Sixty down, and four remain after yesterday’s voting, and it seems like Lit Hub’s bracket voters have a taste for epics. Each of the final movies are big and high stakes: set in far-off lands, war zones, and the violent mind of a cannibal.

As is inevitable at this point, some favorites were eliminated in the quarterfinals. No Country For Old Men lost the coin toss and Jurassic Park went extinct. Remains of the Day got close, holding its own against Apocalypse Now, but the sublimated desire and British stiff upper lip wasn’t enough to hold off Kurtz and Coppola’s mad vision. And sorry but voting against Clueless? That’s virgin–who-can’t-drive behavior.

Just two matchups left before the finals. The comedy and thriller winners, The Princess Bride and The Silence of the Lambs, are two very different films that both use storytelling as a device—the narration from within the film is crucial to how things unfold. But will the reliable grandfather beat out the unreliable Hannibal Lector?

And Apocalypse Now and The Return of the King are about the horror, the horror of contending with a deranged leader who has gone mad with power and is unleashing violence for no apparent reason. Can’t imagine why this might be resonating with people right now.

Only two are going to make it to Monday’s finals! Get in there and vote!

–James Folta

[Click image to enlarge and zoom]

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INSTRUCTIONS:

We’re looking for the best contemporary film based on a book, short story, or play. In some cases we considered the difficulty and/or finesse of the adaptation itself, but mostly the question at hand is an easy one: Which movie, given the options, do you like best? That’s what you should vote for.

We’ve sorted our top 64 choices into four genre categories: Comedy, Drama, Action & Thriller, and Sci-Fi, Fantasy & Horror. Normal bracket rules apply, because sports. Each quadrant’s winner will face off on Friday, before the final head-to-head on Monday, April 20th to crown our winner.

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VOTING SCHEDULE:

Round of 64: Voting open Monday, April 13th from 10:00 AM – 7:00 PM EDT (See the results)

Round of 32: Voting open Tuesday, April 14th from 10:00 AM – 7:00 PM EDT (See the results)

Round of 16: Voting open Wednesday, April 15th from 10:00 AM – 7:00 PM EDT (See the results)

The Quarterfinals : Voting open Thursday April 16th from 10:00 AM – 7:00 PM EDT (See the results)

➤ The Semifinals: Voting open Friday, April 17th from 10:00 AM, until Sunday April 19th at 7:00 PM EDT

The Finals: Voting open Monday, April 20th from 10:00 AM – 7:00 PM EDT

And the winner will be announced on Tuesday, April 21st!

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HOW TO VOTE:

We’ve got handy voting forms embedded below. Simply select which movie you think should advance, and we’ll tabulate the votes at the end of each day.

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And now, your feature presentation…

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MATCHUP:

The Princess Bride (1) vs.
The Silence of the Lambs (1)

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The Princess Bride
dir. Rob Reiner, 1987

Based on William Goldman’s The Princess Bride (1973)

Sub-genres: Your Bisexual Awakening • Cult Movies of Unusual Resonance(s) • Endlessly Quotable • Peak Patinkin

There are few films with a higher delight-to-runtime ratio than The Princess Bride. Its particular alchemy of postmodern irreverence and slapstick buffoonery has made it an enduring cult classic despite its initially underwhelming box office returns. Of course, it benefits from being adapted by Goldman himself—not so often is the author of the source text also an Academy Award-winning screenwriter—and from the fact that it was a particular passion project for Reiner, whose father had given him the book, and who was determined to adapt it despite the fact that Hollywood considered it unadaptable.

“When I first met Bill Goldman to talk about this,” Reiner remembered, “he said, ‘This is my favorite thing I’ve ever written, and I want this on my tombstone. And what are you going to do with it?’” Well, we all know the answer to that. –Emily Temple, Managing Editor

See also:

What Makes The Princess Bride Such a Great Movie • How Loving The Princess Bride Led Me to Buddhism

••••••••••vs••••••••••

The Silence of the Lambs
dir. Jonathan Demme, 1991

Based on Thomas Harris’s The Silence of the Lambs (1988)

Sub-genres: Ruined Both Chianti AND Fava Beans • And the Song “American Girl” • Still Worth It, Though

Jonathan Demme’s adaptation starts out tense (dreary woods and Howard Shore strings from the jump) and tightens the screws, with surgical precision, to an almost unbearable tautness—culminating in one of the great payoffs in film history. And, of course, the repartee (if slightly mismatched) between Jodie Foster and Anthony Hopkins is a skin-crawling delight. –JG

See also:

40 of the Best Villains in Literature • On the Women Lucky Enough to Survive Horror Films

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MATCHUP:

Apocalypse Now (3) vs.
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (1)

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Apocalypse Now
dir. Francis Ford Coppola, 1979

Based on Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness (1899) and Michael Herr’s Dispatches (1977)

Sub-genres: Almost Directed By George Lucas?! • T.S. Eliot Quotes • Big Music Choices

Perhaps the best Vietnam War movie ever made. A savvy translation from the source material by Francis Ford Coppola and right-wing crank John Milius, Apocalypse Now shifts Conrad’s tale of depravity set amidst Belgian colonial horrors to a tale of depravity set amidst American imperial horrors in Vietnam and Cambodia.

An elite soldier with a fraying mind is sent deep into a wartime nightmare, and the sweaty performances, bold musical choices, and beautiful cinematography take us there. And every film nerd knows that the production’s depravity and delirium almost surpasses the film’s—Apocalypse Now’s Wikipedia page is as wild as the film itself. –JF

See also:

What Really Went on Between Francis Ford Coppola and Martin Sheen During the Filming of Apocalypse Now? • “Invasion is a Structure Not an Event.” On Settler Colonialism and Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness • On the Jealous Rivalry Between Nicolas Cage and His Uncle, Francis Ford Coppola • 19th-Century Blues: When Science Killed God and Made Some Englishmen Sad • The Editor Who Pulled Joseph Conrad from the Slush Pile • How Heart of Darkness Revealed the Horror of Congo’s Rubber Trade

••••••••••vs••••••••••

The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
dir. Peter Jackson, 2003

Based on J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Return of the King (1955)

Sub-genres: Extended Edition or Die • Movies That Make Me Cry For Over One Full Hour • Sam Gamgee You Will Always Be Famous

The Lord of the Rings movies are some of the best films—let alone the best adaptations—ever made. What Jackson (and his co-writers Phillipa Boyens and Fran Walsh) manage to do with Return of the King is uphold the world and themes of the book while also clarifying the message and emotional stakes of the original text. They’re talented editors as much as they’re talented adaptors. There is a deep care and respect in every choice made, and no change is made lightly, no cut is made thoughtlessly. Like Tolkien’s novel, this movie is a masterwork of craft. Unlike Tolkien’s novel, we get to see many different crafts succeed at once: writing, editing, directing, costuming, acting, designing, and more. I could talk about this movie for a very long time, but instead I’ll just say: it’s probably been too long since you watched it. Throw it on and have a good 4+ hour cry. –MC

See also:

The Literary Power of Hobbits: How JRR Tolkien Shaped Modern Fantasy • Did Tolkien Write The Lord of the Rings Because He Was Avoiding His Academic Work? • Is The Lord of the Rings a Work of Modernism? • On the time J.R.R. Tolkien refused to work with Nazi-leaning publishers • Imaginary Histories: How Tolkien’s Fascination with Language Shaped His Literary World • Why We Feel So Compelled to Make Maps of Fictional Worlds

We’ll see you for the finals on Monday!