What is your favourite book to movie adaptation so far?

Question

What made it so good? Was it true to the book?

Answer 1

I honestly like Holes. The book was so good. And they seemed to keep it close to the movie too, though I can't remember much. They story, ending, and characters, seemed to all be the same. I mean it is expected that there will be changes. The movie had the right actors to play the roles. The Waren, the parents, and the boys; were all perfect. Everybody seemed to like the movie, and I know lots of people loved the book.

Answer 2

Schindler's List

It never fails to make me cry even when I've watched it about a hundred times. It's actually better than the book. It's got to be one of the best films of all time-it amazes me how many people have never seen it.

Answer 3

White Oleander.

It was very true to the book, although a lot was left out simply due to the fact that it would have been a 5 hour long movie.

Answer 4

Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell.

It was an excellent adaptation which, though it left out incidents and characters and more, stayed true to the "spirit" of the book. It doesn't take the place of reading the book, but the essence is there in the movie.

Unless done in a mini-series form, there are very few others I'd consider to have been done as well as this one.

Answer 5

The Prestige was amazing. It didn't stick to the book, and that is what made it so good. The book is a bit boring and can try the nerves at times. The movie was riveting, fast-paced, and totally brilliant.

Answer 6

The Lord of The Rings. Cool visuals, it cut all the boring stuff out yet didn't cut out the important parts. And it had great battle scenes.

Answer 7

Puso's Godfather.  Pretty close to the book and filled with fantastic actors, top to bottom.

Good movies don't have to be based precisely on good books.  The screenwriter has the daunting job of picking out the 30 to 40 scenes that will tell the story and to get the particulars included.  Sometimes, the screenwriter's concept of the overall story, in his visually oriented world, is superior to the book.  Sometimes they are both good and more or less share only the title!

Answer 8

I did like Beowulf, the original was really good, but I did really like the new one that came out recently for the visual effects. Its just a shame that it didn't follow the book well. But by it's self and if you never read the book it was great. Thats the only good one I can think of right now, other than all the graphic novel/comic book movies.

Answer 9

story wise i think stephen kings pet semetary will always be my fave .....cos i saw the film when i was bout 9 or 10 and got book that xmas from my mum [bugged her for it] and have loved his work ever since ...book as great as film

others like  delores clarborne and misery come close  ...kathy bates was great in both title roles [and nothing will ever remove the memory of her crushing james caans ankles with a sledge hammer ]

sadly the green mile ,fell a tiny bit short of the emotion i felt while reading the book and i urge any lover of the movie to read the book coffey ,wild bill ,percy and all are far greater characters in the book and it deals more indepth with the murder coffey is accused of committing.....

and IT was stronger as a book..much more violent and alot more graphic language.......

but suprisingly 1408 was actually better as a movie than it was as a short story ....story was very weak and uninventive to me ..but i loved the transition to the screen ...it gave it more depth

Answer 10

i thought that the adaptation of Heinlein's star-ship troopers was excellent.  there was a great deal that was left out of the movie, jet packs, armor, another alien race, but they managed to cover the important social and political ideals that were central to the storyline.

and i was really impressed with the lord of the rings.  hollywood had tried a couple of times to tell that story on film before, but it just didn't have 'it'.  When i walked out of the theatre after seeing the most recent version, i remember thinking 'tolkien would have been honored.'

Answer 11

"Harry Potter & The Sorcerer's Stone" was very good. All of the characters, situations & environments are exactly how I pictured them while reading the book. I think that is actually a great testimonial of the writing talent of J.K. Rowling. She was able to give such detailed descriptions that the producers of the movie were able to recreate it in a way that every movie-goers was able to agree that it's how we all imagined it.

I've never read "The Princess Bride" but a friend of mine actually thinks that the movie was better than the book. An example that she gave was during the wedding ceremony. The book spells out the priest's speech impediment: "Mawwage." It was better to have an actor actually interpret the words.

Answer 12

The Notebook

I loved the passion in both young and older characters.

Answer 13

"High Fidelity" was good.  It was mostly true to the book, except that they Americanised it and changed some of the music that Rob referred to.  

I totally love John Cusack, though, and think he absolutely loved the project so it felt sincere and respectful.

Good read, good film.