Filmography › Solomon Northup

All the books by Solomon Northup adapted to cinema and television

Solomon Northup is known for being the author of the book Twelve Years a Slave, first published in 1853, which was adapted to cinema by Steve McQueen in 2013.
Below, we present a ranked list, from best to worst, of 2 movies and TV series based on titles by Solomon Northup. Revisit old favorites or discover hidden gems, whether books or film productions. We invite you to watch, read, and vote for any title, joining the debate of whether the book or the movie is better.
12 Years a Slave. Poster of the 2013 movie and cover of the 1853 book, Twelve Years a Slave
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Twelve Years a Slave
Solomon Northup, 1853
movie vs book
12 Years a Slave
Steve McQueen, 2013

Solomon Northup is a free African-American man in 1841, working as a violinist and living with his wife and two children in Saratoga Springs, New York. Two white men, Brown and Hamilton, offer him short-term employment as a musician if he will travel with them to Washington, D.C.; however, once they have arrived, they drug Northup and deliver him to a slave pen run by a man named Burch.

American Playhouse: Solomon Northup's Odyssey. Poster of the 1984 movie and cover of the 1853 book, Twelve Years a Slave
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Twelve Years a Slave
Solomon Northup, 1853
movie vs book
American Playhouse: Solomon Northup's Odyssey
Gordon Parks, 1984

Solomon Northup’s Odyssey is based on the true story of Solomon Northup, a free black man in Saratoga, New York who was kidnapped in 1841 and sold into slavery. Northup was intelligent, skilled in carpentry, and was able to play music. He was enslaved in the state of Louisiana for 12 years before he was released.