Book to film adaptations

[Ban Hammer 13,977]

I can't even remember the last book I read from start to finish.

not even this one?

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

i agree...the book was a drag in parts and the ending in the shrine was unnecessary

Yeah they killed off Saruman early in the ROTK movie to avoid having to deal with the ending of the book. The weird thing is that the extended ending of LOTR doesn't really add a whole lot to the story (or thematically). The Shire gets turned into a big coal mine to show that nothing is the same as it once was (or can escape the fallout from the war) - but its all right in the end. Its only Frodo who can't get his a$$ in gear again.

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

The (Original) Shining. Good movie adaptation of one of King's stodgy page-turners.

The Hitchcock 39 Steps is good - despite Hitchcock never having actually read the Buchan book. Other than the basic premise its actually quite a bit different.

I was so disappointed by the Hitchcock version of The 39 Steps. The book is one of my favourite books; it's a fantastic thriller that's quite sinister in places and yet the later adaptations, including the play currently showing, have taken inspiration from Hitchcock rather than the book and turned it into a light-hearted comedy of sorts with romantic interest attached.

Now, Hitchcock's Rebecca - there's a great film based on a great book, and it's a pretty faithful adaptation, too.

Sense and Sensibility - okay book, but great film. Emma Thompson's screenplay is superb.

I've read many books which have been adapted into films and watched many films that I know are based upon books but there are very few where I have both read the book and seen the film.

I read Buchan's book a while ago - but it (and his other books) are very much a product of their time, in terms of the authors views on racism. HP Lovecraft is another author one like that (basically promotes the idea that anything "degenerate" can be traced back to blacks, jews, arabs or homosexuals).

BTW the recent film adaptation of Call of Cthulhu is a work of genius.

[peejay 327]

I've always been a huge fan of Elmore Leonard books and quite a lot of them were made into movies. The books are always good, but some of the movie adaptations fall short IMO.

"Valdez is Coming" was a great movie based on Elmore Leonard's book of the same name. Both the book and movie are personal favorites.

Leonard wrote a lot of Westerns earlier in his career and later focused on crime story plots. "Get Shorty" was one of his recent books adapted to a movie.

[Jenn! 918]

Bridget Jones' Diary: movie was better than the book (IMO)

[sara535 15]

Kite Runner - GREAT book, good movie

[Alex & Rachel 78]

The (Original) Shining. Good movie adaptation of one of King's stodgy page-turners.

The Hitchcock 39 Steps is good - despite Hitchcock never having actually read the Buchan book. Other than the basic premise its actually quite a bit different.

I was so disappointed by the Hitchcock version of The 39 Steps. The book is one of my favourite books; it's a fantastic thriller that's quite sinister in places and yet the later adaptations, including the play currently showing, have taken inspiration from Hitchcock rather than the book and turned it into a light-hearted comedy of sorts with romantic interest attached.

Now, Hitchcock's Rebecca - there's a great film based on a great book, and it's a pretty faithful adaptation, too.

Sense and Sensibility - okay book, but great film. Emma Thompson's screenplay is superb.

I've read many books which have been adapted into films and watched many films that I know are based upon books but there are very few where I have both read the book and seen the film.

I read Buchan's book a while ago - but it (and his other books) are very much a product of their time, in terms of the authors views on racism. HP Lovecraft is another author one like that (basically promotes the idea that anything "degenerate" can be traced back to blacks, jews, arabs or homosexuals).

BTW the recent film adaptation of Call of Cthulhu is a work of genius.

Well, yes; many books of that era have racist undertones but as you say they are a product of their time and I don't think it necessarily precludes them from being good stories. When I first read The 39 Steps I was fairly young and the racist undertones completely passed me by. I think it would be perfectly possible to make a faithful film adaptation of the book without having the film be racist. I don't recall the racist undertones being an integral part of the story.

I remember the two issues I had with the Hitchcock version (been many years since I saw it) were 1. the inclusion of the romance - Buchan's novel did not have any female characters (sexism as a product of the time? I guess he felt women had no place in a war-time thriller) and I felt the story worked better when the hero was on his own - and 2. the ending; in the novel the '39 steps' has a very significant meaning with great consequences, whereas in the movie it was all dismissed as a joke/hoax.

[KiKi 0]

Wuthering Heights:

Great book/ good movie (but missing major pieces of the story)

I thought that "Misery" was a great adaptation of a Stephen King novel.......MOST suck!

edited to add: "THe English Patient" is the rare case where I liked the movie BETTER than the book.

Edited May 5, 2008 by KiKi

[Trompe le Monde 1,107]

edited to add: "THe English Patient" is the rare case where I liked the movie BETTER than the book.

I agree with that - the movie just took a strand from the book and turned it into an even better story. The book itself is pretty forgettable.

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

The (Original) Shining. Good movie adaptation of one of King's stodgy page-turners.

The Hitchcock 39 Steps is good - despite Hitchcock never having actually read the Buchan book. Other than the basic premise its actually quite a bit different.

I was so disappointed by the Hitchcock version of The 39 Steps. The book is one of my favourite books; it's a fantastic thriller that's quite sinister in places and yet the later adaptations, including the play currently showing, have taken inspiration from Hitchcock rather than the book and turned it into a light-hearted comedy of sorts with romantic interest attached.

Now, Hitchcock's Rebecca - there's a great film based on a great book, and it's a pretty faithful adaptation, too.

Sense and Sensibility - okay book, but great film. Emma Thompson's screenplay is superb.

I've read many books which have been adapted into films and watched many films that I know are based upon books but there are very few where I have both read the book and seen the film.

I read Buchan's book a while ago - but it (and his other books) are very much a product of their time, in terms of the authors views on racism. HP Lovecraft is another author one like that (basically promotes the idea that anything "degenerate" can be traced back to blacks, jews, arabs or homosexuals).

BTW the recent film adaptation of Call of Cthulhu is a work of genius.

Well, yes; many books of that era have racist undertones but as you say they are a product of their time and I don't think it necessarily precludes them from being good stories. When I first read The 39 Steps I was fairly young and the racist undertones completely passed me by. I think it would be perfectly possible to make a faithful film adaptation of the book without having the film be racist. I don't recall the racist undertones being an integral part of the story.

I remember the two issues I had with the Hitchcock version (been many years since I saw it) were 1. the inclusion of the romance - Buchan's novel did not have any female characters (sexism as a product of the time? I guess he felt women had no place in a war-time thriller) and I felt the story worked better when the hero was on his own - and 2. the ending; in the novel the '39 steps' has a very significant meaning with great consequences, whereas in the movie it was all dismissed as a joke/hoax.

Well the subtexts are more apparent in books - its easy to edit them out of a movie script.

It is certainly possible to read books like that as a kid and be unaware of those subtexts, but its harder to avoid when you're reading them as an adult. Some of that stuff can be quite jarring - and its apparent in a lot (but not all) of 19th century - early 20th century adventure fiction. At lot of the pulp authors are like that - but you do see differences in attitude between say Dashiell Hammett and Raymond Chandler, HP Lovecraft and Clark Ashton Smith; or indeed - Josef Conrad and John Buchan.

As to the ending of the Hitchcock move I guess it depends how seriously you take the original premise, the MacGuffin was a well established device in Hitchcock's films.

Its kind of like the James Bond books/films which require some sort of identification with the importance of Bond's job or the strength of his patriotism to buy the character and the story. There's no shortage of variations on a James Bond type character, where the "hero" is shown to be totally indifferent to national security or "duty", is only involved in the story to further his own self-interest and where the intelligence community is show to be the sole province of deviant and amoral psychopaths.

[Illinois 0]

Namesake - Good book (by Jumpa Lahiri) to good film, although book is better.

Those with a South Asian heritage would specially appreciate both the book and the movie. But, it is a story of immigrants - applicable to all of us here, would you not agree?

[Trompe le Monde 1,107]

Namesake - Good book (by Jumpa Lahiri) to good film, although book is better.

Those with a South Asian heritage would specially appreciate both the book and the movie. But, it is a story of immigrants - applicable to all of us here, would you not agree?

I saw that film recently and loved it - I'd say that immigration is a backdrop to story about family, identity, love and loss.

[Mags 112]

The Other Boleyn Girl ~ Excellent book, ####### movie (the BBC adaptation was excellent though).

The Shawshank Redemption ~ Excellent novella, excellent movie.

[Imua 0]

Hannibal - awesome book, I think the best of all the Hannibal Lechter books. It was worth the 8 year wait and you could tell that Richard Harris spent a lot of time researching the places, characters and situations - when he described Florence I felt like I was back there. The movie was disappointing, just didn't have the depth that the book had.

As far as the Stephen King adaptations go, I think Carrie and The Shining are the best.

[greeneyedgirlfl 0]

Harry Potter - good books, good films, though I'd say the books are better than the films

I concur! Yes, I am a HP nerd...and LOTR, for that matter...