Skip to content

Top Navigation

EW.com EW.com
    • All TV
    • TV Reviews
    • TV Reunions
    • Recaps
    • What to Watch
    • Winter TV
    • Comedy
    • Crime
    • Drama
    • Family
    • Horror
    • Reality
    • Sci-fi
    • Thriller
    • All Movies
    • Movie Reviews
    • Trailers
    • Film Festivals
    • Movie Reunions
    • Movie Previews
    • All Music
    • Music Reviews
    • All What to Watch
    • What to Watch Podcast Episodes
    • TV Reviews
    • Movie Reviews
    • All BINGE
    • EW's Binge Podcast Episodes
    • Recaps
    • Survivor
    • This is Us
    • RuPaul's Drag Race
    • Stranger Things
    • The Boys
    • The Blacklist
    • The Walking Dead
    • Better Call Saul
    • All The Awardist
    • The Awardist Podcast Episodes
    • Oscars
    • Emmys
    • Golden Globes
    • SAG Awards
    • Grammys
    • Tony Awards
    • All Books
    • Book Reviews
    • Author Interviews
    • All Theater
    • Theater Reviews
  • Podcasts
  • Gaming
    • All Events
    • Comic-Con
  • Celebrity
  • Streaming

Profile Menu

Your Profile

Account

  • Join Now
  • Email Preferences
  • Newsletter
  • Manage Your Subscription this link opens in a new tab
  • Give a Gift Subscription this link opens in a new tab
  • Logout
Login
Subscribe

Explore EW.com

EW.com EW.com
  • Explore

    Explore

    • A guide to The Last of Us Easter eggs

      A guide to The Last of Us Easter eggs

      From the Uncharted lighter to the giraffe plushie. Read More
    • 2023 Oscars predictions: See who will win at the 95th Academy Awards

      2023 Oscars predictions: See who will win at the 95th Academy Awards

      From Brendan Fraser and Angela Bassett to a potential upset in Best Actress, see who EW thinks will win at the 2023 Oscars. Read More
    • Meet the cast of Survivor 44

      Meet the cast of Survivor 44

      Here are the 18 contestants who will be vying for $1 million. Read More
  • TV

    TV

    See All TV
    • TV Reviews
    • TV Reunions
    • Recaps
    • What to Watch
    • Winter TV
    • Comedy
    • Crime
    • Drama
    • Family
    • Horror
    • Reality
    • Sci-fi
    • Thriller
  • Movies

    Movies

    See All Movies
    • Movie Reviews
    • Trailers
    • Film Festivals
    • Movie Reunions
    • Movie Previews
  • Music

    Music

    See All Music
    • Music Reviews
  • What to Watch

    What to Watch

    See All What to Watch
    • What to Watch Podcast Episodes
    • TV Reviews
    • Movie Reviews
  • BINGE

    BINGE

    See All BINGE
    • EW's Binge Podcast Episodes
    • Recaps
    • Survivor
    • This is Us
    • RuPaul's Drag Race
    • Stranger Things
    • The Boys
    • The Blacklist
    • The Walking Dead
    • Better Call Saul
  • The Awardist

    The Awardist

    See All The Awardist
    • The Awardist Podcast Episodes
    • Oscars
    • Emmys
    • Golden Globes
    • SAG Awards
    • Grammys
    • Tony Awards
  • Books

    Books

    See All Books
    • Book Reviews
    • Author Interviews
  • Theater

    Theater

    See All Theater
    • Theater Reviews
  • Podcasts
  • Gaming
  • Events

    Events

    See All Events
    • Comic-Con
  • Celebrity
  • Streaming

Profile Menu

Subscribe this link opens in a new tab
Your Profile

Account

  • Join Now
  • Email Preferences
  • Newsletter
  • Manage Your Subscription this link opens in a new tab
  • Give a Gift Subscription this link opens in a new tab
  • Logout
Login
Sweepstakes

Follow Us

  1. Home
  2. Movies
  3. Every Little Women TV and movie adaptation, ranked

Every Little Women TV and movie adaptation, ranked

By Mary Sollosi Updated May 27, 2022 at 03:51 PM EDT
Skip gallery slides
FB

1 of 8

FB
Tweet Pinterest Email Send Text Message

The March sisters on screen 

little-women-1-2000x1333
Credit: Di Novi/Columbia/Kobal/REX/Shutterstock; RKO/Kobal/REX/Shutterstock' Courtesy PBS

With the Christmas 2019 release of Greta Gerwig's new adaptation of of Louisa May Alcott's Little Women, we find ourselves overcome with March sister madness — but this isn't the first time the proto-feminist bildungsroman has hit the big or small screen. See our countdown to the greatest adaptation of the novel ahead.

This gallery was originally published May 13, 2018, and most recently updated Dec. 26, 2019.

1 of 8

Advertisement
Advertisement

2 of 8

FB
Tweet Pinterest Email Send Text Message

DISQUALIFIED: Little Women (2018)

little-women-LW_019A
Credit: Pinnacle Peak Pictures

We have admittedly only seen clips of Clare Niederpruem's 2018 adaptation, but we find the decision to take the tale out of its Civil War setting and place it in the present day utterly baffling. So, for undermining the integrity of the novel, denying us the pleasure of period costumes, and forcing in really awkward soldier-Skype scenes where there ought to have been lovely letter-readings, we hereby disqualify this entry from being ranked.

2 of 8

3 of 8

FB
Tweet Pinterest Email Send Text Message

6. Little Women (1978 miniseries)

Little Women (1978)

We cannot even begin to describe why the 1978 miniseries ranks last, because there is not one thing about it that is not as wrong as can possibly be. There is nothing good to say about this adaptation. The costumes are ridiculous, the '70s hair is outrageous, every single character is miscast (Professor Bhaer is played by, of all people, William Shatner), and the script is nightmarishly bad. Please, let's just move on to the next one and try our best to forget about this.

3 of 8

Advertisement
Continued on next slide.
Advertisement

4 of 8

FB
Tweet Pinterest Email Send Text Message

5. Little Women (1949 movie)

Film and Television
Credit: Moviestore/REX/Shutterstock

Mervyn LeRoy's 1949 version of the story lacks any of the specificity that makes Alcott's novel compelling, particularly in its presentation of Jo (June Allyson) as an irritating cliché of a spitfire screwball heroine rather than a genuine original. The film's saving grace, however, is Elizabeth Taylor as a perfect Amy.

4 of 8

Advertisement

5 of 8

FB
Tweet Pinterest Email Send Text Message

4. Little Women (1933 movie)

VARIOUS
Credit: SNAP/REX/Shutterstock

Nobody would ever accuse Louisa May Alcott of producing a cold, hard book in Little Women, but George Cukor really laid on the schmaltz in this pre-Code take on the story (without any pre-Code sexiness), which stars four women clearly in their mid-20s as the teenaged March sisters (including a miscast Katharine Hepburn as Jo). However! The legendary director managed to inject a little more fun into it than Mervyn LeRoy did in his remake of this version 16 years later, and what's Little Women without a little schmaltz?

5 of 8

6 of 8

FB
Tweet Pinterest Email Send Text Message

3. Little Women (2018 miniseries)

little-women-2017-2000
Credit: MASTERPIECE/PBS

A second miniseries, starring Maya Hawke (in her screen debut) as Jo, dutifully checks off the lengthy novel's greatest hits — the burned manuscript, the ice, the limes, Meg's solo trip to a fancy party and consequent unnecessary guilt — and looks beautiful. The heavy-handed script and overly theatrical performances, especially from the younger cast, prevent it from being a truly great adaptation, but it's got charm and sweetness to spare.

6 of 8

Advertisement
Advertisement
Continued on next slide.
Advertisement

7 of 8

FB
Tweet Pinterest Email Send Text Message

2. Little Women (1994 movie)

Little Women - 1994
Credit: Joseph Lederer/Di Novi/Columbia/Kobal/REX/Shutterstock

It's a classic for a reason. Winona Ryder makes a wonderfully winsome Jo, Claire Danes an impossibly sweet Beth, and Christian Bale a perfectly charming Laurie in the beloved film which reigned as the unquestionable best for 25 years. Gillian Armstrong's faithful and straightforward adaptation captures much of the magic of the novel, from the authentic intimacy shared by these March sisters to the warmth of this incarnation of their beloved home. Amid a collection of big old drafty New England houses, this Little Women really is a castle in the air.

7 of 8

Advertisement
Advertisement

8 of 8

FB
Tweet Pinterest Email Send Text Message

1. Little Women (2019 movie)

LITTLE WOMEN
Credit: Wilson Webb/Columbia Pictures

In her second directorial effort, Greta Gerwig didn't just adapt the text of a novel, but the book in all its context, investigating the woman and the world that it came from. In doing so, she created the most inventive cinematic rendition yet — while also being more true to the essence of Little Women than a more straightforward retelling could ever be. The inspired casting of Saoirse Ronan as Jo, Timothée Chalamet as Laurie, and Meryl Streep as Aunt March certainly helped. It is Florence Pugh, though, as the most layered and lovable Amy we've ever seen, who practically steals the movie. Vital, romantic, and brilliantly modern, Gerwig's film brings Louisa May Alcott into the 21st century, which is clearly where she belonged all along.

8 of 8

Advertisement
Replay gallery

Share the Gallery

Pinterest Facebook

Up Next

  • By Mary Sollosi @missollosi

    Share the Gallery

    Pinterest Facebook
    Trending Videos
    Advertisement
    Skip slide summaries

    Everything in This Slideshow

    Advertisement

    View All

    1 of 8 The March sisters on screen 
    2 of 8 DISQUALIFIED: Little Women (2018)
    3 of 8 6. Little Women (1978 miniseries)
    4 of 8 5. Little Women (1949 movie)
    5 of 8 4. Little Women (1933 movie)
    6 of 8 3. Little Women (2018 miniseries)
    7 of 8 2. Little Women (1994 movie)
    8 of 8 1. Little Women (2019 movie)

    Share & More

    Tweet Pinterest Email Send Text Message
    EW.com

    Magazines & More

    Learn More

    • Subscribe this link opens in a new tab
    • Advertise this link opens in a new tab
    • Content Licensing this link opens in a new tab
    • Accolades this link opens in a new tab

    Connect

    Subscribe to Our Newsletter
    Meredith© Copyright 2023 Meredith Corporation. Entertainment Weekly is a registered trademark of Meredith Corporation All Rights Reserved. Entertainment Weekly may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice. Privacy Policythis link opens in a new tab Terms of Servicethis link opens in a new tab Ad Choicesthis link opens in a new tab California Do Not Sellthis link opens a modal window Web Accessibilitythis link opens in a new tab
    © Copyright EW.com. All rights reserved. Printed from https://ew.com

    View image

    Every Little Women TV and movie adaptation, ranked
    this link is to an external site that may or may not meet accessibility guidelines.