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name one (or more) movie that you felt was as good as the book

ficklefaye

ficklefaye

Brilliant_Rock
Joined
Oct 12, 2008
Messages
1,179
i''m usually not a fan of watching movies based on books because the movie is never as good, i''ve seen many a movie where i walked out disappointed

so far only one movie was as good as the book for me, ''Whale Rider'' by Witi Ihimaera, the movie was just beautiful and i couldn''t believe that it was Keisha Castle-Hughes first acting job
 
None. They are never as good. I never understood that until I became a reader. I always assumed that the movie would be better.
 
I don''t generally like the movies after reading the book, either. I thought Stand By Me was a good adaptation of The Body..some of the dialogue was word for word out of the book, and I liked that.
 
I read the book and get really excited when I hear the movie is coming out and I am ALWAYS disappointed. Husband laughs at me because a movie will come out and I will say "Oh, I read that and it was really good." Then the movie comes out and I hate it. What I wonder is are the movies actually good to people who have never read the book?
 
I wonder that myself, Radiant! Sometimes what ruins it for me, is that I have a picture in my mind of how a character looks/sounds..and if the movie isn''t cast according to what I see in my head..I get irritated.
 
The best adaptation, and by far the most impressive for the sheer size and what was attempted, were the Lord of The Rings movies. I''ve read the books so many times I hardly need to pick them up. I''m such an egghead in this regard, I know the APPENDICES as well as the story, and have read all the supporting books. That said, I had a few beefs with some of the artistic and casting choices, and was disappointed at some of things that were omitted, but still, a staggeringly good product. And the music was just glorious.
 
Date: 7/29/2009 11:03:58 PM
Author: ksinger
The best adaptation, and by far the most impressive for the sheer size and what was attempted, were the Lord of The Rings movies. I''ve read the books so many times I hardly need to pick them up. I''m such an egghead in this regard, I know the APPENDICES as well as the story, and have read all the supporting books. That said, I had a few beefs with some of the artistic and casting choices, and was disappointed at some of things that were omitted, but still, a staggeringly good product. And the music was just glorious.
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I was just going to mention LOTR. I read the books before seeing the movies, and surprisingly, this was the one instance in which I liked the movies better (though I LOVED the Hobbit). I don''t know what it was - but the scale and production of the movies was just fantastic.
 
Date: 7/29/2009 11:19:45 PM
Author: Brown.Eyed.Girl
Date: 7/29/2009 11:03:58 PM

Author: ksinger

The best adaptation, and by far the most impressive for the sheer size and what was attempted, were the Lord of The Rings movies. I''ve read the books so many times I hardly need to pick them up. I''m such an egghead in this regard, I know the APPENDICES as well as the story, and have read all the supporting books. That said, I had a few beefs with some of the artistic and casting choices, and was disappointed at some of things that were omitted, but still, a staggeringly good product. And the music was just glorious.
Click to expand...


I was just going to mention LOTR. I read the books before seeing the movies, and surprisingly, this was the one instance in which I liked the movies better (though I LOVED the Hobbit). I don''t know what it was - but the scale and production of the movies was just fantastic.
Click to expand...

I completely agree with LOTR. Also, the Harry Potter series, you watch them and think OMG that IS Hogwarts! They really nailed it for me.
 
hmm... i haven''t read the LOTR or harry potter
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maybe i should give them a try one day

i think i like the whale rider, not because it was almost exactly like the book, but because it was a good movie in itself, it did interpret certain parts differently, but i don''t think it took away from the film at all

other films take away from the book completely, i mean i cried reading ''the notebook'' and when i watched the movie, i was just shocked at how they ended it because they deleted the part that actually made me cry from the book
 
Rambo


The book was awful!



I also thought Firestarter was a good adaptation as well as Cujo and Christine.

Everything wasn''t right, but it was pretty good. Maybe Stephen King has more influence on the movie and keeps it in line with the books??



I''m a huge Harry Potter fan and I think only a couple of movies were done really well.
 
SS -- there''s really a "Rambo" book? Huh. I never knew that.
 
Date: 8/1/2009 6:52:53 PM
Author: ZoeBartlett
SS -- there''s really a ''Rambo'' book? Huh. I never knew that.
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Yeah, don''t bother....


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It''s by David Morrell who actually has gone on to write some interesting and well-written books about political scandal and other politically charged stuff.
 
Breakfast at Tiffanys, liked the movie better than the book.

Not a movie but the tv show True Blood, I think the show has more character than the book it was based on.

The Notebook is a better movie than book for me.
 
I''ve found myself avoiding a movie if I''ve read the book, no matter how much I liked the book or how good the preview are on tv. I''ve read a few of Nicholas Spark''s books, and not seen any of the movies..mostly b/c I figure I''d be a sobbing mess at the end, like I was with the books, but I''ve just been avoiding the assumed disappointment of the movies.

Stephen King''s The Stand...I''ve seen a few bits and pieces of it, (granted, it''s a mini series, not a movie) but to me, it''s like chewing tin foil. It''s one of my favorite books ever, but ugh, the mini series stunk.

What about To Kill a Mockingbird or One Flew Over the Cuckoo''s Nest? Anyone ever seen those movies and read the book?
 
Date: 7/29/2009 2:51:17 PM
Author:ficklefaye
i''m usually not a fan of watching movies based on books because the movie is never as good, i''ve seen many a movie where i walked out disappointed

so far only one movie was as good as the book for me, ''Whale Rider'' by Witi Ihimaera, the movie was just beautiful and i couldn''t believe that it was Keisha Castle-Hughes first acting job
Click to expand...
I saw the titel of this thread and that was exactly what my answer was going to be. This is the ONLY movie I''ve seen where the film was as good, if not better then then book.

I''m always sad when a book I love gets made into a movie because it''s not the same. It dosn''t feel like mine any more because as soon as the movie is out everyone will read it. It''s good for the Author but I just feel sad.....I love some books so much the it feels like an invasion of my privacy for there to be a poor movie version that dosn''t do it justice or to have everyone reading it. Example: The time travelers wife - such a beautiful book, my heart sank once I hurd some one had bought the movie rights to it
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The only ones I can think of are Shawshank Redemption and Kiss the Girls (James Patterson novel).

I remember Neverending Story being a complete and utter disappointment when I was a kid.

LOTR--my mother read us JRR Tolkien books when we were little and I think the movies are great but they don''t live up to what my imagination put forth when hearing the books read aloud as a child.

Great topic!
 
Memoirs of A Geisha
The Notebook
LOTR
Harry Potter
The Neverending Story
Bambi
Beauty and the Beast
 
good movies...

the color purple
the joy luck club
the dead poet''s society
 
Oh wow-I never realized Neverending Story and Dead Poet''s Society were books! I''m totally going to see if they''re at the library or if they can get them in for me. I loved the movies!
 
forewarning - Neverending Story is NOTHING like the movie.
 
I thought Bridget Jones'' Diary was an appalling book but a fantastic movie
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And i liked the LOTR series too!
 
I thought that Gone With the Wind was a great adaptation of the book.
 
Yes, LotR was a great trilogy, but there are some passages that are far too long-winded while trying to explain what was done so well visually in the movies. I''m not sure if the book was written after the movie, but the movie Willow (1988 Val Kilmer as Madmartigan) was FAR better than the book, even though they told an identical story. The book just wasn''t anything special for the way the story was told, but I loved the movie.

I felt The Notebook was far better as a book than a movie, but I saw the movie first and really liked it - that''s how good I thought the book was.

Cold Mountain is one movie that I think does hold its own very well against the book - Renee Zellweger''s performance as Ruby put it over the top. I read the book first, but I think I enjoyed the movie more.
 
The book ''Everything is Illuminated'' by Jonathan Safran Foer was very, very good, but I think the movie is at least as good as the book. The cinematography, the music, the actors, the landscape--the combination brings the story to life in such vivid detail that it''s more than I could have hoped for. The movie is practically perfect.
 
None. And actually, the biggest cinematic disappointment of my life was The Time Traveler''s Wife.
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I''m never, ever going to go see a movie based on a book I know by heart again. Ever.
 
Date: 7/29/2009 11:03:58 PM
Author: ksinger
The best adaptation, and by far the most impressive for the sheer size and what was attempted, were the Lord of The Rings movies. I''ve read the books so many times I hardly need to pick them up. I''m such an egghead in this regard, I know the APPENDICES as well as the story, and have read all the supporting books. That said, I had a few beefs with some of the artistic and casting choices, and was disappointed at some of things that were omitted, but still, a staggeringly good product. And the music was just glorious.
Click to expand...

I thought I was the only one who can quote long passages of this book
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I think Peter Jackson did an outstanding job of staying close to the essence of the trilogy, yet still creating something commercially viable. There are some things that just cannot make the transition to screen, and LOTR probably has more of those than any other book I have ever read. The Stand is slam full of of these as well,and that is why ( for me ) the movie/mini series sucked. A very powerful moment in LOTR ( book ) is when the Witchking rides out of Minas Morgul to war. Those who have read this passage will know what I am talking about. There is just no way that this scene can be created anywhere other than the readers mind. The biggest trap in adapting a book to a movie is that every reader " see''s" the scenes in the book differently. Therefore a director cannot please all at every turn. All of this said LOTR blows away any other movie I have ever seen when you take it as a movie in its own right, and discount the differences from the book.
 
It was a telepic rather than a movie, but I enjoyed the Lonesome Dove miniseries as much as I enjoyed the book.
 
''The Princess Bride'' was equally good as a movie and a book as well, I think.
 
Date: 9/3/2009 11:31:44 AM
Author: princesss
None. And actually, the biggest cinematic disappointment of my life was The Time Traveler's Wife.
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I'm never, ever going to go see a movie based on a book I know by heart again. Ever.
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For some reason I have no interest to read this book or see this movie. I wonder why because so many people like the story (I also really like Eric Bana/Rachel McAdams). Should I give it a chance?

I am a big Lord of Rings fan. I have to say that Peter Jackson did a pretty darn AMAZING job depicting the story (Gollum?! Perfection!). I think he would have made Tolkien proud. Yea, things are left out, but that's with any movie - you can't put everything in there...movies were long enough as it is! Maaaayyybe Return of the King was a little cheesy compared to the book, but overall, the movies were fantastic.

eta: I agree with Shawshank Redemption - great story/great movie! What about To Kill a Mockingbird? I think it was pretty spot on.
 
I loved "To Kill A Mockingbird"...both the movie and the book. (Read it in school and then they showed us the movie...I thought both were timeless.)

I will also agree with the LOTR and HP people. You can''t fit everything from those books into the movies, but I think they did a great job picking and choosing what they felt they could capture and do justice. I think LOTR is even more special in this regard because Tolkien wasn''t around to consult on the screenplay...JKR has been heavily involved with each movie, and will continue to be involved as they finish up Deathly Hallows 1 and 2.
 
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