The document provides summaries and comparisons of film adaptations of three novels: REC, Judge Dredd, and Lolita. For REC, it summarizes the plot of the original Spanish film and its sequels, and explains why it was popular and inspired an American remake. For Judge Dredd, it summarizes the original 1995 film starring Sylvester Stallone and the 2012 remake, noting improved technology and merchandise sales as reasons for the remake. For Lolita, it summarizes the plots and differences between the 1962 Stanley Kubrick film adaptation and the 1997 Adrian Lyne version, noting the latter was more faithful to the novel but less critically acclaimed.

1. REC
Why was the Spanish horror film REC, filmed in a documentary style on a shaky handheld camera,
so popular in the UK and America? It was that successful that it was even bought by a big film
company which then re made the films.
REC wasdirectedby Jamue Balagueroand Paco Plaza on a budget of 1,500,000 euros. At box offices
the film earned 32,492,948 euros. REC is about a young reporter and a camera man who follow the
nightshiftat the local fire station.A couple hours into the night the fire crew get a call about an old
ladywhois stuckin herapartment,whenthe fire fightersgettothe apartment the old lady starts to
act oddlythenshe attacks a police officer,whentheyreturnbackinthe lobbytheyfindthatthey are
trapped in the building, to make it worse their phones have been cut off so they don’t have a clue
what is going on. They soon realise this will be a night they won’t forget…
The hand heldcamerastyle films are very popular in the horror/thriller films. The reason for this is
because it gives more of a real effect when watching it through the eyes of what someone is
filming/seeing themselves. Also you see only what they see and it makes it more theatrical and
frightening as you don’t know what’s happening until the person behind the camera moves the
camera.REC wasalsowidespreadbecause the mainactress(ManuelaVelasco) wasawell-known TV
presenterinSpain,whenthe filmcame outpeople were confusedastowhyshe was in the film so it
made them want to watch it therefore making the film more popular . REC was so popular that
ScreenGems(A large American subsidiary) bought the rights to remake the film. When a company
buys another company it is called a vertical integration. Screen Gems wanted to bring out there
remake of REC (Quarantine) quickly because the film it was based on was a very popular film. They
also bought the rights to REC so they would also profit from the sales.
When Quarantine was released in the Cinema, REC was re-released on DVD, this promoted
Quarantine. Thisthenmade people go and buy the REC film before they went to see Quarantine in
the cinema. REC was made into a sequel, REC 2 premiered in September 2009 at the Venice Film
Festival. The sequel deals with the events immediately following the end of the first film REC.
REC 3: Genesis is the third film of the REC series. It was realised in theatres in Spain in March 30th,
2012. Genesis is set at the same time as REC but takes place miles away at a wedding in broad
daylight. The infection has left the building. In a clever twist that draws the plots of the first two
movies together.
REC 4: Apocalypse is scheduled to be released in 2013.

2. Judge Dredd
Judge dredd, directed by Danny Cannon in 199, starring Sylvester stallone was remade in 2012 and
called ‘dredd’ directed by pete travis. The production company for judge dredd was Hollywood
pictures. They had a budget of 70 million dollars for the film and the box office takings were
113,493,481 dollars. For dredd, the production companies were DNA films and IMGlobal.
The main production factor that most likely encourages a remake of judge dredd was the new
advanced technology that was available to use. Fans of the comic enjoy the modern Dredd more
because it’s more like him. In the original movie, judge dredd takes off his mask to reveal his face
whereas in the comics e doesn’t and in the new movie he doesn’t. It’s also seen as more like him
because of the slow motion effects and other visual effects used throughout the film, such as cgi.
The actor that played dredd (karl urban) has a similar attitude to Sylvester stallone in judge dredd
which could be part of the reason he was cast for that part, as he gave off the tough, superior
impression which stallone gave back in 1995.
Synergyisalsoa contributionasto whythere wasa remake of judge dredd.Because the mechandise
is all new, people will be more interested in buying what is available. The new Dredd might also
encourage people tobuythe original versiontocompare itif they haven’t seen it before. There will
be merchandise such as t-shirts, cups, badges, and the film being put on to blu-ray, therefore
buildingarelationshipsbetweenthe filmcompanies and other types of industries that produce the
merchandise.
War of the Worlds H.G Well’s classic novel War of the Worlds was brought to life in 1953 by Bryon
Haskin. War of the Worlds is story told on the radio about the invasion of Earth by Martians. The
storyline forthe 1953 War of the Worldsisabout a strange fireball fliesacrossthe skyand lands in a
gully in San Gabriel mountains. Fireman quickly put out the fire but authorities are puzzled by the
longcylinderthatfell tothe earthand staredthe fire. Three men are left in the surroundings of the
unusual object,afterawhile the cylinder unscrews and a long neck probe rises out. The three men
decide toapproachthe unusual objectbydeclaringtheirfriendlyintentions,the alienfiresabeam at
them that incinerates the three men and starts another fire. More cylinders fall from the sky and
starts killing more and more people.
The aliensthenstartdroppingto the grounddead puzzling the people. The political subtext for the
original warof the worldswasAmericadidn’tlike the communist’s, so this made America scared of
Russiacause there countywas communistwhere everyone was the same. In 2005 Steven Spielberg
remade the 1953 version of War of the Worlds. The budget for this films was $132,000,000 and the
Box office takings were $588,929,061. Steven Spielberg remade war of the worlds to make a
statementabout the terrorist who attacked America’s world trade centre, and how vulnerable the
Americans felt after what had happened. He said if 9/11 didn’t happen he probably wouldn’t of
remade the film. In this version of War of the Worlds it follows Ray a divorced dad and his two
childrentryingtosurvive the alienattackonearth.A violentstormhitsthe town,lighting strikes the
same area a lot of timesbefore the stormgoesaway.Raygoesto findhisson whenhe noticesall the

3. cars in his town has stopped working. He goes to the street where the lighting hit and a huge
machine on three legs comes out the ground and makes a loud fog horn noise which scares the
crowd of people whohave gathered around to see what’s happening. It starts to incinerate dozens
of people with blasts of heat beams the people it hits are turned instantly into ash leaving their
clothes to slowly float to the floor.
Nearthe end of the filmray noticesthat birds are surrounding an alien which he makes him realize
somethingisn’tright.He tellsthe armyandtheyshootitdown,theythen discover this is happening
to all the aliens.Yousee some reference in this film from the 9/11 like the ash covering everything
and ray, this is based on when the twin towers came down it covered everything in this thick ash.
The narrator says‘Noone wouldhave believed in the early years of the 21st century that our world
was being watched by intelligences greater than our own’ This can refer to the terrorists watching
the people of New York and blending in with them before then planning there attack.
LOLITA
Lolitaisknownthroughoutthe Westernworldasbeinga tale of nefariousactivities and depravities.
In the filmsLolita,directed by Stanley Kubrick in 1962, and the second film directed by Adrian Lyne
in1997, Nabokov’snymphetisintroducedasbeinga highlyflirtatiousgirl whohasjustdeveloped an
interest in boys, as well as her stepfather Humbert Humbert. Humbert reciprocates the sexual
tensionfeltbyLolita,forhe spends the majority of the beginning of the film discussing his passion
and interest. While both films feature similar incidents, both films are entirely their own.

4. The 1962 Lolita wasa productof itstime,unfortunately,meaningitwasheavilyheldbackby
censors. Needlesstosay,Kubrickisnoprude (one onlyhasto watch EyesWide Shut) to know that,
but hisversionof Lolitawasverytame,withalmostnone of the sexual innuendoslittered
throughoutthe novel — infact,there was verylittle physical contactbetweenLolitaandHumbert,
the scenesoftenfadingtoblackbefore anythinghappens.
Kubrickin fact said that if he could havedoneit again he would haveemphasised theerotic aspectof
the novelwith the sameweightNabokov did,and thatif he knew censorswere going to be so tight
he mightnothavemadethe film at all.
I likedthe 1962 filma lot. I wouldn’tsayit’sone of Kubrick’sbesteffortsbutconsideringwhathe
had to workwithI thinkitwas a splendideffort. The filmmanagedtocapture boththe torturedsoul
of Humbertandhiscunning. Obviously,itwasimpossible toreplicatenuancesof the book,but
Kubrickcame closerthan I couldhave imagined.
I don’tknowif thisis a complaint,butQuiltywasgivenamuchbiggerrole inthe filmthanthe novel,
whichthrewme off a bit. He didn’treallyfeel like a characterthat deservedmore screentime inthe
book,butI guessbecause SellersplayedhimKubrickdecidedtogive himfree reigntodohis
impersonations.
The other thingwasSue Lyon’sLolita. It was a goodperformance butshe lookedtoooldtobe the
target of a paedophile. Ithoughtshe couldhave easilypassedfor18, whichkindof defeatsthe
purpose of the whole thing.
1997 Film
The 1997 versionof Lolita,made byAdrianLyne,isapparentlymore accurate tothe book writtenby
VladimirNabokov, butnotas goodas Kubrick'sversion.Ittellsthe storyof a lonelyteacherwitha
secretdesire foryoungwomenwhomarrieshislandladyinordertohave herdevilishlittle daughter.
Afterthe womandiesina car accident,Humberttakesthe little girl awayfromcamp,toa little
journeyacrosscountryand thento school,startinga forbiddenaffairthatdriveshimmadbythe
end.
JeremyIronsplaysprofessorHumbertwithpassion,makinghisotherwise despicable character,a
man witha conscience andneedsthatgobeyondhispower.Althoughyoudisagree of whathe is
doingto the little girl,youcannotdenythe factthe man is sickand that he isnot doingitwithan
ulteriormotive orbecause atwistedfantasy.The tragicdeathof hisfirstlove at 14 stoppedtime for
himfroma sexual pointof viewandso,he isonlyattractedto 14 year-olds.YoumightsayI am
defendinghimortryingto justifyhisactions,butIdon't thinkIam- I'm justtellingyouwhatI
observedandunderstoodfromthe film.Yes,whathe didwasunforgettable,buthe didfor
love....andhe neverwantedtoharmher.Hisnaivetyandblindpassionforthe girl made himgo to
extreme waysinordertoprotecther and,probably,hismostsurprisingactwas the vengeance he

5. preparedforClare Quilty,the manwhowas responsible forthe rupture betweenhimandDolores.I
couldgo on and onabout hischaracter and whatdrove him, butI thinkI mightbe doingintoa
controversial territory,solet'sgoback to Lo.
Oh,Lolita.The young womanknewexactlywhatshe wasdoingandalthoughshe playedthe actvery
well,youcouldsee howeasilyshe understoodHumbert'sattractiontoherand how she decidedto
act in herfavour.Despite the factthat she wasyoungand you couldsay she wasn't mature enough
to realize the consequencesof heractions,Ithinkshe knew andacceptedthe situationinorderto
survive.Here iswhatI don'tget: whydidshe put upwithit?Why didshe last that longandthengo
withQuilty,whowasevenworse thanHumbert?Andthe mostimportantquestion:how didshe
reallyfeel aboutherfather- well,stepfather?Atthe end,whenhe visitsLoinher new house,they
talkabout the past,but I still can'ttell how she reallyfeltaboutit- she seemedtohave leftitall
behindher,but...Idon'tknow,Istill don'tgetit. Dominique SwainwassensationalasLolita- she was
verybeautiful andshe perfectlyportrayedthe partof a seductive,sensual littlegirl,withapparently
no knowledgeof herpoweroverHumbert.
These ideasare all workedintothisfilmnicely,butdone inaway that isnot heavy-handedatall,but
insteadlyrical andemotionallydevastating.The focusof thisfilm, andthe reasonformakingit,it
seems,wastoreallypenetrate the emotional depthsof the novel andbringthemtolife onthe
screeninbeautifullydramaticimages,andsceneswhichare blatantlyover-stylized.The tone of the
bookis a comical one,butit's alsoa tragic one,and Humbert,tellingthe storyfromhisperspective,
blowseverysinglethingoutof perspective.Humbertexistsinafantsyworldof hisobsessionsand
desires,andthisreflectsthe waythe entire filmhasbeendesigned.We getasense thatperhapsit's
by doingthisthatHumberthas reallytrappedhimself intoafate thatwill ultimatelyleave him
haggard anddestroyed.He weepsuncontrollablyandneverletshimself getoverhisoriginal14-year-
oldlove,andallowshimself toembodyherasLolita.He letshisfeelingsforhernavigate all his
decisions, andbythe end,he hasnothingbutoverly-dramaticfeelingsforher.
I couldgo aroundthe bushforeverwiththisstoryandthe two maincharacters- theirrelationshipis
complicated,butIthinkinorderto understandit,youfirstneedtoanalyze andfigure outeach one
individually- theirhumannature,theirmotivationandtheirneeds. Fromafilm-makingpointof view,
I couldsay the filmwasgood.The cinematographywasbeautifulandIlikedthe randomclose-ups
and weirdcameramovementthatwasused toexpressHumbert'spanicordespair,plusthe score
was remarkablypleasantandappropriate tothe story.
Overall,Ifoundthe 1997 movie Lolitagripping,Iwatchedthismovie before the firstLolitaand
before Ireadthe novel.Soasyou can see,Lolitainspiredme andmade me eagertofindoutmore,it
isdefinitelyafavourite.