Seventh Row

A place to think deeply about movies

Screen Adaptation Podcast

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Ep. 108: The Deep Blue Sea(s) Redux

This week we are re-releasing our The Deep Blue Sea podcast in celebration of Terence Davies’ new film, Benediction, and in memorial to Helen McRory, who passed away in April.

This episode discusses two versions of Terence Ratigan’s 1952 play, The Deep Blue Sea. Davies’ 2011 film version is a moving portrayal of memory and Carrie Cracknell’s National Theatre Live production from 2016 features strong characterization. We discuss adaptation choices, acting brilliance, how the two directors adapt the play to fit their interests, and more.

This episode is a Seventh Row members exclusive, as are all episodes older than six months. Click here to become a member.

Left: Tom Hiddleston and Rachel Weisz (2011); Right: Tom Burke and Helen McCrory (2016) in The Deep Blue Sea
Left: Tom Hiddleston and Rachel Weisz (2011); Right: Tom Burke and Helen McCrory (2016)

This episode features Editor-in-Chief Alex Heeney, Executive Editor Orla Smith, Associate Editor Brett Pardy, and special guest Andrew Kendall.

Want to listen to the episode?

Click here to become a Seventh Row member and get access to this episode, as well as all other podcast episodes older than six months.

The Deep Blue Sea (Terence Davies, 2011)

Terence Davies adapted Terence Ratigan’s 1952 play about the end of an affair between Hester (Rachel Weisz) and younger RAF pilot, Freddie (Tom Hiddleston). Simon Russell Beale also stars as Hester’s husband William. Davies brings his own interests in post-war memory and culture to create a distinctive take on the text.

The Davies film is streaming on Hoopla and Tubi in Canada and the US, Amazon Prime and Kanopy in the US, and on DVD and VOD

The Deep Blue Sea (Carrie Cracknell, National Theatre Live, 2016)

Britain’s National Theatre staged The Deep Blue Sea in 2016, starring Helen McCrory as Hester, Tom Burke as Freddie, Peter Sullivan as William, and Marion Bailey.

Show Notes

  • Sign up for our daily TIFF 21 newsletter (September 9-19). Discover the best new films to premiere at the festival, from buzzed-about titles like The Worst Person in the World and The Power of the Dog to under-the-radar gems nobody else is talking about.
  • Read Alex on how Davies’ adaptation is a memory film with an unreliable narrator.
  • The Deep Blue Sea was 13th on our best of the decade list. See the other choices here.
  • Read Alex on the Tom Hiddleston and the hollow charm thwarting the promise of a great actor.
  • Visit our Special Issue on a A Quiet Passion page for more on Terence Davies.
  • Read Alex’s interview with Lone Scherfig, which includes a discussion about Helen McRory in Their Finest.
  • Become a Film Adventurer Member to listen to more great episodes, like this Deep Blue Sea podcast, from our archive.

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Ep. 65: Comparing Rebecca adaptations

Why a new Rebecca adaptation now? We try to figure it out, comparing Ben Wheatley’s version to Daphne Du Maurier’s novel, Hitchcock’s classic film, and the 1997 miniseries. We discuss actor choices, character agency, and pandering to modern audiences.

This episode is a Seventh Row members exclusive, as are all episodes older than six months. Click here to become a member.

Left: Lily James and Kristin Scott Thomas in Rebecca (2020); Right: Joan Fontaine and Judith Anderson in Rebecca (1940)

This episode features Executive Editor Orla Smith, Editor at Large Mary Angela Rowe, and special guest Caitlin Merriman.

Want to listen to the episode?

Click here to become a Seventh Row member and get access to this episode, as well as all other podcast episodes older than six months.

Rebecca

In Rebecca, a young unnamed woman has a whirlwind romance with the wealthy Maxim de Winter, owner of famous estate Manderley. Manderley’s housekeeper Mrs. Danvers constantly compares the protagonist to Maxim’s deceased wife, Rebecca. Slowly it becomes clear to the protagonist that Rebecca’s death was more sinister than it first appeared…

The 1940 version, directed by Alfred Hitchcock, stars Joan Fontaine, Laurence Olivier as Maxim de Winter, and Judith Anderson as Mrs. Danvers. It is only available on DVD and Blu-ray.

The 1997 television miniseries, directed by Jim O’Brien, stars Emilia Fox, Charles Dance as Maxim de Winter, and Diana Rigg as Mrs. Danvers. It is streaming on Hoopla in Canada and the US

The 2020 version, directed by Ben Wheatley, stars Lily James, Armie Hammer as Maxim de Winter, and Kristin Scott Thomas as Mrs. Danvers. It is streaming on Netflix.

Show notes

  • Watch Joan Fontaine’s screen test and Vivien Leigh’s screen test
  • Listen to Caitlin’s other podcast appearances discussing adaptations: Secret Garden, Emma, and Little Women
  • Purchase your copy of our newest ebook to discover how modern master Kelly Reichardt operates, and to read a series of essays about each of Reichardt’s films, which examine her thoughtful, quiet portraits of everyday lives.
  • Purchase your Kelly Reichardt or Céline Sciamma mug
  • Check out our King-Lu Baking Co. T-shirt, currently on sale for $31.99

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Ep. 55: Comparing adaptations of The Secret Garden

The newest adaptation of Frances Hodgson Burnett’s novel The Secret Garden recently hit VOD. In this episode, we explore how Marc Munden’s new film takes a substantially different approach than Agnieszka Holland’s beautiful 1993 version. We consider why the adaptation choices matter and how these choices speak to a changing cinematic landscape.

This episode is a Seventh Row members exclusive, as are all episodes older than six months. Click here to become a member.

This episode features Editor-in-Chief Alex Heeney, Executive Editor Orla Smith, Associate Editor Brett Pardy, Editor at Large Mary Angela Rowe, and special guest Caitlin Merriman.

Want to listen to the episode?

Click here to become a Seventh Row member and get access to this episode, as well as all other podcast episodes older than six months.

The Secret Garden

Adapted from Frances Hodgson Burnett’s 1911 novel, The Secret Garden follows orphan Mary Lennox moving to an isolated manor on the Yorkshire Moors owned by her uncle Lord Craven. There she unravels the mysteries of the house, including her bedridden cousin Colin and a walled off garden. Her efforts rejuvenate both the garden and Craven family.

The 1993 film is directed by Agnieszka Holland, written by Caroline Thompson, and stars Kate Maberly, Heydon Prowse, Andrew Knott, Laura Crossley, John Lynch, and Maggie Smith.

The 2020 film is directed by Marc Munden, written by Jack Thorne, and stars Dixie Egerickx, Edan Hayhurst, Amir Wilson, Isis Davis, Colin Firth, and Julie Walters.

Show notes

  • Check out our resource page on Contemporary World Cinema for Young Adults
  • Listen to our episodes comparing adaptations of Emma and Little Women
  • Read the Los Angeles Times article by Emily Zemler we quote from in the episode
  • Read more about feminist gothic horror in our ebook, Beyond Empowertainment: Feminist Horror and the Struggle for Female Agency.
  • The intro and outro music is “Mary Downstairs” from Zbigniew Preisner’s score for The Secret Garden (1993)

Where to watch The Secret Garden

  • The 2020 film is available on VOD
  • The 1993 film is available on VOD and streaming on HBO Max in the US and Netflix in the UK

Roads to nowhere: Kelly Reichardt’s broken American dreams

  • Purchase your copy of our newest ebook to discover how modern master Kelly Reichardt operates, and to read a series of essays about each of Reichardt’s films, which examine her thoughtful, quiet portraits of everyday lives.
  • Read a free chapter from Roads To Nowhere, featuring an interview with Lily Gladstone
  • Purchase your Kelly Reichardt mug

Become a Kelly Reichardt expert

Roads to nowhere: Kelly Reichardt’s broken American dreams is an ebook that will take you on a journey through Reichardt’s filmography.

It’s also the only place you can find interviews with her and all her collaborators, which together reveal Reichardt’s filmmaking process like never before.

Find out more

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Ep. 42: Normal People and On Chesil Beach

Recent hit Normal People and site favourite On Chesil Beach both feature couples failing to communicate. We analyze the characters, the story’s approaches to class, and break down the directing choices in key scenes.

This episode is a Seventh Row members exclusive, as are all episodes older than six months. Click here to become a member.

This episode features Editor-in-Chief Alex Heeney, Executive Editor Orla Smith, and special guest Fiona Underhill (@FionaUnderhill).

Want to listen to the episode?

Click here to become a Seventh Row member and get access to this episode, as well as all other podcast episodes older than six months.

iTunes,

TuneIn,

Google Podcasts, or

Spotify.

On Chesil Beach (Dominic Cooke, 2017)

Set in the 1960s in a seaside hotel, On Chesil Beach follows Florence (Saoirse Ronan) and Edward (Billy Howle) on their wedding night as they confront the awkwardness of their sexual inexperience — and worse, their inability to talk about it. As they fumble through dinner, sex, and a brutal conversation about what’s happened, we get flashbacks to the early stages of their romance: their meet cute, their growing affection and intimacy, and their complicated relationships with their parents. In the process, we see how deeply they care for each other, which makes their inability to communicate physically and sexually even more heartbreaking.

Normal People (Lenny Abrahamson and Hettie Macdonald, 2020)

Normal People, based on the book of the same name, is a 12-part miniseries about young love. In the last few months of high school, the wealthy Marianne (Daisy Edgar-Jones) and working-class Connell (Paul Mescal), begin a secret sexual relationship — developing feelings they aren’t capable of acknowledging to themselves or each other. The series then follows them over the next four years, as they go to college together in Dublin, and have an on-again-off-again friendship and romantic relationship. The first six episodes are directed by Lenny Abrahamson and the final six by Hettie Macdonald. The book was adapted for the screen by Alice Birch, Sally Rooney, and Mark O’Rowe

Where to watch the films and TV

  • On Chesil Beach is available on VOD and streaming on Netflix in Canada and the UK, Prime and Kanopy in the US, and Stan and Kanopy in Australia
  • Normal People is available on BBC in the UK, Hulu in the US, and Stan in Australia

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Ep. 33: Comparing Emma adaptations

In this episode, we compare and contrast three adaptations of Emma: The 2020 Autumn de Wilde film, the 2009 BBC mini-series directed by Jim O’Hanlon, and the 1996 Douglas McGrath film. We discuss the films’ differing approaches to characters, comedy, and class and try to figure out why make another Emma adaptation now? Resident Jane Austen expert Caitlin Merriman joins Executive Editor Orla Smith and episode host Editor-in-Chief Alex Heeney.

Listen to the episode in your podcatcher
[Read more…] about Ep. 33: Comparing Emma adaptations

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Ep. 27: Comparing Little Women adaptations

In this episode, we compare and contrast two film adaptations of Little Women: Gillian Armstrong’s 1994 film and Greta Gerwig’s 2019 one.

This episode is a Seventh Row members exclusive, as are all episodes older than six months. Click here to become a member.

We discuss the films’ differing approaches to each of the March sisters, their paramours, and the family; the pros and cons of Gerwig’s structural changes; and how each film is a product of its era. Special guests Brenna Clarke Gray (co-host of Hazel & Katniss & Harry & Starr) and Caitlin Merriman join Executive Editor Orla Smith and episode host Editor-in-Chief Alex Heeney.

Listen to the episode on your favourite podcast app here.

Want to listen to the episode?

Click here to become a Seventh Row member and get access to this episode, as well as all other podcast episodes older than six months.

iTunes,

TuneIn,

Google Podcasts, or

Spotify.

Based on the 19th-century book by Louisa May Alcott, which is set during and in the aftermath of the American Civil War, both Little Women films are the story of the four sisters of the March family: Meg (Trini Alvarado and Emma Watson), the eldest sister who dreams of marrying for love; Jo (Winona Ryder and Saoirse Ronan), who dreams of being a writer and a boy; Beth (Claire Danes and Eliza Scanlan), a quietly empathetic soul who gets sick early on; and the youngest, Amy (Kirsten Dunst/Samantha Mathis and Florence Pugh), as stubborn as Jo but intent on marrying well. Armstrong’s film is a coming-of-age story; Gerwig’s film, which starts when the girls are adults and flashes back to their childhood, is more interested in the aftermath of the choices they make about their paths in life.

  • Join Seventh Row’s Book Club to receive four Seventh Row ebooks delivered to your inbox every year + our most recent book
  • Read Sarah Blackwood & Sarah Mesle’s “No One Likes Meg” essay on Avidly.
  • Listen to Brenna Clarke Gray and Joe Lipsett’s Hazel & Katniss & Harry & Starr episode on Little Women
  • Read resident Timothée Chalamet scholar Orla Smith’s essay on Chalamet’s coming-of-age performances
  • Read Sarah Blackwood and Sarah Mesle on why “No One Likes Meg” and read Sarah Blackwood on “The Marmee Problem”
  • Like period pieces about women artists? Order our ebook on Céline Sciamma, featuring Portrait of a Lady on Fire

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