The Sun Also Rises: Film Adaptations
Hemingway's novel has been adapted twice for the screen: a 1957 Hollywood film and a 1984 TV movie. Both struggled with capturing the novel's minimalist style and internal psychological damage.
1957 Film Adaptation
Cast & Crew
Reception & Accuracy
The 1957 adaptation was a troubled production. Hemingway himself disliked it, reportedly calling it "a mess." The film struggled with the novel's most daring element: Jake's impotence. The Production Code made explicit discussion of sexual dysfunction impossible, so the film had to hint around Jake's wound without stating it clearly, weakening the central tragedy.
What works: Ava Gardner captures Brett's charisma and desperation. The bullfighting sequences are well-shot and convey some of the novel's intensity. The Spanish locations (filmed in Mexico) provide atmosphere.
What doesn't: The film adds melodrama Hemingway deliberately avoided. The iceberg theory—leaving things unsaid—doesn't translate well to 1950s Hollywood filmmaking that required explicit emotional scenes. Jake's narration is lost, removing the novel's narrative perspective. The ending is softened, making it more hopeful than Hemingway's bitter acknowledgment.
1984 Television Adaptation
Cast & Crew
Reception & Approach
The 1984 NBC miniseries attempted more fidelity to Hemingway's novel than the 1957 film. By the 1980s, television could address Jake's impotence more directly, solving one major adaptation challenge. The production filmed in Spain, including actual Pamplona during San Fermín, adding authenticity.
What works: The longer TV format (2 hours) allows for more character development. Actual Spanish locations enhance atmosphere. The production doesn't shy away from the novel's bleakness—the ending maintains Hemingway's bitter tone.
What doesn't: The film still can't truly capture Hemingway's style—the iceberg theory, the things left unsaid, Jake's internal narration. Hart Bochner's Jake lacks the world-weary gravitas the role requires. The production values are TV-movie level, which limits visual impact.
Why The Sun Also Rises Is Hard to Adapt
The Iceberg Theory Problem: Hemingway's power comes from what he doesn't say. Jake never describes his wound explicitly. Emotions are rarely named. The novel's meaning emerges from subtext. Film tends to make things explicit through visual imagery and dialogue, which contradicts the iceberg theory's fundamental approach.
Internal Narrative: Much of the novel happens in Jake's head—his observations, his restrained reactions, his understanding of other characters. First-person literary narration doesn't easily translate to film, and voiceover often feels artificial.
The Lost Generation Context: The novel's themes (post-war trauma, Lost Generation disillusionment, masculine crisis) require understanding WWI's impact. Films must either explain this context (heavy-handed) or assume audiences know it (risky).
The Ending's Ambiguity: "Isn't it pretty to think so?" carries multiple layers of meaning that resist visual representation. How do you film acceptance of impossibility, bitter acknowledgment of fantasy, exhaustion of hope? The line works on the page but becomes just dialogue on screen.