On the flip side of my posts above, it's also interesting to point out books where the filmmakers TOTALLY missed the flavor of the novel and wound up making something awful out of something good. From a quick glance at my shelves:
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The Evil That Men Do. Great pulp novel by R. Lance Hill, made into trash, casting Charles Bronson into a role he was 30-40 years too old for.
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The Girl in a Swing. Richard Adams wrote very little that didn't involve talking animals, but I liked the mood that this novel created. Wow, did the filmmakers get this one wrong. The screenwriting lacked imagination, but casting Meg Tilly was the death knell (no comments on her acting, just totally, totally wrong for the character).
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Fletch. Believe it or not, a fun, smart, Edgar award-winning mystery. Made into an idiotic Chevy Chase movie that completely missed the tone of the book.
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Endless Love. Perhaps one of the worst movies of the 1980s, adapted from what I (and a lot of respected critics) thought was a really good literary novel about obsession and love. Poorly scripted, but even a great script would have been doomed by the casting of the male lead (excellent supporting cast though).
I would recommend any of these books without reservation, and would urge you to run far, far away from the films.
