It wasn't like that in the book

The idea for this paper grew out of a discussion with a colleague in a Victorian university English Department on the 1993 film version of 'The Age of Innocence'. This colleague had enjoyed the film, had found it attractive, but added 'Of course it's not nearly as complex or subtle as the book'. I'd thought the film was a masterpiece and had actually - and, I felt, daringly - said so in print; I'd also admired the novel for many years, though perhaps not so extravagantly. I'm not setting my judgement up as being more accurate (whatever that may mean) than my colleague's, but the exchange led me to reflect, not just on the matter of adaptation from literature to film but also on the adequacy of a training in literature for dealing with film, and from the other corner, the adequacy of training in film for dealing with literature.