Books that have been made into movies.

[Rhonda Rousey's Sports Bra]

What are your favorite books that have been made into movies and which did you like better, the book or the movie?

A few of my favorites have been Friday Night Lights, I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell, Jurassic Park, and the 007 series.

I do admit that I haven't read the Ian Fleming books but I absolutely love the Bond movies and plan to read some of the books.

I loved both the book and the movie Friday Night Lights, the director stuck to the story pretty good and the movie was great.

I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell was one of the funniest books I have ever read in my entire life and when I heard they were making a movie out of the book I was a little worried that it would disappoint, and it did. The movie had it's funny moments but alot of the book had to be cut so it really took away from the movie.

Jurassic Park was a great book and movie but alot of what was in the book didn't make the movie. It didn't really take away from the movie though because the movie was so amazing. I'm not sure but I think that the sequels didn't have books to go with them, so I can't compare them to anything.

Like I stated above I haven't read any of the 007 books but I am planning on it so I will try to compare those when I get a chance.

So what are your favorites, how do they differ from their counterparts, and which did you like better?

 

[INDYjon22]

Jurassic Park was a very good book turned into movie. They didn't leave a lot out though the few things they did leave out could be seen as big misses. For instance the fact that they let John Hammond live instead of die but I am okay with the final product.

My favorite movie based on a book would have to be Alien. The book was terrific and was just as claustrophobic as the movie. Once again they really did not leave much out from the book. What they did leave out was actually a scene that they shot and just decided to cut out but can be viewed as an extra. Ridley Scott did a great job of catching the dark and suspenseful vibes that the book gave off.

 

[Mitch Henessey]

I'll have to go with The Lord Of The Rings. It's been a VERY long time since I've read the books written by J.R.R. Tolkien, but I remember being so excited when these movies began to be released back in 2001. I think Peter Jackson did an amazing job directing all three of these films. Personally, The Two Towers was my favorite LOTR film, and I thought it was the best out of all three. I know The Return OF The King won 11 Academy Awards, and it's often the most praised out of all three films, but I felt this one was too long, and the only thing really memorable about this movie was the epic battle scene at the end.

The acting in these movies is also great. All three of these movies had a superb cast, and they all worked so well together. Ian Mckellen was a perfect choice for Gandalf, and Viggo Mortensen did a great job as Aragorn. Although, I think anybody could've played Legolas because I don't think Orlando Bloom is a very good actor.

 

[Blue Chipper]

"Of Mice and Men".

I read the book first, and then watched the film. It's about a relationship with a mildly ******ed man and a regular man. I know the story like the back of my hand; I know almost every minute detail. Generally people say the book's better, and in this case I have to agree. Although the movie was great and very similar to the book, it didn't capture the impression as much. The book gave you a vivid, optimistic view on the story, whereas the film doesn't quite do it justice.

 

[Hyorinmaru]

The Bourne Trilogy.

I saw the movies before I even knew they were books and i enjoyed them. Then i read the books and they are some of the best books I've ever read and I've read a lot of really good books. After I read them i watched the movies again and while the acting was good from everyone in them they took out what i really loved about the books and that just disappointed me. All they kept the same was the name Jason Bourne and the fact that he lost his memory in the beginning of The Bourne Identity.

 

[1C3-M4N]

I'm a big fan of the Odyssey written by Homer. Almost everyone had to read it in either grammer school or high school. It was such an epic poem(book) that had a lot of versions, I myself read the original which was tough to understand and a very good read because of it.

But when they turned it into a movie, it blew my mind. They had so much detail about the story and all the creatures that Odysseus had to battle. One of the best mythical movies about the Gods and Goddesses derived from a book which is nice to know.

 

[jmt225]

The Rules of Attraction.

I'm a pretty big fan of James Van Der Beek, and have been for quite sometime. One night I see this movie on, press info, and see he stars in a college film revolved around sex and drugs. I figured I'd go ahead and check it out, and I'm glad I did because not only did I absolutely love the film, but it was because of this movie I would start reading Bret Easton Ellis' novels, which The Rules of Attraction starring JVDB is an adaptation of.

The Rules of Attraction book was the first I ever read for pleasure, instead of school work. And to this day it's my all time favorite book.

Surprisingly, the film is very different from the book, but still very faithful to it as well. The film was set modern day, the book was set in the eighties. Lauren in the film was a virgin, in the book she's been around, so to put it. Sean/Paul's relationship in the film is very clear, whereas in the book it leaves you asking questions about what's real and what isn't. Regardless of all this, Roger Avary (director and screenplay writer of the film) still made the film about the book. The movie just like the book was about what life is like at the fictional Camden College, a liberal arts college, and Avary did a hell of a job capturing it all. Moreover, I think having these changes made me enjoy the book more the first time I read it, since I didn't know what was going to happen in every little part.

I do have a gripe though, and that's that my favorite chapter from the book, Sean's relationship with the hippie girl, did not get included into the film. That disappoints me to this day. To me, that scene gives the Sean character heart no other chapter in the book does, and it would have absolutely been the same case in the film as well. Sean was missing something in the film, and that scene was exactly it. Also, I would have just loved to have seen JVDB act it all out, and it would have been interesting to see who Avary would have cast as the hippie girl.

Anyway, besides that... The Rules of Attraction film is a perfect adaptation to a perfect book. It just sucks that Avary won't be able to adapt another BEE novel, Glamorama, to film like he has the rights to.

 

[Cena's Little Helper]

The Rules of Attraction.

I'm a pretty big fan of James Van Der Beek, and have been for quite sometime. One night I see this movie on, press info, and see he stars in a college film revolved around sex and drugs. I figured I'd go ahead and check it out, and I'm glad I did because not only did I absolutely love the film, but it was because of this movie I would start reading Bret Easton Ellis' novels, which The Rules of Attraction starring JVDB is an adaptation of.

The Rules of Attraction book was the first I ever read for pleasure, instead of school work. And to this day it's my all time favorite book.

Surprisingly, the film is very different from the book, but still very faithful to it as well. The film was set modern day, the book was set in the eighties. Lauren in film was a virgin, in the book she's been around, so to put it. Sean/Paul's relationship in the film is very clear, whereas in the book it leaves you asking questions about what's real and what isn't. Regardless of all this, Roger Avary (director and screenplay writer of the film) still made the film about the book. The movie just like the book was about what life is like at the fictional Camden College, a liberal arts college, and Avary did a hell of a job capturing it all. Moreover, I think having these changes made me enjoy the book more the first time I read it, since I didn't know what was going to happen in every little part.

I do have a gripe though, and that's that my favorite chapter from the book, Sean's relationship with the hippie girl, did not get included into the film. That disappoints me to this day. To me, that scene gives the Sean character heart no other chapter in the book does, and it would have absolutely been the same case in the film as well. Sean was missing something in the film, and that scene was exactly it. Also, I would have just loved to have seen JVDB act it all out, and it would have been interesting to see who Avary would have cast as the hippie girl.

Anyway, besides that... The Rules of Attraction film is a perfect adaptation to a perfect book. It just sucks that Avary won't be able to adapt another BEE novel, Glamorama, to film like he has the rights to.

Yeah, this was a good adaptation. Although, unlike you, I thought American Psycho was a horrible fucking adaptation. The book was nowhere near as comedic as Mary Harron made it out to be. There was nothing funny about Patrick Bateman mutilating his victims and explaining in detail how Paul Owen's face looked when it was slice open with an axe.

Other than The Rules of Attraction, there have been two excellent adaptations. Unlike The Rules of Attraction, these adaptations were actually better than the books: Michael Haneke's The Piano Teacher and Danny Boyle's Trainspotting. I give props to Haneke for making Fraulein Kohut the emotionless and clueless bitch she was supposed to be, and I give props to Boyle for actually making a film out of a book that I thought would be impossible to adapt.

 

[MasterShakeIz4Real]

Easy. Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk.

I saw the movie first, an' Brad Pitt blew me away as Tyler Durden. Then I found out it was a book last summer, and so I bought an' read it. There were a few differences from the movie [Movie= I am Jack/ Book= I am Joe; and Tyler has long blonde hair wheras in the film he's got short hair.], but regardless it was still awesome.

Everytime "The Narrarator" spoke a line in the book, I heard Edward Norton, and everytime Tyler spoke, I heard Brad Pitt. Kick ass book and movie here.

 

[Davi323]

Ummmm, not to point out the obvious answer, but The Godfather. No explanation needed. Its the Godfather.

Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption is the second best book to movie combo I can think of. Frank Darabont did a reasonable adaptation, that I am sure most of us have seen a bajillion times. The best part of the film that differs from the book is making Red a black man.

"Why do they call you Red?"
"Because I'm Irish"

works better as an obviously facetious remark by a black actor like Morgan Freeman, than the book character, who actually was Irish.

I would also nominate Arthur C. Clarke's 2001: A Space Odyssey as a great book turned to a great movie. Granted, its only a great movie if you love actual sci-fi, (others may find it really slooooooooooooooow)

Then we have Die Hard, (Nothing Lasts Forever by Roderick Thorp), The Hunt for Red October (Tom Clancy), Stand By Me (The Body by Stephen King), The Princess Bride (William Goldman) and the Lord of the Rings trilogy...