View Full Version : Movie Best movie based on a book?
ManWithNoName
21 Jun 2009, 15:29
The "Tomorrow, When The War Began" thread got me thinking about this. So I figured I'd get peoples opinions on the best films based on a book?
Me? I say the Lord of the Rings trilogy. Closely followed by To Kill a Mockingbird.
Note: I mean the best film, not the most accurate translation of the book.
DoubleO7
21 Jun 2009, 17:25
The Lord of the Rings!
/thread
Bomber32
21 Jun 2009, 21:44
The Godfather is right up there.
I thought Dr. Strangelove was actually better than the book.
A Clockwork Orange as also really good despite it's difference from the book. They're both outstanding independently considered of each other.
flight23
21 Jun 2009, 21:46
i read primal fear when i was younger and when i heard they were making it into a film, i was convinced noone could pull off the role of aaron stampler
enter ed norton
Dirtywhirl
21 Jun 2009, 22:50
No Country For Old Men
Magpiespower
22 Jun 2009, 08:42
All the President's Men
Despite some fans of the book's outrage, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest is a classic film.
Reckon the Wake in Fright fillum is better than the book...
u-hookin-me
22 Jun 2009, 14:34
Shawshank Redemption great movie based on book. Probs surpassed the book.
ALT FOCUS - WHat is the worst movie based on a book?
For that I would have to say The Power Of One. Loved the book. Truly amazing story. Was pumped to see the movie and was a massive let down from start to finish.
flight23
22 Jun 2009, 15:10
Shawshank Redemption great movie based on book. Probs surpassed the book.
yeah was a really great book, stephen king can write
im pretty sure i read the green mile as a book as well, was another well written story
crows98
22 Jun 2009, 15:46
Shawshank Redemption great movie based on book. Probs surpassed the book.
Na mate, Stephen King novels are way better to read than what the movie turns out to be. Shawshank Redemption is no different. It was a great movie but a much better read.
Most times if the book is unknown, then the movie will turn out to be better but if it’s a popular story – the movie doesn’t do it justice.
Most times if the book is unknown, then the movie will turn out to be better but if it’s a popular story – the movie doesn’t do it justice.
How do you come to this conclusion?
Unless you mean book unbeknowst to you in which case how can you decide what's better?
crows98
22 Jun 2009, 16:06
How do you come to this conclusion?
Unless you mean book unbeknowst to you in which case how can you decide what's better?
Because (and Jo – this is my opinion....not stating it as a fact...but solely as an opinion) words can describe an event, place or action far greater and more in-depth than a picture can. The book gives you a far greater appreciation of the story. But just to clear it up – this is just my opinion.
Unknown or unbeknown to me – does it really matter as if i see the movie and then go read the book; the movie in most cases doesn’t do the book justice. But you are allowed to disagree as this is just my opinion.
Because (and Jo – this is my opinion....not stating it as a fact...but solely as an opinion) words can describe an event, place or action far greater and more in-depth than a picture can. The book gives you a far greater appreciation of the story. But just to clear it up – this is just my opinion.
Unknown or unbeknown to me – does it really matter as if i see the movie and then go read the book; the movie in most cases doesn’t do the book justice. But you are allowed to disagree as this is just my opinion.
I agree with you on all that, I was just curious as to why you thought that unknown books generally have better movies?
crows98
22 Jun 2009, 16:24
I agree with you on all that, I was just curious as to why you thought that unknown books generally have better movies?
Levels of expectation. Especially if it’s a good book and the writer is very graphical in their description, after many good parts have been left out – l feel a bit disappointed. If it’s an unknown book – the level of expectation is different.
Inciting Violence
22 Jun 2009, 16:31
Can you also do book based on movie? if so Street Fighter was pretty sweet :o
Levels of expectation. Especially if it’s a good book and the writer is very graphical in their description, after many good parts have been left out – l feel a bit disappointed. If it’s an unknown book – the level of expectation is different.
Good point:thumbsu: I spose, also, when it's a huge budget movie from a blockbuster (think Harry Potter) there's certainly more scope for disappointment then if they're just picking out some moderately likeable text that hasn't reached godzilla like proportions.
crows98
22 Jun 2009, 16:41
Good point:thumbsu: I spose, also, when it's a huge budget movie from a blockbuster (think Harry Potter) there's certainly more scope for disappointment then if they're just picking out some moderately likeable text that hasn't reached godzilla like proportions.
Absolutely – i have seen all of the HP movies (sad i know) but i have only seen them once at the cinema as they are a complete fabrication of the original story, well not really but that’s how it felt after reading the books.
How can you fit 750 pages or writing into a 150 minute movie. :confused:
crows98
22 Jun 2009, 16:44
Can you also do book based on movie? if so Street Fighter was pretty sweet :o
Pretty sure that was a video game first as wasn’t that the one with Kylie Minogue?
Inciting Violence
22 Jun 2009, 16:49
Pretty sure that was a video game first as wasn’t that the one with Kylie Minogue?
Yep its this one
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0111301/
worst present ever
crows98
22 Jun 2009, 16:52
Yep its this one
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0111301/
worst present ever
You mean you watched it? :eek:
Were you bad that year?
Inciting Violence
22 Jun 2009, 17:11
You mean you watched it? :eek:
Were you bad that year?
Havnt seen all of it, i got the book as a present. Must of done something wrong
If the Bourne movies were from a book then they were very good. Lord of the Rings and Jurrasic Park/Lost World were also good.
Na mate, Stephen King novels are way better to read than what the movie turns out to be. Shawshank Redemption is no different. It was a great movie but a much better read.
It depends on the length of the story IMO. The best King movies have been shorter fictional works - The Body/Stand by Me. Shawshank Redemption for two. As a VERY rough guide in order to do a book justice you need approximately one hour screen time per hundred pages, so most of his horror stories have been butchered to cut out a lot of the set up in movies. If you can classify it as a movie, The Stand is probably the only exception because it was given enough hours to work.
Probably why Lord of the Rings is so good an adaptation as well, they didn't try and cut it down to 2 hrs a movie, they (especially the extended editions) give you a close to full picture like the books (though why the extended FotR couldn't have Tom Bombadil :mad: ).
soupaman
23 Jun 2009, 12:32
If the Bourne movies were from a book then they were very good.
The Bourne books a really good, but have a lot of really flat patches. The movies sort of re-interpreted the books and changed a lot of the storyline around.
Burningleviathan
23 Jun 2009, 12:39
Hellraiser and Candyman wer two pretty decent horror films adapted from Clive Barker short stories.
LA Confidential was a pretty good movie from a James Ellroy novel.
crows98
23 Jun 2009, 13:32
It depends on the length of the story IMO. The best King movies have been shorter fictional works - The Body/Stand by Me. Shawshank Redemption for two. As a VERY rough guide in order to do a book justice you need approximately one hour screen time per hundred pages, so most of his horror stories have been butchered to cut out a lot of the set up in movies. If you can classify it as a movie, The Stand is probably the only exception because it was given enough hours to work.
Probably why Lord of the Rings is so good an adaptation as well, they didn't try and cut it down to 2 hrs a movie, they (especially the extended editions) give you a close to full picture like the books (though why the extended FotR couldn't have Tom Bombadil :mad: ).
Yeah i agree with what you are saying but they still leave stuff out – it’s impossible not to.
And i agree with you when you say the horror stories being butchered, when i read Christine i was scared half to death but the movie (one of my all time favs) was tame in comparison. IMO the closes movie depicted into a screenplay was Misery
flight23
23 Jun 2009, 14:09
If the Bourne movies were from a book then they were very good.
robert ludlum is the author and im a big fan of all his books, they all jump from one country to another and back again very quickly, with secret super villains normally being , the US govt, the nazis coming back, the catholic church taking over or the military wanting to go nuts
the bourne series was a really great adaption of the books, Damon underplayed it really well and like in the book, you watched bourne remember his skills as the story went along
magtrev
23 Jun 2009, 14:55
Fight Club for me :O
(or Dune for lulz. Can't go wrong with Sting in your movie amiright)
Punchy Bassett
23 Jun 2009, 15:19
The Running Man, nothing like the book still a good film :)
magtrev
23 Jun 2009, 15:23
The Running Man, nothing like the book still a good film :)
:thumbsu:
krusden
23 Jun 2009, 15:41
I'll agree with most on this list, especially shawshank and lotr, and add in The Perfect Storm and Blackhawk Down.
Interestingly, almost all of the rest of the Shawshank novella book has been made into movies minus the final story.
finders
23 Jun 2009, 15:53
To Kill a Mocking Bird was a good adaptation of the original book by Harper Lee.
ghost world, fight club, mysterious skin, into the wild, election, the ice storm ect...
Minkus_Swan
23 Jun 2009, 20:13
robert ludlum is the author and im a big fan of all his books, they all jump from one country to another and back again very quickly, with secret super villains normally being , the US govt, the nazis coming back, the catholic church taking over or the military wanting to go nuts
the bourne series was a really great adaption of the books, Damon underplayed it really well and like in the book, you watched bourne remember his skills as the story went along
Ahh, if you've read all the bourne books- then I'm very surprised to see you said that. Apart from the start of Bourne Identity and some of the characters names - the films have nothing to do with the books.
The Bourne Supremacy novel is set in Hong Kong FFS! :D
Still, the Bourne films were very good.
Speaking of spy novel/film adaptations, I thought The Day of the Jackal was brilliant.