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Post by Jason R. Chin on Apr 18, 2007 11:34:12 GMT -5
spawning from the "New Books" thread...
What were good translations from book to movie? I think Silence of the Lambs was an excellent adaptation. Last night, aroudn 3am, the SciFi channel was running their Dune mini-series.. oof, was that bad! Awful, awful choices all around.
The Watchmen is in production. Feh. We'll see.
I'm super looking forward to the HBO/Tom Hanks adaptation of the John Adams book by David McCullough.
I'm watching (right now) The Big Sleep. It's very good.
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chip
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Post by chip on Apr 18, 2007 12:30:39 GMT -5
Gettysburg, adapted from The Killer Angels by Michael Shaara.
The book is wonderful, and the movie does a good job of capturing the book. That's probably why the movie is 4 hours long.
-Chip
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Post by hixx on Apr 18, 2007 12:45:20 GMT -5
Misery, one of the best book to movies ever.
Throw in The Shining too.
And the winner for me, by far, is Notes on a Scandal. The book is as good as the movie is as good as the book.
Hixx
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Post by Jason R. Chin on Apr 18, 2007 12:56:26 GMT -5
Misery, one of the best book to movies ever. Throw in The Shining too. And the winner for me, by far, is Notes on a Scandal. The book is as good as the movie is as good as the book. Hixx Which "Shining"? I absolutely adore the Kubrick version. Man, I saw that at the Music Box years ago and it completely freaked me out. Again. The TV version starring Rebecca DeMornay and that kid with the freakish buckteeth was simply awful. |
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tony
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Post by tony on Apr 18, 2007 14:19:15 GMT -5
I will agree on those two King movies. Also, Shawshank Redemption is a fantastic adaptation.
Some King purists (including King himself) will thumbs down the Kubrick Shining. But in my view, a good adaptation captures the feeling of a story and the spine of a story more than a step by step re-telling.
Case in point. In the novel, Topiary Animals are terrifying. Kubrick made the right choice in changing them to a hedge maze. It conveyed the feeling of being trapped in this hotel, and in this mind set, way more than animals, on a visual level.
Then it was remade on TV and the Topiary Animals were there. And were in no way scary.
These are my opinions.
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Post by hixx on Apr 18, 2007 14:25:27 GMT -5
Right, I agree with all of the above. The book of the Shining was not the same as the Kubrick version, but certainly Kubrick knew what to keep and what to leave.
That's why I really do think Misery is so great, I mean, they didn't change much at all and its just brilliant.
Same with Notes on a Scandal. I saw the movie first and then read the book. The movie so perfectly captured the book it was unreal. And even though I knew everything that was going to happen, it was still completely tense.
Hixx
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tony
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Post by tony on Apr 18, 2007 15:07:30 GMT -5
Sideways is another one.
It captures the spirit of the book, while cutting stuff that would weigh a movie down.
Also, it's about wine which I enjoy.
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Post by jauretsi on Apr 18, 2007 23:30:55 GMT -5
For me, it's "1984*" starring John Hurt. Very true (to me) ... to my reading of the book. "Emma" - yes, the one with Gwyneth Paltrow - was also so funny and stayed true. Lastly, "To Kill a Mockingbird" - one of my all-time favorites. :-)
*When I lived in London, I worked at the University of London's Senate House where George Orwell had worked and which was also his inspiration for "1984". The building was old with mailing pipes in the walls and desks after rows of desks. Meh, I liked it. We had tea twice a day. Cheers.
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Post by edison on Apr 24, 2007 11:15:08 GMT -5
I haven't seen that many films based on books I've read. ..Even with LOTR, I only made it through the first 2 books, and I thought PJ did a great job, though it can't completely capture all the wondrousness of Tolkien.
I thought Jaws was very well translated to the screen.
The book had side plots that didn't really serve the story much. One being; the sheriff's wife having an affair with the marine biologist character.
WTF?
The adaptation I'm waiting to see is The Devil in the White City.
The book dances between these extremes of the luminous and colossal 1893 world exposition, promising hope for tomorrow, and the dank, claustrophobic halls of a serial killers twisted lair.
It would be like David Lynch making a Merchant Ivory film. I want to see this story done right.
Badly translated;
Fear & Loathing in Las Vegas. As much as I adore Terry Gilliam as a film maker, he just didn't pull it off.
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Post by Hendo the Showman on Apr 24, 2007 11:53:57 GMT -5
I'm super looking forward to the HBO/Tom Hanks adaptation of the John Adams book by David McCullough. Yeah, Paul Giamatti as John Adams? I'm there. |
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tony
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Post by tony on Apr 24, 2007 13:20:49 GMT -5
That sounds awesome! I might have to get HBO just for a John Adams movie.
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Post by wowposter on Sept 4, 2008 23:54:18 GMT -5
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Post by wowpower on Sept 15, 2008 7:18:45 GMT -5
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