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Transformative texts

English Literature Media Arts

What do The Lion King and The Bad Sleep Well have in common? They're based on Hamlet! Transformative texts recreate aspects of a story to reveal new contexts through adaptation and intertextuality.

Additional resources

Transforming Texts by Mel Dixon (external) NSW syllabus: suggested texts F-10 (external)

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1:30:04 | Published 4 years ago

Clueless

Alicia Silverstone stars as Cher, a 15 year old Beverly Hills babe whose main interest in life is helping others get cute clothes and cuter boyfriends. With a credit card in one hand and a mobile phone in the other, Cher embarks on hilarious makeover projects that keep Rodeo Drive in business.

Media arts

1:46:30 | Published 8 years ago

Emma

Emma Woodhouse is a congenial young lady who delights in meddling in other people's affairs. She is perpetually trying to unite men and women who are utterly wrong for each other. Despite her interest in romance, Emma is clueless about her own feelings, and her relationship with gentle Mr Knightly.

Media arts

1:33:31 | Published 4 years ago

10 Things I Hate About You

On his first day at a new school, a teenage boy instantly falls for the girl of his dreams. The only problem is that she is forbidden to date until her completely un-dateable older sister goes out too. This modern retelling of The Taming of the Shrew by William Shakespeare, stars Heath Ledger, Julia Stiles and Joseph Gordon-Levitt. The title is sometimes styled as Ten Things I Hate About You.

English

1:55:01 | Published 4 years ago

Romeo + Juliet

Baz Luhrmann directs a contemporary retelling of the William Shakespeare classic, Romeo and Juliet, casting Leonardo DiCaprio and Claire Danes in the lead roles.

Media arts

2:40:46 | Published 2 years ago

Romeo And Juliet

A violent street brawl between their rival families is the prelude to Romeo's first encounter with Juliet. Despite this, and the fact that Juliet has been promised to another man in marriage, they fall in love. But any plans for their future happiness are cruelly destroyed by renewed violence between the two families - and while the adults remain almost comically preoccupied with their own affairs, among their children a hidden tragedy begins to unfold. With its wonderful combination of lyricism, suspense and dramatic changes of mood, Shakespeare's heartbreaking tale is one of the greatest of all love stories.

English

1:47:00 | Published 3 years ago

Bride And Prejudice

A Bollywood update of Jane Austen's classic tale, where Mrs Bennet is eager to find suitable husbands for her five unmarried daughters. When the rich single gentlemen Mr Bingley and Mr Darcy come to live nearby, the Bennets have high hopes, though circumstance and boorish opinions threaten to get in the way of romance

Media arts

2:27:00 | Published 1 year ago

Apocalypse Now

During the Vietnam war, Captain Willard is sent on a dangerous mission into Cambodia to assassinate a renegade US colonel who has set himself up as a god among a local tribe.

Media arts

1:57:07 | Published 2 years ago

Pretty Woman

Richard Gere and Julia Roberts star as a down-on-her-luck working girl and a handsome corporate mogul in a rags-to-riches love story. A modern adaptation of George Bernard Shaw's 'Pygmalion' set in 1990s Los Angeles.

Media arts

1:12:06 | Published 3 years ago

Cinderella

Cinderella has faith her dreams of a better life will come true. With help from her loyal mice friends and a wave of her Fairy Godmother's wand, Cinderella's rags are magically turned into a glorious gown and off she goes to the Royal Ball to meet her Prince.

Media arts

1:46:50 | Published 2 years ago

Great Expectations

This film is about a young man's passage into manhood and of the three individuals who change the course of his life forever. Set in a small town in Florida, we follow the journey of the young and impoverished Finnigan Bell into adulthood. His adventure begins when he is forced to aid a dangerous convict in his escape from prison and is further complicated when he meets a rich and insane matron and falls in love with her niece, the icy beauty Estella. Finn's artistic talent and an unknown benefactor take him to New York, where it appears that all of his dreams are within his grasp, including a reunion with Estella. However, in this epic story of fate and desire, Finn becomes lost trying to realise his own great expectations.

English

2:36:03 | Published 3 years ago

Ran

Akira Kurosawa's final masterpiece Ran is a reimagining of Shakespeare's King Lear set in feudal Japan. This tells the story of Hidetora Ichimonji, an ageing warlord who after spending his life consolidating his empire, decides to abdicate and divide his kingdom amongst his three sons: Taro, Jiro and Saburo.

Media arts

1:42:48 | Published 3 years ago

O Brother, Where Art Thou?

The Coen boys, as brilliant as ever, take escapees George Clooney, Tim Blake Nelson and John Turturro with Holly Hunter and John Goodman on a soul-saving, banjo-strumming odyssey through depression-era Mississippi in this comedy about three escaped convicts.

Media arts

1:24:42 | Published 3 years ago

The Lion King

This film follows the epic adventures of a young lion cub named Simba as he struggles to accept the responsibilities of adulthood and his destined role as king of the jungle. As a carefree cub, he "just can't wait to be king", and spends his days frolicking with his pal, Nala. His father, King Mufasa, the revered ruler of Pride Rock and the lands that surround it, teaches him about the "circle of life" - the delicate balance of nature which bonds all animals together - and cautions him to prepare for the day when he will be called upon to lead.

English

2:30:39 | Published 1 year ago

The Bad Sleep Well

In this loose adaptation of Hamlet, illegitimate son Koichi Nishi (Toshiro Mifune) climbs to a high position within a Japanese corporation and marries the crippled daughter (Kyoko Kagawa) of company vice-president Iwabuchi (Masayuki Mori). At the reception, the wedding cake is a replica of their corporate headquarters, but an aspect of the design reminds the party of the hushed-up death of Nishi's father. It is then that Nishi unleashes his plan to avenge his father's death. In Japanese. Original title: Warui Yatsu Hodo Yoku Nemuru. In Japanese.

Media arts

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