摘要
In contrast with the large number of theatrical performances and filmic versions for television, both British and American, based on the play The Importance of Being Earnest （1975） by Oscar Wilde, there have only been, so far, three films made for the cinema. Although one of them was made in the United States by the American director Kurt Baker in 1992, this paper will address only the two English versions, chronologically separated by a 50-year time span. It will focus on the cinematic adaptations made by English directors Anthony Asquith and Oliver Parker, the former in 1952 and the latter in 2002. Based on the same play, this comparative approach may throw some light on the evolution of cinematographic conditions and techniques as well as relate them to the expectations of audiences in the mid 20th century and at the beginning of the 21st century.
