The soul of the moving picture (1924)

Film Adaptation 145 All that can come to light in the film, and particularly in film adaptations, is the sensual soul of an action. From this it is evident that when a bit of literature is adapted to the screen, the adapter is obliged to set up a quite different objective from that which the original poet had in mind. Attempts have been made to refute the necessity of this change of purpose. The desire so to adapt a great piece of literature to the screen that it will be in every way worthy of the original poet in that it is a faithful reflection of his aims, is in itself altogether praiseworthy. But no poet has thus far ever had his renown increased by such an effort. All that was the most tender of beauty in the poem as it originally stood became a soft sweet pap and nothing more when transferred to the literal words of the film text. Attempts of this kind have not only been unsuccessful with regard to the poet that was to be honored; the truth is, no good motion picture has ever been made in such a way and with such an aim in view. The result has invariably been a surrogate that afforded nothing more than a glassy tedium. The problem of film adaptation cannot be solved by reverence alone. For the spiritual soul mocks the coercive oppression that goes with ges