Bastille Night Posted August 2, 2005 Share Posted August 2, 2005 Well, I searched for this topic and found threads for Grisham and King, but no others. So, what are your favorite and most hated book adaptations to film? I am a diehard reader from my formative years, and I am usually disappointed with film adaptations of my favorite books. However, there are a few good ones out there. So to get things started, here are a couple: My Favorites: Stand by Me, Lord of the Rings (one of the 'unfilmable' books), Shawshank Redemption (hmmmm, two Stephen King stories) My Least Favorite: Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas.......one of my favorite books (another 'unfilmable' book), one of my favorite directors (Terry Gilliam) and two of my favorite actors (Johnny Depp and Benicio del Toro), yet the film didn't work for me at all. So, how 'bout you? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hypatia Posted August 2, 2005 Share Posted August 2, 2005 Best adaptation in that the movie version was orders of magnitude better than the book: Jurassic Park. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dweezil Posted August 2, 2005 Share Posted August 2, 2005 Bourne Identity/Supremacy What a f***ing waste of film. Bad acting. Didn't stick with the story much etc. etc. I love Ludlum and have read almost all of his books, but those adaptations sucked. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rushgoober Posted August 2, 2005 Share Posted August 2, 2005 definitely the lord of the rings in terms of best adaption. one that comes to mind for worst adaption was DUNE, and that from a david lynch fan... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pedro2112 Posted August 2, 2005 Share Posted August 2, 2005 Andromeda Strain was actually fairly decent.. and LOTR trilogy was also very good. Another good mention is Eye of the Needle. As far as worst adaptation goes.. that has to go to Rand's "The Fountainhead." Burt Lancaster giving 6 minute Randian soliloquies was enough to make one deficate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
invisibleairwaves Posted August 2, 2005 Share Posted August 2, 2005 Best- Lord Of The Rings Worst- Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy. The ending was messed up. Maybe I just like the book too much. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oberon Posted August 2, 2005 Share Posted August 2, 2005 Best -- Lord of the Rings Worst -- Harry Potter 1&2, James and the Giant Peach, Dune, Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
physics23 Posted August 2, 2005 Share Posted August 2, 2005 QUOTE (Bastille Night @ Aug 1 2005, 07:32 PM)My Least Favorite: Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas.......one of my favorite books (another 'unfilmable' book), one of my favorite directors (Terry Gilliam) and two of my favorite actors (Johnny Depp and Benicio del Toro), yet the film didn't work for me at all. Back when I read the book, I had no idea what the words mescaline or ether meant. I kept having to look up all the narcotics mentioned (which there are a lot of...), and I felt a distance from the narrator that detracted from my appreciation of his story. The movie, on the other hand, was far more accessible. I also thought the acting and direction were great. So here I'd say the movie worked better for me than the book. Some day, though, I'll have to read it again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moonraker Posted August 2, 2005 Share Posted August 2, 2005 One of my favorites is Gettysburg, adapted from Michael Shaara's Killer Angels. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kazzman Posted August 2, 2005 Share Posted August 2, 2005 QUOTE (Moonraker @ Aug 2 2005, 01:36 AM) One of my favorites is Gettysburg, adapted from Michael Shaara's Killer Angels. Yeah, but Gods and Generals absolutly sucked. The book was ecellent, but the movie was terrible. It should have been called "Stonewall Jackson drinks lemonade." What gets me is they cut out the battle of Antietam/Sharpsburg and kept in the stuff during the winter camps in. It would have been a hell of a lot more interesting if they didn't jump from 1st Bull Run/Manassas all the way to Fredricksburg (which was over the course of a full year and a half). The battle scenes used the same footage over and over again and they didn't capture the brutality of the war at all. The closest thing to it they showed was a guy with his arm missing. As much as I despise this movie there were actually two parts of it that I enjoyed. Jackson's farewell speech (because I was in that part) and the part with the Irish. The rest of it... meh. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
softfilter Posted August 2, 2005 Share Posted August 2, 2005 Well ,kazzman beat me to it in worst department GODS AND GENERALS,great book horrible movie. THE GREEN MILE staring Tom Hanks very good adaptation of Stephen Kings novel. Hell we can do a entire thread on the best and worst adaptations to film on Kings books alone ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slaine mac Roth Posted August 2, 2005 Share Posted August 2, 2005 QUOTE (pedro2112 @ Aug 2 2005, 01:49 AM) As far as worst adaptation goes.. that has to go to Rand's "The Fountainhead." Burt Lancaster giving 6 minute Randian soliloquies was enough to make one deficate. Funny, I always thought it was gary Cooper in The Fountainhead.... As to my favourites: Lord of the Rings (live action not the apalling animated) The Andromeda Strain The Hunt for Red October worst Paycheck I Robot Day of the Triffids Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pedro2112 Posted August 2, 2005 Share Posted August 2, 2005 QUOTE (Slaine mac Roth @ Aug 2 2005, 04:23 AM) Funny, I always thought it was gary Cooper in The Fountainhead.... I stand corrected. I also agree with Hunt for Red October.. great film. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NeilPeartFan2112 Posted August 2, 2005 Share Posted August 2, 2005 I loved The Shawshank Redemption and Lord Of The Rings. I'd have to agree with Slaine. Paycheck was horrible. Might be one of the worst movies I've EVER seen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
softfilter Posted August 2, 2005 Share Posted August 2, 2005 2001 A SPACE ODYSSEY- Only after reading Arther C. Clarkes book,saw the movie first thought it was a wacked out acid trip.THEN I read the book and it all made sense perfect adaptation. Can't say the same for sequel 2010 mediocre at best although the appearance of David Bowman was done well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slaine mac Roth Posted August 2, 2005 Share Posted August 2, 2005 QUOTE (NeilPeartFan2112 @ Aug 2 2005, 04:39 PM) I'd have to agree with Slaine. Paycheck was horrible. Might be one of the worst movies I've EVER seen. To add insult to injury, the original short story was great - then again, we are talking Philip K Dick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rushgoober Posted August 2, 2005 Share Posted August 2, 2005 QUOTE (pedro2112 @ Aug 1 2005, 08:49 PM) Andromeda Strain was actually fairly decent.. and LOTR trilogy was also very good. Another good mention is Eye of the Needle. As far as worst adaptation goes.. that has to go to Rand's "The Fountainhead." Burt Lancaster giving 6 minute Randian soliloquies was enough to make one deficate. Eye of the Needle - wow! I never read the book, but I remember seeing the movie when it came out like 25 years ago or so. I've wanted to see it again ever since, but never find it at video stores - I remember it being a really well done espionage movie with Donald Sutherland - one day I'll come across it again... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rushgoober Posted August 2, 2005 Share Posted August 2, 2005 QUOTE (physics23 @ Aug 1 2005, 11:43 PM) QUOTE (Bastille Night @ Aug 1 2005, 07:32 PM)My Least Favorite: Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas.......one of my favorite books (another 'unfilmable' book), one of my favorite directors (Terry Gilliam) and two of my favorite actors (Johnny Depp and Benicio del Toro), yet the film didn't work for me at all. Back when I read the book, I had no idea what the words mescaline or ether meant. I kept having to look up all the narcotics mentioned (which there are a lot of...), and I felt a distance from the narrator that detracted from my appreciation of his story. The movie, on the other hand, was far more accessible. I also thought the acting and direction were great. So here I'd say the movie worked better for me than the book. Some day, though, I'll have to read it again. I read this book back when I WAS into drugs (or shortly after I quit), though of course I hadn't done most of the drugs they talk about (after all, there were so MANY of them). I enjoyed the book fairly well back then, but I really didn't like the film at all - it was really depressing, probably what I would think of the book if I was to read it again today - an exercise in way over-the-top self-indlugence almost beyond reason... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slacker Posted August 3, 2005 Share Posted August 3, 2005 The ending in the book Jaws was totally different then the ending in the movie... None the less, they were both awsome Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bastille Night Posted August 3, 2005 Author Share Posted August 3, 2005 Another great adaptation was 'One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest'. I didn't read Kesey's book until after I saw the movie, but I ended up loving both. Fabulous film. Another horrendous adaptation was 'Even Cowgirls Get the Blues'. I really liked Tom Robbins' novel, but the movie was just awful.....even with Uma Thurman to look at. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrMiltonBanana Posted August 5, 2005 Share Posted August 5, 2005 Best Battle Royale. Although it wasn't exactly the same, it was still a great adataptation of a great story. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack Aubrey Posted August 5, 2005 Share Posted August 5, 2005 Worst: 'The Legend Of Bagger Vance'. Redford TOTALLY missed the point of the book! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rushgoober Posted August 5, 2005 Share Posted August 5, 2005 QUOTE (Jack Aubrey @ Aug 5 2005, 08:17 AM) Worst: 'The Legend Of Bagger Vance'. Redford TOTALLY missed the point of the book! Wow. The book must have been something special then, since I thought the movie was really good. It's been a long time, but I remember reading The World According to Garp, and while the movie didn't capture everything, I thought it was a fantastic movie nonetheless... Now Simon Birch on the other hand I remember as being good, but nowhere near the book A Prayer for Owen Meaney, also by John Irving... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madra sneachta Posted August 11, 2005 Share Posted August 11, 2005 Garp was a good adaptation, and Im also very impressed with Jackson's LOTR trilogy (notwithstanding the last 15/20 mins of Return...). Worst - At the moment, having just re-read Ludlims "The Bourne Identity", There was so much left out of the film that's where my vote goes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Signals1982 Posted August 12, 2005 Share Posted August 12, 2005 Best: Lotr of course. And A Clockwork Orange. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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