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I am a firm believer in the idea that reading a book is better than watching a film, because it allows your own imagination to make marvelous worlds and characters. Nevertheless, I concede that on a number of occasions, a film director has managed to take a great book and make it an even greater movie – sometimes it is better for us to watch the creations of someone else’s imagination. This is a list of ten such movies.
Original Story By: Alan Le May
Ethan Edwards, an ex-Confederate soldier from the Indian Wars, finds that his family has been massacred and his niece captured by the Comanches and vows to bring her back and kill everyone of the Indians who did this to him. He travels for five years in order to find her and when he does realizes even though she has been found she has become one of them. The Searchers was ranked #1 on the American Film Institute’s list of the 10 greatest films in the genre “Western” in June 2008.
Interesting Fact: Lana Wood played young Debbie Edwards and Natalie Wood, who was Lana’s older sister by eight years, played teenaged Debbie Edwards.
Original Story By: Robert Bloch
Phoenix officeworker Marion Crane is fed up with the way life has treated her. She has to meet her lover Sam in lunch breaks and they cannot get married because Sam has to give most of his money away in alimony. One Friday Marion is trusted to bank $40,000 by her employer. Seeing the opportunity to take the money and start a new life, Marion leaves town and heads towards Sam’s California store. Tired after the long drive and caught in a storm, she gets off the main highway and pulls into The Bates Motel… This is a film that no one will dispute deserves a place on this list. It is perhaps the greatest horror movie across all generations.
Interesting Fact: When the cast and crew began work on the first day they had to raise their right hands and promise not to divulge one word of the story. Hitchcock also withheld the ending part of the script from his cast until he needed to shoot it.
Original Story By: Peter Benchley
A Great White shark decides to make the small beach resort town of Amity his private feeding grounds. This greatly frustrates the town police chief who wants to close the beaches to chase the shark away. He is thwarted in his efforts by the town’s mayor who finally relents when nothing else seems to work and the chief, a scientist, and an old fisherman with revenge on his mind take to the sea to kill the beast. Jaws was a bestselling book for Peter Benchley, but it took the force of a movie to frighten generations away from the beaches!
Interesting Fact: After the shark was built, it was never tested in the water, and when it was put in the water at Martha’s Vineyard, it sank straight to the ocean floor. It took a team of divers to retrieve it.
Original Story By: Lew Wallace
When Prince Judah Ben-Hur hears that his childhood friend Messala has been named to command the Roman garrison of Jerusalem, he is thrilled. He soon finds however that his friend has changed and has become an arrogant conqueror, full of the grandeur of Rome. When Judah refuses to divulge the names of Jews who oppose Roman rule, Messala decides to make an example of him and sends him off as a galley slave. Through fate and good fortune, Judah survives the galleys and manages to return to Jerusalem in the hopes of finding his mother and sister, who were also imprisoned, and to seek revenge against his one-time friend.
Interesting Fact: Initially there were queries over whether William Wyler was the right director for the job, as he’d never tackled a film of this scale before. One of the doubters was Wyler himself.
Original Story By: Thomas Harris
Clarice Starling, a young intelligent FBI trainee, has been sent to the Baltimore state hospital for the criminally insane to interview an inmate Dr. Hannibal-the cannibal- Lecter. A brilliant renowned psychiatrist turned infamous psychopathic serial killer. She must match wits with Lecter -who has the darkest of all minds- and trust him to give her clues in the search for “Buffalo Bill”. This is, undoubtedly, one of the greatest psychological thrillers ever put to screen. The success of this film contributed largely to the success of Harris as a writer.
Interesting Fact: Anthony Hopkins studied videotapes of serial killers as part of his research for the film. After noticing that Charles Manson hardly ever blinked when he spoke, he did the same for Hannibal Lecter.
Original Story By: Margaret Mitchell
The epic tale of a woman’s life during one of the most tumultuous periods in America’s history. From her young, innocent days on a feudalistic plantation to the war-torn streets of Atlanta; from her first love whom she has always desired to three husbands; from the utmost luxury to absolute starvation and poverty; from her innocence to her understanding and comprehension of life. This one hit wonder book by Margaret Mitchell not only worked out brilliantly for her publishers, it also became the highest-grossing film in the history of Hollywood, and received a record-breaking number of Academy Awards.
Interesting Fact: The movie’s line “Frankly, my dear, I don’t give a damn.” was voted as the #1 movie quote by the American Film Institute (out of 100).
Original Story By: Stephen King (Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption, a short story from Different Seasons)
After the murder of his wife, hotshot banker Andrew Dufresne is sent to Shawshank Prison, where the usual unpleasantness occurs. Over the years, he retains hope and eventually gains the respect of his fellow inmates, especially longtime convict “Red” Redding, a black marketeer, and becomes influential within the prison. Eventually, Andrew achieves his ends on his own terms. This film has become so popular it now ranks as the IMDB number 1 film – knocking the Godfather in to the number 2 spot. There is no doubt that the film is excellent, but I do not believe it deserves the number 1 spot on this list.
Interesting Fact: The mugshots of a young-looking Morgan Freeman that are attached to his parole papers are actually pictures of Morgan’s younger son, Alfonso Freeman.
Original Story By: Mario Puzo
Vito Corleone is the aging don (head) of the Corleone Mafia Family. His youngest son Michael has returned from WWII just in time to see the wedding of Connie Corleone (Michael’s sister) to Carlo Rizzi. All of Michael’s family is involved with the Mafia, but Michael just wants to live a normal life. Drug dealer Virgil Sollozzo is looking for Mafia families to offer him protection in exchange for a profit of the drug money. Puzo is a good writer, but Coppola is a better director and consequently this film rocketed Puzo to fame he would never have achieved alone.
Interesting Fact: During rehearsals, a false horse’s head was used for the bedroom scene. For the actual shot, a real horse’s head was used. The head was acquired from a dog-food factory.
Original Story By: Philip K. Dick (Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?)
In a cyberpunk vision of the future, Man has developed the technology to create replicants, human clones used to serve in the colonies outside Earth but with fixed lifespans. In Los Angeles, 2019, Deckard is a Blade Runner, a cop who specialises in terminating replicants. Originally in retirement, he is forced to re-enter the force when six replicants escape from an offworld colony to Earth.
Interesting Fact: Philip K. Dick claimed that footage of the film was exactly what he had envisioned when he wrote the book. However, Ridley Scott, who was notorious for having gotten exactly the visual look he wanted, claimed to have never read Dick’s source novel “Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?”
Original Story By: Stephen King (The Body, a short story in the book Different Seasons)
Based on Stephen King’s short story “The Body”, “Stand By Me” tells the tale of Gordie Lachance, a writer who looks back on his preteen days when he and three close friends went on their own adventure to find the body of a kid their age who had gone missing and presumed dead. The stakes are upped when the bad kids in town are closely tailing – and it becomes a race to see who’ll be able to recover the body first. That such a great film can be made from a mere short story says a lot about Reiner’s excellent directing skills. Both this, and Shawshank Redemption (also by Stephen King) rate in the IMDB top 250. Considering that Different Seasons was a rather mediocre book compared to some of King’s great books (such as The Stand), make these two films clear winners for this list.
Interesting Fact: At the insistence of director Rob Reiner (an avid non-smoker who campaigned for anti-smoking laws in California), the cigarettes smoked by the boys were made from cabbage leaves.
Concept Contributor: Yogi Barrister
Synopses courtesy of IMDB, the Internet Movie Database
November 23rd, 2008 at 1:34 am
Interesting list. Any speculations from anyone as to why these movies are better than their respective books?
November 23rd, 2008 at 1:36 am
great list
November 23rd, 2008 at 1:42 am
Interesting list indeed, all good choices. This list should spark some interesting discussions.
November 23rd, 2008 at 2:12 am
Wow, one massive omission from this list is “The Iron Giant”. One of the greatest family animated films I’ve seen (thanks to Brad Bird’s genius), (loosely) based on one of the stupidest stories, by Ted Hughes.
November 23rd, 2008 at 2:17 am
Nice list. The only others i would add would be Pretty much every movie made from an Allen Moore graphic novel. V for Vendetta and From Hell respectively. The Movies are MUCH better than the book. We will have to see if Watchmen can continue the trend, or be the first to break it. I would also like to see a “Great Book/Terrible Movie” list. And if so Stardust by Niel Gaiman needs to be on there. One of my favorite books ever made into a travesty of a movie!
November 23rd, 2008 at 2:27 am
Brilliant List – though I’m ot so certain about Ben Hur or The Godfather. They were both incredibly good reads – I think maybe these were films that “brought the book to life more completely.
As for Blade Runner, it wouldn’t be at all hard for the movie to be better than the book – I think I got about 20 or 30 pages into the book and about halfway through the film before I lost inerest: IN truth, I have seen all of the Blade Runner movie by watching snippets of it and “connecting the dots” – but I have never gone back to the book!
November 23rd, 2008 at 2:30 am
What?! No Fight club or American Psycho?!
November 23rd, 2008 at 3:27 am
Yogi, you broke my heart with two Stephen King stories. Oh well, I think you’re right. Unless you’d like to replace them with “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” and “To Kill a Mockingbird”….
What’s the American count, does anybody know? I wouldn’t want Yogi to be accosted by the Anti-American List Police.
November 23rd, 2008 at 4:27 am
I’d have to include “The Exorcist” on this list.
November 23rd, 2008 at 4:28 am
Aimee!
i think i much prefer the american psycho novel to the film.
even though it has such a great cast, i think the book really has the in-depth level that the film lacks.
November 23rd, 2008 at 4:42 am
Harris is a great writer. I would not say Silence is better than his novel.
Also, Blade Runner is loosely taken from Do Androids…
(and Dick was pure genius)
November 23rd, 2008 at 4:44 am
The interesting thing about The Silence of the Lambs is that apparently, everyone who reads the book first and then watches the film will swear on their mother’s grave that the book is better, and vice versa.
It makes me wonder how many other books-to-films this is true of.
On another note, I would like to mention Harry Potter and the Philosophers’ Stone (being careful not to group all the Harry Potter books together and irritate an unhealthily large fan-base). I’m assured the author’s writing style does improve in later books, but I couldn’t get past Chapter 1 of the first book.
However, I will say I find all of the films really entertaining and well done.
November 23rd, 2008 at 4:54 am
Blade runner? lol..geeze me. And stand by me as #1..never heard of it. Something to watch sometime.
November 23rd, 2008 at 4:55 am
Great list.
Interesting Fact: At the insistence of director Rob Reiner (an avid non-smoker who campaigned for anti-smoking laws in California), the cigarettes smoked by the boys were made from cabbage leaves.
Out of curiosity…anyone know why smoking cabbage leaves is any better than smoking tobacco leaves? Maybe doesn’t kill lung cells?
November 23rd, 2008 at 4:57 am
Astraya-They are good movies. As far as the Stephen King movies, they are based on short stories and become good 90-120 minute movies whereas his normal (too long) books become 6-8 hours TV mini-series which become boring 1/3 of the way in.
November 23rd, 2008 at 5:01 am
Interesting list.
November 23rd, 2008 at 5:37 am
to Rosantohof:
There is no nicotine in cabbage leafs, and there is in tobacco leafs, and nicotine is actually very toxic.
That is why tobacco leafs produce nicotine, to kill the bugs that eat from the leafs.
So that’s why smoking cabbage leafs is better than tobacco leafs. But I still don’t think it is that good for you
November 23rd, 2008 at 6:31 am
This is really weird, I was just thinking in the shower this morning (TMI?) that some one should make a list of movies that are better than books!
Get out of my head, list universe!!!!
November 23rd, 2008 at 6:36 am
P.S I have to say I agree with most things on this list, however it seems I have read all the books but only seen 8 out of 10 of the films!
That really shouldn’t allow me to have an opinion.
I’m of to Blockbuster. Away!
November 23rd, 2008 at 6:37 am
I would quibble a bit about “Silence of the Lambs”, but not much. A HUGE nod to the inclusion of “Ben-Hur”. Loren D. Estelman once put it quite well: “As far as being a great writer, General Wallace was a great General.”
November 23rd, 2008 at 6:48 am
To Kill a Mockingbird
Barry Lyndon
2001: A Space Odyssey
Rebecca
The Magnificent Ambersons
November 23rd, 2008 at 6:52 am
Any Kubrick film based on a book fits,almost by definition,in this list. “A clockwork orange” comes to mind.
I haven´t read “The shining” by Stephen King, but I am pretty sure the film is superior. Kubrick vs King isn´t even remotely fair.
November 23rd, 2008 at 6:52 am
Two by King, huh? Actually, I agree with every one of these which I’ve seen/read. Did any of you get a chance to compare “The Crow” in both its versions? I did, and I thought the movie version was better as well, I thought the graphic novel was tremendously slow and unnecessarily dense. Nice list, have a good day, all.
November 23rd, 2008 at 6:54 am
Very cool list, and excellent choices. I’ll be the first to admit that I didn’t know that some of these movies were originally books, like Ben-Hur and Stand by Me. I would’ve put Shawshank Redemption and Godfather as the top 2 without a doubt, but okay…
November 23rd, 2008 at 6:55 am
@SoCalJeff: Pretty much smoking anything is bad for you – but cabbage leaves are not addictive (no nicotene). Plus they don’t have added tar and other chemicals that go into normal cigarettes.
@ZenPoet: I disagree. While I liked the V for Vendetta movie a lot, I don’t think it was as good as the graphic novel. And IMHO, From Hell and League of Extraordinary Gentlemen both sucked as movies. Moore’s work is so dense and is created to suit the medium so well that I don’t think movies can capture it. I don’t have high hopes for Watchmen. Especially since I hated 300.
November 23rd, 2008 at 6:55 am
If you read Jaws or The Exorcist in the right setting they are much better/scarier than the movies.
I also think Stand By Me is way overrated.
But I like the list anyway. Good job Yogi.
November 23rd, 2008 at 7:22 am
Having read “Ben-Hur” and “Jaws” and seen both of those movies, I would have to agree with their inclusion on this list. I think movie images are more real and immediate than print (which requires a little time to conjure up a similar image). You can read the description of a shark attack (or a chariot race) but actually viewing one is far more intense (in my opinion).
November 23rd, 2008 at 7:27 am
wow. nothing against you, Yogi, but did you actually read the books prior to seeing these movies? I can see how that may have biased you in your choices for this list… I , too, saw many of these prior to reading the book…
and…
the Puzo book, “The Godfather”, which I read in jr. high, was far more engrossing and powerful than the film (although it is an epic movie)
All of the Harrison “Hannibal” books are amazing and although TSOTL is excellent, the books eclipse the movie each time!
and finally, well, shame on you. really. shame shame! Stephen King’s works are always best enjoyed in print, at night, alone…with a window slightly ajar and only one light on in the entire house…
(too bad King hasn’t had a decent anthology out in over a decade now… some of his works are wearing a little thin and nowhere near as satisfying as his earlier works…i thoght it was just because I was getting older that King seemed to be loosing his gripping edge on his readers… but after reading “Dura Key”, it is clear to me he is just churning out repeat storylines and his ’shocks’ are less diabolical and more predictable. *sigh*)although, I believe a new anthology was just released last week, and I have yet to get it.
not a bad list-just one I completely disagree with, which has never happened before to me on LV.
rtr
November 23rd, 2008 at 7:30 am
“What Dreams May Come”… the movie was exceptionally better than the book. Great list!
November 23rd, 2008 at 7:35 am
Even though it is not a movie, but the Showtime series “Dexter”, is much better than the book series. The writers on the show are just better than the author of the books.
November 23rd, 2008 at 7:38 am
Interesting! Reminds me of how bad the Eragon and Golden Compass movies sucked.
November 23rd, 2008 at 7:57 am
Only read two books on this list(The Godfather & Silence of the Lambs)and I’ve gotta disagree,although The Godfather(especialy II)and Silence of the Lambs are two of my favourite films, I still think the books are better.
Interesting list though!
:):)
November 23rd, 2008 at 8:04 am
I don’t understand why the Searchers and Psycho are said to be so good. The Searchers was so boring, there are way better westrns than that. And I don’t understand why Psycho is one of the scariest movies to some people. I never get scared by horror movies but this one was not even close to scary. Every scene where someone was killed just seemed funny to me, like when the guy fell down the stairs. I loved Jaws, The Silence of the Lambs, The Shawshank Redemption, The Godfather, and Stand By Me. Blade Runner was okay. I hated Gone With the Wind, I was forced to watch it at school, except no one was even watching, we all had our ipods and phones out. I never saw Ben Hur but it looks good.
November 23rd, 2008 at 8:07 am
To Kill a Mockingbird, better than the book? NO WAY. It’s actually one of the very few instances where the movie treatment is every bit the equal of a magnificent novel.
November 23rd, 2008 at 8:08 am
elartistamadridista, Yogi was very correct in not including “A Clockwork Orange” on this list. Although the movie is spectacular, it does not in any way eclipse the outstanding and ground-breaking Burgess novel.
November 23rd, 2008 at 8:10 am
Alfonos Cuaron’s take on Children of Men was awesome..Fight Club film too…all I got to say is that Stephen King has come up with excellent fim material ( Carrie, The Shinning, etc..)
November 23rd, 2008 at 8:11 am
Good list and I agree with most of your picks but I have to take issue with the comment “compared to SK’s great books, such as The Stand”. The Stand is SK’s masterpiece; unfair to use that as a comparison. Frankly SK does some of his best work in his short stories and novellas. It prevents him from being too pleased with the sound of his own voice, makes him more concise and are generally better written. I would say applies to both The Shawshank Redemption and The Body. Have you actually read these stories? Apt pupil, also from Different Seasons was one of only two SK books I had to put down. Too disturbing. (Also made into a movie btw). Not that those movies weren’t wonderful, Shawshank Redemption is a family favorite and likely does deserve to be somewhere near the top of IMDB and Stand by Me was great as well. But better than the stories? I dunno about that. Reach a larger audience? Yes. More popular? Yes. But they are among his best works. Length does not equal quality.
November 23rd, 2008 at 8:11 am
excellent list. The only would i would argue with is Gone With the Wind. I loved the book, but hated the movie.
November 23rd, 2008 at 8:17 am
Someone mentioned 2001 A Space Odyssey up there. You can’t have read the book – it’s absolutely excellent and considered one of Arthur C. Clarke’s most brilliant works (and that’s saying something because Clarke has a large collection of top notch books). The movie was good for its time – original but vague and many parts of it are tedious. The book, however, is a real page turner. In fact – you need to read it or the movie is impossible to figure out.
On the topic of Blade Runner – this is one of my all time favorite movies, but, hey, the book was pretty darn good also. In reality – the story in the movie version is so different from the book it’s hard to make a comparison.
-C
November 23rd, 2008 at 8:19 am
Great list but what was a horse’s head doing in a dog food factory.Is dog food made from horse’s meat…?
November 23rd, 2008 at 8:24 am
Bladerunner is certainly better than Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep but the movie is so loosely based on the book that its not really a fair comparison. It would be kind of like saying The Last Temptation of Christ is a movie based on the Bible, it is but only slightly so.
How about A Clockwork Orange instead? I found that book completely unreadable.
November 23rd, 2008 at 8:27 am
# 33 – I grew up on westerns and John Wayne, an influence from my father. I have to say the reason people believe ‘The Searchers’ to have been so good wasn’t because of the gunfights or action. It was a portrayal of racism and a study of obsession, family, and what ties family together. The ending scene in this movie is just beautiful, and in one shot it captures the essence of what the movie is about. It may have been boring in the sense there weren’t the type of shootouts most westerns are famous for, but I always thought it was deeply moving.
Good list, by the way!
November 23rd, 2008 at 8:32 am
I disagree with Blade Runner. I actually prefered eletric sheep a lot more. I think most Stephen King books translate better to the screen. Carrie is far better than the book.
November 23rd, 2008 at 8:45 am
I agree with Dread about A Clockwork Orange, the film far out does the book
November 23rd, 2008 at 8:49 am
Great list,
I salute Ben Hur and Gone with the wind.
November 23rd, 2008 at 8:57 am
Good list but how in the world can you forget A CLOCKWORK ORANGE!!!!???
November 23rd, 2008 at 9:15 am
Hey, warreagl it looks like you are quite alone in defending the book “A Clockwork Orange” over the film.
To be fair, I didn´t read it in English so maybe I´m not in a good position to judge.
November 23rd, 2008 at 9:21 am
Two minor disagreements regarding the list:
I thought the ending in the book version of “Jaws” was much more suspenseful than the silly contrived exploding air tank in the movie.
I thought the book “The Godfather” was far better than the movie. I could not put it down. If memory serves me right, Sonny is killed in 1946 at the toll booth, while the attendant’s radio is playing the audio from the 1951 Dodgers/Giants playoff game just prior to Bobby Thompson’s “Shot heard ’round the world”.
I’d like to submit one for the list:
“Mobey Dick”, with Gregory Peck. It is one of my personal favorites, whereas the book is insufferably tedious. I never finished it.
November 23rd, 2008 at 9:21 am
I would have to risk my life by saying that all the Harry Potter movies were better than the books. That woman should be edited with a light saber.
November 23rd, 2008 at 9:27 am
I think this list is very well done, everyone picking on Yogi should please note that he was the concept contributor and not the list writer.
The only one I would have added was Forrest Gump. The movie far outdoes the book imho.
November 23rd, 2008 at 9:28 am
Not knocking Shawshank Redemption in any way (haven’t seen it), but part of the reason it’s #1 in IMDB is because back in the summer when the Dark Knight came out, many people were voting 1/10 to the Godfather (then the current #1) so the Dark Knight could take over.
November 23rd, 2008 at 9:44 am
God that’s funny! I was just going to compliment the list maker for the idea. I honestly don’t remember submitting it. Actually the entire top ten should have been movies that were made from John Grisham novels. Phillip Dick is another one whose ideas play out better on a screen. Although Jamie wrote this entire list himself, I’m pleasantly surprised that he put one of my all-time favorite movies(and song) at the top. Thanks Jamie!
November 23rd, 2008 at 9:53 am
You know what I like abour movies as opposed to books?
NO READING.
Two hours, and I’m finished, free to do whatever I please.
The movie is ALWAYS better.
November 23rd, 2008 at 10:05 am
hey! what about jurassic park?
November 23rd, 2008 at 10:28 am
Nic, Creighton novels can go either way as far as movies are concerned. You’ve got Jurassic Park but then there is Congo.
Let me be the first to introduce Mr. Bond, James Bond.
It’s not a movie but I might as well throw out Showtime’s most excellent show, Dexter.
November 23rd, 2008 at 10:32 am
i feel like i am the only one who goes to this website that did not think blade runner was that cool
November 23rd, 2008 at 10:37 am
Interesting list. I’ve seen almost every movie on this list (Shawshank is the only exception) but I’ve never read any of these books.
I would add The Lord of the Rings series. I read The Fellowship prior to the films release and liked the book well enough. But I started reading The Two Towers after seeing the movie and gave up a little more than halfway through and never even bothered with The Return of the King. The movies were great but the books were just dense and dull. It felt like reading a history textbook.
I also think the Harry Potter movies are better than the books.
November 23rd, 2008 at 10:48 am
The Godfather was an amazing movie and I do not think that FFC could have made it any better, however, it is still not better than the book in my opinion. Trainspotting is much the same way. Probably mentioned already but what about Fight Club that had to make the list. It would be No. 1 for me without doubt.
November 23rd, 2008 at 10:50 am
elartistamadridista (22)I saw The Shining when it first came out. Really scared me. Didn’t read the book for a long time after because I also thought it couldn’t be better than the movie. Was I wrong!! The book scared the hell out of me. Much better than the movie. And I still really like the movie. Indeed I own it.
November 23rd, 2008 at 10:56 am
I’ve gotta say, I was disappointed to not see Children of Men on this list. While Cuaron’s version differs greatly from the book it was “based on,” it’s an extraordinary movie. Extremely well done. Still, I guess the fact that the greatest common ground shared between the book and film lies in the title might disqualify it from this list. It would have been a good bonus, though!
November 23rd, 2008 at 11:52 am
22-
a clockwork orange the book (if you get a newer one that has the last chapeter) is soo much better than the movie, because it has a better ending, the plot is suppossed to build to a point, a resolution, the book has it, movie doesnt.
November 23rd, 2008 at 11:55 am
Yogi Barrister you old sneak, stay out of my mind!
I’ve read every one of the books above, and later, seen every one of the movies. I am usually disappointed by movie depictions of books I’ve really liked, but in these cases (barring Jaws, which was a piece of junk) I was pleasantly surprised.
Speaking of Jaws, the original original is called Close to Shore. It was released before Jaws, went out of print, and then back into print several years afterward (if I remember correctly, I do have memory lapses – the original members know why). Anyhow, *that* book, which is non-fiction, is fabulous, and I highly recommend it.
While “Do Androids Dream Of Electronic Sheep?” was a favorite of mine during Uni days, Blade Runner blew my socks off! I now own the definitive directors set, in the suitcase, 5 versions! My husband hates it, so I play it when he’s off for the day doing other things.
Since I made my living in the film biz, as a script supervisor, an integral part of the directorial set, I have a fairly good understanding of what goes into making a movie. What no one can know or understand is what goes on inside the directors head, what makes him (or her) make certain decisions which turn an ordinary film into something extraordinary.
A Clockwork Orange was mentioned as a possible addition to the list, and I have to strongly disagree! The whole point of the book was it’s difficulty of understanding the younger generation, how they spoke, thought, acted. And why they had become the way they had become.
The movie had been dumbed down so that there was no effort required. It was all handed to you on a silver platter. It was effortless, so it was effectless.
Someone else mentioned To Kill a Mockingbird. Blasphemy! While the movie was an excellent piece of film-craft it did not live up to the book. Too much of dire import was left out, too much of interior life was left out, everything was collapsed into a jumble of time, making little sense if you’d read the book.
Yes, I know, this is an opinion list. You can’t argue with someone’s opinion. I’m merely giving my own opinion.
November 23rd, 2008 at 12:05 pm
Excellent list! Of the ones I have both read & seen, I pretty much agree. As for Silence of the Lambs, I think I may have to agree with whoever commented that you will like whichever version you experienced first. I saw the movie first, so I liked it better, though I did love the book.
For the SK books…they were both amazing stories, and even better movies. I would have ranked Shawshank higher than Stand By Me, only because I think Shawshank is more “better than the book” than Stand By Me was. (Also, and add-on to the “interesting fact” for Shawshank- Freeman’s son was also in the movie, during the scene where Andy gets to the prison, and all the prisoners are watching the new guys walk in). Also…a question for anyone else out there who has read more than one book after seeing Morgan Freeman in the movie roll…do you read the character in his voice too? I did it with Shawshank, and have done it with all of James Patterson’s “Alex Cross” novels.
Also, in regards to King-someone made the comment that his books tend to translate well to screen…you must never have seen some of the horrible mini-series that were made from great books!
In response to Warr’s comment about To Kill a Mockingbird, I have to disagree…I think that this is one of the very few times that you will see that a movie & book can be equally as amazing as each other.
One glaring omission I see, is The Wizard of OZ. The book is interesting, don’t get me wrong, but in comparison to the movie, the book is very one-dimensional. The movie is made so much more complex & meaningful with little things-like how many of the Oz-folk are copies of people she knows in Kansas, and oh…that transition from black & white to color when she opens the door in Oz! Such a clear message to the audience that she’s somewhere far far away from home!
November 23rd, 2008 at 12:21 pm
anyone have aink to the referenced list?
” The movie’s line “Frankly, my dear, I don’t give a damn.” was voted as the #1 movie quote by the American Film Institute (out of 100).”
November 23rd, 2008 at 12:26 pm
IMO, the greatness of Kubrick´s version of ACO is not about “the point” or the acute social commentary (as maybe is the case with the book). It´s about the visual “deliciousness” of the whole thing.
November 23rd, 2008 at 12:27 pm
good list
November 23rd, 2008 at 12:27 pm
Segue, Jamie is the guy who is sneaking into your mind, but we already knew that. All credit or blame is on him. BTW I liked your point about TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD, a list for another day is: Giving equal weight to both the book and movie, what is the best book/film. After reading the effusive praise for Puzo’s novel on this thread, I’m inclined to put that at #1, with TKAM somewhere in the top ten for sure, but you are correct, the novel is certainly not the weaker of the two regarding that adaptation.
November 23rd, 2008 at 1:30 pm
Not really a movie…a miniseries to be exact, but Band of Brothers could possibly be an honorable mention.
The book by Ambrose is an okay read, a lot of tactics and operational information…nothing too interesting to anyone not into mil history.
The movie however made the Easy Co’s amazing story, and the individual stories of the Soldiers, accessible to the public.
Also some outstanding acting by Ron Livingston and Damien Lewis (still cannot get over how great his US accent was.)
Great list!!!!
Good call DK on the Wizard of Oz.
November 23rd, 2008 at 1:59 pm
Mr Plow, absolutely! A mini-series is usually the only way to do justice to a book, and Band of Brothers is perhaps the best of all time, either that or Lonesome Dove. Unlike the source for Lonesome Dove however, Band of Brothers was a fairly dry read. If I hadn’t aleady seen the series, it wouldn’t have held my interest.
November 23rd, 2008 at 1:59 pm
AHHHHHHHHH!!
November 23rd, 2008 at 2:01 pm
srry that last one went before I could finish typing.
Stand By Me is my most favourite movie and The Body is my most favourite short story!!!
I was shocked when I saw it on the list though, mainly b.c both were completely out of my mind. and then I saw it and I was like YAYYYY.
November 23rd, 2008 at 2:10 pm
ChritineM and Dread:: I have to disagree
I just finished the book this past friday and have to say… I loved the book, and could not stand the movie. The book does a much better job at showing what he was thinking and stuff. The movie just focused mainly on what he was doing not what he was thinking. Malcom McDowell was a great actor in the movie, but he was just too old. He didn’t look all that old, he sounded old. Which kind of threw it off for me. I did however like how the colours mixed with the lighting and the music in the movie. But as a whole, the movie just didn’t have the same feel as the novel did. I guess that’s just me though.
November 23rd, 2008 at 2:14 pm
I have to disagree with the Gone with the Wind entry, the movie was excellent, but it is far surpassed by the detail and story of the book.
November 23rd, 2008 at 2:19 pm
this should be called: My top 10 of movies that are based on books. or shouldnt it? and I see no real arguments..
November 23rd, 2008 at 2:48 pm
Great list, but I personally prefer The Godfather book over the movie. Both the film and the book were excellent, but the movie leaves out a lot of things that happen in the book, as is usually the case with films adapted from books.
November 23rd, 2008 at 2:55 pm
Forest Gump is an absolutely awful book.
November 23rd, 2008 at 3:17 pm
Oh no you di-iii-n’t just say that about Blade Runner!
November 23rd, 2008 at 3:19 pm
Great list and great comments.
November 23rd, 2008 at 3:40 pm
Rodeograndma– I totally agree!
November 23rd, 2008 at 4:03 pm
Definitely either Fight Club or American Psycho. Not that the books were bad, but the movies were very different and a little more enjoyable.
November 23rd, 2008 at 4:07 pm
I would add “The Last of the Mohicans”. Terrible book, wonderful film.
November 23rd, 2008 at 4:21 pm
Nicholas Pileggi wrote the screenplay for Goodfellas and Wiseguy, the book it was based on. Never read the book, so sue me if it doesn’t deserve to be added to this list.
November 23rd, 2008 at 4:57 pm
As a huge fan of Stephen King, I must say (and that’s just my opinion) that the two books (actually, short stories from the same book) included here are amazing! People shouldn’t give up reading them because of the list….if you want a bad Stephen King book think about The Dreamcatcher…terrible book, but a little nicer film..and again, that’s just me.
I’ve heard a great deal of The Silence of the lambs book, is it really bad?
November 23rd, 2008 at 5:01 pm
“… reading a book is better than watching a film, because it allows your own imagination to make marvelous worlds and characters.” Yes, but what about visual learners like myself, who need visual stimuli? Also, I think The Great Gatsby should be #1.
November 23rd, 2008 at 5:20 pm
I enjoyed this list, although regarding most of the entries I have either not seen the film or not read the book, so I feel less qualified to comment.
I have read the Godfather novel after seeing the film though, and I have to disagree that the film is not greater. However I do not believe the novel is greater either. Rather I feel that the film complements the novel perfectly, doing it justice while not making any glaring omissions. Both works are excellent in their own right (IMHO).
November 23rd, 2008 at 5:22 pm
I never read the book but some of my friends said that the movie secret window was far better than the book.
and the classic grinch that stole christmas cartoon from way back when maybe????idk
November 23rd, 2008 at 5:28 pm
I agree with those that say TKAM movie was not *better* than the book. Both are excellent within the strictures of their field. In fact there seem to be a few on the list where the book is as good or almost so compared to the movie.
I also agree with Forrest Gump. In fact it was the first thing that sprang to mind on seeing the list title. Winston Groom’s book is all but unreadable IMO. Ditto LOTM (except it wasn’t first). Dreadful book (or first 3 chapters)
Sharki (57) You Blasphemer you
though you are correct.
Cheers
Lee
November 23rd, 2008 at 6:05 pm
the book Gone with the Wind was so much better than the movie..
the Godfather movie was way better than the book
November 23rd, 2008 at 6:08 pm
“The Shining” should have been on that list. Stephen King books are almost always better than the movies made about them, but not in that case. Shelly Duvall, Jack Nicholson, Scatman Caruthers, those creepy twins…such a great cast and setting.
November 23rd, 2008 at 6:08 pm
Obviously, from my nickname, I am a great fan of To Kill a Mockingbird. It is my favorite book. In this case, the movie comes CLOSE to being as good as the book, but not quite. I think Gregory Peck was just so awesome in the film that he made the book come alive.
The other film that comes to mind is Fried Green Tomatoes. I loved the book, and the movie (necessarily) left out a lot, but I think the film does outshine the book.
November 23rd, 2008 at 6:34 pm
The movie I always thought was WAY better than the book was “The Devil Wears Prada.”
November 23rd, 2008 at 6:36 pm
@AmazingThor…thanks for the xplanation. gotcha…makes sense.
November 23rd, 2008 at 7:00 pm
The choice of Blade Runner is ridiculous. For one, the book was better, and for another, they bear almost no similarity to each other. Even in the brief plot description in this list, you can see the huge discrepancies (Deckard wasn’t retired in the book, and the thing about artificial memories and artificially shortened life-spans was murkier). It doesn’t surprise me at all the Scott hadn’t read the book: all he took from it was the names and the word “replicant.”
November 23rd, 2008 at 7:01 pm
Good list, but Forrest Gump and The Princess Bride also deserved spots!
November 23rd, 2008 at 7:05 pm
I thought the book version of SIlence of The Lambs was a thousand times better thank the movie version.
November 23rd, 2008 at 7:07 pm
I’m with those who prefer the novel American Psycho to the film. Bale’s a legend, but that’s one powerfully disturbing text. I don’t think even a visual comparison of eggshell and crisp white could out-do that book.
November 23rd, 2008 at 7:32 pm
Excellent list well thought out.
November 23rd, 2008 at 7:36 pm
I like the idea of the list, but I have to disagree with GWTW and the movie versions of King books. There was a depth to those three books a movie could never, ever get close to. We learn more about the sort of person Scarlett became in GWTW (and Ms. Mitchell was a one-hit wonder by choice! :p) by reading about her. The movie was amazing and timeless, but nothing beats the book.
November 23rd, 2008 at 7:49 pm
Our next award is for the director who is most likely to make a movie that is better the book. And the winner is…………Alfred Hitchcock
November 23rd, 2008 at 7:54 pm
Its good to see twilight isn’t on this list
November 23rd, 2008 at 8:11 pm
65, i see why you would say that, i would agree that its good because: “It´s about the visual “deliciousness” of the whole thing”
but its unfair to say a movie > a book for visual reasons, because in that case, every non-picture book would auto lose that contest
November 23rd, 2008 at 8:29 pm
Matilda, Wily Wonka, & all Roald Dahl books were made into fabulous movies…
I loved The Witches…
November 23rd, 2008 at 8:55 pm
Wow… two King novelas, and a Silence of the Lambs… ouch.
While I do agree that The Bodies (Stand by Me) is better on film, The Shawshank Redemption fails to get all of the feelings from the novela into the movie, which is saying something because the film is absolutly moving. As for Silence of the Lambs, the movie is disturbing, but the novel is even more disturbing. I have to disagree with those two, but I am a simple reader. Mostly, good list.
November 23rd, 2008 at 8:59 pm
@Shennydenny (94): You obviously haven’t read the “Good Parts Version” of The Princess Bride, it leaves out the boring stuff (like pages upon pages describing one character’s wardrobe) and adds in witty personal story-telling by the man who abridged the book, which is where much of the Fred Savage & Columbo story-line comes from! I absolutely recommend it!
November 23rd, 2008 at 8:59 pm
I have to agree with Carol’s post (#83). I thought “Shawshank” and “Stand By Me” were great in their original medium as well. Further, “Different Seasons”–the collection from which both were taken–also contains an even better short story/novella (which also became a film, one that I enjoyed but others apparently didn’t), entitled “Apt Pupil.” In fact, this is one of my all-time favorites, and has to be among King’s more truly horrifying works, as it’s a sobering meditation on the banality of evil.
Interesting tidbit: The character Kurt Dussander, former Nazi officer and focus of teenager Todd Bowden’s unnatural obsession in “Apt Pupil,” briefly mentions having once been a client of banker Andrew Dufresne, protagonist of “Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption.”
November 23rd, 2008 at 9:42 pm
No way, man! I have read The Godfather by Mario Puzo. The movie is good, but the book kicks a**. For instance, in the movie, the chracter Luca Brasi is depicted as a hard-a**. But he is only in the first twenty minutes of the movie or so before he is killed. In the book, though, we learn why people do not cross Luca Brasi and we know his backstory. Yes, I am like any other schmuck who has read the book.
November 23rd, 2008 at 9:56 pm
Well, im a HUGE SK fan, and i agree with some of you in here, i personally think that “stand by me” its better on film than in print, but..shawshank its just a great experience to read, the final 10 pages (SPOILER ALERT), when Red becomes free, finds some work, realizes how much everything is change, and decides to go to andy, as i was reading, i was hoping..o please, let him make it, please!!, i hope that in the end he did make it, i hope he saw hes friend..i hope..wink wink
.
November 23rd, 2008 at 11:14 pm
i think “the day of the jackal” by Frederick Forsythe should have been included in the list….
November 24th, 2008 at 12:11 am
i remember watchin Stand By Me in seventh grade, it was the first movie we saw that had kids swearing and we kept laughing. stand by me was a good film. i think harry potter should be in this, the first one at least. the Da Vinci code was cool too.
November 24th, 2008 at 1:26 am
While the movie adaption was pretty great, I feel that the novel “Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep” is far superior, seeing as how the movie left out so many details from the book (which may be attributed to the fact that Ridley Scott having never read the book
).
November 24th, 2008 at 1:47 am
Have read the two offering from King and seen the Shawshank Redemption. Have also watched the Godfather I-III. The list is nice…
November 24th, 2008 at 3:59 am
Bladerunner/Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? are the only ones that I can comment on, considering that I haven’t even seen half of the films let alone read the books. I completely disagree with its inclusion. And knowing that Scott never even read the book makes a lot of sense. I first tried to watch the film when I was about 16 (my dad is a massive fan of the film) and got about 20 minutes in before leaving the room. My boyfriend studied English in college and for his final year he did a seminar about literature in film – Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? was on his reading list, so I read it after he did. He decided to watch Bladerunner (for some reason he could only find it on video). Admittedly, I was VERY stoned at the time and can’t really remember it but I DO remember thinking ‘what has this got to do with the book?’ a lot of the time. I would also like to point out that numerous Philip K. Dick books have been made into terrible movies (Bladerunner is actually probably one of the best) – Paycheck, Minority Report, though I did quite like A Scanner Darkly. I haven’t seen it but I can only presume that I Am Legend was crap, it never seemed to come up that it was first a book. And The Last Man On Earth (which is an adaptation of it) is presumable infinitely better.
November 24th, 2008 at 4:00 am
Oh yeah, and The Shining (film) gets REALLY boring when you’ve seen it more than twice. Shelley Duvall annoyed the hell out of me the whole way through.
November 24th, 2008 at 4:11 am
Well, if the movie is based on a short story, there is a good chance that the movie will be better than the book.
You quoted 2 short stories by Stephen King, but this applies also to Philip K Dick… Total Recall, the movie, is way better than We Can Remember It For You Wholesale, the short story by Dick.
November 24th, 2008 at 6:35 am
Totally agree with your list here..especially about the Godfather movie and Jaws…i read the books after watching the movies..and well they were bad–the books I mean…or maybe I was expecting too much from the books after watching The Godfather!
November 24th, 2008 at 6:49 am
They totally forgott about “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest”. Great movie, Jack Nicholson is awesome but the book is kind of slow though!!!
November 24th, 2008 at 7:25 am
Come to think of it, where’s High Fidelity? Rarely is Nick Hornby translated so well as with John Cusack as the lead.
November 24th, 2008 at 7:32 am
The Princess Bride is an AMAZING book, and while its my favorite movie ever, I’m still not sure it’s better than the book.
Breakfast at Tiffany’s comes to mind, but the story is sooo different from the move that it’s sort of hard to judge, and I saw the movie first so I think I had that in my head.
I don’t agree with Gone With the Wind, either. I thoguht the movie was a long, boring crapfest. Good book though.
November 24th, 2008 at 8:02 am
I’m sorry, but Shawshank Redemption and Blade Runner ARE NOT better than the books.
With Shawshank Redemption, the book ends with Red saying he is going to look with Andy, and how he hopes he finds him. The whole point of the story is HOPE, so you don’t know if he succeeds or not. In the movie, they throw an extra scene at the end showing he does succeed, which kind ruins it.
Now as for Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? vs Blade Runner, they are barely the same story. The novel is a meditation on what it means to be a human, focusing on empathy. The movie is an action flick. Don’t get me wrong, the movie is great, but it bears absolutely no similarity to the book. Comparing the two is just nonsense.
November 24th, 2008 at 8:04 am
Having worked with many a Hollywood director as part of the directorial team, I can say with assurance that just because a director, (in this case Ridley Scott) claims never to have read the book from which the movie he is directing originates, makes it so. In fact, it would be highly unlikely!
Good directors, and Ridley Scott is most assuredly a good director, do their homework. Part of that homework would be reading the original book, interviewing the author (if still alive), or, failing that, reading other books by the same author and/or from the same era if a “costume drama”.
They may chuck out almost everything they’ve read save the “flavor”. It’s a directors choice.
A “claim” not to have read the book? Publicity.
November 24th, 2008 at 8:08 am
2001: A Space Odyssey – The book is actually based on the movie. And it beats the movie hollow.
November 24th, 2008 at 8:36 am
What about saving some time and including all of Stephen King´s novels that were made movies? They suck.
Oh no wait! The movies all suck too.
(Except The Shinning obviously and maybe Misery)
November 24th, 2008 at 8:52 am
“reading a book is better than watching a film”
define “better”
better for who? for what? you cant make claims that don’t mean anything like that
November 24th, 2008 at 8:53 am
There should be pointed out the difference between real literature (Phillip K. Dick, Mario Puzo) and Best Seller blockbuster authors (Thomas Harris, Stephen King, Michael Crichton).
By the way, for those of you who mentioned The day of the Jackal, One flew over the Cukoo´s Nest or A Clockwork´s Orange, that is real literature.
November 24th, 2008 at 8:59 am
It occurs to me that I haven’t read that many books and seen their movie versions. The only time I can vouch for the movie being better than the book was the recent The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. Great book (I love them all), greater movie (not sure I’d say the same about Prince Caspian). Very loyal, but with more detail (since the book was pretty slim).
I’ll once again lend my support to a Great Book/Terrible Movie list, and nominate Timeline for greatest disparity between book and movie.
November 24th, 2008 at 9:09 am
I’d argue that A Clockwork Orange should be added as well, the book ending (Alex finally realizes the error of his ways and begins to be an upstanding citizen) is such a cop-out, and it renders the rest of the book meaningless-it proves the government and the mainstream really CAN force one to conform. Give me the movie ending any day of the week.
November 24th, 2008 at 9:44 am
Yogi, I must respectfully disagree with your choice for #2. Philip K Dick’s short story was brilliant. Cyberpunk isn’t often held in it’s full spectrum and can be misunderstood. I would guess it would be one of those “popularity” things where most people would agree with you, but those who have delved deeply into cyberpunk would understand my point of view.
Everything else is spot on. Shawshank Redemption, yes! Did you know that the rights to that movie were bought from Stephen King for $1? He has that deal with any of his short stories. (I may have learned that from LV!)
November 24th, 2008 at 9:52 am
124. psychosurfer:…The day of the Jackal, One flew over the Cukoo´s Nest or A Clockwork´s Orange, that is real literature.
****
Homer’s Iliad & Odyssey, Milton’s Paradise Series, Shakespeare, Steinbeck, James Joyce, etc. *that* is real literature.
November 24th, 2008 at 10:28 am
10. Searchers — Can’t comment since I didn’t read the book.
9. Psycho — OK, I can go along with that.
8. Jaws — VERY good movie but also VERY compelling read. Tie.
7. Ben-Hur — Pass. Didn’t read it.
6. Silence of the Lambs — Disagree. Very good movie but excellent book.
5. Gone With the Wind — Nope, book is much better.
4. Shawshank — Disagree again. King’s story is superior.
3. Godfather — Agree.
2. Blade Runner — Pass again.
1. Stand by Me — Nope again. King captured the feel of being a kid at that age in those times better.
Two movies that are FAR superior to their written counterparts: The Third Miracle (see if you can even find the book — or the movie for that matter) and A History of Violence (another Ed Harris movie).
November 24th, 2008 at 10:50 am
I think Birth of a Nation should be #1 on this list. D.W. Griffith’s 1915 silent film about the American Civil War was based on Thomas Dixon’s The Clansman, a badly written and somewhat hysterical glorification of the Ku Klux Klan and justification of white supremacy.
While the subject matter of the film is obviously problematic, Birth of a Nation is a masterpiece of film-making. No other director of the time had the technical prowess of Griffiths, and this film introduced effects and camera tricks that had not been seen before. If you can get past the premise, this film is well worth seeing.
November 24th, 2008 at 11:05 am
Gadfly I thought the storyline in the graphic novel, A History of Violence, was better than the movie, but it didn’t have Maria Bello, so you are inarguably correct.
November 24th, 2008 at 11:13 am
Cedestra- For one thing, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? isn’t a short story, it’s a novel. And for another, it isn’t cyberpunk: Dick was definitely a precursor to cyberpunk, but Neuromancer was the first actually cyberpunk novel. In fact, Electric Sheep is one of his least cyberpunk-ish novels; I’d say A Scanner Darkly, The Penultimate Truth and maybe even Man in the High Castle are more the predecessors of Neuromancer, Snow Crash and Altered Carbon.
Anyways, you’re definitely right about the Blade Runner/Electric Sheep ridiculousness. Just wanted to make sure what’s be said about Dick is accurate.
November 24th, 2008 at 11:26 am
I am Legend is better as a movie. The book was too boring.
November 24th, 2008 at 11:41 am
128.Segue, you really got me on that one
November 24th, 2008 at 11:57 am
Shawshank is great. Another interesting fact, Morgan Freeman’s character was an Irishman in King’s book. the line “maybe its ’cause I’m Irish” was kept in just for the hell of it.
i’d say Holes should be on the list too. terrible book, enjoyable movie.
November 24th, 2008 at 12:50 pm
However I doubt that I would attend a movie about Plato´s dialogues.
November 24th, 2008 at 1:08 pm
LOL! LOL! LOL! psychosurfer, you really got *me* on that one!
November 24th, 2008 at 1:38 pm
yay !! great list !! extra hurray for blade runner :]i feel like with sci fi its sometimes hard to turn a good book into a non-corny film
November 24th, 2008 at 2:32 pm
I have seen most of these movies but not read any of the books, so I don’t think I can judge this list a lot…but I would also like to add Brokeback Mountain. I was a lot more affected by the movie than the short story, that’s for sure!
November 24th, 2008 at 3:49 pm
126.
the book isnt a cop out, it is a book that is making a point, it has a plot resolution, it is about the fact everyone needs to grow up eventually. the movie only ended that way because the book originally didnt have that chapter in it in the US, but that ending leaves it with no plot resolution, which is a horrible device to use in a book or movie, it is unsatisfying(sp?) and horrible for literature(sp again?)
ANYWAY, the fact is that the book leads up to a point, and then makes that point, the movie leads up to a point then says “oh nevermind”
needless to say, there is another point both have, about the importance of free will, and then several smaller ones, but the book leaves you with an ending that is important, and that has a point vs the empty ending the movie leaves
(its still my fav. movie though)
November 24th, 2008 at 5:13 pm
Great list. i love it
November 25th, 2008 at 3:32 am
As I’ve read none of the books I cannot comment the items on the list.
But one brilliant film which is based on a mediocre book came instantly to my mind when I read the list title: The Ice Storm (Ang Lee vs. Rick Moody)
m.
November 25th, 2008 at 4:19 am
i didn’t knew these were books:)
November 25th, 2008 at 7:06 am
Excellent list! I definatly agree with Shawshank Redemption. I love reading, but I couldn’t get into that book, LOVED the film though! But then Morgan Freeman is a legend!
November 25th, 2008 at 4:34 pm
Fight Club, the movie is just different. IN a good way
November 25th, 2008 at 5:17 pm
what about the wizard of oz?
November 25th, 2008 at 5:33 pm
146. El Pekardo: what about the wizard of oz?
****
What about it?
November 25th, 2008 at 8:44 pm
Another omission: Ordinary People
November 25th, 2008 at 9:03 pm
Although I love King’s novels, most of his short stories leave me a little disappointed. I’d probably have to add “The Mist” and “1408″ to your list as well.
November 26th, 2008 at 3:18 am
The Godfather??? The book, I can’t put down…The movie can put non-fans to sleep
November 26th, 2008 at 3:12 pm
Not a word in the article to suggest the author read any of the books, so it’s hit and miss. The novels Psycho and Jaws are indeed inferior to the movies. Psycho was a potboiler; Jaws was written by committee (Benchley scion asking editor buddies to tell him what to do) and by the luck of the draw the Hollywood committee came up with a much better story. Godfather and Gone With the Wind and Ben Hur are those rare movies that recreate the experience of a big popular novel; it’s possible to enjoy them more than the original (particularly the Godfather, which throws out some of the schlock Puzo threw in when he wasn’t respecting what he was doing), but most fans of the books would disagree that the books are actually better. Silence of the Lambs (like its predecessor and unlike its sequels) was brilliantly written, and as good as the movie is (it’s very good), the few places where it diverges from the book are inferior. (Indeed, the “laugh with Lecter” ending marks the beginning of the end for the whole series, book or movie.) Blade Runner and Do Androids Dream… are so totally different there’s no point comparing them. The Searchers is a great movie, but I haven’t read the source book and I don’t believe the list author has either. (For some reason I haven’t read either of the King books or seen their adaptations.)
Now, it is a fact that second rate books often make first-rate movies. But to come up with a real list of this kind, you have to be a book reader. Most movie reviewers aren’t. They frequently feel compelled to pretend they’ve read the original novel, particularly if it’s a classic, but because movies almost always diverge widely from the book, the reviewer’s bluff is usually given away within a sentence or two. Keep your eyes open and (if you’re a reader) you’ll see this all the time.
November 26th, 2008 at 3:21 pm
I might add that you could come up with a list of ten good movies better than their original books and stick to one original author: Cornell Woolrich (REAR WINDOW, etc.). As an author, Woolrich definitely had something real that a lot of writers never had, but it was almost always mixed with really terrible stuff. He was an adaptor’s dream — you could fix him up and feel you weren’t betraying him, but realizing his potential.
November 26th, 2008 at 5:12 pm
Regarding your mention of Stand By Me: “a mere short story?” I know what you probably meant, but it sounds so dismissive. Short stories can be powerful and great pieces of literature, and I hate to see them waved off so casually!
November 26th, 2008 at 5:29 pm
I have to disagree with Gone with the Wind. It was a truly amazing book to read, one of my favourites! The movie only captured a fraction of the detail and emotion of the novel.
November 26th, 2008 at 10:44 pm
“Travels With My Aunt” by Graham Green. this Carpe Diem Movie is better than the book. great performance by maggie smith
November 27th, 2008 at 9:17 pm
Both Shawshank and Stand By Me were great movies, but not better than the stories.
In my opinion both are as good as anything King has written and far better than most of his work. And the original titles were superior to those chosen for the movies.
November 28th, 2008 at 1:16 am
I have just read The Bourne Identity, and the movie was far better.
I also have seen Goodfellas AND read Wiseguys. The book is so similar to the movie that it is like you are reading a screen play. That said, the book is better than the movie, if only for the greater depth of story telling.
November 28th, 2008 at 1:17 am
Oh yeah, what did he think dog food was made out of anyway?
November 28th, 2008 at 10:50 am
How could you miss Lord of the Rings!!
Peter Jackson trememdously improved on the books (which were brilliant too)! I think he did a fantastic job with the three films, which are on my all time favourite list.
One may argue that he took a lot of liberty with Tolkein’s text; but the emotion, grandeur, passion, courage, cinematography, the breathtaking CGI, the speeches, the charge of the Rohirrim …aww man! That elevated the stories to a new level!!!
November 28th, 2008 at 8:47 pm
Woot nice list. But I was hoping Fight Club would be on here. They changed the ending up a bit in the movie, and the author of the book actually stated he liked the movie’s ending better than his own ending.
November 29th, 2008 at 3:55 am
@AmazingThor Your right, i did forget that League of Extraordinary Gentlemen was a Moore book. That movie was painful despite the great cast. Though I still stand by From Hell being a better movie. It didn’t have a third of what was in the book true, (Dense is a kind way to put it) but I still think it was translated into a more compelling story. And to each his own I guess about V for Vendetta and 300. though 300 was Frank Miller and not Alan Moore. I liked 300. I thought it was beautiful. They may have given the queen a bigger role and put loin clothes on the men so it wasn’t a movie of constant jiggling wang… but i still think it was as good as it could have been. Frank Miller tends to be more involved in his movies, which is why Sin City is practically a shot for shot translation of the comic. And after thinking more i just have to agree with a few others when it comes to Forest Gump and Fight Club. Incredible movies from painful books.
November 29th, 2008 at 4:53 am
I have to say, I disagree with Stand By Me and The Silence of the Lambs. The stories were so amazing, I’ve always felt the movie just didn’t do them justice.
November 29th, 2008 at 8:40 pm
Yeah, ummm short stories are very different than novellas, both The Body and Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption, were quite long and detailed, though not long enough to be considered novels. I think this list needed someone who actually read the book/stories that go with the movies rather than just spouting off on how great the movies are. It’s quite obvious he or she hasn’t.
November 30th, 2008 at 10:58 am
@DK (94): Ehhhh. there is no “Long” version. “The Princess Bride” pretends to be an abridgment of a real “Brothers-Grimm” type fairy story, but in fact it’s just the “good parts” version.
December 1st, 2008 at 5:09 pm
You missed Forrest Gump. One of the greatest movies of all time, the book by Winston Groom was a real loser.
December 1st, 2008 at 6:09 pm
ZenPoet-jiggling wang-now thats funny.
December 1st, 2008 at 7:38 pm
163. Ann:…short stories are very different than novellas…
****
Most people don’t know the difference between short story, a novelette, and a novella. In fact, it looks as if you are confusing a novelette and a novella.
Everyone learns this in high school lit., but it’s easily forgotten. Still, it’s also easily remembered because it works as a stair-step mnemonic.
Short story, up to 7,500 words.
Novelette, 7,500 to 17,500 words.
Novella, 17,500 to 40,000 words.
And yes, there is some over lapping and wiggle room, but this is pretty much the basic deal.
I’m fairly sure the author of the list read the stories and/or books involved. Yogi Barrister is an old, familiar LV poster, and not someone likely to make up tales about what he has or has not done.
December 3rd, 2008 at 9:00 pm
I think movie of The World According to Garp was better than the book, though I liked them both. Just seems the movie was able to focus on a few of the themes and make the most of them.
December 5th, 2008 at 11:58 am
I’m surprised that no one has mentioned “Last of The Mohicans” yet. To be fair, I haven’t read the book, but I’ve heard it’s very boring and tedious, which the movie certainly is not. I also have to say that having re-read “Little Women” a couple of years ago, it is much more enjoyable as a movie–the book was very preachy, though it did include some interesting parts about Meg & John’s relationship, and Amy’s character was much more likable.
I have to agree with those who have said that the books “To Kill a Mockingbird” and “Gone With the Wind” are at least equally as good if not better than their respective movies. TKAM was an amazing read.
However, with regards to Tolkien’s LOTR series, there is no way in my mind that the movies could ever be better than the books. This also goes for the upcoming movie based on “The Hobbit”, which is one of my favorite books of all time. I don’t expect everyone to enjoy Tolkien’s writing style, but for anyone who is already a fan of the books, no movie will ever measure up, even though Peter Jackson’s adaptations are amazing and among my favorite movies of all time.
On the opposite end, “The Wizard of Oz” is certainly better as a movie, as it vastly improves Dorothy’s character. The only thing I think it did wrong was her “I’ll never leave home again” speech at the end–which, considering there are 12 more books in TWOO series, doesn’t really make any sense. (As an added note, the sequels are much more interesting in my opinion–almost make you wonder was L. Frank Baum was on when he wrote them)
December 5th, 2008 at 5:38 pm
169. modernmonalisa: To be fair, I haven’t read your post, but I’ve heard it’s very boring and tedious.
December 12th, 2008 at 5:10 am
i feel Lord of The Rings should be on this list. Tolkien took some wrong turns where Jackson took the right ones.
December 13th, 2008 at 7:38 am
The Godfather is a fantastic book….I think better than the film.
December 13th, 2008 at 8:59 pm
Shawshank redemption and stand by me — really great films…
December 29th, 2008 at 2:18 pm
“Cocktail”
Movie- good cheesy 80’s fun
Book- Tom Cruise’s character is a cynical ass who only is with people for money and Coughlin dies about twenty or so pages in the book, barely mentioned. Ends with Cruise’s character marrying a rich chick he doesn’t care about and bragging about it to the reader.
January 23rd, 2009 at 5:33 am
two words: Fight Club
April 3rd, 2009 at 8:06 am
Seriously there are plenty of book/movie crossovers that are great or horrible but what makes these the top 10 and how were they different from the source material?
April 10th, 2009 at 1:30 pm
How about some of the older books that were filmed? Executive Suite, Anatomy of a Murder, and Magnificent Obsession are three that come to mind. Peyton Place, too.
May 3rd, 2009 at 5:21 pm
I can’t believe that people think that the Stanley Kubrik abomination that was The Shining is better than the book! I’m genuinely shocked – it seemed to only be loosely based on the novel anyway. I found the mini-series with rebecca DeMornay (while obviously not as well directed etc), much more enjoyable and much scarier. Maybe it’s because I’m a movie philistine
May 28th, 2009 at 12:00 pm
‘The Plague dogs’ is another one – probably the saddest ending ever – is that a list?
July 9th, 2009 at 8:35 pm
Jurassic Park is about even, but The Lost World is much better in movie form (even though I missed the book’s color-changing Carnotaurus)…
July 13th, 2009 at 12:57 am
A Touch of Evil, though a fantastic film, isn’t as good as some posted here; but it was based on a crappy z-grade book, so it might warrant a mention
And, if you judge completely by the gap between the quality of the film and the book, Gone With the Wind should be higher and the Devil Wears Prada (maybe with time to age) should receive an honorable mention. Haha, just my thoughts, great list. I disagree with the Fight Club argument; though I adore the movie, in quality it’s about equal to the book.
July 15th, 2009 at 8:04 am
I just thought up a joke!
What is a scary movie shone at oyster bars?
Silence of the clams!
September 1st, 2009 at 5:08 am
I can’t believe that The Postman didn’t make this list. Go ahead and read it. David Brin put in all kinds of retardedness that makes absolutely NO sense in a post apocalyptic world as described in the story.
September 14th, 2009 at 6:54 am
I think they just might have forgotten one.
September 20th, 2009 at 10:25 pm
Even Steven King himself prefered the film version of Stand By Me..
October 25th, 2009 at 5:54 am
lol bob reiner direct movie i not know that!
October 25th, 2009 at 7:03 am
I’m actually doing a project in sixth form along the lines of this at the moment (although my focus is on cult films to mainstream cinema) and this is a great list.
I’ve just finished reading Winston Groom’s Forrest Gump, which, endearing as it is, isn’t that spectacular in comparison to the film.
I’ve also read Fight Club and I have to say the film absolutely tore the book to shreds; the book is unquestionably good and very original but next to Fincher’s incredible film it looks somewhat pathetic.
I’m also making my way through the following books: Trainspotting, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, The Motorcyle Diaries, A Clockwork Orange and The Reader.
However, if one book stands up against it’s film adaptation, then Revolutionary Road is it. As much as I idolise Sam Mendes and highly regard his work, RR is one of the most touching books I have ever read.
It goes to show; you never can tell.
October 28th, 2009 at 6:26 pm
shawshank and stand by me….. excellent films!
November 5th, 2009 at 7:41 pm
Another movie that is definitely better than the book is Stardust. The book is so uneventful, plus you dont have Robert DeNiro running around in a tutu! that was my favorite part and they did have that in the book. MOVIE way better.
November 8th, 2009 at 5:40 pm
I would add “The exorcist” and “The Talented Mr. Ripley”
November 16th, 2009 at 12:01 am
I’d add “MASH,” “Carrie,” “Full Metal Jacket” (based on a book called “The Short-Timers”), “Rosemary’s Baby,” “Rear Window,” “The Caine Mutiny,” and “The Day of the Jackal.”
Agreed that “Jaws,” “The Godfather,” and “The Shining” are all better than the books.
Best adaptation of an all-time classic novel: converting “Heart of Darkness” into “Apocalypse Now.”
Worst fictionalized adaptation of a non-fiction book: “The Gangs of New York.”
November 16th, 2009 at 12:05 am
Oh, yeah, I forgot “The Bridge on the River Kwai.”