What movie was better than or equal to the book?

[Tom_Foolery]

Usually the book is better than the movie, but there are rare instances when the movie outshines the book.

[terrya]

1. "The Grapes of Wrath"

This wonderful film with Henry Fonda and Jane Darnell more than did justice to the book.

[Emboldened Chimp]

25. Completely disagree

Though good, the movie pales in comparison to one of our true literary treasures.

[Skittles]

48. the movie is VERY GOOD though

outstanding really - I think Terrya hit it right by saying it did the masterpiece book JUSTICE. :)

[PsN2Wind]

2. "To Kill a Mockingbird"

although there are probably not many here that read the book or saw the movie.

[djeseru]

5. Read and watched.

Still one of my top favorites! =)

[Tom_Foolery]

7. I've done both...

and I agree. I was going to say this book/movie, but I decided to let someone else do it.

[blondeatlast]

53. Definitely equal, if the movie wasn't maybe better.

Gregory Peck is just the perfect Atticus.

[djeseru]

3. To Kill A Mockingbird

With Gregory Peck.

[RoadRunner]

4. "A Beautiful Mind"

Loved the book too, but the movie was magic.

[NightTrain]

6. "Last Exit To Brooklyn"

Screenwriter Desmond Nakano turned Hubert Selby's explosive novel--which really was a collection of individual stories--into a coherent screenplay that accomplished at least two things in which Selby seemed to have no interest:

1. Bringing together characters that the book had left isloated; and

2. Delivering characters who were, if not fully fleshed out, at least considerably more sympathetic and human than Selby's one-dimensional cut-outs.

As such, I found Uli Edel's 1990 film adaptation of LAST EXIT TO BROOKLYN superior to the 1964 novel. And I consider myself a fan of Selby's book!

[Iris]

12. I have neither seen nor read

Last Exit to Brooklyn. In light of Selby's death, I was thinking about reading the novel, but it sounds pretty depressing.

[NightTrain]

18. I'd recommend the film over the book.

n/t

[kodi]

38. few films physically exhaust a viewer, Last Exit is one of them.

the grime and violence wears one out.

and the only author who comes close to selby i have read in this genre is edward lewis wallant with "the pawnbroker," but more fully in his "the tenants of moonbloom."

good choice 'train.

[mitchum]

52. Read one of the greatest novels ever written

Pass on the movie. If I could, I would hang the filmmakers :)

[harper]

36. Did you hear the replay of Selby's interview on Fresh Air yesterday

Terry Gross replayed it to commemorate his death. It was originally recorded in 1992. Fascinating.

[mitchum]

49. Hell no, Night Train!

The film of LETB was a travesty. I grant that the filmmakers were able to beat the material into a "coherent" narrative, but to what end? So that they could force grace onto the characters? In the novel, there comes a moment where each character is offered the opportunity to stop doing harm to themselves and others. The characters reject this chance at redemption, and there is hell to pay. The film eschews this near-Old Testament justice (it's no accident that the last words of the novel are "Abraham slept") and, instead, we are left with a grossly sentimentalized Tralala ( a whore with a soul of gold?) It's as if Martin Scorsese, fell down, hit his head really hard, and got up and made a horrible movie. I abhor this adaptation of a great novel. I truly hate it.

[NightTrain]

55. As an atheist who couldn't care less about the Bible...

...I obviously approached the film without the preconceptions you brought into the theater with you.

Also, in the film I saw a lot of elements that reminded me of the violent, alcohol-drenched environment in which I was forced to grow up. Because of that, I felt a personal identification with LAST EXIT TO BROOKLYN that I've never experienced toward any of the other films that I've viewed over the last 25+ years--and we're well into quadruple digits!

As for what you called the filmmakers forcing grace onto the characters, I interpreted that as an attempt to add emotional complexity and nuance to what in Selby's hands were severely one-dimensional characters. As much as I admired the book, Selby seemed hellbent on eliminating everything from it that he deemed less than repulsive. Real life is far more complicated than the nihilistic dystopia of Hubert Selby's novels.

I've read five of them: LAST EXIT TO BROOKLYN (of course!), SONG OF THE SILENT SNOW, THE DEMON, REQUIEM FOR A DREAM, and possibly the most harrowing of all his books, THE ROOM. Incredible stuff, to be sure, but stuck in a narrow, habitual, and utterly depressing groove.

For those unfamiliar with Selby, see the films of LAST EXIT TO BROOKLYN and REQUIEM FOR A DREAM before you read the books. The former will help you to more fully appreciate the latter.

[mitchum]

56. I probably care even less about the Bible than you...

But Selby cared a great deal about it. I had extensive conversations with him about this aspect of the work (I used to be one of those people who "stalked" authors by telephone, and as a result, Selby and I developed a long distance friendship) For all of the novel's nerve scraping luridness and "obscenity" it is a very "old fashioned" moralistic work. You are absolutely correct about real life being far more complicated than Selby's nihilistic dystopia, but that is always the case with fables and parables. LETB is intended to be about deeper truths, but not realistic

Sorry, if I seemed like I was going off on your enjoyment of the film. That was not my intention. I just really hate that abortion of a film, but I guess you sensed that :)

Oddly enough, the film of RFAD may be equal to, or even better, than the novel. But it is essentially just a cautionary tale about addiction, and not the masterpiece that is "Last Exit To Brooklyn"

[Waverley_Hills_Hiker]

8. The Tin Drum...

...it was probably the equal to the book...a bit better, too, as the ending worked better, without that lenghty epilogue in the book.

[Bluzmann57]

9. "Silence of the Lambs"

Great movie, good novel. Jodie Foster made a believer out of me. As did Anthony Hopkins.

[didntvote4shrub]

10. No Question: Bridges of Madison County

Eastwood and Streep made, if not a silk purse, at least a passable coinholder out of a sow's ear.

[Iris]

11. Last of the Mohicans

[greatauntoftriplets]

23. Absolutely!

The book was written in the 19th century wordy style. The movie rocked. So damned erotic.

[chaska]

13. The Russian version of Solaris. eom

[Sophree]

27. I just saw the American version.

The one w/ George Clooney, right? Great movie.

[James T. Kirk]

31. The American "Solaris" is superior to the Russian version.

The Tarkovsky version is overwrought and full of a bunch of directorial mumbo-jumbo.

[indepat]

14. Maybe "The Day of the Jackal"

[dweller]

15. The Milagro Beanfield Wars!

nope, the book was better...

my bad,
dp

[DerekG]

16. The Godfather/Jaws...

Arguably the two best American films of the 70's transcend their source material. Puzo's The Godfather is pulpish; Coppola's is operatic. Benchley's Jaws plays like a soap opera; Spielberg's is a primal, character-driven masterpiece.

[NightTrain]

17. Thought of another one: "The Commitments."

Good novel, excellent movie!

[solinvictus]

19. Blade Runner

The book was slow and philosophical with a lot of concentration on Deckard's domestic life. The movie, even as adapted, was better.

[MichaelUK]

68. Movie is a bit too different

No doubt both are classics, but I'd argue that they are too different to compare.

Probably a discussion on that on alt.cyberpunk

[PragMantisT]

20. A Clockwork Orange

very close to the book, even down to the language.

[MikeG]

21. "Airport"

[James T. Kirk]

22. Disclosure by Michael Crichton

They altered the plot in the movie so the protagonist did more to resolve the situation on his own and did not rely on random events as much.

[Kenneth ken]

41. that book

had a really stupid flaw, I thought. The male lead, keeps having a partial flashback to the ending of his romance with the woman, but he can't recall it clearly; his recall gets a little clearer each flashback, till finally at the end he remembers it all.

spoiler:
yeah, dude you forgot your girl friend was screwing around on you and you caught her in the act. It isn't that traumatic a thing.
/spoiler

[James T. Kirk]

69. other flaws in "Disclosure"

1. The hero guy works at a company where you need security cards to get around from room to room. Then he FINDS, by sheer chance, a lost pass card! I wonder if he'll need that card later, when he gets locked out.

2. In the book, the main guy's friend in Malaysia (or Singapore, or wherever it was) was constantly trying to contact him to give him the evidence he needed and our hero ignored him until the end. In the movie, the main guy contacted his friend on his own and got the answers. He came across as more proactive.

[Frederic Bastiat]

24. "Shawshank Redemption"

Great cast!

[Emboldened Chimp]

26. Out of Sight

The Leonard book is ok, but the movie is great.

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

28. The Little Prince.

I always loved the book and the movie did it great justice.

I also think that the movie version of Breakfast of Champions was excellent given the challenge of turning that book into a movie.

[Sticky]

29. Gone With The Wind

Beautiful!

[James T. Kirk]

30. Shrek

[Sentath]

33. Really?

'Cause I'd have to disagree. The movie totally lost the inverse aesthetic of the book

{rlg}

[tjwash]

32. Lilies of the field

[Alenne]

34. The Talented Mr. Ripley

I thought the movie was boring but I liked the book.

[harper]

35. To Kill a Mockingbird, of course

It was both a perfect book and a perfect move. I also liked The English Patient. I thought the absolutely stunning cinematography made the movie.

[Kat45]

37. "Mystic River" - almost equal to the book, but the book

was so good that I can't quite make that statement. But I'd say that it was the best version of the book possible within the confines of a movie.

[Redneck Socialist]

39. What's Eating Gilbert Grape

Both book and movie are excellent.

[Kenneth ken]

40. Jurassic Park

The book was interesting, but there's just nothing cooler than seeing the dinos move on screen. So much, much better than say the dinos in that 50s flick Journey To The Center Of The earth with James Mason & Pat Boone (I think. that's who was in it.)

[neverborn]

42. Requiem For A Dream

[Skittles]

50. I rented that the other day

wow, what a performance - did that Exorcist gal win an Oscar for that? For sure she SHOULD have.

[neverborn]

59. Love that movie.

[mitchum]

43. The Godfather, High Fidelity, and The Ice Storm...

were all far better films than novels

[LDS Jock]

44. The Passion of the Christ

Just kidding!

[Mr. Blonde]

58. This kid's review of The Passion

"A little predictable, but still good"

Anyway, my vote goes to Absolute Power.

[curse10]

45. The English Patient

imho

[Mobius]

46. "The Shining"- King, Movie by KUBRICK

not that ohter crappy one.

[RoyGBiv]

65. Shining

Interesting choice. I was thinking about that when I read the thread title. But it's almost like the book and the Kubrick movie are two related, but different stories. Both freaked me out, but for different reasons.

That "other one" did suck out loud, though. It was yet another attempt to translate a King novel to the screen literally, which never works.

[Skittles]

47. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest

YES INDEED.

[Triple H]

51. "The Lord of the Rings"

Boring book, great movies. :thumbsup:

[jobycom]

61. I had the reverse reaction

The second episode showed some signs of life, but the rest of it was dead to me. Too long, no narrative theme, too formulaic, too many cinemagraphic cliches. One after the other. I started mouthing lines before the actors said them, and narrating the shot sequences. "Okay Legolas, know look dramatically over your left shoulder as we do a rapid zoom."

My wife loved it, though. Which is another reason we don't talk if we can avoid it. :-)

[blondeatlast]

54. MASH (the movie) was even better than the book.

But the TV series reeked.

[PartyPooper]

57. "Godspell" and "Jesus Christ Superstar".

Sorry, I couldn't resist!

O8)

[jobycom]

60. Holes. nt

[LeftofU]

62. " The World Acording To Garp"

[justjones]

63. "Beloved"

Movie was overlooked and underappreciated.

Book by Toni Morrison, movie by Oprah Whinfrey.

[Eye and Monkey]

64. Didn't read the book - the movie was sheer quality.

I had the great good luck of seeing the movie at a special screening, and Danny Glover spoke/took questions at the end. The movie had received poor reviews and poor attendance, and he was trying to figure out why.

I was deeply impressed with the film. Most of the audience didn't seem to get it. I still don't understand why not.

[RoyGBiv]

66. Searching for Bobby Fisher

The movie wasn't out of this world wonderful, but it pulled the right strings with me, so I enjoyed it.

The book on which it is based was irritatingly bad.

[Midwest_Doc]

67. Anything written by E.L. Doctorow

I have great respect for this author, and love his books. But the movie adaptations are uniformly better than the books ... especially "Ragtime"

[Misunderestimator]

70. The Color Purple

it's a tie between the book and the movie... they were very different from eachother.

[noonwitch]

71. That is the only movie that has ever made me cry with happiness

at the end. It is such a wonderful ending, with Celie and her sister reunited and Albert finally doing the right thing by her.

There are some differences from the book, but I'd say that they are equal in quality.

[Misunderestimator]

72. I agree... what the movie lacked from the book's intimacy

... was made up for in sheer drama. I'm a fountain at the end of it...

[GreenPartyVoter]

73. "The Princess Bride"

[nuxvomica]

74. Everything You Ever Wanted To Know About Sex...

The Woody Allen movie was much better than the book.

[James T. Kirk]

75. Planet of the Apes (original)

[GoddessOfGuinness]

76. The Natural

The story was completely changed for the movie...and for the better.

[absolutezero]

77. Jurassic Park 2

nt