Highest-Rated Movies about 'European Literature On Screen'

Whistle Down the Wind (1962), Eyes Without a Face - Les yeux sans visage (1959), Saturday Night and Sunday Morning (1960), Scent of a Woman (1975), The Wild Child (1970), Diary of a Chambermaid (1964), A Little Romance (1979), The Ruling Class (1972) ... Let's take a look at the ranked list of the best European Literature On Screen movies.

#1. Whistle Down the Wind (1962)

Storyline: Little Kathy (Hayley Mills) discovers a man wanted for murder hiding in her family's barn. When she asks him who he is, he says Jesus Christ just before he goes unconscious. Kathy and her siblings are convinced that he is Jesus, and try to hide him from grown-ups.—Nasser <NasKU@aol.com>

Plot Keywords: farm, directorial debut, fugitive, coming of age, based on novel, manipulative man, pretending to be someone else ...

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#3. Saturday Night and Sunday Morning (1960)

Storyline: Arthur, one of Britain's angry young men of the 1960s, is a hardworking factory worker who slaves all week at his mindless job for his modest wages. Come Saturday night, he's off to the pub for a loud and rowdy beer session. With him is Brenda, his girlfriend of the moment. Married to a fellow worker, she is nonetheless captivated by his rugged good looks and his devil-may-care attitude. Soon a new love interest Doreen enters and a week later, Brenda announces she's pregnant. She tells Arthur she needs money for an abortion, and Arthur promises to pay for it. By this time, his relationship with Doreen has ripened and Brenda, hearing of it, confronts him. He denies everything, but it's obvious that their affair is all but over.—alfiehitchie

Plot Keywords: factory worker, british new wave, based on novel, british, caught cheating, fair, playground ...

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#4. Scent of a Woman (1975)

Storyline: An army cadet accompanies an irascible, blind captain on a week-long trip from Turin to Naples. The captain, Fausto, who wants no pity, brooks no disagreement, and charges into every situation, nicknames the youth Ciccio ("Babyfat"), and spends the next few days ordering him about and generally behaving badly in public. In Rome, Fausto summons a priest to ask for his blessing; in Naples, where Fausto joins a blind lieutenant for drinking and revelry, the two soldiers talk quietly and seriously about "going through with it." Also in Naples is Sara, in love with Fausto, but treated cruelly by him. What do the blind soldiers plan? Can Sara soften Fausto's hardened heart?—<jhailey@hotmail.com>

Plot Keywords: bitterness, blind man, female nudity, prostitute, practical joke, suicide pact, teenage crush ...

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#5. The Wild Child (1970)

Storyline: 1798. In a forest, some countrymen catch a wild child who can not walk, speak, read nor write. Doctor Itard is interested by the child, and starts to educate him. Everybody thinks he will fail, but with a lot of love and patience, he manages to obtain results and the child continues with normal development. This is based on true story.—Yepok

Plot Keywords: education, scientist, doctor, countryside, governess, tantrum, punishment ...

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#6. Diary of a Chambermaid (1964)

Storyline: Celestine, the chambermaid, has new job on the country. The Monteils, who she works for are a group of strange people. The wife is frigid, her husband is always hunting (both animals and women) and her father is a shoe-fetishist. Joseph, the farm-labourer is a fascist and sexually attracted to Celestine. Celestine settles herself and talks to the neighbour, an ex-officer, who likes damaging his neighbour's things. After the death of the old man, she quits her job, but because of the rape and murder of a child 'Little Claire' she decides to stay, believing that Joseph is the murderer. To get his confession she sleeps with him and promises to marry him. In spite of her engagement she fakes evidence to implicate him in the murder. He is arrested, but is released because the evidence is inconclusive. She marries the ex-officer and takes on a housewife role similar to that of Madame Monteil.—Stephan Eichenberg <eichenbe@fak-cbg.tu-muenchen.de>

Plot Keywords: murder, rape, pedophilia, child rape, class differences, infidelity, sexual harassment ...

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#7. A Little Romance (1979)

Storyline: A French boy (Daniel) and an American girl (Lauren), who go to school in Paris, meet and begin a little romance. They befriend Julius, who enchants them with his storytelling. In an attempt to ensure the teens' love forever, the three journey to Venice.—Felicia H. Berke <feberke@vassar.edu>

Plot Keywords: foreign language adaptation, paris france, first love, based on novel, movie set, movie theater, train station ...

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#8. The Ruling Class (1972)

Storyline: A member of the House of Lords dies in a shockingly silly way, leaving his estate to his son. Unfortunately, his son is insane: he thinks he is Jesus Christ. The other somewhat-more respectable members of their family plot to steal the estate from him. Murder and mayhem ensues.—Mark Logan <marklo@west.sun.com>

Plot Keywords: kiss, river, hanging, hallucination, orchestra, lobotomy, confetti ...

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#9. 36 Hours (1964)

Storyline: In this psychological war-drama an Army Major is captured by the Germans during World War II. They attempt to brainwash him into believing the war is over and that he is safe in an Allied hospital, so that he will divulge Allied invasion plans.—Patrick Dominick <p-dominick@adfa.oz.au>

Plot Keywords: world war two, brainwashing, year 1944, amnesia, d day, hospital, lie ...

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#11. Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow (1964)

Storyline: Three different stories of Italian social mores are presented. In "Adelina", unemployed Carmine Sbaratti and his wife Adelina Sbaratti survive through Adelina selling black market cigarettes on the street. They are unable to pay for the furniture they bought (which is under Adelina's name), but are able to avoid the bailiff when he comes for the money or to repossess. They come up with a longer term solution to avoid Adelina being prosecuted for non-payment, but that solution has a profound effect on the family, especially Carmine. In "Anna", Anna Molteni, the spoiled wife of a successful businessman, and an artist named Renzo are on the cusp of an affair. Anna is feeling neglected in the marriage, as her husband seems more concerned about success and money than her. But a car accident shows both Anna and Renzo if an affair with each other is really what they want. In "Mara", Mara is a prostitute who works out of her apartment. She befriends Umberto, a young man visiting his grandparents who live in the adjacent apartment, the balconies of the two apartments which are adjoined. Umberto, a seminary student, seems to be attracted to Mara as a woman without really knowing what she does. Umberto's grandmother, who knows what Mara does, believes Umberto's seeming romantic infatuation with Mara will be his downfall. As Mara and Umberto's grandmother ultimately join forces to get Umberto to do the right thing in life, Augusto Rusconi, one of Mara's regular clients who is in town from Bologna, does whatever he can to get Umberto's family issues out of the way so that he can get on with his own wants with Mara.—Huggo

Plot Keywords: woman undressing, episodic structure, rome italy, actor playing multiple roles, actress playing multiple roles, naples italy, husband wife relationship ...

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#12. One Deadly Summer (1983)

Storyline: Oozing sensuality, the seductively alluring, Eliane Wieck, arrives with her demure German mother and her disabled father in a rural southern French town, in a frilled dress and with a small suitcase in her hand. Pin-Pon, a car mechanic and volunteer firefighter, instantly falls for the charms of the mysterious newcomer--and before long--they get married. However, was it love at first sight for Eliane, too? What links her enigmatic presence to the family's old and dust-covered mechanical piano in the barn? It seems that the stage is set; but, what drives the cryptic young woman? Is it hungry curiosity or is it something far more sinister?—Nick Riganas

Plot Keywords: revenge, breast suckling, pregnant from rape, lesbian kiss, flashback, 1970s, small town ...

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#13. The Green Man (1957)

Storyline: Work has been going with a bang for freelance assassin Hawkins but a job in England is a different matter. His apparently easy target, a pompous government minister, is off for some hanky-panky at the Green Man on the south coast, where Hawkins is planning to retire him for good. But before he can get on with this the hit-man has a procession of unwanted visitors at home to dispose of - one way or another.—Jeremy Perkins {J-26}

Plot Keywords: based on play, fake identity, radio announcer, husband wife relationship, corpse, tape recorder, finding a dead body ...

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#14. Valerie and Her Week of Wonders (1970)

Storyline: A thief awakens Valerie, just 13, taking earrings left to her by her mother. By morning, the earrings have been returned, Valerie's first period has begun, and a troupe and a missionary have arrived in her 19th century town. The thief is Orick; he reports to a cloaked constable who may also be the missionary. Attention to sexuality is everywhere: Valerie's grandmother's puritanical nature, the missionary's sermon to the town's virgins, the parish priest's attempt to seduce Valerie, and lusty adults at play. Valerie's nascent sexuality puts her in great danger. Can she navigate the passage from innocence to experience, a route teaming with vampires, a murderer, and an obscure family tree?—<jhailey@hotmail.com>

Plot Keywords: innocence, grandmother granddaughter relationship, coming of age, incest, sex in public, female nudity, sexual awakening ...

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#15. It Always Rains on Sunday (1947)

Storyline: Slice of life drama following the lives of various people in London's East End on a wet Sunday. (Is this film why people think it always rains in England ?) Rose was engaged to local wild boy Tommy Swann but he got imprisoned on Dartmoor. After he was locked up she got married to sedate but dull George. Tommy's now broken out of jail and comes to see Rose to get help to flee the country.—Steve Crook <steve@brainstorm.co.uk>

Plot Keywords: london england, train, train station, suicide attempt, jewish family, working class, stepmother ...

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