Nearly half of Hollywood films are adaptations of plays, novels, and stories. Indeed, most people encounter Shakespeare, Jane Austen, and Charles Dickens in screen versions rather than the original sources. Yet few viewers ponder the necessary changes involved in translating words into images and narrative perspectives to cinematic frames. And discussions of a film's success often bog down in questions of "fidelity," "imitation," and "contemporary influences." We will survey a brief history of important literary texts adapted for the big screen, to understand better what is gained and lost in any process of adaptation.