Screen adaptations of Pulitzer winning books
Recently, the winners for Pulitzer Prize 2020 were announced which included journalists and artistes from many nationalities. Pulitzer Prize was established in 1917, by provisions in the will of Joseph Pulitzer, an American newspaper publisher and is administered by Columbia University. The prizes are awarded yearly in twenty one categories which include journalism, books, drama and music that are further classified into different categories.
Many books that were awarded the Pulitzer Prize were made into blockbuster movies that won accolades and appreciation of the viewers. Since, the screening process of the prize is a rigorous and competitive one, only the best of the best work gets shortlisted. Subsequently, when these books are adapted into movies, it brings all the characters and situations live on the screen. Over the years, many Pulitzer Prize winning books have been transformed to the big screen. Here are 8 screen adaptations of Pulitzer Prize winning books.
'The Color Purple'
The movie is based on Alice Walker's 1982 Pulitzer-winning novel. The film stars Whoopi Goldberg, Oprah Winfrey, and Danny Glover in a story that highlights the struggles of Black Americans in early 20th century Georgia.
Pic credit: Phoenix
'To Kill A Mockingbird'
The movie is based on the 1960 novel which revolves around issues like rape and racial inequality. Atticus Finch, the central character is played by Gregory Peck who does the act to perfection. The movie won three Oscars in categories of Best Actor, Best Art Direction and Best Writing.
Pic credit: RHUK
‘The Hours’
It is an adaptation of the 1998 novel by Michael Cunningham. It stars Nicole Kidman, Meryl Streep, and Julianne Moore as three women of different times whose lives are all connected. Kidman plays Virginia Woolf, the author of 'Mrs. Dalloway', with Moore a 1950s wife affected by her words, while Streep is the living embodiment of Woolf's creation.
Pic credit: Fourth Estate
‘Beloved’
The movie is based on the 1987 novel by Tony Morrison and starred Oprah Winfrey, Danny Glover, and Thandie Newton. The novel is part historical fiction, part ghost story, and tells the tale of an escaped slave haunted by the reincarnation of a long-dead child.
Pic credit: RHUK
‘The Road’
Based on Cormac McCarthy's 2006 novel, the movie revolves around a father (played by Viggo Mortenson) trying to protect his son in a post-apocalyptic world where the Earth has been devastated by a near-extinction event and cannibals rule.
Pic credit: Picador
‘Gone With the Wind’
Based on 1937 Pulitzer-winning novel, the movie starred Clark Gable, Vivien Leigh, Leslie Howard and Olivia de Havilland. It's an American classic in which a manipulative woman and a deceitful man carry on a raging love affair in the American south during the Civil War and Reconstruction.
Pic credit: Macmillan
‘The Age of Innocence’
The movie is based on the 1920 novel by Edith Warton and starred Daniel Day-Lewis, Michelle Pfeiffer, and Winona Ryder. The story is set in 1870 New York during the city's "Gilded Age," when high-society and reputation were of great importance.
Pic credit: RHUS
'The Underground Railroad'
It is an upcoming American historical fiction drama web television limited series directed by Barry Jenkins. It tells the story of Cora and Caesar, two slaves in the southeastern United States during the 19th century, who make a bid for freedom from their Georgia plantations by following the Underground Railroad.
Pic credit: Fleet
'All The President's Men'
The movie is based on the 1974 non-fiction book of the same name by Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward, the two journalists who investigated the Watergate scandal, which brought down the presidency of Richard M. Nixon. The film stars Robert Redford and Dustin Hoffman as Woodward and Bernstein, respectively.
Pic credit: Simon and Schuster