Best movies adapted from a book.

[GonzoStyle]

What are some of the best movies you've seen derived from a book? Movies where you watched them and they made you wanna go and read the book? I'm not adding any classic novels such as Shakespeare I only say that cause there are so many great adaptions of Hamlet, Richard III, etc. Or Tolstoy & dostoyevsky but I do consider them some of the greatest adaptions ever. Here's some of my picks.

AN AMERICAN TRAGEDY (A PLACE IN THE SUN)
HEARTS OF DARKNESS (APOCALYPSE NOW)
THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS
GRAPES OF WRATH
STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE
TWELEVE ANGRY MEN
FIGHT CLUB
THE DAY OF THE JACKAL
THE GODFATHER
THE EXORCIST
JAWS

EDIT* Thanks for fixing the title whoever it was.



Edited By GonzoStyle on Feb. 27 2002 at 3:44

[Spitfire]

No prob

damn, it's easier to list the worst ones.

Rebecca
Jane Eyre
Fellowship of the Ring
Harry Potter
Secret of Nihm cartoon
Gone with the Wind
Mary Poppins
The Wizard of Oz
Sleepy Hollow
Stand by Me
The Shining
...think of more later...
<font color=white>



Edited By Spitfire on Feb. 27 2002 at 3:54

[PollyannaFlower46]

A worst one:

The Great Gatsby (it was on TV)

[GonzoStyle]

Spit no words could ever describe my love for you. You are the light brightening my day and the angel warming my heart.

Gone With The Wind definetly a good choice.

As far as worst please be my guest, list em.

I know what most people are thinking 'Bonfire Of The Vanaties.'

A movie that was actually a 100 times better than the book though, Forrest Gump. What a fuckin boring read that was man.

[Galt]

Shawshank Redemption
American Psycho
Private Parts
Virgin Suicides
Kiss The Girls
Jurrassic Park
Penthouse Letters - the video
Battleship Earth (not so good)
Great Expectations = HORRIBLE



Edited By Galt on Feb. 27 2002 at 4:34

[IkeaBoy]

I hate repeating things over and over again so I didn't see these mentioned (what everyone has said I pretty mcuh agree with). And personally I don't think plays should count unless it's a radical adaptation of it.

Wag the Dog- FAR better than American Hero, the book it was based on
Psycho- Psycho
O Brother Where Art Thou- The Odyssey
Clockwork Orange

[Kim]

The Color Purple by Alice Walker. It was a better book then movie...

[GonzoStyle]

The Color Purple by Alice Walker. It was a better book then movie...

Very funny film indeed.

[PatCooper]

The Outsiders. I liked the book and the movie was good too.
American Phyco was really good too both the book and the movie.

[criticslovesnatch]

two very good plays that were made into great movies:

A Few Good Men
One Flew Over the Cukoo's Nest

[FNMoron]

Fear & Loathing in Las Vegas - by Hunter S. Thompson ...excellent read... good movie

Apt Pupil - short story by Stephen King (part of the Bachman Books, if memory serves...) one of my favorite King stories and I think they did a fine job making it a movie... I actually like that they used a lesser known cast in this movie...

[IkeaBoy]

Apt Pupil - short story by Stephen King (part of the Bachman Books, if memory serves...) one of my favorite King stories and I think they did a fine job making it a movie... I actually like that they used a lesser known cast in this movie...

Apt Pupil was p[art of the "Different Seasons" collection which actually gave us two of the best king movies- Shawshank and Stand by Me. the fourth one was never turned into a movie. I thought Apt Pupil was a good movie but didn't go far enough into Todd's insanity and obsession as the short story did. it also had a better ending with Bowman going insane and shooting people on the freeway.

[Arpikarhu]

two very good plays that were made into great movies:

A Few Good Men
One Flew Over the Cukoo's Nest

cukoos nest was a novel by ken kesey. not a play. it became a play much later.

the odyssey was not a book.

12 angry men was not a book

streetcar named desire was not a book

the original movie version of great expectations with alec guiness was great

american hero by beinhart was a great book



Edited By Arpikarhu on Feb. 27 2002 at 9:40

[IkeaBoy]

the odyssey was not a book.

if plays count, epic poems do

[Arpikarhu]

the odyssey was not a book.

if plays count, epic poems do

the topic says book.

[FNMoron]

I thought Apt Pupil was a good movie but didn't go far enough into Todd's insanity and obsession as the short story did. it also had a better ending with Bowman going insane and shooting people on the freeway.

agreed....

[Faceman]

For some reason I can't get "Needful Things" out of my head. It wasn't the best movie in the world but had 2 of my favorite actors in Max Von Sidow and Ed Harris.

Carrie
Cujo
Bone Collector(wasn't that bad)
Sense and Sensibility
The Crow(I don't know if a graphic novel counts here)
All Quiet on the Western Front
The Green Mile(I haven't seen it but I heard it was good)

[Arthur Dent]

Also Stephen King's "The Green Mile" was a very good adaption.

Anybody remember "The Outsiders" about a 1950's street gang? The movie version had a lot of young actors who all became famous. I think Patrick Swayze was the leader of the gang and River Phoenix was in it too. Great book and movie.

Gonz:
The novel of Jaws was much better than the book. Especially the affair between the marine biologist and Brody's wife.

More bad books to movie:
Michael Chrichton's -
Jurassic Park
"Flesh Eaters" (13th Warrior with Antonio Banderos)
Congo (mediocre book, lousy film)