Top 5 Tuesday

I had the best intentions today, planning to use my time at home most productively, blogging, finishing ALL my laundry, reading for class. However, those plans were stymied by a lengthier-than-planned trip to Office Depot, a visit to the post office (that's just never quick, no matter what post office you're in across this vast country), and the need to purchase all of my proteins for the next week of cooking (obviously, I've been watching old episodes of Top Chef lately, otherwise I would have just said that I had to buy beef, turkey, and chicken).

Thus, this week's Top 5 will be brief-I was just now struck with the inspiration for it, as I've been reading Sense and Sensibility for the past few days. I'm always impressed when a film adaptation is an excellent representation of a book, not in small part because it's a rare occurrence. It's a real pleasure for an avid reader to be able to see a beloved novel come to life.

I won't say a lot about the details of my choices, mostly because it's 10:30 and I'm only a few minutes away from a warm and comfortable bed.



5. Anne of Green Gables (including the Sequel). The only reason that this particular movie is so low on my list is because of the MANY, excessive liberties taken with the plot in the sequel. I allow them, simply because my Anne, the one literary character to which I feel the most close, was so well cast and developed throughout the two miniseries. Gilbert Blythe was pretty perfect, too.



4. The Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring. An incredible, breathtaking production that re-introduced us to the mythical creatures of Middle Earth.



3. Gone with the Wind. Vivian Leigh and Clark Gable were pitch perfect as the dramatic, fiery lovers whose relationship sustains multiple marriages, financial loss, and a civil war only to fall apart over the tragic death of a child. Not that their relationship is even the most memorable aspect of the incredible epic. The grand Southern plantation parties, burning of Atlanta, sweet Melanie...all gold. Oscar gold.



2. Lonesome Dove. Yes, I'm perfectly aware that this was actually a television miniseries, but it's still one of the best movies ever made. It couldn't have been easy to adapt the Pulitzer Prize-winning tome, but the final result was stupendous. I still get choked up every time I hear Call say those words, "Hell of a vision." It's Tommy Lee Jones' best role. Seriously.




1. Sense and Sensibility. This is the only movie on the list that I actually saw BEFORE reading the book, a practice I usually abhor. It took reading the book for me to truly appreciate the film. Emma Thompson adapted the screenplay, and her love and respect for the novel is evident in every word on screen. Even after watching the movie hundreds of times, I'm still brought to tears in the final scenes. In a good way.