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Amazing Book-to-Movie Adaptations

Some book-to-movie adaptations are so amazing that they give bookworms that spark of hope for every novel-based movie to come.

By Anthony GramugliaPublished 7 years ago 11 min read
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Have you ever met a devoted bookworm, and have you ever asked them how they feel about the movie adaptations of their favorite book? So often, they respond with the same line: "The book was MUCH better than the film." Said with an air that implies that the whole idea of a filmmaker adapting the written world to the silver screen is doomed to fail. And, indeed, many film adaptations of books do fail. They don't recapture the magic of the original. They forget important details.

But if there are one hundred terrible adaptations, there has to be at least one good one. Dare I say it--even a great one.

Some of the greatest films ever made are book-to-movie adaptations. So, in tandem with all that, here are the greats. Not all of them, but just a handful of book adaptations that give bookworms that spark of hope for every adaptation to come.

One of the most popular thriller books of the 2010s made one of the best films of the decade.

Gone Girl, directed by David Fincher (also the genius who brought Chuck Palahniuk's Fight Club to life), features Academy Award winner Ben Affleck as well as Rosamund Pike, Neil Patrick Harris and Tyler Perry. The cinematic version of Flynn’s bestselling novel revolves around the disappearance of an unhappy wife, played by Rosamund Pike. Though her husband (played by Ben Affleck) sets up a search party to find her, suspicions arise that maybe the wife isn't missing at all. As suspicions of foul play arise, it soon becomes clear that nothing is as it seems. Gone Girl hooks its audience until the very end with its nightmarish (often brutal) unpredictability.

While the film is a close adaptation of the book, there are a few minor omissions and deviations from the original. However, these changes are to the film's benefit, often times to streamline the plot by removing fluff. Fincher's adaptation of Flynn's book should satisfy book purists while entertaining (and disturbing) everyone else.

Atonement is directed by Joe Wright (who also adapted Pride and Prejudice and Anna Karennina to the screen), and stars James McAvoy, Keira Knightley, Saoirse Ronan, Romola Garai and Vanessa Redgrave. The story takes us to a well mannered and cultured British household where a young romance between Cecilia and the housekeeper’s son, Robbie, buds at the dawn of World War II. As bombs and guns fire off around them, a single lie will tear their household apart from within, and leave nothing the same.

Probably the biggest discrepancy between the novel and the movie is the identity of the main character. In the film, the main character is Robbie, played by James MacAvoy. The book, however, is told from the viewpoint of Briony, played in the film by Saorise Ronan. While the actions play out in a similar fashion, the alternate viewpoints provide a very different view on the same events. Of course, none of this reduces the gravity of the ending. Both the book and film end with an incredibly moving sequence.

The Princess Bride should be studied for how well it adapted the book to a movie. Take the screenwriter of All the President's Men, make him write a book, and then turn that book into a screenplay. Give that screenplay to Rob Reiner, fresh off directing This is Spinal Tap and Stand by Me. Cast Cary Elwes, Robin Wright, Mandy Patinkin, Christopher Guest, Chris Sarandon, and Andre the Giant. What do you get? One of the most quotable fantasy films of all time.

The fairy-tale is a typical “damsel-in-distress’ storyline whereby the dazzling Princess Buttercup (Wright) falls in love with humble farm-boy Westley (Elwes). Westley is slain by the Dread Pirate Roberts, leaving Buttercup open for Prince Humperdink (Sarandon) to wed. But on a riding trip, Buttercup is kidnapped by a trio of rogues. Salvation comes in the form of the Dread Pirate Roberts, who is really--well, you've seen the movie. You know the plot. And you're probably quoting the best lines under your breath while reading this (Inconceivable!).

There are a few key differences between the book and film. Most notably is the framing device of the story. The film features Fred Savage as a sick boy being read the story of The Princess Bride by his grandfather (Peter Falk). However, in the novel, the main character is William Goldman himself, who tries to read his son a story his grandfather had read him as a kid, only to realize that his grandfather had skipped all the boring bits. Goldman really tries to establish in the universe of his story that the book is totally real (it's not), while the film makes no pretense of the novel in-film being real. But the story at its core remains intact, and that's what matters.

Still, by getting the author of the book to adapt his book to the screen, you end up with a little miracle.

There are two major adaptations of this book. Both are superb, but the American film is a little more accessible to mainstream audiences, so that is the version I will recommend. Though I have to say the original 2009 film is a must-watch film. If you like David Fincher's adaptation, watch the original film... and its sequels.

An Oscar winner, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is adapted from the international bestseller by Stieg Larsson. The cast consists of Daniel Craig, Rooney Mara and Christopher Plummer to name but a few.

A journalist named Mikael Blomkvist (Daniel Craig) is assigned to solve the mysterious disappearance of Harriet, a 40-year old woman who has a rich family background. Harriet’s family members are the prime suspects in this mysterious case, many of whom are involved in some shady business or another. Things get complicated when Lisbeth Salander (Mara), a hacker and a girl with a troubled background, shows up on the scene. This anti-social girl may hold the answers Mikael seeks.

Even though the plot of the movie goes almost hand-in-hand with the novel, some slight differences in the movie version exist. Much of the complicated story is simplified and streamlined, and some characters lose components of their complexity from both the book and original film. However, none of that keeps this from being an intense thriller that garnered many Oscar nods upon its release.

Anthony Minghella's successful cinematic adaptation of Frazier's novel won various awards back in 2003. Cold Mountain is a romantic tale set in antebellum era. Ada (Nicole Kidman) and Inman (Jude Law) have merely exchanged glances and an innocent kiss when the turmoil of the Civil War breaks them apart. Later in the movie, Inman is brutally injured in a battle and receives a letter from Ada, begging him to return to her after her father dies, leaving her alone in this world. Their romance triggers a series of events more cataclysmic than any war.

The movie includes some brilliant performances by the cast. Some can argue that the film surpasses the novel's execution of the romance of Ada and Inman and portrayal of the brutalities of the Civil War. This movie is a must-watch.

Time for some controversy. Stanley Kubric's adaptation of The Shining might actually surpass Stephen King's original novel. Both are considered classics of the horror genre. Both tell the same general story. But the execution of both plots is so drastically different that Stephen King himself felt compelled to produce his own miniseries adaptation years later.

Both films star a family. Recovering alcoholic Jack Torrance (played by Jack Nicholson) is a former teacher looking for a quiet place to write his novel. He takes a job as caretaker of the Overlook Hotel over the winter with his family. His wife (Shelly Duvall) has many misgivings about the place, but hopes to make the best of things. Their son, Danny, possesses latent psychic abilities that grants him the ability to "Shine." Thanks to this ability, he can see into the spirit world...and the Overlook is a place full of dark memories.

King's original novel is a personal story about addiction. Kubrick's film is about insanity. King's novel ends with big explosions and a celebration of family in the face of evil. In Kubrick's film, everything freezes. Kubrick's nihilistic world view takes his film in a darker, colder direction than King's novel.

So is a book adaptation still great if it isn't faithful...?

Yes. Yes it is. The Shining is one of the greatest horror films of all time. The fact that Kubrick could change so much while still making a terrific product is proof of that.

The Lord of the Rings is possibly the greatest film trilogy ever made. It may be better than the original Star Wars trilogy, The Dark Knight trilogy, and The Evil Dead trilogy. The endeavor Peter Jackson undertook to bring Tolkein's novels to life is undeniable.

Frodo Baggins is a hobbit who inherits a ring from his strange Uncle Bilbo. What Frodo believes to be a harmless trinket, however, turns out to be an almost mythical item from centuries past. In Frodo's possession is the Ring of Power. Within it lies the life force of the Dark Lord Sauron. Should the Ring return to the dark land of Mordor, the Sauron can rise again, and bring about a new dark age. Frodo sets out on a journey to Mount Doom, from whence the Ring came, to cast it into the fire. But no journey can be easy, and Frodo's first steps from his home in the Shire triggers a massive war that will shake Middle-Earth to its core.

The films took many liberties with the source material. Entire characters did not survive the transition from page to screen. Events are rearranged. Characters rewritten. However, without these changes, the saga of the One Ring could not be translated. Some books require a little bit of reworking, and, while this may be upsetting to book purists, some books cannot translate to film. They do have to be adapted.

But the passion put into this project outweighs any sort of hang-ups one might have about it all. Everything about this saga is perfect. The final film (really, a representation of the whole saga) earned ELEVEN Oscars. That... that should be enough.

Horror movies don't typically win the Oscar for Best Picture. In fact, they almost never do. The Exorcist was nominated, sure, and won a couple other Oscars, but Best Picture? Only one film earns that right: Jonathan Demme's adaptation of The Silence of the Lambs, the sequel to Thomas Harris's best-seller Red Dragon.

The movie stars Jodie Foster, Anthony Hopkins, Scott Glen and Ted Levine, to name but a few. Clarice Starling (Foster) is training to be an FBI profiler. As part of her training, she is asked to profile Dr. Hannibal Lector (Hopkins). Their conversations lead Foster to learn that Lector may have information about Buffalo Bill (Levine), a serial killer who kidnaps women, and peals the skin off their flesh to create a suit of women's flesh. Clarice must act fast--playing Lector's games while investigating the case--before Buffalo Bill kills the daughter of a Senator.

While some elements of the novel are omitted, the book is otherwise faithfully adapted to the screen. Considering the film won FIVE Oscars, the writers no doubt knew what they were doing when they adapted the book into a movie.

Frank Darabont is one of the few directors who gets Stephen King right. He has adapted three of King's books into movies, and, consistently, turns out a classic.

The Green Mile stars Tom Hanks as Paul Edgecomb, a guard at a Louisiana penitentiary, whose job it is to watch Death Row inmates. In comes John Coffey (played by Michael Clark Duncan), a physically powerful man accused of murder. But it's clear that Coffey is an innocent, good person... who may also possess magical abilities. As Paul learns more about Coffey, it becomes clear that more is at work here... and Paul must come to terms with whether or not it's right to condemn an innocent man to death.

The film was nominated for four Academy Awards, but won none of them. A true shame, as this movie is arguably one of the best Stephen King adaptations ever. The only real contenders for that title are the other works of Frank Darabont.

Stephen King's novella "Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption"was published in his story collection Different Seasons, from which also came the novellas "The Body" (adapted by Rob Reiner as Stand by Me) and "Apt Pupil" (adapted by Bryan Singer in 1998). It is a commonly held belief that Frank Darabont's adaptation, The Shawshank Redemption, is one of the greatest movies ever made. Period.

The story revolves around Andy Dufresne (Tim Robbins) who is convicted for murdering his wife and her lover. While he is completing his sentence, Andy befriends Ellis Redding (Morgan Freeman), a veteran prisoner who has seen awful things happen behind the prison walls, all in part thanks to the cruel Warden of the prison.

The film depicts some incredible cinematography, beautiful speeches, and some of the most moving moments in cinema history. Many shots have become iconic in their own right. The film failed at the box office upon release, but became a huge success on the home video market. It took a little novella sandwiched between other novellas in one of Stephen King's lesser-known works, and made it arguably his crowning achievement. And not just one of King's greatest adaptations, but arguably one of the best films ever made, outshining other Best Picture contenders of that year (Forest Gump and Pulp Fiction come to mind). An incredible movie that you owe it to yourself to watch.

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About the Creator

Anthony Gramuglia

Obsessive writer fueled by espresso and drive. Into speculative fiction, old books, and long walks. Follow me at twitter.com/AGramuglia

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