A Comprative Study on Adaptation from Medea by Euripides (Case study: Pier Paolo Passolini and Lars von Trier films on Medea)

Abstract
A large number of movies in the history of cinema are made based on dramatic texts of theater and
accordingly adaptation has developed along with original scripts. There are many movies based on famous
plays, during the history of the cinema. But due to the differences between these two mediums, a lot of
changes take place in the film adaptation. So as Andre Bazin says, can never guarantee that the original
play and its adaptation be the same, even if the author has adapted it. The important issue in adaptation
in classics is the transition of one dramatic system into another without losing its influence. How we can
display the verbal form of a play on the screen, through the aesthetic elements of cinema. Solving this
problem is possible only by keeping the dramatic power of a play in transition of theater medium into
cinema.The form of an adapted screenplay depends on screenwriter’s point of view, on one hand, and his
relation with the play, on the other hand. Sometimes he considers the whole play, sometimes he renders
the components of play and translates them into cinematic elements, and sometimes he just takes its idea.
The first form is called “film theater”, the second one called “translated plays”, and the third one is called
“adaptation from idea”. Depending on the selected play, which is classical or modern, we can choose
the type of adaptation. And base on one of these three types of adaptations, we can transform a classical
play into a modern film. The importance of the director’s point of view in the formation of adaptation
is undeniable. The method of this research is descriptive and comparative. So we compared dramatic
elements of Medea by Euripides with two adapted films by Lars von Trier and Pier Paolo Pasolini and we
tried to study their differences and similarities. In this paper, we wish to analyze the adaptation of Medea
and the position of the film director during this process. Because adaptation of a play is not possible, except
by changing the text and replacing it with something else, something like an image. The director’s general
approach affects adaptation process. Since, they have used the dramatic features of play to describe their
subjective for audiences, based on their personal aspect. None of the directors, neither Trier nor Pasolini,
tried to modernize the play. On the one hand, Lars von Trier in his adaptation emphasized on visual and
cinematic features. And on the other hand, Pier Paolo Pasolini has tried to depict its mythical background
of Medea’s story. Therefore, he has not adhered strictly to the original play. The research findings show
that the directors adapted the play based on their own personal impressions of the play and their own view
on the cinema.