ‘white lens’ where a black man would be expected to endure the slap.
Gone Girl (2014)
Writer Gillian Flynn is known for her jaw-dropping mystery novels, with Gone Girl remaining her best work to date. David Fincher went on to adapt Gone Girl in 2014, bringing Flynn on as a screenwriter. Because of this, the film is one of the best literary adaptations of all time, with Flynn able to masterfully bring the novel’s suspense and thrills to life. It follows the story of Nick Dunne, whose wife Amy mysteriously disappears. As more information begins to surface, Nick becomes the primary suspect in Amy’s disappearance, leading him on a race against the detectives on the case to discover the truth.
While it isn’t told from a detective’s perspective or focused on one specifically, it has all the elements to make it the perfect detective story. Nick and the detectives are both trying to solve different crimes, with Nick convinced his wife has orchestrated the whole thing and the detectives determined to arrest Nick for her murder. It’s full to the brim of secrets, surprises and suspects, as audiences deal with several unreliable narrators who twist the story in new directions. It’s clear to see why both the novel and film are so loved worldwide, though the novel was notably absent from the consideration of various prestigious literary awards.
The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo (2009)
Stieg Larsson’s The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo has received two cinematic adaptations, one in 2009 by Danish filmmaker Niels Arden Oplev, and the other in 2011 by David Fincher. While Fincher’s version starring Rooney Mara and Daniel Craig is by no means flawed, it doesn’t quite capture the grittiness of the novels in the same way that the 2009 one does, opting for a cleaner appearance to suit Hollywood’s standards. Both films focus on journalist Mikael Blomkvist, who hires computer hacker, Lisbeth Salander, to help him uncover what truly happened to a young girl from a wealthy family that disappeared 40 years prior.
Given the complicated nature of Stieg Larsson’s novel, the 2009 adaptation manages to make the content feel more coherent and easily digestible. Noomi Rapace, who plays Lisbeth in the 2009 version, also does justice to the character, feeling more convincing than Mara in an incredibly strong role. It also features scenes from the novel that the 2011 adaptation does not, which in turn makes it the perfect companion for those wanting to read Larsson’s Millennium trilogy.
Zodiac
Zodiac is another David Fincher film on this list, which should prove he is a true master of book adaptations. The film is based on Robert Graysmith’s non-fiction novels Zodiac and Zodiac Unmasked, which chronicle the infamous murders. At the time of the killings, Graysmith was working as a political cartoonist for the San Francisco Chronicle, one of the newspapers that the Zodiac would taunt with ciphers and letters. As a result, Graysmith became obsessed with solving the letters, dedicating decades of his life away to attempting to find the killer. The film has an amazing ensemble, with Jake Gyllenhaal taking on the role of Graysmith, and Mark Ruffalo as inspector Dave Toschi, and Robert Downey Jr. as Paul Avery, an American journalist.
On top of using Graysmith’s novels as a basis for the film, Fincher conducted a separate 18-month-long investigation into the Zodiac murders to gain a wider perspective. Luckily, Graysmith kept all the evidence he collected throughout the years in a scrapbook, and due to frustrations at the papers and law enforcement for not making the evidence public, decided to share what he found with the world. Despite all the separate investigations, the Zodiac killer was famously never found, which makes Graysmith’s work a must-read for any true crime sleuths who want to learn more about the case.
Shutter Island (2010)
Majoritatea oamenilor ar putea sa nu realizeze ca capodopera lui Martin Scorsese Shutter Island se bazeaza pe romanul cu acelasi nume al lui Dennis Lehane din 2003, ceea ce este pacat, deoarece este cu mult superioara. Atat filmul, cat si romanul il urmaresc pe Marshall american Teddy Daniels, care merge pe insula izolata Shutter pentru a investiga disparitia unui pacient de la Spitalul Ashecliffe pentru nebuni criminali. Cu toate acestea, in timp ce Teddy se angajeaza in investigatia sa, el descopera un adevar sinistru si sfasietor pe care a vrut sa ramana ascuns. Filmul, care il joaca pe Leonardo DiCaprio in rolul lui Teddy, este considerat un omagiu adus lucrarilor lui Alfred Hitchcock, precum si Cabinetului Dr. Caligari .
Cu toate acestea, Lehane a declarat ca influentele sale pentru roman au fost surorile Bronte, precum si Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956). Scopul sau a fost sa izoleze personajele si sa dezvolte suspans, tinandu-le departe de tehnologia secolului al XX-lea, lasandu-l pe Teddy sa rezolve misterul. Rezultatul este o poveste cu adevarat captivanta, care ii face pe cititori sa ghiceasca de fiecare data cand pagina se intoarce, neputand sa o lase jos dupa prima pagina. In timp ce povestea si rasturnarile sale sunt similare cu filmul, fanii care nu apreciaza finalul nuantat al lui Scorsese vor aprecia finalul mai concludent al romanului lui Lehane.
Tacerea mieilor (1991)
Probabil cel mai faimos film politist realizat vreodata, Tacerea mieilor se bazeaza pe romanul cu acelasi nume al lui Thomas Harris din 1988. Este una dintre cele mai fidele adaptari ale cartilor de la Hollywood, concentrandu-se in primul rand pe povestea tinerei stagiare FBI Clarice Starling, care are sarcina de a-l gasi pe criminalul in serie Buffalo Bill. Pentru a ajuta investigatiile FBI cu privire la crima, Clarice are sarcina de a vorbi cu un psihiatru genial, Hannibal Lecter, care a fost inchis pentru uciderea si consumarea a 9 persoane. Este unul dintre putinele filme din istorie care a castigat un Oscar la toate cele cinci categorii majore, multe organizatii si publicatii de renume declarandu-l unul dintre cele mai influente filme realizate vreodata.
In timp ce principalele puncte ale intrigii sunt incredibil de fidele sursei sale, romanul lui Harris este diferit in cateva moduri. De exemplu, filmul ignora complet romanul precedent al lui Harris, Red Dragon , desi referirile la personajul sau principal, Will Graham, sunt predominante in romanul lui The Silence of the Lambs . In plus, a incercat, de asemenea, sa aduca respect comunitatii transgender prin complotul sau secundar, in care Crawford a vizitat seful unei clinici de identitate de gen, pe care filmul o ignora complet. Cu toate acestea, in ciuda faptului ca romanul este mai constient de modul in care caracterizarea lui Buffalo Bill ar putea fi considerata transfoba, a primit totusi critici de la persoane precum autoarea feminista, Julia Serano.