What are the best book-to-film adaptations?

knapplc

knapplc

International Man of Mystery
The Guardian came up with a list of best book-to-film adaptations. Their list:

The top book-to-film adaptations

1. The Harry Potter saga
Books by JK Rowling
Films by various directors

2. James Bond films
Books by Ian Fleming
Films by various directors

3. The Green Mile
Book by Stephen King
Film directed by Frank Darabont

4. The Lord of the Rings saga
Books by JRR Tolkien
Films directed by Peter Jackson

5. The Bourne trilogy
Books by Robert Ludlum
Films by various directors

6. The Da Vinci Code
Book by Dan Brown
Film directed by Ron Howard

7. The Shawshank Redemption
Book by Stephen King
Film directed by Frank Darabont

8. Jurassic Park
Book by Michael Crichton
Film directed by Stephen Spielberg

9. Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason
Book by Helen Fielding
Film directed by Beeban Kidron

10. Schindler’s List
Book by Thomas Keneally
Film directed by Stephen Spielberg



Of that list, I haven't read The Shawshank Redemption, Bridget Jones or Schindler's List. I've only read one or two of the Bond books, but I can't recall which one(s). The only movie on that list I haven't seen is Schindler's List, and I have no desire to ever see it, so I'm unqualified to comment.

I'm cool with the Harry Potter saga at #1. I thought both the books & the movies were excellent, and I thought the feel Rowling put into her books was translated very well into the movies.

I don't remember the James Bond book(s) I've read. The movies are so awesome, it's hard to think they've badly ruined what magic the books have.

I don't remember reading The Green Mile. Like the Bond books, it's been a while.

I have huge issues with Peter Jackson's "take" on LOTR. There's a 2,000-word rant behind that, and I'm not interested in rehashing it here. I'll say this - Jackson's work was good. It could have been way better.

I thought they did a really good job updating the Bourne books into modern-day thrillers. Initially I didn't like Matt Damon as Jason Bourne, but by about midway through the first movie I was on board. Good stuff.

The rest of the list is a bit of a jumble for me. I either didn't like the book very much, didn't see the movie, or flat don't care (looking at you, Bridget Jones). I didn't like Tom Hanks in DaVinci, and I know too much about Paris to divorce myself from the ridiculous errors Brown made writing the book, so meh. Jurassic Park, the movie, was a triumph of CGI at the time, and overshadowed the book by a long way.

The one glaring omission from this list, off the top of my head, is The Princess Bride. The book was hilarious and entertaining and just a load of fun, and the movie was equally well-done. I read somewhere that William Goldman wrote the character Fezzik with Andre the Giant in mind, and that couldn't have worked out better. Westley was perfectly cast and played, Inigo was perfectly cast and played, everything was just so well done, and captured the feel of the book so well, too.

What books are they missing from this list?

 
50 Shades of Grey

default_insertsarcasm.gif


 
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo - Stieg Larsson

One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest - Ken Kesey
Im Westen nichts Neues (All Quiet On The Western Front) - Erich Maria Remarque

 
Last edited by a moderator:
The Harry Potter franchise as the best film adaptations? Please. The films were overall a triumph and earned a lot of money, but overall as films were average. 1 and 2 were hyper attention-to-detail kid's movies, 3 was absolutely fantastic, 4 was a piece of garbage, then 5-8 were good film that took a lot of creative license on source material.

Jurassic Park is probably tops on my personal list. The movie still holds up 20+ years later, and was one of the most revolutionary films ever made as far as pushing the envelope of what is possible, and Crichton is one of my all-time favorite authors with that book being one of my favorites.

A huge one I see missing is Fight Club. In fact, most of Fincher's best work should be on this list imo, but definitely Fight Club, Social Network and Girl With the Dragon Tattoo.

The Silence of the Lambs, No Country For Old Men, Requiem For A Dream, Stand By Me... - a lot of really high-quality literature/filmmaking that isn't making the list because they aren't necessarily blockbusters.

 
Last edited by a moderator:
Kudos to Spielberg though - was working on two of the top-10 ever (according to this list) at the same time.

 
"The Bridge over the River Kwai" movie based on the book "Le Pont de la Rivière Kwai" by Pierre Boulle. (I read the English version, btw.) The book was great. But I'd say the movie was actually better. Perhaps the only time I've felt the movie was better after reading the book.

"The Man Who Would be King" movie based on a Rudyard Yipling story. One of the best all-time movies ever.

"Moneyball" movie based on "Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game" by Michael Lewis (one of my two favorite authors).

 
knapplc said:
The Guardian came up with a list of best book-to-film adaptations. Their list:

The top book-to-film adaptations

***SNIP***

2. James Bond films

Books by Ian Fleming

Films by various directors

***SNIP***
Click to expand...
Really have to disagree with the Guardian on this one. You could argue that Dr. No embodied some of the spirit of the books, but overall, the films were NOT representative of the books. Bond, in the novel, was a mess, not the confident womanizer portrayed in the movies. I love the movies - particularly Sean Connery's Bond - but there's no way to say with a straight face that the movies were faithful adaptations of the books. You'd get a better argument concerning the Daniel Craig versions, particularly the first when Vesper verbally strips Bond of his veneer and reveals that he was an orphan that doesn't really feel he belongs in the British upper-crust he mimics.

 
Landlord of Memorial Stadium said:
The Harry Potter franchise as the best film adaptations? Please. The films were overall a triumph and earned a lot of money, but overall as films were average. 1 and 2 were hyper attention-to-detail kid's movies, 3 was absolutely fantastic, 4 was a piece of garbage, then 5-8 were good film that took a lot of creative license on source material.
Click to expand...
I was going to post something like this but thought it was probably my own bias as an avid reader of the series first. The movies never really hit it for me. I still haven't watched Deathly Hallows 2. Meh. They were successful though.

Similarly, I love the LOTR movies. I know they aren't exactly the same as the books, and I can point out things I don't like, but they bring that world to life so vividly. That, and I read the books after watching the first movie.

So for me, there's got to be some "which came first" bias here.

Jurassic Park is probably tops on my personal list. The movie still holds up 20+ years later, and was one of the most revolutionary films ever made as far as pushing the envelope of what is possible, and Crichton is one of my all-time favorite authors with that book being one of my favorites.
Click to expand...
I agree with this. Let's leave the sequels out of it, the first movie was breathtaking and one of my favorites of all time.

It's actually quite different from the book, and I later read and enjoy both books immensely. I think the movie had to be different in the ways that it was, so they really struck gold.

I don't see why they had to make the second movie depart from the second book the way that it did. That would have made a wonderful movie as it was. Crying shame.

 
Anyone that is a fan of Jurassic Park, I would really highly recommend buying the 'making of' book. It's on Amazon for like $2, and will give you an unbelievable amount more respect for how impressive that film is.

I read it a few months ago, and then rewatched the movie on blu-ray, and it was like seeing it for the first time with new eyes.

 
I'm not one of those that believes that the movie has to be exactly like the book. I can enjoy each for it's own artistic merrits and often enjoy seeing how the director/others changed things and why and sort of made it their own. /shrug if that makes any sense.

Dr. Strangelove - it was based on serious book, which I can't remember at the moment....slowly evolved into a comedy.

In the same breath,.... Full Metal Jacket I havn't read the book either.

and continuing on the Kubrick train The Shining I know King hated the movie but I think the movie stands on it's own.

I liked both Jaws the movie and the book, although the movie changed quite a bit from the book I still liked both.

Going the opposite way, I REALLY enjoyed Horns but haven't seen the movie version. I was disappointed when they made the Harry Potter kid the lead, but I could see how it still might work.

 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top