Classical drama Essay Example

Classical drama Essay Example Classical drama Essay Classical drama Essay Andrew Davies always adapts for small screen, especially costume dramas or classical dramas. He converts a classical novel into a small screen production, and he always finds a sexual interest in things. When he is approached by a TV channel, the first thing he does is listens to the novel. Davies knows what the popular audiences are looking for. In Davies adaptation of A Room With A View, its being done in retrospect. He uses a frame where the storyline is contained. Davis completely brings the dates forward in this adaptation. Two time slots are being established. This is because Lucy finds herself in Florence, 1922, as a young war widow. As such, she is reliving (in her mind) her romance of 10 years previously (1912), when she first meets up with George Emerson. When Lucy is in Florence (1922), she visits the slopes of Fiesole, where she first met her deceased husband. The cab driver who drives her up the slopes is, coincidentally, the same cab driver who took her up the slopes 10 years previously, when she was accompanied with Charlotte, George, Mr Emerson, Mr Beebe, Mr Eager and Miss McLavish. Lucy and the cab driver get talking, which gives the viewer an idea that this is possibly the start of a new romance. The first establishing shot shows the bottom of Lucys skirt. Her skirt is much shorter, giving the impression that the date is somewhere in the 1920s. In Merchant Ivorys adaptation, the first establishing shot is accompanied with Puccinis music. In Davies adaptation, the music seems more sombre, as Lucy has just become a widow. The second establishing shot is in the Pensione Bertolini. The man, who is booking Lucy in, asked her if she has come alone. Lucy then immediately thinks back 10 years, to when Charlotte is complaining about the view. As Lucy and the man make their way upstairs, Lucy enters the room and has another flashback to when Lucy looks at the view. As it is a flashback, the lighting is much brighter, and as the characters speak, there is a small echo. Then, back in 1922, just as the hotel manager is about to throw open the shutters, Lucy stops him. This may be because she wanted to open the shutters herself, and remember what happened back in 1912. The dining room looks quite different in this adaptation, compared to the dining room in Merchant Ivorys adaptation. Here, there is only one table, whereas Merchant Ivory used several round tables. In Merchant Ivorys adaptation, it was quite easy for George and Lucy to make eye contact, as they were sitting directly opposite each other. However, Andrew Davies has made the seating position in his adaptation, so as Lucy and George cannot make eye contact without glimpsing over the top of other peoples heads. Charlotte begins complaining about the room without a view and Mr Emerson then offers to swap rooms. Charlotte refuses, which then leads Mr Emerson to get George to persuade her. This is when Lucy and George first make eye contact, and they continue to do so, throughout the meal. Whilst sitting at the dining table, Mr Beebe enters the film much earlier than in the Merchant Ivory production and in the book. This guarantees a bums on seats effect, which makes sure that the audience will not lose interest in the film. This bums on seats effect also happens in Merchant Ivorys version, except with the famous Judi Dench, who plays Miss Eleanor McLavish, author. The third establishing shot takes place after the meal in a room with several other hotel guests. Lucy makes a comment about most of the people being English. Charlotte replies by saying that they are there to look at Italy, not the Italians. This shows that Charlotte is quite insecure and she does not like moving forward; she is more a backward-looking character. George and Lucy also make eye contact several times again. In the Andrew Davies version, Charlotte tells Lucy to go and find Mr Beebe. Lucy makes her way over to find the cab driver, and yet again, she struggles with her Italian. She makes a hand gesture, which is in the shape of the cross. The second cab driver translates it as the good man, just as in the Merchant Ivory version. Lucy follows the cab driver, but she feels a bit insecure and asks him if hes going the right way. She continues to follow him, but then as he moves away the tree branch, she sees George standing there. Lucy begins to tell the cab driver that he misunderstood her, but he pushes her down the slope and she runs into Georges arms, and they kiss. The lighting effect is much brighter and the whole kiss is done in slow motion. Charlotte then appears, as she has been worried of Lucys whereabouts. She sees the two kissing, but she does not shout out Lucys name, like in the Merchant Ivory version. Both adaptations are different in the way certain scenes have been portrayed, but both show some sort of similarity to the original novel. Both Merchant Ivory and Andrew Davies portray certain things in different ways, but the main storyline has been kept the same.