| Movies from books
Posted: 6/20/2007 10:22:32 AM | What are the best books/stories that you really wish they would make a movie or miniseries from?
Me...
-The Dark Tower Series (Stephen King) These books totally sucked me in. Its one long story told through 7 large books. It would be REALLY hard to make a movie out of these books though... you would need 7 movies longer than the Lord of the Rings movies were!
I think it would make a VERY cool tv series though. There is so much to these books that you could get a couple of seasons out of them easy. | |
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| Movies from books
Posted: 6/20/2007 10:51:33 AM | | The books by Tom Clancy with Jack Ryan. If they were done as a series and used the same actor throughout. The politics in them are very interesting and gives you an idea of the problems of making a very high level decision in government. | |
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| Movies from books
Posted: 6/20/2007 11:03:56 AM | Personally I dislike books being made into movies. They always have a certain amount of time to work with and it ends up hurting the book.
I prefer the idea of tv mini series' over anything else. After all, I don't really see movie theaters being around for that much longer what with the development of new television products. | |
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| Movies from books
Posted: 6/20/2007 11:48:31 AM | The books are never as good as the movie. But it is interesting to see them made into films sometimes. Horrific sometimes too. Greg Bear's Forge of God would make an interesting film - especially that ending. I don't know if they could make that look real - the disaster to end all disasters.
I heard that someone wrote a screenplay out of Iain Bank's novel "The Wasp Factory", but it has never been filmed. I think there are a lot of books like that. | |
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| Movies from books
Posted: 6/20/2007 2:28:42 PM |
The books are never as good as the movie.
I've found things generally to be the opposite, with the exception of "Like Water for Chocolate" which was a great book and they made an excellent movie of it. | |
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| Movies from books
Posted: 6/20/2007 3:36:43 PM | I much prefer to simply read the book... I haven't yet seen a movie where I've read the book and not walked away a little disappointed...
Sooooooo... uhmmmm... none... let's leave the literary works of art untainted by the silver screen... *grin* | |
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| Movies from books
Posted: 6/20/2007 4:18:43 PM | "The Plainsmen" series by Terry C. Johnston. It's a chronicle of all the Indian wars fought in the United States from 1866 on,told from both points of view.
My personal favorite already done was Stephen King's "The Stand" With a 4 part mini-series they were able to stick pretty close to the book. | |
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| Movies from books
Posted: 6/20/2007 4:40:36 PM |
They always have a certain amount of time to work with and it ends up hurting the book.
I'd totally agree with that if you'd said only instead of always, but in many ways both are correct. Movies mostly do only have so much time to run in, which also means they always have that time restraint.
Well written words can take your mind places that the visual world of a theatre never will. You're allowed the luxury of traveling through time or space. Distance takes forever but is only an instant in your mind. You can cross an entire continent in a few pages, yet continue on and on in real life.
Physical emotions your mind sees from words, not always expressed the same way on screen. It's more akin to dreaming while you're awake, seeing what the author really wanted you to see. | |
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| Movies from books
Posted: 6/20/2007 9:01:44 PM | I dont like to see a movie after I have read the book.. it never holds up for me.. I am holding out still on THE NOTEBOOK.. I loved the book.. and people have told me that the movie was great.. but I am holding out.. I dont want anything to ruin that book for me..
But there is a movie coming out next week.. that I may have to see.. the book was so bad for me.. and so hard to understand.. not becasue I am stupid.. (though it may be) but this Author's styles is strange to say the least.. I am hoping that the movie may help me understand what the heck she was trying to say!!
By the way.. the Movie is EVERNING.. the book is the same name by Susan Minot.. She wrote the screen play as well.. so I am crossing my fingers..lol | |
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| Movies from books
Posted: 6/20/2007 10:23:57 PM | I have to admit, I don't usually like to see the movie after I've already read the book, either, for the most part...usually the movies are a let-down. ('Sahara', based on Clive Cussler's book, is the most recent movie I've rented that is a perfect example of this.) I didn't think the movie 'The Davinci Code' did the book justice, either. But, I did love the 'Lord of the Rings' series, both the books and movies, and I also thought the movie 'Interview with the Vampire' was pretty close to the book as well.
OP, I would love to see Stephen King's 'Dark Tower' series put on film as well, and you're right, it would probably work better as a tv series or miniseries. 
I'm not a Sidney Sheldon fan overall, but I would also love to see his 'Master of the Game' done in film too, it's one of my all-time faves.
I'd love to see Virgil's 'Aeneid' made into a movie as well, but not if it's the same kind of Hollywood mess that they turned 'Troy' into. | |
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| Movies from books
Posted: 6/20/2007 10:44:20 PM | Mark Helprin's "A Soldier of the Great War", I just think this is the best modern novel in existence, and could be done as a mini series with no great special effects.
Allessandro Giuliani, a member of the Alpini, the Italian mountain troops during the first World War, experiences the highest intensity of life in love and combat, the novel tracks back and forth as he is shown in his prime and then as an elderly person in the 1960s who limps through life with a cane, always confident and knowledgeable beyond belief but sneered at or ignored by the young, and ignorant. | |
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| Movies from books
Posted: 6/21/2007 4:57:22 AM | 'we have always lived in the castle,' a 1962 novel by shirley jackson takes a look at a quirky, yet disturbing dynamic involving unsolved murder, agoraphobia, sympathetic magic and isolation.
i'd love to see it made into a film and i envision jody foster and hillary swank as the sisters bound to each other by an alarming turn of events.
a play based on the novel closed after a 1 week run. | |
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| Movies from books
Posted: 6/21/2007 6:03:04 AM | I have found that rarely will a great book make a great movie.
Usually I am disspointed. But the mind works that way. You come up in your mind how the characters would look, act, talk ect...and then they cast someone that does not fit the mold you made in your head.
That said, I think the book "This Mysterious River" could make a good movie.
It is a perfect comming of age novel.
About a young boy in the depression who steals some money from the church and buys the bike of his dreams, only to have it stolen. Then his guilt overwhelms him and he spends the summer trying to earn wages to pay the church back. | |
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| Movies from books
Posted: 6/21/2007 6:19:19 AM | In response to Summer Teeth..
I had actually forgotten The House Of Sand And Fog..
I agree that it stayed close to the book.. in this case,though, I did the opposite, I had the book.. and couldnt get into it right away.. (which often happens to me.. maybe my mood.. but some books I have to put down and go back to) but I saw the film with a friend.. and loved it.. it was so intesnse that I realized I needed to read the book..
The book was incredible, and the movie was well worth seeing..
As for the Notebook..
I may see the film eventually..but I am still VERY AFRAID! lol
Thanks for reminding me of The House Of Sand And Fog.. great book.. Great movie..
By the way.. the acting in that film was flawless!
Lynn | |
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| Movies from books
Posted: 6/21/2007 6:52:35 AM | I think too many people make the mistake of assuming the movie will be as good or better than the book... the book is almost always far better than a movie. We all know that.
You have to keep in mind that movies are an interpretation of the book. Some books just dont translate well into movies so they tend to be even bigger let-downs. For me, the appeal in seeing a movie based on a book is to see the director's interpretation of it.
I agree with the above though... LOTR were phenomenal movies. I admit, I read the books after I saw the movies and thoroughly enjoyed both. I bear in mind that some things have to be altered to be a movie, but for the most part I can see why he strayed from the books in certain parts. I think the movies were actually a slight improvement on the books in this case to be honest!! | |
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| Movies from books
Posted: 6/21/2007 7:50:33 AM | I think the book is always way better than the movie, but I think it's because you can use your imagination and it becomes multi dimensional; books seem to be a dying pastime. I love to read and can't imagine not doing it. Once you see something, your imagination gets really cramped, it's very flat and one dimensional to me.
I've been dissapointed many times because I saw a movie before I realized it was a ook and then read the book miserable because I already had a picture in my head of the characters. "Mystic River" from Dennis Lahaine comes to mind. It was a good interpretation but nothing like the book. "The Exorcist" from William Peter Blatty is another, I read that twice after I saw the movie just to really try and shake what I knew and get another umlimited angle on it.
I had been a Stephen King fan for years too when I was younger, and without a doubt the movies they made would be almost cheesy to me when released.
I love love love John Saul and had wanted to see some of his stuff made into a movie; but the ones I'd like to see done are pretty gross since he's kind of a sicko (in a good way) - and the stuff I have seen made into movies was really bad. His stuff is so good in written form, now I'd rather keep in in my imagination.
Movies don't have the time or money to interpret our favorite stories correctly. Let's stick to the books. | |
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Posted: 6/21/2007 8:50:44 AM | Personally, I don't think all movies ruin the reading experience. I'm a diehard Tolkien fan, and although they did change or omit some of the characters and events, I was greatly impressed with what Peter Jackson did for the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy. I'm mad as hell he won't be back to direct "The Hobbit."
Same goes for "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" and "Anne of Green Gables."
Like someone already said, it's ridiculous to go into these films and expect to see exactly what's in the book; I don't exit a movie and say, 'well, THAT wasn't in the book, and THAT didn't happen THERE, and in the book....", etc.; I do make allowances for time and budget constraint, as long as the filmmakers still capture the spirit of the story. But I don't think seeing the film version takes away from the joy of reading the story.
Tell you what...the first time I actually was inspired to pick up a book just from seeing the film was when I watched "Dune" (the 1984 version directed by David Lynch). I bought it simply because I had no damn idea what was going on in the film and was curious to know more. Well, I bought the first book, and stayed up for nearly three days finishing it. On the fourth day, I bought second book, and so forth.
Now I would love to see the entire "Dune" saga (including the original series, and the prequels and sequels written by Frank Herbert's son) made into movies. I know they already re-made the original "Dune" and "Children of Dune" into mini-series, and they were good (although I seriously question the idiot who put William Hurt in the first one--good actor, but he just didn't fit), but I'd love to see the rest of them done as well. The whole series is really a complicated but fascinating look at religion, politics, environment and science all rolled into one. | |
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Posted: 6/21/2007 9:08:55 AM |
Tell you what...the first time I actually was inspired to pick up a book just from seeing the film was when I watched "Dune" (the 1984 version directed by David Lynch).
I read all the Dune books and was so excited about David Lynch doing the Movie.
I ended up being disapointed. But with a novel like Dune...how could you do it justice?
How about Eragon? Decent book, very simple, kinda a rip off of Star Wars, but that movie sucked eggs! | |
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Posted: 6/21/2007 10:13:33 AM | I'm with you WL on Eragon. I could not figure out how they were going to make a decent two hour movie about a book that covered over a year period. The movie was a disappointment, except I thought they did a cool job with the dragon. The most amazing thing was knowing the book was written by a 15 yr old boy. If you read the second book, you can tell he's grown up a bit.
Nora Roberts has a series of books about a detective named Eve Dallas. I think it would make a great TV series. They would not even have to follow the books, the cast of characters alone would make an interesting TV show. | |
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Onegin
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Joined: 6/15/2007
Msg: 21 | |
| Movies from books
Posted: 6/26/2007 3:25:29 PM | | I came back here and see people talking about Dune. That was one of the horrors I was talking about. It was really an unfilmable book anyway. | |
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| Movies from books
Posted: 6/26/2007 3:39:45 PM | One movie that stayed very true to the book was Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas by Hunter S Thompson
I cant wait to see what is done with The Rum Diary next year | |
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| Movies from books
Posted: 6/26/2007 6:46:19 PM | | High Fidelity by Nick Hornby was a pretty good adaptation from book to film. Fundamentally there will be things that cannot be conveyed due to context or timing or whatever, but I think that one was a decent one. Books still better though. | |
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| Movies from books
Posted: 6/27/2007 2:01:58 AM | | Well, there's a handful I didn't HATE...like Bram Stoker's Dracula...they did ok with that. I thought they butchered The Shining by Stephen King BOTH times they did it. I don't mind, as long as they don't screw with it TOO much. I can live with the characters looking different than I expected, that kind of thing, but don't go screwing with the story line or the dialogue too much. Just my 2 cents... | |
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Posted: 6/27/2007 5:38:00 AM |
Well, there's a handful I didn't HATE...like Bram Stoker's Dracula
I forgot about that one. They did a good job with that, if your talking about the one with Winona Ryder.
That was just a classic film...very romantic. | |
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), and there are many things that film cannot express as well as the written word, or at all. The Notebook, however, was a good film--and it won't ruin the book, unless you focus on what the film ommits compared to the things it adds to the story. I enjoy comparing these two modes of expression.
