03-31-2011, 03:58 PM | #1 |
Wizard
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Movies of Your Favorite Books
Sometimes this is a good thing, sometimes it isn't. The Pride & Prejudicemovie that came out a few years back was excellent and I loved it even though I generally can't stand Kiera Knightley for some reason. Yes, I still like the miniseries from the 90s in which Colin Firth was an excellent Darcy but I like the movie even more. Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings Movies were quite good, of course. However, I would hate to think that someone's only experience of A Wizard of Earthsea was that pefectly awful miniseries. So, here is my list of great movie or T.V. adaptations...
1. Children of Men book by P.D. James, movie with Clive Owen 2. Jackson's LOTR movies 3. The Harry Potter movies 4. The Brother Cadfael books by Ellis Peters, T.V. series with Derek Jacobi 5. Stardust book by Neil Gaiman, movie with Charlie Cox and Claire Daines 6. The Dresden Files books by Jim Butcher, T.V. series with Paul Blackthorne 7. Pride & Prejudice with MacFadyen and Knightley 8. Never Let Me Go by Ishiguro with Mulligan, Garfield, and Knightley (wow, my second with her and, really, I don't like her but she tends to be in good movies...) 9. "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button," which I know is very different and much expanded from the short story. Still love it. Pitt and Blanchett. 10. Sense & Sensibility with Emma Thompson and Kate Winslett. 11. Honorary mention to 2 movies inspired by graphic novels, V for Vendetta and Warrior's Way, both of which I really enjoyed. I would really, really like to see a decent movie adaptation of Earthsea, if only to expunge the horror of the miniseries and I really hope I can add that new Jane Eyre movie to that list. |
03-31-2011, 04:12 PM | #2 |
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I'd have to put down, among my favourite book --> movie transitions...
Lord of the Rings - was done soooo much better than I figured it would be Harry Potter - I'm actually *just* reading the books now, and we sit down as a family and watch each movie as I finish them The Bourne series - loved these ones Tom Clancy adaptations - can't think of one I didn't enjoy! Kev |
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03-31-2011, 04:16 PM | #3 |
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I re-read LOTR after seeing the films a few times, and the one thing the movies really changed (for the better imho) was the huge sense of urgency at the beginning-in FOTR, years pass before Frodo finally gets a move on...and even then he takes the time to sell his house first
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03-31-2011, 04:45 PM | #4 | |
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03-31-2011, 04:48 PM | #5 | |
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03-31-2011, 05:54 PM | #6 |
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Best movie/TV adaptations:
Gone with the Wind The Nun's Story To Kill a Mockingbird Jaws (movie outdoes the book) Three Days of the Condor (movie outdoes the book, despite lopping off three days) Auntie Mame The Trouble with Angels |
03-31-2011, 06:00 PM | #7 |
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Yeah the LOTR movies were excellent, though I still have a beef with omission of the Tom Bombadil story. Movies that I thought were better than the book include Blade Runner (book Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep), as were the movies Gone with the Wind and Ben Hur. On the other hand the movies Catch 22 and Last Temptation of Christ were no where near as good as the respective books. In fairness though I don't think Last Temptation of Christ can be put to film. The worst film adaption I've ever seen though was Scarlet Letter starring Demi Moore (G.I Jane goes to Puritan Boston ). I am still surprised Hawthorne did not arise from the grave to demand that the title of his book be removed from that film.
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03-31-2011, 06:08 PM | #8 | |
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03-31-2011, 08:29 PM | #9 |
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03-31-2011, 09:16 PM | #10 |
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I have really enjoyed some Shakespeare adaptations. The 1996 Hamlet with Kenneth Branagh is a word-for-word epic film version, really great. My 2nd favorite Shakespeare adaptation was Roman Polanski's version of Macbeth.
For the inner child in me, some of the Alice In Wonderland adaptations have been very good. Some are truer to the book than others, and some mix in element of Through the Looking Glass. And I really like good SF (probably couldn't tell by the above), but I haven't found too many adaptations that impressed me much. In fact, some deviate. from the book so much that it irritates me when I watch the movie. The worst in this area was I, Robot. Heinlein's Starship Troopers just didn't cut it for me in movie form, althouth his Puppet Masters seemed to translate better to film. |
03-31-2011, 10:12 PM | #11 |
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Favorites:
Narnia - Thank goodness for the mods the movie makers did make. Otherwise, Prince Caspian would not have been a very good movie. Alice in Wonderland Phantom of the Opera (even though it isn't in any way similar to the book, the book was just a little odd for me) Wish they hadn't done it: Blood and Chocolate. The whole point of that book was that werewolves should stay with werewolves and humans with humans. Changing that changed the essence of the novel. |
03-31-2011, 10:29 PM | #12 |
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04-01-2011, 03:36 AM | #13 |
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Lord of the Rings
Harry Potter Jurassic park/Lost World Steig Larsson Trilogy I find it very intereting to watch a movie after I have read a book than the other way round. Its really interests me to see how the director directs a particular scene or how a 800 page novel is edited to fit the 2hr slot without missing the essence of the book. |
04-01-2011, 03:43 AM | #14 |
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One of my worst was the movie adaptation of The Relic by Preston & Child.
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04-01-2011, 04:32 AM | #15 |
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Movie/TV adaptations that I really liked:
The Hunt for Red October. The movie managed to keep faith with the book better than many movies do. Das Boot. The series did a very good job of keeping the suspense from the book. The Hitch-Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Maybe a bit controversial, but I liked that it wasn't too close to the book. Every version of HHGG is different to every other version, and I was pleased that the movie wasn't an exception. Dune. Both the David Lynch film and the mini-series. They were very different adaptations, but I enjoyed both. The Lord of the Rings trilogy Full Metal Jacket. I saw the film some years before I read the book, and enjoyed both. |
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