T.D. Posted March 19, 2015 Report Share Posted March 19, 2015 (edited) Visconti's movie of Lampedusa's "The Leopard" John Huston's of Malcolm Lowry's "Under the Volcano" Yes! I should have recalled these. I'll add Bertolucci's film of Alberto Moravia's The Conformist. Not necessarily better than the (rather good) novel, but praiseworthy in its own way. Edited March 19, 2015 by T.D. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott Dolan Posted March 19, 2015 Report Share Posted March 19, 2015 (edited) The Exorcist. Amen. The Exorcist blew the book away. I agree with Bladerunner being at least as good as Do Androids Dream..., but I don't see the movie as being an adaptation of the book. More of a "inspired by" thing. Exactly. It was more like a Cliff's Notes version of the book. If even that, really. Yeah, i remembered that the film was different enough from the book for it to be a controversial inclusion but it's starting to come back to me just how different it was now. I did leave out Naked Lunch though. Oh, don't get me wrong. I wasn't faulting you for mentioning it, because taking the title of the thread literally, well... it WAS as good as the book, since both were outstanding. It's similar to The Shining in that it was a fantastic movie, just very different than the fantastic novels they were derived from. I've thought about breaking Do Androids… back out several times, but never have. I still think it's his most interesting read, but I'm biased as I was a huge fan of Bladerunner before reading the book. It's really too bad his books have been so badly butchered in the cinema... Though, I would be thrilled to see some big budget director like Nolan or Abrams take on Lies, Inc. Even for PKD that was a fairly fucked up affair. Though, I'd enjoy watching either of them work their way through the middle section of that story that starts right after the protagonist gets shot with the LSD dart... Edited March 19, 2015 by Scott Dolan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ejp626 Posted March 19, 2015 Report Share Posted March 19, 2015 The Exorcist.Amen. The Exorcist blew the book away. I agree with Bladerunner being at least as good as Do Androids Dream..., but I don't see the movie as being an adaptation of the book. More of a "inspired by" thing. Exactly. It was more like a Cliff's Notes version of the book. If even that, really. Yeah, i remembered that the film was different enough from the book for it to be a controversial inclusion but it's starting to come back to me just how different it was now. I did leave out Naked Lunch though. Oh, don't get me wrong. I wasn't faulting you for mentioning it, because taking the title of the thread literally, well... it WAS as good as the book, since both were outstanding. It's similar to The Shining in that it was a fantastic movie, just very different than the fantastic novels they were derived from. I've thought about breaking Do Androids… back out several times, but never have. I still think it's his most interesting read, but I'm biased as I was a huge fan of Bladerunner before reading the book. It's really too bad his books have been so badly butchered in the cinema... Though, I would be thrilled to see some big budget director like Nolan or Abrams take on Lies, Inc.I'm going to be honest and say I didn't watch all of it (ran out of time on my rental copy), but A Scanner Darkly is not a complete butchery. However, I also wouldn't say it is superior to the book... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott Dolan Posted March 19, 2015 Report Share Posted March 19, 2015 Haven't seen it yet, ejp. But it seems most folks agree with your assessment. One that I need to revisit is the original Total Recall. In the last few years I've read some rather glowing reassessments of it. I just don't recall it being a very good movie. I suppose the latest version is great eye candy, but I still can't bring myself to watch it. Definitely need to check out A Scanner Darkly, though. Thanks for the reminder. BTW, in going back to check xybert's exact quote on Bladerunner, I saw this. Which obviously got lost in the mix while I was forming a quick rebuttal: Stand By Me / The Body. TWO HUGE thumbs up! This and Shawshank Redemption are the only two Stephen King stories that ever amounted to shit on the big screen, while staying completely faithful to the original text. Interestingly enough, they were both short stories. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ejp626 Posted March 19, 2015 Report Share Posted March 19, 2015 TWO HUGE thumbs up! This and Shawshank Redemption are the only two Stephen King stories that ever amounted to shit on the big screen, while staying completely faithful to the original text. Interestingly enough, they were both short stories.A lot of times short stories can carry over pretty well as movies, so long as too much isn't added to fill out the running time. Full novels just always lose so much in translation, and somebody gets grumpy because their favorite scene got cut.If you can find it, it is definitely worth watching John Huston's The Dead, based on a James Joyce story from Dubliners. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GA Russell Posted March 19, 2015 Report Share Posted March 19, 2015 (edited) Duane, I felt that the book was much better because I didn't think that Bogart and Mary Astor had any chemistry. At the end they were professing their love for one another, and I was thinking, Where did that come from? I agree with this. I think casting Mary Astor in the part was a mistake. Notwithstanding the actors' lack of chemistry... The character in the book was an extraordinarily beautiful 24-year old, passing as a 19-year old looking for her sister. The screenwriter stuck as closely to the book as she could, including the dialogue. So I felt that it didn't make sense for Mary Astor, who I think looked older than she was, and who I never thought was all that good looking, saying what she did, and getting the reactions of both Spade and Archer, in their initial meeting. Edited March 19, 2015 by GA Russell Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim McG Posted March 19, 2015 Report Share Posted March 19, 2015 To Kill a Mockingbird was as good as the novel, IMHO. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T.D. Posted March 19, 2015 Report Share Posted March 19, 2015 In the "short story adaptation" category, The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jazzmoose Posted March 20, 2015 Report Share Posted March 20, 2015 To Kill a Mockingbird was as good as the novel, IMHO. If it wasn't as good as the novel, it certainly was close enough that I'm surprised none of us mentioned it before you did! I blame aging memory... The character in the book was an extraordinarily beautiful 24-year old, passing as a 19-year old looking for her sister. The screenwriter stuck as closely to the book as she could, including the dialogue. So I felt that it didn't make sense for Mary Astor, who I think looked older than she was, and who I never thought was all that good looking, saying what she did, and getting the reactions of both Spade and Archer, in their initial meeting. Ha! I didn't want to go there, but yeah, that's exactly it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon8 Posted March 20, 2015 Report Share Posted March 20, 2015 Le Mépris (Moravia/Godard) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kinuta Posted March 20, 2015 Report Share Posted March 20, 2015 Too many to list. Howards End The Remains Of The Day Lean's Oliver Twist , Great Expectations and Passage To India The Exorcist , as previously noted. Solaris The Godfather LA Confidential Master & Commander Psycho Double Indemnity etc etc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
medjuck Posted March 20, 2015 Report Share Posted March 20, 2015 Psycho! Of course, how could I have forgotten. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gmonahan Posted March 20, 2015 Report Share Posted March 20, 2015 "The Spy Who Loved Me" "Patriot Games" gregmo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillF Posted March 20, 2015 Report Share Posted March 20, 2015 In the "short story adaptation" category, The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner. Agreed, and from the same era This Sporting Life. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kinuta Posted March 20, 2015 Report Share Posted March 20, 2015 In the "short story adaptation" category, The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner. Agreed, and from the same era This Sporting Life. Both outstanding films. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T.D. Posted March 20, 2015 Report Share Posted March 20, 2015 In the "short story adaptation" category, The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner. Agreed, and from the same era This Sporting Life. Both outstanding films. Agreed. I actually considered including This Sporting Life in the original post, but had to be honest and hold back because I never read the book... I looked around for it a few years ago, but scarce in USA. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim McG Posted March 20, 2015 Report Share Posted March 20, 2015 (edited) In the Shakespearean play category: Merchant of Venice. The movie followed the play almost to a "T". Except for the gratuitous nudity, Al Pacino was absolutely superb as Shylock. If you haven't seen this movie, you need to. No kidding. Edited March 20, 2015 by TimMcG Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim McG Posted March 20, 2015 Report Share Posted March 20, 2015 (edited) To Kill a Mockingbird was as good as the novel, IMHO. If it wasn't as good as the novel, it certainly was close enough that I'm surprised none of us mentioned it before you did! I blame aging memory. . . Well, put me in that same category, Jazzmoose. I only remembered because I used to teach the novel. Edited March 20, 2015 by TimMcG Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duaneiac Posted March 21, 2015 Author Report Share Posted March 21, 2015 "The Spy Who Loved Me" "Patriot Games" gregmo Interesting. In the James Bond field, I would have picked Goldfinger, which I recall (it's been 30+ years since I read it) as a pretty engaging book and is certainly a top shelf Bond film. Does any one have any opinion on Gone With The Wind? I've only seen it once just because it seemed an obligation. I would never feel the need to see it again and certainly never wanted to read the book. I think I would include Elmer Gantry. It's the only Sinclair Lewis work I've ever read. I thought both it and the film adaptation were good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shawn Posted March 21, 2015 Report Share Posted March 21, 2015 The Exorcist. Amen. The Exorcist blew the book away. Interesting as William Peter Blatty also wrote the screenplay and won an Academy award for it, based on his novel. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GA Russell Posted March 21, 2015 Report Share Posted March 21, 2015 Double Indemnity etc etc I read Double Indemnity forty years go when I was on a James M. Cain kick, but I've never seen the movie. This has been on my wishlist for over a year! http://www.amazon.com/Screen-Couples-Spotlight-Collection-Anniversary/dp/B006TTC5PE/ref=sr_1_2?s=movies-tv&ie=UTF8&qid=1426896592&sr=1-2&keywords=double+indemnity+dvd Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jlhoots Posted March 21, 2015 Report Share Posted March 21, 2015 Let The Right One In Girl With The Dragon Tattoo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
medjuck Posted March 21, 2015 Report Share Posted March 21, 2015 Girl With The Dragon Tattoo Which version? For some reason I liked the Scandinavian one much better than the Fincher version. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guy Berger Posted March 21, 2015 Report Share Posted March 21, 2015 (edited) I'm going to be honest and say I didn't watch all of it (ran out of time on my rental copy), but A Scanner Darkly is not a complete butchery. However, I also wouldn't say it is superior to the book... I thought ASD was outstanding, but I haven't read the book. Has anyone mentioned Children of Men? To be honest I haven't read the book, but when I went back and read the wikipedia plot summary after reading the movie, my first thought was "it seems like the filmmakers cut a lot of bad ideas out". Also, I wouldn't say the Lord of the Rings films were superior to the books, but I thought that was pretty close to the gold standard for an adaptation of top shelf material. Edited March 21, 2015 by Guy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jlhoots Posted March 21, 2015 Report Share Posted March 21, 2015 Girl With The Dragon Tattoo Which version? For some reason I liked the Scandinavian one much better than the Fincher version. The Scandinavian version, same with Let The Right One In. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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