This British silent film, with former Gaiety Girl Ruby Miller as Jo, is the first-ever adaptation of Little Women to the big screen. After all, you’re just skimming the surface with Katherine Hepburn and Winona Ryder. Winona Ryder imbues Jo with refreshing naturalness, as if her Jo could be at home in 1994 as much as she is in the 1860s. However! In addition to at least 12 adaptations made for television, Little Women has inspired a 1918 silent film, the 1933 adaptation starring Katharine Hepburn, the … Since its publication in 1868, Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women has been adapted countless times.Yet the latest film adaptation of Little Women, written and directed by Greta Gerwig, stands apart from the multiple movies, mini-series, and plays that came before it.More than a faithful retelling of Alcott’s novel, Gerwig’s soaring, Oscar-nominated movie is faithful to … Yet the production was considered a dud, compressing the story to one hour, and—strangely—omitting Beth’s death. The world is about to be hit with two adaptations of Little Women in one year, just in time for the book’s 150th anniversary, and I am not mentally prepared for it. Walk back through time and find out about the droves of adaptations that have come before. Greta Gerwig) and 1994 (dir. The costumes are ridiculous, the ’70s hair is outrageous, every single character is miscast (Professor Bhaer is played by, of all people, William Shatner), and the script is nightmarishly bad. Little Women is an adaptation of the 1868 novel of the same name by Louisa May Alcott. Margaret O’Brien, who began her career as a child actor and was known as the best crier on the MGM lot—a skill she put to work starring alongside Judy Garland in Meet Me in St. Louis—was Beth March; and Elizabeth Taylor, between her breakout performance in National Velvet and her first mature role in A Place in the Sun, sported a blonde wig as Amy March in her final adolescent role. • Like a Who’s Who of ’90s young actresses, the role of (young) Amy was auditioned for by Natalie Portman, Christina Ricci, and Thora Birch. Alcott wrote the book over several months at the request of her publisher. Vital, romantic, and brilliantly modern, Gerwig's film brings Louisa May Alcott into the 21st century, which is clearly where she belonged all along. • To create one of Jo’s dresses, Katherine Hepburn had the costume designer copy a dress worn by her grandmother in a tintype photo. • In a perfect instance of Hollywood meets Little Women, Jo is played by Maya Hawke, whose father, Ethan Hawke, starred with Winona Ryder, Jo March in the 1994 feature film, in the 1994 Gen X comedy-drama Reality Bites…that’s Winona Ryder, who is a part of the iconic ensemble of Stranger Things—which Maya Hawke joined in its third season! Comforting British Dramas to Stream Right Now. SNAP/REX/Shutterstock, Credit: Please, let’s just move on to the next one and try our best to forget about this. Amid a collection of big old drafty New England houses, this Little Women really is a castle in the sky. Did You Know? Watch Maya Hawke as Jo, Jonah Hauer-King as Laurie, Katherine Newton as Amy, plus Emily Watson, Angela Lansbury, and Michael Gambon as seen on MASTERPIECE in Little Women on PBS Passport, an added member benefit. as Jo March. Directed by Clare Niederpruem and staring Sarah Davenport as Jo, Lucas Grabeel of High School Musical fame as Laurie, and Lea Thompson as Marmee, this modern retelling is the most unconventional adaptation on this list, but also one of the worst. It too is considered lost. Giving the beloved story three full episodes, MASTERPIECE’s 2018 Little Women transported viewers into Jo’s journey and the March family’s embrace with immediacy and a youthful, vibrant spirit. From the moment the novel was first published to now, the story of these four sisters has been treasured by the majority of people who encounter it. Gillian Armstrong), without comparing them to Louisa May Alcott’s novel, which I have not read. 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