Best/Worst film adaptations of books

[Boris13c]

perhaps I am dating myself with the whole book reading thing ... but I think there are enough of us here to have a nice topic of discussion

I am sure others than me have seen a movie made from a book they enjoyed, and were amazed at the cinematic adaptation ... the reverse is also true, with a great book turned into a crap movie ... then there are the instances of the movie being better than the book read, though I have not found that to be a regular occurrence

so here are a few of my ideas on the topic

Best movie made from a book :

The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo - a disturbing but very engaging book made into a disturbing but very watchable movie ... a well told story in both the book and movie

honorable mention - Requiem for a Dream - I actually read the book after seeing the movie so not sure how that may have changed my expectations and comparison ... but I thought the book and the movie were in sync with the storytelling

Worst movie made from a book :

World War Z - I loved the book and thought it was a great story to follow ... the movie adaptation on the other hand was big on CGI and weak in actual characters ... Brad Pitt's take on the brainiac scientist was 100% wrong since his character was easily the dumbest person in the room regardless of who or what was in the room ... so either the director had no clue or Brad had his head in his ass

Movie adaptation that was better than the book :

Fight Club - read the book while on a work trip (someone had actually left it on the plane) ... thought it was amusing ... I thought the movie was a big improvement of the book and loved Pitt's Tyler Durden

[G08]

perhaps I am dating myself

I believe the kids call that "spankin' it"

[Boris13c]

perhaps I am dating myself

I believe the kids call that "spankin' it"

not quite what I meant but I see the humor

[G08]

perhaps I am dating myself

I believe the kids call that "spankin' it"

not quite what I meant but I see the humor

I know what you meant, but this was up on a tee for me

[Boris13c]

I know what you meant, but this was up on a tee for me

with a red carpet leading up to the tee box

[UOK]

The Lord of the Rings trilogy is kind of an all-timer, if not #1.

[Boris13c]

The Lord of the Rings trilogy is kind of an all-timer, if not #1.

I too enjoyed Lord of the Rings ... but do you think the movies were as good as the books? better?

[UOK]

The Lord of the Rings trilogy is kind of an all-timer, if not #1.

I too enjoyed Lord of the Rings ... but do you think the movies were as good as the books? better?

Better, by a hair.

[karhu]

Best:
The Road is fantastic any way it's dished up. No Country for Old Men was awfully good, too, but The Road did a better job with a tougher challenge IMSO.

Worst:
Cloud Atlas, hands down. Terrific book, but the movie spent a moment or two being so bad it was almost funny, then got depressingly worse for what felt like eighteen hours.

Stretch:
The Fry & Laurie Wooster and Jeeves series was just about perfect, like the novels themselves.

[thunderspirit]

Best: Shawshank Redemption. Nearly all the elements of the original short story are there, and portrayed with remarkable aplomb.

honorable mention: All Quiet on the Western Front. Also faithful to the source material, in a good way.

============================

Worst: The Hobbit. Loved the book, hated the film. And I really enjoyed Peter Jackson's LotR trilogy, so this was a double downer for me.

(dis)honorable mention: Every live-action version of a Dr. Seuss book.

============================

Better than the book: Blade Runner. Mostly because the parts hinted at in the novella are portrayed very well in the film.

honorable mention: The Maltese Falcon. Dashiell Hammett could only wish his Sam Spade had Bogie's presence.

[o-pus #40 in B major]

The Grapes of Wrath is a tossup between the novel and the film.

[Rusty Trombagent]

Best:
The Road is fantastic any way it's dished up. No Country for Old Men was awfully good, too, but The Road did a better job with a tougher challenge IMSO.

Worst:
Cloud Atlas, hands down. Terrific book, but the movie spent a moment or two being so bad it was almost funny, then got depressingly worse for what felt like eighteen hours.

Stretch:
The Fry & Laurie Wooster and Jeeves series was just about perfect, like the novels themselves.

man, i've been searching all my life and honestly never thought i'd find the one person on earth who thought the road adaptation was good.

[staleystarch]

I am currently reading 'The Spy Who Came In From The Cold' I saw the movie as a kid and again recently watched it on YouTube. Both the book and movie are great.