What's new
Fantasy Football - Footballguys Forums

This is a sample guest message. Register a free account today to become a member! Once signed in, you'll be able to participate on this site by adding your own topics and posts, as well as connect with other members through your own private inbox!

All-Time Favorite Book-to-Movie Adaptations (1 Viewer)

I'm gauging this on how good the actual movie is as that seems to be the metric. With that in mind, here are my top 5:
1. A Clockwork Orange - brilliant book, of course, but man did the movie knock it out of the park, too. Easily the best combination of book + movie.
2. The Shining - Probably not even a top ten Stephen King book but obviously the movie crushes it (which is odd because, IIRC, King didn't like it). Kubrick is so good.
3. Primal Fear - Totally mediocre, ho hum thriller of a novel but Norton's portrayal of Aaron is so great. I think this is the biggest disparity of movie >>> book ever.
4. Dune - Great book and the new movie I thought nailed it.
5. Shawshank Redemption
 
Jaws

The book was a very good read......but I actually liked the movie even more. It is a classic.

The book had some really key differences too from the movie adaption. And since the book is over 40 years old I am going to tell you one of them

Brody’s wife sleeps with Hooper. So Brody did not bring Hooper up in the cage knowing this and of course he was eaten. Pretty awesome LOL.
 
Godfather and American Psycho are both top-tier nominees that have already been mentioned. A few others:

Fight Club. Not only is it a great film, but the book is also great. If you read the book before seeing the movie, you might wonder how they could possibly set this to film and still capture the general tone of the novel. They succeeded.

Trainspotting. I haven't read the book so I can't comment on the "adaptation" part, but the film slaps.

Lord of the Rings. Obvious. Nobody will ever make an adaptation of these books that tops Peter Jackson's trilogy. Nobody should bother to try.
 
Klimtology said:
Gally said:
A Time to Kill is one of my favorites. You can probably pick a few of Grisham's selections.
Click to expand...
The Firm was butchered imo
Click to expand...
It's why Grisham stopped giving control when selling the movie rights to his books. That was the first one and he didn't keep a say in the movie adaptation and he hated what they did.

I know the movie was vastly different than the book (The Firm) but I thought each of them were good as they were. The movie worked even with the changes.
 
IvanKaramazov said:
Lord of the Rings. Obvious. Nobody will ever make an adaptation of these books that tops Peter Jackson's trilogy. Nobody should bother to try.
Click to expand...
I've read the Lord of the Rings many times and refuse to see the movies.

I've had these images in my head since I was a kid of how these characters "look". I don't want a movie to take those memories away from me. I know it's silly but I just can't do it.
 
ChiefD said:
IvanKaramazov said:
Lord of the Rings. Obvious. Nobody will ever make an adaptation of these books that tops Peter Jackson's trilogy. Nobody should bother to try.
Click to expand...
I've read the Lord of the Rings many times and refuse to see the movies.

I've had these images in my head since I was a kid of how these characters "look". I don't want a movie to take those memories away from me. I know it's silly but I just can't do it.
Click to expand...
I can understand this. TBS The Movies are amazing!
 
Gally said:
Klimtology said:
Gally said:
A Time to Kill is one of my favorites. You can probably pick a few of Grisham's selections.
Click to expand...
The Firm was butchered imo
Click to expand...
It's why Grisham stopped giving control when selling the movie rights to his books. That was the first one and he didn't keep a say in the movie adaptation and he hated what they did.

I know the movie was vastly different than the book (The Firm) but I thought each of them were good as they were. The movie worked even with the changes.
Click to expand...

I read a Grisham book a few months ago after not reading him for 20+ years. I absolutely LOVED the book - "Playing for Pizza". I don't know if he ever sells this one to Hollywood, but the book was terrific. It would make for a fun film if they did it correctly.
 
Lord of the Rings was pretty damn good.

Couple of series if you want to go down that road, Band of Brothers, The Pacific and for at least the first 4-5 seasons Game of Thrones.
 
Two Elmore Leonard:
1. Out of Sight (Best captures the vibe in his writing, this movie comes the closest).
2. Jackie Brown, originally Rum Punch. It's a better movie than Out of Sight, I mean, it's Tarantino.

Never read 3:10 to Yuma, but the movie was great.
 
massraider said:
Two Elmore Leonard:
1. Out of Sight (Best captures the vibe in his writing, this movie comes the closest).
2. Jackie Brown, originally Rum Punch. It's a better movie than Out of Sight, I mean, it's Tarantino.

Never read 3:10 to Yuma, but the movie was great.
Click to expand...
Beat me by 11 minutes.
Tarantino was so reverential to the source material he barely altered it, apart from Jackie Burke to Jackie Brown and the lead characters skin color.
I had read Rum Punch first and couldnt believe how closely Tarantino stuck to the excellent source material.
 
Another Lord of the Rings vote here. And while it was not a perfect adaptation as all movies made from books have to take some liberties, it was fabulous in so many ways.
 
No Country for Old Men. Book and film are both phenomenal.

(The book makes it much clearer that Tommy Lee Jones is the main character. You kind of get that in the film, but not really. The effect is that the film's messaging is actual more subtle than the book's.)
 
General Malaise said:
Dr. Octopus said:
Misery
Click to expand...

I liked the book - LOVED the movie. They nailed this one. Many of his other books are complete flops on screen.
Click to expand...
Oddly, it's the books that are just "good" (Misery, The Green Mile, Shawshank, The Shining, Carrie) that seem to make the best movies.

He wrote a short story as Richard Bachman entitled "Rage." I really, really wish that didn't turn into a real life movie but I am always compelled to mention it because, pre-Columbine before we knew much about school shooters, the short story is eerily realistic and well-written.
 
Zow said:
I'm gauging this on how good the actual movie is as that seems to be the metric. With that in mind, here are my top 5:
1. A Clockwork Orange - brilliant book, of course, but man did the movie knock it out of the park, too. Easily the best combination of book + movie.
2. The Shining - Probably not even a top ten Stephen King book but obviously the movie crushes it (which is odd because, IIRC, King didn't like it). Kubrick is so good.
3. Primal Fear - Totally mediocre, ho hum thriller of a novel but Norton's portrayal of Aaron is so great. I think this is the biggest disparity of movie >>> book ever.
4. Dune - Great book and the new movie I thought nailed it.
5. Shawshank Redemption
Click to expand...

Interesting. I agree that The Shining probably isn't a top 10 King book but I still like it a lot and think it is better than the movie. I'm with King on the movie. The book was good because Danny, Wendy, and even Jack in his own way are all sympathetic characters and more importantly the family unit is one that you care about. In the movie both Jack and Wendy are so annoying that I find myself rooting for the hotel, and Danny, who should be kind of important since the title is "The Shining" seems like an afterthought.

Related topic - Anyone have an opinion on how Doctor Sleep compares with the book? I am intrigued since Ewan McGregor is in it, but my dislike of The Shining move is one of the reasons I haven't seen it.
 
Best Book to Movie that Got Everything Just Right:

A Room With a View
Every casting choice, the script, music, production, etc. It's all just spot on (well I guess they couldn't get the flower color right for one big scene but that's like the only gripe). Other than that, they got literally everything from the E.M. Forster book perfectly into the film without going over or under on time, scenes.

Honorable Mentions: In Cold Blood, Revolutionary Road , Greta Gerwig's Little Women

Best Book to Move where the Task was Impossible but the result was Commendable:

Catch 22
The Mike Nichols' movie seems to have gotten a bit of a bum rap but I think it's because of how unadaptable and beloved the book was. It's a really really good movie. They got the tone right which is the biggest thing imo. They did as well as I think was possible, hats off.

Honorable Mentions: The Age of Innocence, The Remains of the Day, David Lean's Great Expectations


Best Book to Movie that Improved on an Already Good Book:

Double Indemnity
James M. Cain knows how to deal terse hard boiled fiction but Billy Wilder turned a great beach read into one a genre defining Hollywood classic.


Honorable Mentions: The Maltese Falcon, The Thin Man, No Country for Old Men


Botched Adaptation of a Very Adaptable Book:
The Black Dahlia
After how incredible L.A. Confidential is, this makes a total mockery of a great James Ellroy book. What a gd shame. I would love to see someone give this another swing. You can't just do a straight adaptation of his books but the blue print with LA was right there plus the famous murder. I loved this book and just hate what they did to it. Boxing, Old Hollywood, Famous Crimes, Weird Doctors, Crooked Cops. This thing had it all. Maybe a TV limited series? Someone?

Honorable Mentions: BUtterfield 8, A Farewell to Arms, The Girl on the Train
 
Last edited:
ChiefD said:
IvanKaramazov said:
Lord of the Rings. Obvious. Nobody will ever make an adaptation of these books that tops Peter Jackson's trilogy. Nobody should bother to try.
Click to expand...
I've read the Lord of the Rings many times and refuse to see the movies.

I've had these images in my head since I was a kid of how these characters "look". I don't want a movie to take those memories away from me. I know it's silly but I just can't do it.
Click to expand...
The first movie was very good and mostly stayed to the books. The second and third movies lost me. He destroyed what the Enta were supposed to be especially. Although both of those movies were still miles ahead of the Hobbit movies. Wow, those were bad.

I thought the first two Harry Potter books were adapted perfectly by Chris Columbus fwiw. POA was my favorite book, but A Curon changed it around too much for my liking.
 
I was probably one of the few that read forest gump before the movie was released.

That adaption turned out well.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

fruity pebbles
Movie booking/convenience fees
Replies
6
Views
391
Hastur
Hastur
Scoresman
The 101 Best Science Fiction/Fantasy Movies of All Time: 1. Interstellar
24 25 26
Replies
1K
Views
84K
Desert_Power
Desert_Power
Ministry of Pain
A Christmas Movie I had never seen
Replies
5
Views
483
Frostillicus
Frostillicus

Users who are viewing this thread

Total: 1 (members: 0, guests: 1)
Back
Top