But
The Order of the Phoenix was not really an adaptation, just a condensation, of the book, if I am remembering the book correctly. An adaptation, in my mind, makes deliberate changes to the story so that it is a theatrical production, with character arcs, denouments, linearity, and brevity, and such, and no longer a literary piece. In general, a movie banks on the proverb "a picture is worth a thousand words" by cutting out thousands of words and hoping you don't notice the loss. There are, of course, exceptions to the rule, like
My Dinner with Andre.
So condensation might eliminate characters (like the female house elf - can't recall her name - from the previous HP movie) or eliminate subplots and chunks of story (like
Jurassic Park, Pride and Prejudice, Gone with the Wind, and
Red October) or update the era slightly (the most recent
Casino Royale) or use voice over to summarize material, whereas an adaptation might put the story in a different culture (like
Bride and Prejudice), or merge two characters into one, or place the central story inside a dream (as Prim mentioned about
Oz) or make up new stuff, in an attempt to make a better movie (not that I in any way agree with elves at Helm's Deep
, but that's a different kettle of lutefisk), or completely change the story, like
Adaptation.
I'd be tempted add
West Side Story, a brilliant adaptation of Romeo and Juliet, but it is an adaptation of a play, not a book.
In the midst of winter, I found there was, within me, an invincible summer. ~ Albert Camus
I don't see it, but my standards have probably been sadly crumbled by the corruption inherent in being given money by a corporate media outlet in exchange for creating popular entertainment to lull the masses into mindless— <checks script> mindless slumber.
