Book to film adaptations

[DeadPoolX 9]

I'd have to add Starship Troopers, written by Robert Heinlein in 1959, as an excellent book. However, the movie adaptation, directed by Paul Verhoeven in 1997, was a disaster. The problem was that Verhoeven (famous for his work on RoboCop, Total Recall, and Basic Instinct but also infamous for Showgirls) never finished reading the novel Heinlein wrote. According to Verhoeven himself, he only got through the first couple of chapters and then tossed the book away.

I tend to think that if you're going to base a film on a book, you should at least read the entire damn book beforehand. If you can't be bothered to do that, don't make the movie. To add insult to injury, the novel is only 263 pages long, which isn't exactly considered a "lengthy read." The bottom line is that Verhoeven was just being lazy and since he couldn't be bothered to read the source material for his film, he made up whatever he wanted. Because of that, the movie bombed.

[Mags 112]

Hannibal - awesome book, I think the best of all the Hannibal Lechter books.

I'm not sure I agree with you on that one. I thought Silence of the Lambs was a brilliant film, and the book was really good too. Wasn't very impressed with Hannibal.

Trainspotting. Good film and book.

[Trompe le Monde 1,107]

Trainspotting. Good film and book.

I liked the film, but found the book way darker than the film. The scene with the tomato soup, for example, is missing.

[almaty 19]

the orginal Planet of the Apes..with charleston heston.//and book..the book was better..i think it was by piers anthony., i may be wrong

[*JG* 2]

Hannibal - awesome book, I think the best of all the Hannibal Lechter books.

I'm not sure I agree with you on that one. I thought Silence of the Lambs was a brilliant film, and the book was really good too. Wasn't very impressed with Hannibal.

Trainspotting. Good film and book.

I have to agree. Hannibal just did not impress me in either form.

The Bourne Identity.....loved all the books. Can't seem to stay awake through any of the movies. I've seen the beginning of all of them several times.

I read every single day; but tend not to see many of the movies. I critique them to death and am usually left unimpressed with the screen adaptation of the books I enjoy.

[Sister Fracas 5]

Anyone have an opinion on Kiterunner book vs movie, or Love in the Time of Cholera book vs movie??? I haven't read or seen either.

Kite Runner - GREAT book, good movie

oop, just saw that...thanks...

[*JG* 2]

Anyone have an opinion on Kiterunner book vs movie, or Love in the Time of Cholera book vs movie??? I haven't read or seen either.

Kite Runner - GREAT book, good movie

oop, just saw that...thanks...

I loved the Kite runner book. Haven't seen the movie yet.

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

I'd have to add Starship Troopers, written by Robert Heinlein in 1959, as an excellent book. However, the movie adaptation, directed by Paul Verhoeven in 1997, was a disaster. The problem was that Verhoeven (famous for his work on RoboCop, Total Recall, and Basic Instinct but also infamous for Showgirls) never finished reading the novel Heinlein wrote. According to Verhoeven himself, he only got through the first couple of chapters and then tossed the book away.

I tend to think that if you're going to base a film on a book, you should at least read the entire damn book beforehand. If you can't be bothered to do that, don't make the movie. To add insult to injury, the novel is only 263 pages long, which isn't exactly considered a "lengthy read." The bottom line is that Verhoeven was just being lazy and since he couldn't be bothered to read the source material for his film, he made up whatever he wanted. Because of that, the movie bombed.

When I first watched it 10 years ago - I didn't really care care for that movie, but I didn't really look at it very closely. I do think that the movie is a pretty good satire of some of the themes in that book.

the orginal Planet of the Apes..with charleston heston.//and book..the book was better..i think it was by piers anthony., i may be wrong

I've not read the book - its by a French author I believe.

The original movie is really good - probably one of my favorite SF movies.

[Marilyn. 340]

Stuart Little - great book.. crappy movies....

Little Women - awesome book and the movie version with Winona Rider is pretty good...

Anne of Green Gables - awesome book - movies with Megan Follows are good although they don't follow the books all that closely and the last movie was utter #######...

[FutureAmerican 2]

DeadpoolX - Totally agree about the movie "Adaptation" of Starship Troopers....it completely distorted many of the scenes in the book - for example, the bit where the recruiter says "The Mobile Infantry made me the man I am today!", and it shows him with a robotic arm, leg, etc, was done in the movie as dark humor, whereas in the book it turns out that the recruiter is delibrately like that to show recruits the kind of sacrifices they may have to make in the service.

Also, I would have liked to see a "proper" adaptation with the full robotic suits and proper tactics, instead of "Let's just charge blindly into the enemy and get slaughtered!".

The whole "in order to understand democracy you must have helped defend it" concept went out the window too - and despite what some may think, in the book, military service wasn't the only option if you wanted to vote - it was any type of "Federal Service" working for the government. IMHO, something like that might not be such a bad idea these days anyway, with voter apathy going sky-high, but that's just me.

A Good Book/Movie Adaptation was LA Confidential - there were a LOT of subplots left out from the book, but if they had wanted to include all of them, and take the book to it's conclusion, it would have required a similar length to Lord of the Rings, so I was happy with what they managed to do in the time allowed - and the main characters in it were done perfectly by Russell Crowe, Kevin Spacey, Guy Pierce, James Cromwell et al. I would love to see more Ellroy adaptations to the big screen, with similar budgets and efforts. The Black Dahlia was a decent effort, but I think that it was more difficult to follow for those who hadn't read the book.

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

DeadpoolX - Totally agree about the movie "Adaptation" of Starship Troopers....it completely distorted many of the scenes in the book - for example, the bit where the recruiter says "The Mobile Infantry made me the man I am today!", and it shows him with a robotic arm, leg, etc, was done in the movie as dark humor, whereas in the book it turns out that the recruiter is delibrately like that to show recruits the kind of sacrifices they may have to make in the service.

Also, I would have liked to see a "proper" adaptation with the full robotic suits and proper tactics, instead of "Let's just charge blindly into the enemy and get slaughtered!".

The whole "in order to understand democracy you must have helped defend it" concept went out the window too - and despite what some may think, in the book, military service wasn't the only option if you wanted to vote - it was any type of "Federal Service" working for the government. IMHO, something like that might not be such a bad idea these days anyway, with voter apathy going sky-high, but that's just me.

That movie is pretty subversive - deliberately so in fact. I actually quite like it now, though I really hated it when I originally saw it.

That recruiting scene was done as satire in the movie - you don't lose the fact that the officer sacrificed his limbs doing his duty - but the implication is that the recruit should question whether joining up is actually worth the price.

Its actually an anti-war movie disguised as a shoot-em-up action movie.

[GabiandVi 34]

The best film adaptation of a book I've ever seen is the A&E/BBC version of Pride and Prejudice. Great book, great movie. (I also liked Davies' adaptation of Wives and Daughters. And I think he did Bridget Jones.) I disagree with whoever said that Sense and Sensibility isn't a good book but the Emma Thompson version of the movie is. The movie isn't bad, but the book is much better. (Coincidentally, my satelite went out today, so I popped in the Emma Thompson version of Sense and Sensibility and it made me want to read the book again.)

Other good book/good movies - Princess Bride (but the book was written by a screenwriter, so I'm sure he was thinking movie as he wrote it.)

Holes. The movie is nearly as good as the book.

The worst movie adaptation I've ever seen is The Outsiders. The book is not bad, but it is written in first person. The movie makes the Matt Dillon role the star, not Ponyboy. Horrible.

I just watched Love in the Time of Cholera. I never read it, but I got the feeling that it would have been a much better book. It was all about the main character's words of love. He wasn't very passionate off of the page. I think that was his whole character - the words he wrote. It just didn't translate.

Whale Rider is a good book and a good movie.

Rabbit Proof Fence is a good book and a good movie.

Grisham movies are better than his books.

The Thornbirds was a better book than mini-series, but the mini-series was very good.

[Alex & Rachel 78]

I don't dislike Sense and Sensibility - although it's not my favourite Austen books - I just thought the film adaptation improved upon a couple of areas. I re-read the book recently (inspired by watching the film) and was surprised at how much isn't in the book but is in the film. I feel the pacing of the film is a little better, and a straight adaptation wouldn't have worked, so I was impressed with the changes made. Oh, I might be biased because I love Alan Rickman/Kate Winslet, too.

I agree with you on Holes, though. I was pleasantly surprised by the film - the book is certainly better but the movie is still pretty good.

[Sister Fracas 5]

I just watched Love in the Time of Cholera. I never read it, but I got the feeling that it would have been a much better book. It was all about the main character's words of love. He wasn't very passionate off of the page. I think that was his whole character - the words he wrote. It just didn't translate.

That's interesting because I read some reader comments on book swap site I belong to and they really gave the book a poopy review. Maybe I'll just give the book AND movie a pass... lol

[jundp 191]

lord of the rings....good read and good films

I'm not as keen on the book today as I was when I was a kid, but it took me several attempts to get through that hideous, 100 page long Treebeard chapter.

WIth you on that. Probably one of the very few books I started that I put down and never picked up again.

Though I have a lovely student-made sculpture of Treebeard in my classroom... he taunts me daily.

I Am Legend. Great book, ####### movie.

What Dreams May Come. Great movie, so-so book.

Must Love Dogs...great book, great movie.

Pride and Prejudice...Great book, great movie (but only the BBC Colin Firth version).

I just watched Love in the Time of Cholera. I never read it, but I got the feeling that it would have been a much better book. It was all about the main character's words of love. He wasn't very passionate off of the page. I think that was his whole character - the words he wrote. It just didn't translate.

That's interesting because I read some reader comments on book swap site I belong to and they really gave the book a poopy review. Maybe I'll just give the book AND movie a pass... lol

Oh I thought it was a beautiful book. But I took a whole class in grad school on magical realism and Garcia Marquez was one of the mainstays.