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Ragtime (1981): Film vs Book
Film · 1981 · Directed by Miloš Forman · Starring James Cagney, Elizabeth McGovern
About the film
Three families in early twentieth-century America cross paths with famous figures.
How close is it to the book?
Close to the bookIt follows the novel's main stories and trims its many historical cameos.
Read or watch first?
The book's brisk, odd narration is unlike any other.
What the book gives you
Ragtime by E. L. Doctorow
A lively, fast-moving panorama of early twentieth-century America.
Who will like it: Readers who like inventive historical novels that mix real and invented people.