Finnegans Wake

A surprisingly successful attempt to bring Joyce's gargantuan novel to the screen - especially surprising considering Mary Ellen Bute's previous work for the cinema (some very footling animation à la McLaren). The reason probably lies in her use of the play adaptation by Mary Manning, which transforms much of the original's humour and verbal fireworks into stunning theatre. The film isn't stunning cinema, but it's consistently entertaining and far more Joycean than Joseph Strick's pedantic efforts.