From page to big screen

Who wrote this? 9 romantic films inspired by literary classics

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Many are quick to dismiss the Romantic film genre as superfluous, unrealistic, or shallow. There is a widespread belief that the scripts of romantic comedies are filled with cliches, and that they all follow the same formula, making them predictable and depth-lacking**.** On the other hand, romantic dramas don’t always receive better criticism. While this might be true for some movies, there are plenty of romantic films with good scripts. In fact, many beloved films from this genre are based on known literary works. Let’s go through some romantic films you might not know were based on a classic!

Clueless (1995): Emma by Jane Austen

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Let’s start with a bona fide classic of the '90s. Here, instead of Regency-era rich and spoiled Emma Woodhouse and her matchmaking meddlings, we have ‘90s fashionista Cher, also rich and spoiled, also meddling, but this time in high-school drama.

_Emma_’s country soirees might be changed for pastel colors and Beverly Hills, but Austen’s core idea remains: Well-intentioned good deeds might not always be what others need from us.

Easy A (2010): The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne

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In Easy A, the literary text works both as inspiration and as a plot device. With her "good reputation" in shambles due to a white lie and a series of out-of-control rumors, teenager Olive Penderghast decides to own up to her bad reputation and wear a red letter A on her chest, inspired by Hawthorne’s depiction of a single mother in a 17th-century Puritan community.

While _Easy A_’s story is more lighthearted than the one in The Scarlet Letter, both showcase the results of hypocrisy, rumors, and public shaming.

Ten Things I Hate About You (1999): The Taming of the Shrew by William Shakespeare

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Another cult classic from the ‘90s, this time reversioning a comedy by William Shakespeare. In The Taming of the Shrew, the suitors of Bianca, unable to marry until her ill-tempered sister Kate does, pay Petruccio to wed her.

The 90s version is set in high school, so there are no marriages in sight. Instead, the prize is being able to date Bianca and take her to prom, something Kate has no interest in doing herself.

She’s All That (1999): Pygmalion by Bernard Shaw

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While not everyone has read Shaw’s Pygmalion and its tale of turning a low-class florist into a high-class lady, everyone knows its most famous film adaptation, My Fair Lady (originally a musical). But did you know that the 90s also have their own version?

In this RomCom classic, popular boy Zach bets he can turn anyone into the school’s prom queen. His chosen target? Not-so-popular, artsy, low-profile Laney.

Cold Mountain (2003): The Odyssey by Homer

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This Civil War romantic drama is the film adaptation of a novel by Charles Frazier, but the plot is not necessarily original: a young man left the woman he loves behind when he went to war, and the journey back is treacherous, hard, and filled with danger. Rings any bells?

That’s right, Inman’s journey back to Ada is a retelling of Homer’s Odyssey, but using a real-life character. The protagonist, W. P. Inman, was Frazier’s great-granduncle.

Moulin Rouge! (2001): The Lady of the Camellias by Alexandre Dumas fils

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This musical romantic drama is known for its eclectic soundtrack, its cast, and its tragic history. Many people recognize the opera La Boheme as one of the inspirations behind Christian and Satine’s tragic history, and they are not wrong. However, director and writer Baz Luhrmann has also pointed to a French literary classic as a source.

The Lady of the Camellias (also known as Camille) is a novel by Alexandre Dumas fils (not the one who wrote about musketeers, but his son). It tells the story of the affair between Marguerite, a courtesan who suffers from tuberculosis, and young Armand. Like its film adaptation, Dumas' story is both romantic and tragic.

A Knight’s Tale (2001): The Knight’s Tale by Geoffrey Chaucer

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Some could say that A Knight’s Tale doesn’t really count as a romantic comedy, but the romantic element is important enough to make it part of this list. If you saw the film, you might remember William’s friend Geoffrey Chaucer, played by Paul Bettany. He was a real person and one of the most important writers of English literature.

A Knight’s Tale is a reinterpretation of Chaucer’s The Knight’s Tale, from the Canterbury Tales: it tells the story of two knights who duel for the hand of a woman. In the film’s end, everything comes full circle when Chaucer decides to write the story down.

John Tucker Must Die (2006): The Merry Wives of Windsor by William Shakespeare

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In the comedy by Shakespeare, we see John Falstaff (a drunkard, gambler, and a recurring character in various plays by the Bard) wooing several married women for financial gain, but the tables are turned on him when the women realize his plan and join forces to get revenge.

How does this translate to a 2000s teen comedy? Another John (now John Tucker), a popular high school athlete, is dating several girls at once. When the girls find out, they plan to make him fall in love with one of their friends, and then break his heart and publicly humiliate him.

Roxanne (1987): Cyrano de Bergerac by Edmond Rostand

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Cyrano de Bergerac has been the source of several romantic films, both tragic and comedic, with different takes on big-nosed Cyrano and his letters. In this ‘80s version, Cyrano is Charlie (also big-nosed and ashamed of it), in love with beautiful Roxanne.

Believing Roxanne is interested in Charlie’s coworker Chris, he starts coaching him on how to woo her and writes Roxanne letters under Chris’s name. Luckily for everyone involved, this version has a less tragic ending than the original play.

Look out!

10 warning signs and how to read them

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Warning signs are designed to communicate important information in the simplest and most universally understandable way possible. But, sometimes, what is obvious to one person may not be as clear to others. Read on and find out what these 10 warning signs mean and why knowing and understanding them is important.

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You see these everywhere, in public places. Safety instruction signs usually have the same basic design: green background with white text, or sometimes, no text at all.

These signs provide basic information rather than warnings. For example, a sign that tells people where to find and use basic first aid supplies.

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If these signs look especially serious is because the dangers described are equally serious, indicating life-threatening hazards. Anyone viewing these should take special precautions to avoid injury or even death.

Hazardous chemicals, high-voltage, falling objects, and other dangerous situations are warned in these signs, which are red, black, and white, easily recognizable as essential and immediate.

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Every sign on this list is a warning sign, but these are the only ones referred to as such, officially, at least. Warning signs are a step down from the strictness of danger signs.

Written in black text with an orange background, warning signs are used in situations where ignoring the sign's information could result in injury or death.

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Food handling in commercial environments has many regulations to ensure its safety. Danger signs throughout the food world, include high-temperature areas, slippery floors, "Wash Your Hands" signs, as well as safety signs reminding workers to sanitize areas, use different cutting boards, and cook food to the proper temperature.

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These signs are usually present on the side of roads or streets where construction work is being carried out. Safety zone signs are necessary to inform the public about safety risks resulting from construction, road repairs, and infrastructure projects.

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No matter where, fire can always be an unpredictable risk, and as such, fire safety signs are always printed in bright red colors, with white lettering, to ensure good visibility and a color that represents the nature of the hazard implied. Fire safety signs also highlight where fire extinguishers are located and where flammable liquids are stored.

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Many industries pose a risk to workers’ vision, and in such cases, their employees are required to use safety glasses. These mandatory signs are usually blue and square, with a clear picture of the eyeglasses.

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This one is one of the most commonly seen warning signs, and it can be used to communicate actions or activities that are strictly prohibited within a specified zone. These signs have black text on a white background and a red circle with a diagonal line through a symbol or image, indicating prohibition.

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Hazardous materials signs provide information about the presence of dangerous materials and the precautions that should be taken. They are usually diamond-shaped with a white background and red or yellow text or symbols, but can be found in many different shapes. These signs warn about the presence of flammable, radioactive, or corrosive materials, among others.

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Traffic management signs are usually present in warehouses as these communications inform of the presence of vehicles and people working closely together. Traffic management signs include indications of separate pedestrian and vehicle routes, speed limits, blind corners, forklifts in use, and crossings.