Bras instead of 12 chairs and zombies in melodrama: the most unusual film adaptations of the classics

10. Seven black bras

Sju svarta be-hå

• Sweden, 1954.
• Comedy.
• Duration: 90 minutes.
• IMDb: 5.4.

It's hard to guess from the title, but this Swedish comedy is an adaptation of the novel by Ilf and Petrov "12 Chairs". Although, in fact, only the basis of the plot remains here from the original. The film tells about a swindler and gigolo Jens Nielsen. While in prison, he learns from a cellmate that he hid the gem in one of seven black bras. Released, the hero immediately sets off in search of the cherished wardrobe detail. But he has competitors.

Not all fans of the book "12 chairs" know that it was transferred to screens about 20 times in completely different countries, from Cuba to Italy. In the Brazilian version, Bender was exchanged for a variety show dancer, and in the Iranian version, the jewelry was sewn into the seat of a car. Still, the Swedish version with underwear is still the most unusual.

9. Pride and prejudice and zombies

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies

• USA, UK, 2015.
• Horror, action, melodrama.
• Duration: 108 minutes.
• IMDb: 5.8.

Formally, the tape is based on the book of the same name, which was written by Seth Graham-Smith. But even in the original novel, more than half of the text was taken from the famous work of Jane Austen "Pride and Prejudice", adding to the original plot the story of the war with the zombies. So the picture can be considered an adaptation of the classics.

In the film, Elizabeth Bennett and her sisters live in 19th century England and are looking for suitors. And at the same time they train to kill zombieas the world is at war with the undead. This does not stop Elizabeth from starting a complicated relationship with the haughty Mr. Darcy.

The strange film was a flop at the box office, and it was received coolly by critics. But still, fans of mash-up literature, in which they combine classics with experimental genres, are waiting for other film adaptations. For example, the books "Android Karenina" or "Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters."

Watch in iTunes →
Watch on Google Play →

8. Malisa in Wonderland

Malice in wonderland

• Great Britain, Spain, USA, Bahrain, 2009.
• Fantasy, detective, thriller, drama.
• Duration: 87 minutes.
• IMDb: 5.9.

Phantasmagoric plot "Alice in Wonderland"Lewis Carroll, which mixes a children's fairy tale, wordplay and complex jokes for adults, opens up a huge scope for the authors of the film adaptations. Therefore, the book was turned into films and series more than a dozen times. However, the most unusual version can be considered the 2009 version.

Malisa quarrels with her father and leaves for London, where she soon falls under the wheels of a taxi. From that moment, the girl loses her memory, and the driver of the car that hit her turns into a kind of White Rabbit, who plunges the heroine into a magical world. Instead of a caterpillar, there is a DJ from a poster, and an insane tea party takes place in an ordinary roadside cafe.

7. Coriolanus

Coriolanus

• UK, 2010.
• Thriller, drama.
• Duration: 123 minutes.
• IMDb: 6.1.

The classic works of William Shakespeare are regularly transferred to screens in the most unusual reinterpretations. So the famous actor Ralph Fiennes chose a famous play for his directorial debut, turning it into a frighteningly relevant thriller.

"Coriolanus" completely follows the plot of the original and even retained the original text: the film is dedicated to the commander Gaius Marcius, who is betrayed by Roman officials after the victory over the Volsci. The exiled hero unites with former opponents and attacks his hometown.

In Fiennes's version, the military is not only using modern weapons. The clothes of Roman soldiers are very reminiscent of NATO uniforms, and the action takes place in the surroundings of modern Yugoslavia.

6. She is a man

She's the Man

• USA, 2006.
• Comedy.
• Duration: 105 minutes.
• IMDb: 6.3.

The action of the play "Twelfth Night" by William Shakespeare was not only transferred to modern times. They also added teenage themes to it. football and first love. And it turned the classic into a purely youth comedy.

In the center of the plot is Viola, a high school student who plays excellent football and tries to get into the men's team. To overcome gender stereotypes, she has to pretend to be her own brother Sebastian. But soon the girl falls in love with one of the players.

Watch in iTunes →

5. Dangerous ties

Les liaisons dangereuses

• France, Italy, 1959.
• Drama, melodrama.
• Duration: 106 minutes.
• IMDb: 6.8.

The scandalous love story of Pierre Choderlos de Laclos filmed many times. Oddly enough, the most unusual was the very first film based on the book. If in the original the events take place among the aristocrats in the 18th century, then in the film version the director Roger Vadim transferred the action to modern times.

The main characters of the picture are the married couple Juliette and Valmont. They are prone to experimentation and often find themselves sexual adventures on the side, but they do not hide anything from each other. But one day the husband sincerely falls in love with a young girl.

Subsequently, other directors also transferred the plot of "Dangerous Liaisons" to other times. The most famous example is 1999's Cruel Intentions. But in most adaptations, the writers tried too hard to match the atmosphere of the original. Therefore, Vadim's version remains the most non-standard and interesting.

4. Without a single piece of evidence

Without a Clue

• Great Britain, 1988.
• Comedy, crime, detective.
• Duration: 107 minutes.
• IMDb: 7.0.

Sherlock Holmes from the works of Arthur Conan Doyle is among the record holders for the number of screen appearances. There are dozens of well-known and not so famous paintings in which the stories about the great detective were changed beyond recognition. For example, in "Sherlock" from the BBC, the action was moved to the 21st century, in "Elementary" Dr. Watson was played by a woman.

But the most ironic deal with the images of the main characters in the comedy "Without a Single Evidence". In this version, all cases are investigated by the talented Dr. Watson. But the medical community does not approve of his hobbies. Therefore, the detective hires a dull-witted actor who is prone to drinking, gives him the pseudonym Sherlock Holmes and makes him pretend that he himself owns the method of deduction.

3. Down House

• Russia, 2001.
• Comedy.
• Duration: 80 minutes.
• IMDb: 7.2.

Screen adaptations of Russian classics, in particular the works of Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky, are regularly published in different countries. And most often, the authors of adaptations, out of respect for the original, try not to change the plot too much, or at least the atmosphere of the famous books. But to comedic this does not apply to the version of "The Idiot" by Roman Kachanov.

In this strange picture, Prince Myshkin is a former programmer who returns from a psychiatric clinic in Switzerland. On the way home, he meets Parfyon Rogozhin on the bus, and he tells a new acquaintance that he wants to marry Nastasya Filippovna because of the three carriages of stew. The prince immediately becomes fond of this girl in absentia.

Watch on Google Play →

2. Moron

Hakuchi

• Japan, 1951.
• Drama, melodrama.
• Duration: 166 minutes.
• IMDb: 7.2.

In addition to Down House, another adaptation of The Idiot should be added to the list. Less insane and phantasmagoric, but still experimental. The film was shot by the Japanese classic Akira Kurosawa, a great admirer of Dostoevsky's work.

The director partly linked the plot of the book with the biography of the writer himself. The main character of the film, Kinji Kameda, goes crazy after being falsely accused of war crimes and sent to be shot, but at the last moment he is pardoned. There was a very similar episode in Dostoevsky's life. Kameda goes on a steamer to Hokkaido and meets the millionaire Akama, who tells the hero about his love for a beautiful girl.

All the main plot twists from the book have been preserved in the film. But Kurosawa's action takes place in 1940s Japan, and the behavior of the characters is fully consistent with the local culture.

1. Richard III

Richard III

• UK, 1995.
• Drama.
• Duration: 110 minutes.
• IMDb: 7.4.

The script of the film, based on the play of the same name by William Shakespeare, was written by the actor Ian McKellen, who also personally played the main role. The author of the adaptation transferred the historical plot to the UK in the 1930s, adding dieselpunk elements to the surroundings.

Richard III is a clear analogue of the tyrants of the 20th century. As the king's youngest son, he takes the most brutal measures to gain power and take his brother's place.

In McKellen's costume, it is easy to see hints of Nazi uniforms, and the plot of the picture clearly intersects with political problems of Great Britain in the first half of the 20th century, when a totalitarian build. Which, of course, underlines the courage of the authors and the relevance of Shakespeare's themes.

Do you remember the strange film adaptations of the classics, in which the directors greatly changed the idea of ​​the writer?