They Ruined The Book- Page 2

[best12bars]

Posted: 11/15/06 at 9:24am

...and they cut out all the sex too.

Here's another vote for the 2003 film of Peter Pan being the best adaptation of the story yet.

I remember Stephen King's "Pet Cemetery" being a fairly brilliant book... and a schlocky "standard fare" movie.

[lildogs]

Posted: 11/15/06 at 10:58am

RobbO! You stole my 10 Commandments joke...

THE HANDMAID'S TALE is one of the best books evah and a totally forgettable movie. Mia's GREAT GATSBY comes to mind as well.

On the other hand, I think GRAPES OF WRATH, TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD and STAND BY ME are almost better than the books--I said almost!

[RobbO]

Posted: 11/15/06 at 11:00am

it's okay, lildogs, this thread will be back again in another few months. it always is....

oh, and i liked the end of the movie "the firm" better than the book. the ending of the movie was more of a twist, while the book just followed the path set along the whole way.

[Kitzarina]

Posted: 11/15/06 at 11:03am

I'm still waiting for a decent film version of "Les Miserables."

[Auggie27]

Posted: 11/15/06 at 11:23am

The worst offender: THE SHIPPING NEWS. A brilliant, gnarly, complex book almost destroyed by watering down the script, and casting Kevin Spacey. Still looks right (locations),and Judi Dench is masterful.

2nd worst offender: MIDNIGHT IN THE GARDEN OF GOOD AND EVIL. Hmmmmm, Kevin again. But no, he was fine. Eastwood made a deadly dull version, that even made The Lady Chablis pedestrian. And he made the leading man straight.

Better than the book, LITTLE CHILDREN. It uses everything in the Perotta book, but deepens and tonally shifts the weight. Terrific, more disturbing.

[matthius202]

Posted: 11/15/06 at 11:28am

Wow...how could I forget Les Miserables...I think they just closed their eyes are started ripping out SECTIONS of the book and decided not to include them....including the end.

[doodlenyc]

Posted: 11/15/06 at 11:30am

I know this is the opposite of the thread's intent, but tough.

I HATED the pandering, poorly written "Waiting to Exhale." Later I caught the film and kind of liked it.

On the flip side...and on topic, "Beloved" is a literary masterpiece. It made a good film, but not a great film.

[matthius202]

Posted: 11/15/06 at 11:35am

Yes, Beloved is amazing. The film, though good, does not even REMOTELY capture what I got from that book.

[doodlenyc]

Posted: 11/15/06 at 11:38am

Matthius...exactly.

I think Demme was the wrong director...the actors were quite perfect for their parts.

When Suggs calls the village together for the first time, I can read that passage and cry. With Beah Richards playing the part, I was expecting tears and oscars...but it was like..."eh"

[RobbO]

Posted: 11/15/06 at 11:40am

really? beloved? i almost died waiting for that film to end.

[matthius202]

Posted: 11/15/06 at 11:40am

I KNOW...and the whole supernatural feeling I got from the actual presence of Beloved in the house...I know, visually, they tore the house apart (not to mention the family)...but there was something MISSING, you know? and that poem at the end of the novel...holy ****, if there was a way to include that in the film*, I would wish it could have happened. because i bawled.

Updated On: 11/15/06 at 11:40 AM

[doodlenyc]

Posted: 11/15/06 at 11:41am

almost, Robbo? Shame.

[lildogs]

Posted: 11/15/06 at 1:03pm

Auggie, you're right on about MIDNIGHT IN THE GARDEN OF QUEERS as I called the movie--and I thought Miss Chablis was skeevy...although I had no trouble believing Spacey was hot for Law...

[RobbO]

Posted: 11/15/06 at 1:07pm

sorry to disappoint, doodle. let us pray for a sequel.

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 11/15/06 at 1:51pm

"Almost all of the Stephen King adaptations except for CARRIE,..."


The movie was quite different from the book. The movie is a fun horror flick, but didn't have any of the psychological complexities of the book. Plus, they changed the ending to add more action and spectacle. I enjoy the movie, but it's nowhere near as wonderful as the book.

[JohnPopa]

Posted: 11/15/06 at 2:02pm

Really, the book 'Carrie' ends with her destroying the entire city, not just ruining the prom. In that regard, the movie is much less spectacular than the book.

[Rathnait62]

Posted: 11/15/06 at 2:06pm

Yeah, but nothing beats Betty Buckley getting carved in half by a cafeteria table.

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 11/15/06 at 2:11pm

"Really, the book 'Carrie' ends with her destroying the entire city, not just ruining the prom. In that regard, the movie is much less spectacular than the book."

**SPOILER**

AND...she kills her mother by stopping her heart, then leaves the house and collapses in a ditch where she is found by Sue. She dies in Sue's arms while Sue can hear all of Carrie's thoughts. It's quite intense, yet poignant at the same time. The book is stunning.

[Fiction Writer]

Posted: 11/15/06 at 2:12pm

Poor Betty.

[lildogs]

Posted: 11/15/06 at 2:15pm

Stopping her heart isn't nearly as fun as the kitchen drawer crucifixion, huh?

[justme2]

Posted: 11/15/06 at 2:54pm

The best example I can come up with is:

Moll Flanders (book by Daniel Dafoe)

There was a terrible Robin Wright movie "based" on the book. They took such liberties with the story that it was almost unrecognizable.

To see a great filming of the story, watch the BBC Alex Kingston version.

[doodlenyc]

Posted: 11/15/06 at 2:58pm

Ya know...that table bisecting thing seemed like it was bound to happen before Carrie even went to the prom...very precarious way to store a table.

and I agreee about BOTH Moll Flanders films...Kingston is terrific in the BBC version.

[lildogs]

Posted: 11/15/06 at 4:10pm

How's the Kim Novak Moll? I have only read and heard great things about Alex as Moll.

[doodlenyc]

Posted: 11/15/06 at 4:14pm

Amorous Adventures of Moll Flanders, I've heard, is terrible. I've never seen it, because I cannot stand Kim Novak.

[lildogs]

Posted: 11/15/06 at 4:19pm

I'm not a huge fan either--probably only seen her in VERTIGO and PICNIC...