I think the Harry Potter movies did a pretty good job at bringing the books to life. The casting was a big part of it.
I was terribly disappointed in Brad Pitts adaption of World War Z.
Normal Adjacent
Join the best erotica focused adult social network now
Login
Movies or series based on books. Good adaptions or below par ones.
last reply
30 replies
2.3k views
0 watchers
0 likes
Active Ink Slinger
I loved the book We Need To Talk About Kevin and even though Lynne Ramsey Tilda Swinton both claimed to adore the book I was sadly let downy the movie. It shied away from some of the most though-provoking aspects in the final third.
I am a huge fan of the novel Dracula and it has had quite a history of adaptations. I enjoy many of them but few of them are especially faithful to the novel. In fact, the famous 1931 version starring Bela Lugosi as Dracula wasn't even based directly on the novel. It's based on a play by Hamilton Deane and John Balderston, though it did add some material from the novel to the beginning. The 1979 version starring Frank Langella as Dracula was also based on the play, Langella having starred in a Broadway revival of the play.
Most faithful adaptation that I know of? 1977 TV movie put out by the BBC. Followed the novel fairly well with some changes. Louis Jourdan was a bit too suave for the novel version of Dracula, but still gave a good performance.
Most faithful adaptation that I know of? 1977 TV movie put out by the BBC. Followed the novel fairly well with some changes. Louis Jourdan was a bit too suave for the novel version of Dracula, but still gave a good performance.
Quote by seeker4
I am a huge fan of the novel Dracula and it has had quite a history of adaptations. I enjoy many of them but few of them are especially faithful to the novel. In fact, the famous 1931 version starring Bela Lugosi as Dracula wasn't even based directly on the novel. It's based on a play by Hamilton Deane and John Balderston, though it did add some material from the novel to the beginning. The 1979 version starring Frank Langella as Dracula was also based on the play, Langella having starred in a Broadway revival of the play.
Most faithful adaptation that I know of? 1977 TV movie put out by the BBC. Followed the novel fairly well with some changes. Louis Jourdan was a bit too suave for the novel version of Dracula, but still gave a good performance.
What about Keanu Reeves playing Johnathan Harker?
Worst accent ever...
I think Dracula could make for a pretty good reboot these days.
Quote by DamonX
What about Keanu Reeves playing Johnathan Harker?
Worst accent ever...
I think Dracula could make for a pretty good reboot these days.
Keanu (who I've never liked in anything to date) aside, I actually like Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992). Save that the writer and director added so much to the story, it should have been called James Hart & Francis Ford Coppola's Dracula
. The lush, Gothic atmosphere and some of the other performances (e.g. Oldman as Dracula, Anthony Hopkins as Van Helsing) were spot-on for the version. And it's the only version I know that did Dracula's death as it was written. Normal Adjacent
Quote by seeker4
I am a huge fan of the novel Dracula and it has had quite a history of adaptations. I enjoy many of them but few of them are especially faithful to the novel. In fact, the famous 1931 version starring Bela Lugosi as Dracula wasn't even based directly on the novel. It's based on a play by Hamilton Deane and John Balderston, though it did add some material from the novel to the beginning. The 1979 version starring Frank Langella as Dracula was also based on the play, Langella having starred in a Broadway revival of the play.
Most faithful adaptation that I know of? 1977 TV movie put out by the BBC. Followed the novel fairly well with some changes. Louis Jourdan was a bit too suave for the novel version of Dracula, but still gave a good performance.
I have really hated most of the adaptions too. I think the one with Frank Langella switched the names of the female characters if I remember correctly. They had Lucy as the one marrying Johnathan Harker. I was not okay with that. The Gary Oldman one had a lot of good things going on. I would be open to a new adaption, but not going to hold my breath.
The same thing applies to Frankenstein adaptions. I liked "Mary Shelley's Frankenstein" from 1994 with Kenneth Branagh.
Normal Adjacent
Quote by DamonX
Sharp Objects is my favorite show right now.
It's based on a book by Gillian Flynn.
I read the book and it kept my attention. I can't say I liked it, it was disturbing and depressing in so many ways.
I started watching the series on HBO. I love Amy Adams but I am not sold the script so far. It is so hard to get across all those nuances that Flynn managed to pack into a fairly short book.
I'll watch to the end and see how I feel about it then. The one thing I am enjoying is the Led Zeppelin tracks Adam's character is listening too. Her life might be a mess but she has good taste in music.
Normal Adjacent
Quote by LondonLimey
I loved the book We Need To Talk About Kevin and even though Lynne Ramsey Tilda Swinton both claimed to adore the book I was sadly let downy the movie. It shied away from some of the most though-provoking aspects in the final third.
I liked that book too but have not seen the movie. The subject matter is riveting and thought-provoking as you point out but I was not sure I wanted to watch a movie about it.
Quote by Gillianleeeza
I think the one with Frank Langella switched the names of the female characters if I remember correctly.
That is probably my least favorite adaptation. Even as an adaptation of the play (yes, I've read the actual play), the Lugosi is better.
I'm iffy on doing yet another adaptation. A truly faithful adaptation, with Dracula as a shadowy antagonist and evil through and through just won't fly today. I know it'll end up with "the great romance between Dracula and Mina" when, in fact, it was pretty much a brutal aimed at possessing her, body and soul. The "great romance" in the story should be Jonathan and Mina, with Dracula as the obstacle they must overcome.
One book to screen adaptation that you don't hear about much, but that I quite enjoyed when I saw it (in theatres on first run, no less), is Watership Down, based on the Richard Adams novel about rabbits on a quest to find a new home. It's kind of a furrier version of the Exodus, except these rabbits aren't quite your classic "cute little bunnies". There is a rather melancholy, dark edge to the whole story and the fights are downright vicious. And the movie really did a decent job of putting it up on the screen. It was made in 1978, pre-CGI, so it's a classic hand-drawn cel animated piece and the animation is a bit static at times, but looks great and the voicework and storytelling is well-done.
Active Ink Slinger
I really battle with the adaption of The Handmaid's Tale. I always thought the book was brilliant but the dramatizing of the book with this series was too difficult to watch. Too hollywood. Incredibly unpopular opinion I know.
Movies wise I’m gonna say that The Golden Compass was the one movie that if I could remove from earth I would. Damn those were good books.
Movies wise I’m gonna say that The Golden Compass was the one movie that if I could remove from earth I would. Damn those were good books.
"A dirty book is rarely dusty"
Active Ink Slinger
Quote by seeker4
One book to screen adaptation that you don't hear about much, but that I quite enjoyed when I saw it (in theatres on first run, no less), is Watership Down, based on the Richard Adams novel about rabbits on a quest to find a new home. It's kind of a furrier version of the Exodus, except these rabbits aren't quite your classic "cute little bunnies". There is a rather melancholy, dark edge to the whole story and the fights are downright vicious. And the movie really did a decent job of putting it up on the screen. It was made in 1978, pre-CGI, so it's a classic hand-drawn cel animated piece and the animation is a bit static at times, but looks great and the voicework and storytelling is well-done.
I agree with you on this one.
"A dirty book is rarely dusty"
Active Ink Slinger
Quote by Gillianleeeza
I liked that book too but have not seen the movie. The subject matter is riveting and thought-provoking as you point out but I was not sure I wanted to watch a movie about it.
The book was fascinating, especially the whole unreliable narrator aspect of it. The first part of the film is pretty good but as I mentioned it skips over a lot of the online research that Kevin did in the book. That part showed he was far from crazy and had carefully staged everything and timed his attack so he'd be released when he became an adult. Making him much more of at psychopath.
Quote by PrincessC
Movies wise I’m gonna say that The Golden Compass was the one movie that if I could remove from earth I would. Damn those were good books.
The series is getting another shot as a TV series for the BBC. Tom Hooper (King's Speech, Les Miserables, The Damned United) is directing so there is hope.
Active Ink Slinger
Quote by seeker4
The series is getting another shot as a TV series for the BBC. Tom Hooper (King's Speech, Les Miserables, The Damned United) is directing so there is hope.
Eeeep that is so exciting! Thanks for sharing!
"A dirty book is rarely dusty"
A quick comment on a rather famous series of book adaptations. The James Bond movies range from reasonably faithful by Hollywood standards (Dr. No, From Russia With Love, On Her Majesty's Secret Service) to writing a whole new story using the title and a few elements from a novel (You Only Live Twice, Diamonds are Forever). The Spy Who Loved Me is arguably the worst offender, having nothing whatsoever to do with the novel (in fact, it's basically a point-for-point remake of You Only Live Twice), but apparently Fleming himself wanted it that way due the novel being a rather odd duck of a Bond novel (in retrospect, it's not a terrible novel or anything, just not classic Bond).
The other problem with the Bond movies as adaptations is that none of the stars have really played it "by the book". Even Connery, whose first couple weren't too bad fidelity-wise, played a very different character from that envisioned by Fleming. Some have tried harder than others (Dalton, for instance, actually read the books) but, in the end, the movie Bond is kind of his own thing.
The other problem with the Bond movies as adaptations is that none of the stars have really played it "by the book". Even Connery, whose first couple weren't too bad fidelity-wise, played a very different character from that envisioned by Fleming. Some have tried harder than others (Dalton, for instance, actually read the books) but, in the end, the movie Bond is kind of his own thing.
Raised on Blackroot
I admittedly haven’t read the books they’re loosely based on, but the Bourne Trilogy (everything after has been disappointing) are amongst my favorite movies of all time in the action/thriller/espionage genre.
The Lord of the Rings trilogy is god tier. They improved upon Tolkien’s often toondry prose. He was a marvelous world builder, but the prose can be a bore sometimes. The ensemble acting is among the best ever gathered imo along with some of the best musical scoring ever.
The Harry Potter movies convinced me how utterly loathsome Ron’s character is. He is the parasitic friend type.
The Lord of the Rings trilogy is god tier. They improved upon Tolkien’s often toondry prose. He was a marvelous world builder, but the prose can be a bore sometimes. The ensemble acting is among the best ever gathered imo along with some of the best musical scoring ever.
The Harry Potter movies convinced me how utterly loathsome Ron’s character is. He is the parasitic friend type.
Quote by seeker4
Keanu (who I've never liked in anything to date) aside, I actually like Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992). Save that the writer and director added so much to the story, it should have been called James Hart & Francis Ford Coppola's Dracula
I like it as well... I just thought that Reeves was a dark spot on what would have been a pretty great adaptation. I think he's the worst A level actor out there..
Quote by Gillianleeeza
I read the book and it kept my attention. I can't say I liked it, it was disturbing and depressing in so many ways.
I started watching the series on HBO. I love Amy Adams but I am not sold the script so far. It is so hard to get across all those nuances that Flynn managed to pack into a fairly short book.
I'll watch to the end and see how I feel about it then. The one thing I am enjoying is the Led Zeppelin tracks Adam's character is listening too. Her life might be a mess but she has good taste in music.
Honestly, I think you need to watch each episode twice... The nuances are put into subtle words that are placed all over the scenes. I know that people that read the book are never happy with the TV version. (I think I might have even made a post about that.)
Normal Adjacent
Quote by DamonX
Honestly, I think you need to watch each episode twice... The nuances are put into subtle words that are placed all over the scenes. I know that people that read the book are never happy with the TV version. (I think I might have even made a post about that.)
I do watch the episodes twice, hoping to glean some more information and nuances I may have missed the first time. HBO usually does a good job with their series'. I really liked Big Little Lies even though they did add an extraneous affair to Reese Witherspoon's character. I don't think it helped the narrative, but the overall treatment did do justice to the book in my opinion.
I'll reserve judgment for Sharp Objects until I watch the whole series. So far though I am not as pleased with it as some of HBO's other book adaptations.
Normal Adjacent
My favorite adaption of a Stephen King work is Shawshank Redemption. It may be my favorite of any story turned into a movie.
They are making a new movie adaptation of Pet Semetary. The original came across to me as weirdly campy at times. It will be interesting to see how it turns out.
The Mist was not bad but the ending ruined it for me.
There are a lot of his or misses with movie and television series based on King's work.
Does anyone have a favorite or least favorite?
They are making a new movie adaptation of Pet Semetary. The original came across to me as weirdly campy at times. It will be interesting to see how it turns out.
The Mist was not bad but the ending ruined it for me.
There are a lot of his or misses with movie and television series based on King's work.
Does anyone have a favorite or least favorite?
Gravelly-Voiced Fucker
Quote by Gillianleeeza
My favorite adaption of a Stephen King work is Shawshank Redemption. It may be my favorite of any story turned into a movie.
They are making a new movie adaptation of Pet Semetary. The original came across to me as weirdly campy at times. It will be interesting to see how it turns out.
The Mist was not bad but the ending ruined it for me.
There are a lot of his or misses with movie and television series based on King's work.
Does anyone have a favorite or least favorite?
I HATED the ending of The Mist. Good novella though.
Didn't like the first It, but I liked the second one a lot.
I think my fave Stephen King based movie is Carrie. Loved The Shining, but I thought Jack Nicholson was way over the top. An actor friend of mine said the problem with the performance was that we are supposed to wath him go crazy, but he starts out crazy. I think that is well put.
Loved Shawshank, and I loved Stand By Me.
Raised on Blackroot
Quote by DamonX
I like it as well... I just thought that Reeves was a dark spot on what would have been a pretty great adaptation. I think he's the worst A level actor out there..
Keanu gets so much shit talk. Much deserved but he’s made a real come back with John Wick and as far as I can tell, a truly standup guy.
The Linebacker
Quote by DamonX
Sharp Objects is my favorite show right now.
It's based on a book by Gillian Flynn.
Much of the filming for Sharp Objects is done not too far from me. I like the show. Very intriguing.
The Linebacker
Quote by MadMartigan
Keanu gets so much shit talk. Much deserved but he’s made a real come back with John Wick and as far as I can tell, a truly standup guy.
I've enjoyed the John Wick series. It's just shallow, all action entertainment. Keanu can do that. He's never going to be a threat to win an Academy Award. But then l said Trump would never become president. Gee! I'm scaring myself. In a world that Trump becomes president Keanu could get an Academy Award. Oh my! That movie ldiocracy is now a reality.
Quote by Gillianleeeza
Does anyone have a favorite or least favorite?
Oddly, I tend to find his non-supernatural material makes for the best movies. Misery, Stand by Me, Shawshank all come to mind. I do like the TV miniseries of Salem's Lot (which is also one of my favorite King novels). Watched it too late at night one time while babysitting and got seriously creeped out.