From The Graduate' To 'High Fidelity': 10 Movie Adaptations That Were Better Than The Book

flavorwire.com:

One of several slight disappointments at the box office last week was The Lincoln Lawyer, an adaptation of a Michael Connelly novel with Matthew McConaughey in the lead. We haven’t seen the film, but based on the poster, it appears to be about a lawyer who works from the hood of his car. Yeah, we’re gonna go with that. Anyway, it came in fourth for the weekend, so whoever approved McConaughey wearing a shirt in the poster is surely fired already. But the film met with warm reviews, garnering an 82% at Rotten Tomatoes and positive comparisons to the source material (even from the author himself).

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Comments

[triplettam]

09:47 AM on 03/31/2011

'Stand By Me" is one of the most overrated movies of all time. I'm the farthest thing from a prude you'll ever find. Cussing, violence, porn . . . all fine by me. But I used to be young once, and the cussing in that movie was so forced it became a distraction and eventually made me just not like it. Stupid. However, after page 700 something of "It"--when the turtle barfed up the universe--I have never read Stephen King again. So: I just don't care.

[GeeBee]

03:06 PM on 03/30/2011

Well sorry to seem ignorant but that list contains about 5 movies I didn't even know were based on books!

[Erewhon7]

08:43 PM on 03/29/2011

Solaris ( Tarkovsky---Lem)
Bourne Identity
Unbearable Lightness of Being
The Godfather.

[kareemachan]

01:39 PM on 03/29/2011

I take exception that the movies for 'The Body', 'The Princess Bride', and 'One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest' were better than the books. I'd say they are as good as the books, undoubtedly, but better? No way.

[PoliticalEnnui]

01:23 PM on 03/28/2011

Blade Runner (Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep)

[Erewhon7]

10:41 PM on 03/30/2011

Absolutely!

[triplettam]

09:41 AM on 03/31/2011

I don't know. I'm such a fan of Phillip K Dick that I'm only willing to say that the movie is as good as the story. I'll defend him unto death : ).

[EStreetShuffler]

01:11 PM on 03/28/2011

I would agree with most of the choices on this list, but I take issue with Cuckoo's Nest and Princess Bride. Both were great books that also inspired great movies. Having read The Princess Bride before seeing the movie, I can't say that the movie was better. To anyone who hasn't read it, you should definitely check it out.

Actually, the list of great movies that came from lousy books is pretty long. The professor of a film class I took used to point out how pulpy, trashy books tend to make entertaining movies because the characters tend to be larger than life and the action moves along quickly and there's usually some kind of big over-the-top climax.

More serious "literary" novels tend to make you think more than react emotionally, and the action doesn't necessarily translate as well to a two-hour film.

The Godfather is maybe the best example. Outstanding movie, but the book is total pulp trash, but very readable. Kind of like the Da Vinci Code -- not great literature, but a page turner nonetheless.

Shawshank Redemption is another obvious choice where the movie outdoes the book (or novella, I suppose). And if you look at other big movie hits in Hollywood history -- Gone with the Wind, Giant, etc., all based on soap opera-style books.

[Barbara Folk]

04:19 PM on 03/28/2011

F&F'd! I love The Princess Bridge, with all it's original commentary. I like the movie too, but the book is always what did it for me. I read it when I was about 12 and I have never found another book that makes me laugh like that one does.

Oh, and I love Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption too. But that is definitely one case where both the story and the movie are incredible and on my list of all-time greats.

[Barbara Folk]

04:49 PM on 03/28/2011

Ooops, typo-- Princess Bride

[dna user]

01:06 PM on 03/28/2011

It would have not taken much to make a movie about a men eating shark better, than a book about a men eating shark.

[Terri Lorz]

11:07 AM on 03/28/2011

I love the Lincom Lawyer. Terri Jo Lorz

[GeeBee]

03:08 PM on 03/30/2011

Book or movie? I just finished the book, which I enjoyed, though I prefer the Harry Bosch stories. I'm looking forward to seeing the movie.

[Accolay]

10:33 AM on 03/28/2011

Did the author even //read// the books first, or did he watch the movies then read the books, or just watch the movies and read reviews on the books?

I didn't think High Fidelity the movie was necessarily better than the book, but it was a fairly good adaptation.

[113]

10:24 AM on 03/28/2011

Shawshank Redemption, one of my favorite movies and definitely needs to be on this list.

[tweeksmom]

09:20 AM on 03/28/2011

I think a much more interesting topic would be- "Books that should never be made in to movies"....

[Accolay]

10:28 AM on 03/28/2011

Great idea...or even awful book to movie adaptations such as Ludlum's Jason Bourne.

[GeeBee]

03:10 PM on 03/30/2011

Do you mean that was an awful book-to-movie adaptation, or an an adaptation of an awful book? Ludlum was a horrible hack writer in my opinion, so my take would be the latter.

[CHMB]

10:46 AM on 03/28/2011

I'm with you on that one!

[moderatelymoderate]

01:49 AM on 03/28/2011

Fight Club- good movie, lousy book.

[RobertFromMN]

07:15 AM on 03/29/2011

Great movie, great book.
Good call on "The Godfather". What a cheesy, trashy book. Meanwhile, it's one of the best movies ever made. Kubrick was mentioned, as was Stephen King, but not in conjunction. "The Shining" was better as a movie.
A few books that don't stand a chance of being better as movies: "Frankenstein", "Catcher In The Rye", "On the Road" and "A Confederacy of Dunces". Oh, and with respect to Terry Gilliam, Johnny Depp and Benicio Del Toro, as good as it was, "Fear & Loathing in Las Vegas" will never be better as a film.

[jojo1983]

01:08 AM on 03/28/2011

That article lost all credibility by saying the movie of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest was better than the book.

[yellowdoggie]

06:40 AM on 03/28/2011

I agree with you. That book is a masterpiece. The movie is okay.

[Fernando]

10:57 PM on 03/27/2011

Sue me, but I liked The Bonfire of the Vanities movie better than the book. If it hadn't been boycotted it'd have performed better.

[EStreetShuffler]

02:43 PM on 03/28/2011

I liked the movie, too, but not as much as the book. But I think we were in the minority on that. As I recall, the reviews were pretty rough. I seem to recall that was during a Bruce Willis backlash phase, too. That whole Hudson Hawk/Last Boy Scout period.

But I thought the book was really good. I'd just finished The Right Stuff, so maybe I was in a Tom Wolfe mode then. I haven't picked up the book or the movie in long time.

[Fernando]

02:44 AM on 03/29/2011

Hey E,
Now that you mention TRS, I realize Wolfe's books do better as movies. I liked that there was a clear closure for Sherman in the movie, while the epilogue in the book left him with a soul, but struggling. It as greatly cast too. And hey, The Last Boy Scout served its purpose as an action movie but Hudson H... zzz zzz zzz... : )

The Right Stuff was a great book and the movie was excellent; very understated and nuanced. A Man in Full has been on my reading list for a while.

Cheers!

[AtticusinPa]

09:46 PM on 03/27/2011

Ten movies, all fiction. For the non-fiction category, how about Lawrence of Arabia. "The Seven Pillars of Wisdom", by T.E. Lawrence was a bit dry, and overlong. The movie took liberties. But the cinematography; the use of the desert as almost a character in its own right; and the score, set this one apart.