kindly suggests books or novels made into movies?

[DuckieTigger]

Originally Posted by HarryT

Short stories tend to be the most faithful to a film adaptation. Generally a novel will have far too much in it, and someone who enjoys the novel will almost inevitably be disappointed by what's had to be left out of the film.

Could not agree more. Sometimes too much stuff gets lost and movie becomes hard to understand without knowing the book. It is not always people that liked the book that have to suffer.

Originally Posted by HarryT

The majority of movies originate as books. It's probably easier to make a list of those that don't, rather than those that do.

Originally Posted by JDK1962

Much shorter and more interesting lists could be made of movies that actually improved upon the novels.

The Godfather is (IMHO) an example of a movie that far outstripped its source material. The Mario Puzo novel is, at best, a screen treatment, and at worst (which is most of the time) pretty dreadful pulp fiction.

About a Boy is another. I enjoyed the novel by Nick Hornby, but I thought the movie did a terrific job of capturing the spirit of book, retaining all its best scenes while improving the ending, which in Nick Hornby's novel tied the book to a very specific moment in time.

I'm currently reading P.D. James' The Children of Men, am over a third of the way through, and am so far thinking that the screenwriters did a pretty amazing job in taking the essence of the book and distilling it into something cinematic. So far, there hasn't been a single overlapped scene, but the filmmakers got it.

Originally Posted by HarryT

Given the fundamental differences between the two media - print and film - I think personally that it's difficult to make direct comparisons. Film is a primarily visual medium; print is not. There are many books that just can't be meaningfully directly converted into films, because there's little or no "action".

It would make for a much shorter list to select films adapted from books where the film was actually better or at least somewhere near as good as the book. The Godfather film does come to mind. Also Bladerunner.

Originally Posted by JDK1962

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 . . .

I immediately thought of The Scarlet Letter book versus the film of the same title. Taken as a period costume romance I suppose the film was not that bad. It should just have been title something like 'Hester's Unbridled Passion', and not in anyway associated with The Scarlet Letter [book].

[HoopyFrood]

Don't forget "Charly" with Cliff Robertson that was a very good adaption of the short story "Flowers for Algernon".

And "MASH" the movie was sooooo much better than the pitiful book of the same name.

And of course any of the myriad awful versions of "Tarzan the Ape Man". The movies bore no resemblance to the book/s except for location on the same continent. I shudder to think what they'll do to John Carter.

[Steven Lyle Jordan]

Arthur C. Clarke's Childhood's End was made into a TV miniseries.

Of course, Universal Studios did some rewriting on it, and renamed it "V".



I'll also mention most of the Michael Crichton catalog:

The Andromeda Strain
The Terminal Man
Jurassic Park
Sphere
Rising Sun
Congo
Disclosure
The Lost World
Timeline
Eaters of the Dead (The 13th Warrior)
The Great Train Robbery

[John A. A. Logan]

I've never read the book, so I don't know if the film did it justice, but the film is one of my favourites: Barry Lyndon, directed by Stanley Kubrick in 1975

And that brings to mind 2001 : A Space Odyssey...

Or the Russian film, Solaris...again in space, and again a bit surreal in parts...

[GlenBarrington]

Originally Posted by HoopyFrood

Don't forget "Charly" with Cliff Robertson that was a very good adaption of the short story "Flowers for Algernon".

And "MASH" the movie was sooooo much better than the pitiful book of the same name.

And of course any of the myriad awful versions of "Tarzan the Ape Man". The movies bore no resemblance to the book/s except for location on the same continent. I shudder to think what they'll do to John Carter.

If you are talking about a movie being better than the original book. Look at Forrest Gump. Now here is where abandoning the original ideas of the book (at least in part) pay off.

In the book, Forrest is much less innocent, less trusting, and hornier.

Another example is The Graduate, I really disliked the book. Well, actually, I disliked the movie too. But the movie was better.

[John F]

John Carter is coming out as a movie. Based on the series by Edgar Rice Burroughs.
Mocking Jay is coming out this spring.
The Hobbit is coming out later this year.

Lord of the Rings
A lot of Crichton books (Jurassic Park, Andromeda Strain, Sphere)
Some John Irving Books.



...

[straygator]

Just re-watched The Shipping News last night. A good film that stayed fairly close to the original novel.

[RolandD]

Originally Posted by John A. A. Logan

And that brings to mind 2001 : A Space Odyssey...

Actually, 2001: A Space Odyssey is fairly unique. Kubrick and Clark co-wrote the screenplay using Clarke's short story 'The Sentinel' as inspiration. As the screenplay progressed, Clarke wrote the novel and expanded on the concept. Neither is really an adaptation of the other.

[Pookeysgirl]

Interview with the Vampire - Anne Rice
Queen of the Damned - Anne Rice

And yes while I'm listing vampires I have to mention (don't shoot me):
Twilight - Stephanie Meyers

[rdfry]

A Simple Plan by Scott B Smith, The Movie doesn't do the book justice.Most of Alistair Macleans' novels

[Daithi]

Nearly all the major classics in literature, and classics of genres from Crime, Mystery, Fantasy, Science Fiction, Westerns, etc. have all been made into movies. I think a harder question would be name some classics that have NOT been made into a movie.

[DuckieTigger]

Originally Posted by Pookeysgirl

Interview with the Vampire - Anne Rice
Queen of the Damned - Anne Rice

And yes while I'm listing vampires I have to mention (don't shoot me):
Twilight - Stephanie Meyers

When you mention The Queen of the Damned you should have also mentioned The Vampire Lestat as the movie is based on both book 2 and 3 of the chronicles. A shame actually that they could not make a movie based entirely from my favourite book of the series. The Vampire Lestat is the book that got me into reading other books than the ones we had to read in school. That was a long time ago though.

[Daithi]

Originally Posted by DuckieTigger

When you mention The Queen of the Damned you should have also mentioned The Vampire Lestat as the movie is based on both book 2 and 3 of the chronicles. A shame actually that they could not make a movie based entirely from my favourite book of the series. The Vampire Lestat is the book that got me into reading other books than the ones we had to read in school. That was a long time ago though.

I loved her vampire books and the witch books too. I've been debating whether or not to get her new book on werewolves, but I know she has embraced a life of faith, and I worry she might be more interested in advocating a religious viewpoint than telling a good supernatural story.

[Rizla]

Originally Posted by Steven Lyle Jordan

Arthur C. Clarke's Childhood's End was made into a TV miniseries.

Of course, Universal Studios did some rewriting on it, and renamed it "V".

You're kidding, right?