From 1976 to the present day, there have been over 45 films adapted from the spine-tingling works of Stephen King. In Stephen King on the Big Screen, Mark Browning addresses the question of why some of the film adaptations of the world’s best-selling author are much more successful than others.
By focussing on the theoretical aspect of genre, Browning brings an original approach to familiar films and suggests new ways of viewing them. Although often associated with the macabre, King’s stories form the basis for dozens of narratives, which are clearly not horror from Stand By Me to Hearts in Atlantis. How are The Green Mile and The Shawshank Redemption successful as prison movies? How do Cujo and The Shining work as family dramas? Are Dreamcatcher and Christine merely updated 1950s B-movies? The book is the first written by a film specialist to consider every Stephen King film given a theatrical release, including work by Stanley Kubrick, David Cronenberg and George A. Romero and the first to consider in detail films like Creepshow, Sleepwalkers and 1408. The style, whilst critically rigorous, is designed to be accessible to discerning readers of King and fans of films based on his work.
Interview with Mark Browning: BBC Radio Kent.
Chapter titles
"Mind Over Matter: Telekinesis'
Mark Browning
'Tales from the Darkside: The Portmanteau film'
Mark Browning
'Sometimes Dead is Better: The Body Under the Sheet'
Mark Browning
'Boys to Men: Rites-of-Passage'
Mark Browning
'The Rise of the Machines: 1950s Science-Fiction B-Movie'
Mark Browning
'The Great Escape: Prison Drama'
Mark Browning
'Books of Blood: The Writer'
Mark Browning
'The Terror of Everyday Life and Final Girls'
Mark Browning
Reviews
'Stephen King was among the first generation of horror writers to be overtly influenced by cinematic horror as well as literary, so it’s hardly surprising that he is the most widely adapted horror novelist there is. These adaptations are, as Mark Browning observes in this excellent work, very hit-and-miss. It is a meticulously critical work; scholarly but not pretentious, giving both praise and scorn where it’s due, and acknowledging the greatnesses and flaws of the films as adaptations, suggesting some interesting viewing strategies along the way. An excellent study of why adaptations work/fail, and for any King fan it’s definitive.' – Andrew McQuade, Gorezone
'The book is refreshingly accessible; no attempt has been made to fit the films into an overarching theoretical paradigm, in the belief that readers would be more interested in approaching King work as “a rite-of-passage experience” that consistently challenges our expectations.' – Lawrence Raw
'Browning's examination of the film adaptations of Stephen King novels looks at them in terms of their success as films as well as in terms of how well they reflect what's in the books. This is a riveting, in-depth analysis of what makes King so popular both as an author and as a provider of substance for movies, and isn't always complimentary. He does agree that THE SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION and THE GREEN MILE are among the best, both, of course, directed by Frank Darabont, though he does, I feel, pick up rather too much on the music. This is essential reading for any King fan, and will, of course, need to be updated, as will the SMALL SCREEN title, as King is showing no signs of any let-up. We already have BAG OF BONES and THE STAND (new version to be directed by Ben Affleck), and the latest rumour mill insists that there will be a DARK TOWER set of movies in one form or another, with is fantastic news. I can't recommend these two excellent titles highly enough. Anyone who collects King's novels will want to add these to his or her collection.' – Booksmonthly.co.uk
'Browning is very conversant with film and its associated genres [...] Browning’s purpose is praiseworthy because it does fill in an obvious gap in the research done on King and his literary texts and their filmic adaptations [...] the author is able to make connections [...] with a variety of texts and films.' – Scope
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