Dialogues between literature and cinema: convergences and divergences between the signifying chains of both the book and the movie The Little Prince

Abstract

Comparing literary to cinematographic versions, one can always observe adaptations, that is, changes in the codes that regulate enunciation. In other words, whenever sounds, lights and colors, lines, frames, gestures and pace must tell the story, one can observe similarities and differences in relation to the signifying chains and their counterpart in the world of letters. Based on the comparative studies method, this paper identifies examples of convergence and divergence between the signifying chains found in both the literary version of The Little Prince, written by Antoine de Saint-Exupery in 1940, and its cinematographic version, shot in 1974 under the direction of Stanley Donen. Overall, research has shown that very detailed descriptions of literary passages are difficult to be transposed into a film narrative, thus resulting in ellipses. In this sense, plots with smaller implications for the entire narrative are more easily discarded in the cinematographic version. Time factor, which strongly influences the rhythm of the audiovisual product, also demands some movie cuts in relation to the literary narrative. However, the general meaning of the work does not seem to be altered by this condition. The divergence between the products of these two textual versions stands out when, in order to maintain the interest of a wider range of audiences, the film suppresses some more deeply philosophical discussion, promoting the closure of meanings that remain open in the literary version.