This paper proposes an application of some particular theories, known as the 'polysystem' theories of translation, to the study of film adaptation. A preliminary and experimental analysis of a series of film adaptations made in the American film noir of the 1940s and 1950s shows that this approach provides the basis for a systematic and coherent method with theoretical foundations, and that it permits the study of aspects of film adaptation which have been neglected or ignored so far.
Article outline
1.Introductory Note
2.The Method and Some Results
a.Selection Policy
b.Adaptation Policy
c.The Functioning of Adaptations
d.The Relations between Functions and Policies
3.Evaluation
4.New Perspectives for Film (Adaptation) Studies
4.Film Adaptation and Other Types of Text Processing
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