Film Facts: Famous Films You Didn't Realize Were Based on Classical Literature

People these days are always complaining that Hollywood has run out of ideas. I've made the claim myself; it really does seem like every movie is either a sequel, reboot, or live-action remake of a cartoon classic that was better off in 2D. However, borrowing, adapting, and straight-up reimagining stories has always been a core feature of the creative process. We've sort of been doing this since forever.

Long before we go endless superhero reboots, filmmakers were looking to the classics for inspiration. I don't mean 80s classics, I mean Shakespeare, Austen, Dickens, and Homer. Some of your favorite modern movies are actually centuries-old tales in disguise, hiding behind modern slang, high school settings, or even outer space.

From She's the Man to Ex Machina, these films prove that old stories never really end; they just get better lighting, cooler soundtracks, and occasionally, a gender swap or two. A few of these are pretty on-the-nose adaptations despite their modern settings, but others might actually surprise you!

01
She's the Man (2006) / Twelfth Night by Shakespeare

via Paramount Pictures
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I bet you thought She's the Man was just a goofy high school comedy with a soccer gimmick, but surprise! It's straight out of Shakespeare… still with a soccer gimmick, though. The whole “girl disguises hersef as a boy and chaos ensues” plot is liften from Twelfth Night, complete with mistaken identities and secret crushes.
02
Bridget Jones's Diary (2001) - Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

via Miramax Films
Bridget is basically Lizzy Bennet in a miniskirt and London flat. Helen Fielding’s book (and the movie) are direct love letters to Pride and Prejudice, complete with a brooding Mr. Darcy (literally played by Colin Firth in both versions) and plenty of awkward misunderstandings about love, class, and self-improvement.
03
Ten Things I Hate About You (1999) - The Taming of the Shrew by Shakespeare

via Touchstone Pictures
This ‘90s high school rom-com actually gave Shakespeare something of a feminist makeover. Kat Stratford is the modern-day “shrew” who refuses to play by anyone’s rules, and instead of trying to “tame” her, the movie flips the script, making her the sharpest, most self-aware person in the room.
04
She's All That (1999) - Pygmalion by Shakespeare

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You know the story: popular guy bets he can turn an “ordinary” girl into THE prom queen – sound familiar? It’s basically Pygmalion (and My Fair Lady). There's actually a ton of these to go around, but this one has a nice late-90s soundtrack.
05
Forbidden Planet (1956) - The Tempest by Shakespeare

via Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Before Star Wars, there was Forbidden Planet, a futuristic retelling of The Tempest set in deep space. Prospero in this version is a scientist stranded on another world, his daughter Miranda the lone woman on the planet, and Ariel gets reimagined as an obedient robot. Come onto these yellow sands…
06
Ex Machina (2014) - The Island of Dr. Moreau by HG Wells

via REX
This sleek, unsettling sci-fi movie owes a lot to The Island of Dr. Moreau. Both stories dive into the ethics of playing god by creating life in your own image and the horror that follows when that creation starts asking uncomfortable questions about what it means to be human.
07
O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000) - The Odyssey

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The Coen Brothers basically said, “What if The Odyssey happened in the American South during in the 1930s?” and it weirdly works.
08
A Serious Man (2009) - The Book of Job

via Universal Pictures
This one’s a modern, suburban version of the Bible’s Book of Job. A man’s life falls apart for seemingly no reason while he searches for some kind of divine explanation. It’s darkly funny, deeply existential, and very Coen Brothers-y.
09
The Dark Knight Rises (2012) - A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens

via Warner Bros. Pictures
It’s quite subtle, but Christopher Nolan actually drew from Dickens’s A Tale of Two Cities when writing The Dark Knight Rises. Bane’s revolution mirrors the French Revolution’s chaos, and there’s even a character who delivers a “far, far better thing” sacrifice…
10
The Nutty Professor (1996) - Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson

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Behind all the slapstick, this comedy is basically Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. A sweet, shy scientist creates a potion that turns him into a confident alter ego, but just like the original, the new version quickly spirals out of control.
11
Apocalypse Now! (1979) - Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad

via Cannes
Conrad’s colonial journey up the Congo River becomes a harrowing trip through the Vietnam War. Both versions explore the way power and violence twist people, but Apocalypse Now adds helicopters, napalm, and a haunting soundtrack to that descent into madness.
12
Anyone But You (2023) - Much Ado About Nothing by Shakespeare

via Sony Pictures Releasing
It’s basically Shakespeare’s snarkiest lovers (Beatrice and Benedick) reborn as Sydney Sweeney and Glen Powell. The enemies-to-lovers dynamic, the fake dating, the banter that hides actual feelings… all straight from Much Ado About Nothing!
13
Treasure Planet (2002) - Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson

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Disney took Stevenson’s pirate classic, launched it into space, and somehow made it work. Instead of ships, there are solar sails; instead of islands, there are galaxies, but at its heart, it’s still the story of a boy, a map, and the thrill of adventure.