“EVERY
CONRAD STORY IS A MOVIE”
SELECTED FILM ADAPTATIONS FROM THE
WORKS OF JOSEPH CONRAD, 1929-1979
Since the first screen version of Victory in 1919, and continuing through the
latest version in 1999, every major
Joseph Conrad work has been filmed, resulting in more than eighty films or television
dramas in as many years.
This exhibit focuses on eight of those films from a half-century of cinema, from Rescue
in 1929 through
Apocalypse Now in 1979.
Although Orson Welles has stated that “every Conrad story is a movie,” anyone
familiar with Conrad will
understand the difficulties involved in adapting such outwardly simple, but internally
complex works. These
films may provide us with insight into Conrad’s works, such as bringing to the
forefront his vividly descriptive
language or elements of romantic comedy. However, these adaptations have been
largely produced to fulfill the
public’s need for moral closures and happy endings.
For some, these movies might lead them to the works upon which they are based.
However, for the vast
majority, such experiences represent one of the few, if not the only, exposure they will
have to Conrad. As
the various forms of electronic media become increasingly more important, not only for the
transmission but
for the creation of cultural values and literary expressions, they likewise become
increasingly more important
for us to collect, preserve and study. |
