Masterpiece Theater Little Women

Well, one of my all-time favorite stories has been adapted into yet another film version, so of course I had to tune in. I've known about the PBS mini-series for a little under a year now, and I've been eagerly anticipating it. Familiarity with all the versions of Little Women is something I take much pride in, and I love it when I find people I can discuss them with.

I don't think any version of Little Women will ever replace the 1994 film in my heart; that is the version that I saw in the theater after I read the book for the first time. But I can always appreciate other versions, both for their similarities, and also when they bring something new to the tradition.

The first thing I noticed about the PBS Masterpiece Theater rendition is the beautiful coloring and lighting. It looks like you are watching the movie through an Instagram filter:

It took a little getting used to, but I don't think of it as a negative quality; it's simply a representation of this film's generation. Obviously, the 1933 film was black and white:

The 1949 film was filmed in Technicolor,and the highly saturated colors were the standard of that era:

The 1994 film had a darker, more realistic tone to it, as if the viewers were utilizing candlelight and kerosene lamps to watch the story unfold:

The lighter and brighter colors of the PBS series give the story a picture book quality, almost like  a Kate Greenaway illustration that has come to life:

Perhaps this to entice younger viewers; as a librarian in a middle school, I have observed that many classic stories are going by the wayside, so any effort to reignite interest in them is fine with me.

Or, perhaps the creators are taking a cue from the Netflix series Anne with an E, which also has a very stylized look to it, using similar color choices:

Both of these adaptations take liberties with the original text in order to make the story more accessible to modern audiences and/or explain things that viewers not familiar with the original stories would not know, but I'll talk more about that in a future post.

I saw a trailer for the modernized adaptation of Little Women that stars Lea Thompson as Marmee. I have to say, that it doesn't look bad.

Although it is strange to see the March sisters wearing jeans and sneakers, it seems as though the writers really tried to preserve the big moments in the story, and all the complicated emotions that young women feel when they feel alone in the world, fall in love for the first time, lose a family member, etc.

I will definitely be watching that, and surely blogging about it, as well.