Turner Classics "Great Adaptations" Viewing Guide

We're a little late to this one (I don't have cable), but Turner Classics is featuring 24 hours of "Great Adaptations" all month long. There are still plenty of must-sees in the two weeks remaining. Our top picks:

Monday/Tuesday, 19th-20th

Doctor Zhivago (1965), 8 p.m. EST
This is the classic adaptation of Boris Pasternak's novel about a married physician and poet (played by a smoldering Omar Sharif) during the Bolshevik Revolution who falls in love with the wife (played by Julie Christie) of a political activist.

Anna Karenina (1948), 11:30 p.m. EST
This is the version of Tolstoy's novel with Vivien Leigh in the titular role. See Amy's overview of all the Anna Karenina adaptations here. 

The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1939), 1:30 a.m. EST
Charles Laughton stars in this adaptation of Victor Hugo's novel. According to IMDB: "At a cost of $1.8 million, this was one of the most expensive films ever made by RKO Pictures. The Notre Dame replica alone cost $250,000."

The Brothers Karamazov (1958), 11 a.m. EST
Yul Brenner is eldest brother Dmitri Karamazov in the adaptation of Dostoevsky's epic novel. It also marks the debut of living legend William Shatner.

Wednesday/Thursday, 21st-22nd

Yes, To Kill a Mockingbird, Gone with the Wind, and The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter are absolutely must-sees, but you already knew that! We're going to point out two other choices that I can't wait to watch with my little niece:

Anne of Green Gables (1934), 8:45 a.m. (22nd)
We must've read this book a gazillion times, and how often do we thank our lucky stars that we've found kindred spirits like adopted orphan Anne found Diana?

Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm (1938), 10:15 a.m.
I fell asleep with this book under my pillow when I was five. Shirley Temple is Rebecca in this ultra-sweet version of the book.

Monday/Tuesday, 26th-27th

Yes, you might want to watch all the forties-era adaptations of Pride and Prejudice, Jane Eyre, and Great Expectations, but we're going to recommend an '80s classic:

A Room with a View (1985), 2:00 a.m.
This Merchant Ivory production starring Julian Sands, Helena Bonham Carter, Maggie Smith, and Judi Dench is one of our most favorite adaptations ever. We watch it and read E.M. Forster's novel at least once a year.

You can see the full schedule here.