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Du roman epistolaire au film: Le transfert du role de la lettre dans les adaptations des "Liaisons Dangereuses"
Abstract
This dissertation compares Laclos' novel, Les liaisons dangereuses and three of its film adaptations: Les liaisons dangereuses 1960 (Vadim), Dangerous Liaisons (Frears) and Valmont (Forman), focusing on the role of the letter in the novel and its transposition into cinematic terms. Critics have generally insisted that Laclos' powerful use of the epistolary genre's many resources should discourage adaptors. This study argues that the films, by proving that both the storyline and the atmosphere of the novel can be conveyed effectively in a form other than the epistolary one, call into question the cogency of this assertion. This dissertation also examines the status of cinematic adaptation, stressing both its possibilities and its limitations. Each adaptor professes faithfulness, if not to the "letter" in Forman's case, at least to the "spirit" of the original. But each version is influenced by the time and place it was made as well as by the background of the filmmaker. Thus, rather than a faithful rendition of an existing text, each adaptation offers a different reading of a novel reshaped to fit in part the adaptor's perspective. The first part of the study explores the cinematic adaptation process and the interrelations existing between film and literature before investigating the specific problems or opportunities given to the adaptor by the epistolary genre. The second part defines the various uses of the letter in Laclos' novel. Not only does the letter play an important role as agent of the plot, but, through the fragmentation and the multiple subjectivity of the narration and description, Laclos achieves particular effects, for example those associated with voyeurism, suspense or irony. This study establishes to what extent each of these effects is transferable and transferred to the screen through the use of cinematic devices such as editing, lighting, soundtrack, frame composition, depth of field, camera angles or camera moves. Each filmmaker's choice is highlighted by a thorough comparison of the three films.
Subject Area
Romance literature|Motion Pictures
Recommended Citation
Humbert, Brigitte E, "Du roman epistolaire au film: Le transfert du role de la lettre dans les adaptations des "Liaisons Dangereuses"" (1995). ETD collection for University of Nebraska-Lincoln. AAI9538633.
https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/dissertations/AAI9538633