Overview

The Shining. Carrie. Misery. These are just a few of the film adaptations that have been made from the terrifying and eerie work of novelist and short story writer Stephen King. It is nearly impossible to think of another author who has inspired so many, and such diverse filmmakers—yet there has never before been a work by a film specialist that focused solely on Stephen King. Mark Browning, in Stephen King on the Big Screen, takes a film-by-film approach to exploring why some adaptations of King’s work are more successful than others.             Browning discusses every single film adaptation given a global cinematic release—including films by such well-known directors as Stanley Kubrick, George A. Romero, and David Cronenberg. His is the first book to consider in detail Sleepwalkers, Dreamcatcher, and 1408 as well as the much-neglected portmanteau films and touchstones like The Shawshank Redemption and The Green Mile. In a highly readable and engaging style, Browning examines how different film directors have interpreted and translated the original literary texts into a new medium. Throughout, he reveals the elements of style and approach that have helped make King one of the world’s best-selling authors.             This entertaining and accessible guide to the complete corpus of Stephen King films is a must-have for fans of his fiction and of the many directors who have sought to capture his macabre stories and bizarre characters in cinematic form.

Full Product Details

9781841502458

Table of Contents

Reviews

'Stephen King was among the first generation of horror writers to be overtly influenced by cinematic horror as well as literary, so it's hardly surprising that he is the most widely adapted horror novelist there is. These adaptations are, as Mark Browning observes in this excellent work, very hit-and-miss. Indeed, a great plus of this book is its blatant non-fanboyism. It is a meticulously critical work; scholarly but not pretentious, giving both praise and scorn where it's due, and acknowledging the greatnesses and flaws of the films as adaptations, suggesting some interesting viewing strategies along the way. Films are divided into theme, e.g. prison movies, rite of passage, telekinesis etc., and analysed from various intelligent positions. An excellent study of why adaptations work/fail, and for any King fan it's definitive.' - Andrew McQuade, Gorezone 'Browning is very conversant with film and its associated genres [...] Browning's purpose is praiseworthy because it does fill in an obvious gap in the research done on King and his literary texts and their filmic adaptations [...] the author is able to make connections [...] with a variety of texts and films.' - Edmund P. Cueva, Scope: An Online Journal of Film and Television Studies

'Stephen King was among the first generation of horror writers to be overtly influenced by cinematic horror as well as literary, so it's hardly surprising that he is the most widely adapted horror novelist there is. These adaptations are, as Mark Browning observes in this excellent work, very hit-and-miss. Indeed, a great plus of this book is its blatant non-fanboyism. It is a meticulously critical work; scholarly but not pretentious, giving both praise and scorn where it's due, and acknowledging the greatnesses and flaws of the films as adaptations, suggesting some interesting viewing strategies along the way. Films are divided into theme, e.g. prison movies, rite of passage, telekinesis etc., and analysed from various intelligent positions. An excellent study of why adaptations work/fail, and for any King fan it's definitive.' - Andrew McQuade, Gorezone

Author Information

Mark Browning currently lives and works as a teacher and freelance writer in Germany. He was invited by Mr Cronenberg to contribute to an exhibition of his work at the Rome Film Festival in October 2008.

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