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Glite Dictionary
🎬 Cannot adapt 🚫 Impossible to shoot
unfilmable

unfilmable

7.2
Impossible to film because of danger, rules, or no access
  • adjective
  • /ʌnˈfɪlməbl/
translation icon : infilmable
  • Many artists believe that certain stories are inherently unfilmable because they rely too much on internal thoughts.

Examples

  • The director said the screenplay was unfilmable due to its complex themes and experimental style.

  • (and it is not unfilmable, by the way, "Infinite Jest," however, is).

    Blog text (5)

  • However, many things remain unfilmable to this day for a myriad of reasons.

    Blog text (27)

  • Yann Martel's fantasy adventure novel Life of Pi was long considered unfilmable, largely because it centers on the relationship between a boy and a Bengal tiger trapped together on a lifeboat.

    Blog text (1)

  • There are numerous works of literature that remain unfilmable because of their intricate narratives.

Synonyms

unrecordable
vsunfilmable
7.1

Not able to be saved so it can be heard or read later

is limited to inability to be captured as moving pictures because of access or safety

Antonyms

filmable
4.6

Stories that can be made into a film

How Filmable

filmable
4.6
unfilmable
7.2

Surface Forms

unfilmable positive
unfilmabler comparative
unfilmablest superlative

Morphology

unfilmable = filmable (transparent) = un + film + able

The prefix 'un-' clearly negates the meaning of 'filmable', making it transparent.

Etymology

Unfilmable is made of un- ('not'), film, and -able ('able'), so it literally means 'not able to be filmed'. That's why we call a dangerous place or a private event unfilmable when it cannot be filmed because of danger, rules, or no access.