What are some of the better book to film adaptions out there?

happy_terd · 01-14-2010, 10:24 PM

What are some of the better book to film adaptions out there?

I have over 1500 DVDs in my collection if you count my kids' and wife's movies. I love to read and I love to watch movies...so it sounds like it should be the perfect union, right? Usually not the case though.

I am looking for movies that either surpassed the book or simply did the book justice. Go ahead and post horrible adaptions also if you'd like. I love to talk about a great fail.

My choice for great film based off of a book would be:

The Shawshank Redemption by Stephen King based off the book "Rita Hayworth and Shawhank Redemption."

iso more opinions

Nate the great · 01-14-2010, 10:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by happy_terd

My choice for great film based off of a book would be:

The Shawshank Redemption by Stephen King from the book "Rita Hayworth and Shawhank Redemption."

I think that was a short story, not a book.

happy_terd · 01-14-2010, 10:27 PM

It is considered a novella.

"A novella is a written, fictional, prose narrative longer than a novelette (short story) but shorter than a novel."

edit: but this is the lounge...so short stories included then.

montsnmags · 01-15-2010, 12:11 AM

One of my favourite books is Peter Carey's Bliss. I actually think the movie adaptation is very good (it's well-cast). This sentiment is generally unanimous, as long as I'm the only one in the room.

Cheers,
Marc

Solitaire1 · 01-15-2010, 01:00 AM

Some of the best book-to-movies that I can mention (where I'm familiar with both the movie and the novel):

- Lemony Snicket's A Series Of Unfortunate Events: Although they made some changes, the film was very faithful to the look and feel of the first three books in the series and the casting was pretty much spot-on.

- Watchmen: Very faithful to a majority of the comic, with some (in my opinion) justifiable changes from the original comic book. For me, its main drawback is that even though the movie is over 3 hours long, they still weren't able to fit everything from the original comic book series in the movie.

- Scrooge (U. S. Title: A Christmas Carol), the 1951 version starring Alister Sim: For me, this is the best movie version of the story ever made and is the standard I compare other versions to. Also, Mr. Magoo's Christmas Carol is excellent, and Magoo is perfect cast in the role of Scrooge.

- Hoodwinked: An excellent version of "Little Red Riding Hood" that takes the familiar fairy tale and tells it in a new way (and very funny way) that will keep you guessing until the end.

- The Godfather and The Godfather Part II: Together, these two movies are an excellent adaption to the entire Puzo novel (Part II covers the parts of the book not covered in the first movie) and for me the first movie was one that I couldn't stop watching until the end.

- Superman The Movie: An excellent version of the Superman story, and still one of the best comic book movies ever made. It distills everything that you need to know, presents it in an entertaining manner, and tells a great story.

- The Adventures Of Pinocchio, the 1996 movie starring Martin Landau: Although they do make some changes from the original story, this version was true to the original story (unlike many versions, for me this version felt like it was taking place in Italy), and added some great enhancements not in the original story. That Pinocchio is played by a real puppet greatly adds to the movie.

- Chobits: An excellent 27-episode anime adaptation of the manga and very faithful to the original story (although, as usual, they made some modifications).

Although this is backwards, there is one movie-to-book adaptation I must strongly recommend: TRON. Although the movie was great, the novel version added so much detail to the original story and it is definitely worth reading.

If you give any of the above a look, I'm sure that you'll enjoy them.

happy_terd · 01-15-2010, 01:07 AM

I seen all of them except for chobits and the 1996 version of pinocchio. Very good choices by the way. A lot of fanboys were crushed with the whole lack of giant squid in the watchmen though...I was still impressed.

Solitaire1 · 01-15-2010, 01:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by happy_terd

I seen all of them except for chobits and the 1996 version of pinocchio. Very good choices by the way. A lot of fanboys were crushed with the whole lack of giant squid in the watchmen though...I was still impressed.

Without spoiling the ending, I felt the change they made in Watchmen (referenced above) worked much better than the original and was much more believable.

Although I'm a comic book reader, I don't consider myself a fanboy. When it comes to movie adaptions of comic books, I understand that there will be changes made to the original out of necessity (such as budget limitations, rating restrictions, and so on). With many comic books, it would impossible to include everything that was in the original story. What I do expect is that the movie/TV series will be true to the original comic book.

HarryT · 01-15-2010, 05:05 AM

"Enemy Mine". Novella by Barry B. Longyear. Made into an excellent film.

And, of course, the three "LOTR" films (specifically the "Extended Editions"); I really don't think that it could have been done better.

Javed · 01-15-2010, 07:14 AM

Some of the books to movies that I like:
2001
2010
the accidental tourist
frankenstein (boris karloff version)
into the wild
i, robot
k-pax
LOTR trilogy
the phantom of the opera (both 1925 & 1943 versions)
rebecca (1940)

wayrad · 01-15-2010, 07:17 AM

To Kill a Mockingbird
The African Queen

clarknova · 01-15-2010, 07:33 AM

David Lynch's DUNE. He took Frank Herbert's horribly boring and long-winded book and actually made something interesting (though often times still boring).

I also love Timur Bekmembetov's adaptation of Sergei Lukyanenko's Night Watch series. He took the first two books, jumbled them up and turned out two movies that are very different than the books but still immediately recognizable with them. I still don't know if I prefer the plot of the books or the movies more.

Moejoe · 01-15-2010, 09:37 AM

To Kill a Mockingbird
The Big Sleep
Double Indemnity
First Blood
Rear Window (actually better than Cornel Woolrich story it was based upon)
The Hustler
The Long Weekend
Treasure of the Sierra Madre
Something Wicked This Way Comes
Moby Dick
Tbhe Grapes of Wrath
Of Mice and Men

Actually there are quite a lot more good book to movie translations than there are bad.

Krystian Galaj · 01-15-2010, 04:09 PM

Bladerunner http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blade_Runner
The Shining http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Shining_%28film%29

Quote:

Originally Posted by clarknova

David Lynch's DUNE. He took Frank Herbert's horribly boring and long-winded book and actually made something interesting (though often times still boring).

I love the book. I can't stand the movie. I like other Lynch's movies though.

Solitaire1 · 01-15-2010, 06:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Krystian Galaj

Bladerunner http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blade_Runner
The Shining http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Shining_%28film%29

I love the book. I can't stand the movie. I like other Lynch's movies though.

I haven't seen all of Lynch's work, but of what I've seen I agree his movies and his work on television (except for the TV series "On The Air"). "Blue Velvet" was excellent (it was essentially "Twin Peaks" without the TV censorship). I did enjoy "Dune" as a movie, but I haven't read the original novels.

WT Sharpe · 01-15-2010, 07:15 PM

This is an excellent adaptation of E.M. Forster's short story, The machine stops.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?do...0223855159236#

This is the story that the Book Club just selected for their January discussion, which will probably start sometime in February.

01-14-2010, 10:24 PM	#1
happy_terd Banned Posts: 13,045 Karma: 10105011 Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Finally made it to Walmart. Device: PRS 420	What are some of the better book to film adaptions out there? What are some of the better book to film adaptions out there? I have over 1500 DVDs in my collection if you count my kids' and wife's movies. I love to read and I love to watch movies...so it sounds like it should be the perfect union, right? Usually not the case though. I am looking for movies that either surpassed the book or simply did the book justice. Go ahead and post horrible adaptions also if you'd like. I love to talk about a great fail. My choice for great film based off of a book would be: The Shawshank Redemption by Stephen King based off the book "Rita Hayworth and Shawhank Redemption." iso more opinions

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01-14-2010, 10:27 PM	#3
happy_terd Banned Posts: 13,045 Karma: 10105011 Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Finally made it to Walmart. Device: PRS 420	It is considered a novella. "A novella is a written, fictional, prose narrative longer than a novelette (short story) but shorter than a novel." edit: but this is the lounge...so short stories included then.

01-15-2010, 12:11 AM	#4
montsnmags Grand Sorcerer Posts: 10,155 Karma: 4632658 Join Date: Nov 2007 Device: none	One of my favourite books is Peter Carey's Bliss. I actually think the movie adaptation is very good (it's well-cast). This sentiment is generally unanimous, as long as I'm the only one in the room. Cheers, Marc

01-15-2010, 01:00 AM	#5
Solitaire1 Samurai Lizard Posts: 14,247 Karma: 66666666 Join Date: Nov 2009 Device: NookColor	Some of the best book-to-movies that I can mention (where I'm familiar with both the movie and the novel): - Lemony Snicket's A Series Of Unfortunate Events: Although they made some changes, the film was very faithful to the look and feel of the first three books in the series and the casting was pretty much spot-on. - Watchmen: Very faithful to a majority of the comic, with some (in my opinion) justifiable changes from the original comic book. For me, its main drawback is that even though the movie is over 3 hours long, they still weren't able to fit everything from the original comic book series in the movie. - Scrooge (U. S. Title: A Christmas Carol), the 1951 version starring Alister Sim: For me, this is the best movie version of the story ever made and is the standard I compare other versions to. Also, Mr. Magoo's Christmas Carol is excellent, and Magoo is perfect cast in the role of Scrooge. - Hoodwinked: An excellent version of "Little Red Riding Hood" that takes the familiar fairy tale and tells it in a new way (and very funny way) that will keep you guessing until the end. - The Godfather and The Godfather Part II: Together, these two movies are an excellent adaption to the entire Puzo novel (Part II covers the parts of the book not covered in the first movie) and for me the first movie was one that I couldn't stop watching until the end. - Superman The Movie: An excellent version of the Superman story, and still one of the best comic book movies ever made. It distills everything that you need to know, presents it in an entertaining manner, and tells a great story. - The Adventures Of Pinocchio, the 1996 movie starring Martin Landau: Although they do make some changes from the original story, this version was true to the original story (unlike many versions, for me this version felt like it was taking place in Italy), and added some great enhancements not in the original story. That Pinocchio is played by a real puppet greatly adds to the movie. - Chobits: An excellent 27-episode anime adaptation of the manga and very faithful to the original story (although, as usual, they made some modifications). Although this is backwards, there is one movie-to-book adaptation I must strongly recommend: TRON. Although the movie was great, the novel version added so much detail to the original story and it is definitely worth reading. If you give any of the above a look, I'm sure that you'll enjoy them.

01-15-2010, 01:07 AM	#6
happy_terd Banned Posts: 13,045 Karma: 10105011 Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Finally made it to Walmart. Device: PRS 420	I seen all of them except for chobits and the 1996 version of pinocchio. Very good choices by the way. A lot of fanboys were crushed with the whole lack of giant squid in the watchmen though...I was still impressed.

01-15-2010, 05:05 AM	#8
HarryT eBook Enthusiast Posts: 85,544 Karma: 93383043 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: UK Device: Kindle Oasis 2, iPad Pro 10.5", iPhone 6	"Enemy Mine". Novella by Barry B. Longyear. Made into an excellent film. And, of course, the three "LOTR" films (specifically the "Extended Editions"); I really don't think that it could have been done better.

01-15-2010, 07:14 AM	#9
Javed Grand Sorcerer Posts: 10,270 Karma: 1126878541 Join Date: Oct 2009 Device: Astak Pocket PRO, iPod Touch, PRS-650	Some of the books to movies that I like: 2001 2010 the accidental tourist frankenstein (boris karloff version) into the wild i, robot k-pax LOTR trilogy the phantom of the opera (both 1925 & 1943 versions) rebecca (1940)

01-15-2010, 07:17 AM	#10
wayrad Fanatic Posts: 551 Karma: 1121392 Join Date: May 2008 Location: USA Device: HTC One M8	To Kill a Mockingbird The African Queen

01-15-2010, 07:33 AM	#11
clarknova Addict Posts: 241 Karma: 2617 Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Greenwood, SC Device: Kindle 2	David Lynch's DUNE. He took Frank Herbert's horribly boring and long-winded book and actually made something interesting (though often times still boring). I also love Timur Bekmembetov's adaptation of Sergei Lukyanenko's Night Watch series. He took the first two books, jumbled them up and turned out two movies that are very different than the books but still immediately recognizable with them. I still don't know if I prefer the plot of the books or the movies more.

01-15-2010, 09:37 AM	#12
Moejoe Banned Posts: 5,100 Karma: 72193 Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: South of the Border Device: Coffin	To Kill a Mockingbird The Big Sleep Double Indemnity First Blood Rear Window (actually better than Cornel Woolrich story it was based upon) The Hustler The Long Weekend Treasure of the Sierra Madre Something Wicked This Way Comes Moby Dick Tbhe Grapes of Wrath Of Mice and Men Actually there are quite a lot more good book to movie translations than there are bad.

01-15-2010, 07:15 PM	#15
WT Sharpe Bah, humbug! Posts: 39,073 Karma: 157049943 Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Chesapeake, VA, USA Device: Kindle Oasis, iPad Pro, & a Samsung Galaxy S9.	This is an excellent adaptation of E.M. Forster's short story, The machine stops. http://video.google.com/videoplay?do...0223855159236# This is the story that the Book Club just selected for their January discussion, which will probably start sometime in February.

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