How many times have you been disappointed in a movie adapted from a book? How many times have you gone to the theatre, ticket and heart in hand, hoping against hope that this time, just this once, they won't let you down?
I've done this more times than I care to admit. Most of the time, I'm very disappointed. Sometimes, though, it's just right. Sometimes, a director is able to capture a book's soul on film.
Sometimes it works the other way too. Ever gone to see a movie based on a book without reading the book first? When you read the book after, is it an addition, a detraction, or a destruction of your movie experience?
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This week's choice was almost a no-brainer. I came down with an inner ear condition that makes it very difficult for me to read, watch television, or sit at the computer for any length of time. I'm forced to "mix it up" or I get terribly dizzy. So, instead of reading, blogging, or playing computer games last night, I watched a couple of easy-on-the-eyes black and white Marx Brothers movies with my new hubby, then fell asleep while Fahrenheit 451 was showing on Turner Classic Movies.
Truffaut's Fahrenheit 451 is one of my favorite movie adaptations. The tone is perfect for Bradbury's futuristic fable. Truffaut loves the work enough to make it his own story, while he remains very true to the plot... for the most part. Julie Christie is so effective in her dual role that I didn't even realize she was playing Linda as well until I looked it up. It's such an overall atmospheric tour de force that it amazes me each time I see it, and I've seen it four or five times.
Most disappointments come from Stephen King adaptations. I always have such high hopes. Very few directors have managed to live up to my hopes. We saw the trailer for "Dreamcatcher" at another movie, and it looked like it was going to be good, yes it did. We anticipated seeing that movie, yes we did. It stunk. It was one of the absolute worst movies I've ever seen. And I think that happened because I was misled into believing it would be decent. Now, I've learned my lesson. When we went to see "Secret Window", I wasn't hoping for as much, and I wasn't as disappointed. Actually, it made a decent movie, but due to plot details I cannot disclose, that story should never have been made into a book-visually, it is impossible unless you have a lead actor who is even more of a chameleon than Johnny Depp. No such animal exists.
Good adaptations of King books DO exist. Kubrick's "The Shining" is the best one that comes to mind, though Darabont's "The Green Mile" was also excellent. De Palma's "Carrie" was good, as a slasher/horror genre movie, and Sissy Spacek was just fabulous. And of course, Darabont again with "The Shawshank Redemption", from what I've heard possibly one of the best movies ever made, though I have never seen it.
Sometimes, an author just runs hot and cold. "Interview with the Vampire" and "Queen of the Damned" were about as far apart in quality as two books by the same author could be. Likewise, Philip K Dick books have had mixed results, evidenced by "Blade Runner", "Minority Report" and "Paycheck".
No discussion of movie adaptations would be complete without mentioning "Gone with the Wind", both the book and the movie are fabulous classics and both stand as individual works of art in their own right. Much, by necessity, was left out of the movie as it already ran quite long, but the story was carefully crafted to be intact and faithful to the book. Back in those days, most directors were quite careful with their material and craftsmanship, it seems. More so than today, at any rate.
More great films made from great books-
The Godfather
Dr. Zhivago
Tom Jones
To Kill a Mockingbird
The Grapes of Wrath
Of Mice and Men
In the other column, movies that led me to read a book. "Silence of the Lambs" was one-a phenomenal movie. The Thomas Harris books I read as a result, starting with but not ending with, were never disappointing. The man is Meticulous. Another that comes to mind is "The Hunt for Red October". I've never been much into the spy/intrigue genre, but I loved this movie, and read that book plus a few other Clancys as a result. "Charly", the touching and very sad movie, led me to read "Flowers for Algernon", and it became one of my all time favorites.
Obviously, this could go on for a while, so let me get this posted and out there so we can have your comments. What's your favorite book that became a movie? What movies led you to read the book that gave it life? What adaptations have disappointed you into demanding a refund?
And, as always, what have you read lately?