Al Agnew Posted January 12, 2011 Posted January 12, 2011 In the books thread I mentioned several comparisons between books and the movies based upon them... First one that comes to mind is the Lord of the Rings trilogy. I thought the movie trilogy made from the original novels was excellent, and about as close to the books as any book/movie pairing I can think of. Nobody has yet made a movie that does justice to Edgar Rice Burroughs' Tarzan novels. Nor did the old TV series starring Ron Ely. Gotta wonder how much money Ian Fleming's estate has made from the long series of James Bond movies that pretty much had only the titles and some of the characters in common with his books. Other movies made from books?
rps Posted January 12, 2011 Posted January 12, 2011 1. Contrast the True Grit movies to the book - which is a very good one. John Wayne and his director used it as a vehicle for Wayne to out Wayne himself. The Coen brothers version is truer to the book. 2. Shakespeare - Romeo and Juliet 1967 Franco Zeffirelli - good 1962 West Side Story - good to very good 199? Romeo and Juliet with Leonardo De Caprio and Claire Danes - very good but quite odd 200? Shakespeare in Love - outstanding reinterpretation with a play within a play set up - something Shakespeare invented
ness Posted January 12, 2011 Posted January 12, 2011 Although my mental image of Jack Ryan wasn't Harrison Ford, he did a great job with those movies: Patriot Games, Clear and Present Danger. I really can't identify any differences between the books and the movies off the top of my head, but I thought they were all great. Alec Baldwin makes a better Jack Donaghy than a Jack Ryan. John
eric1978 Posted January 12, 2011 Posted January 12, 2011 Just off the top of my head... I've only seen a few movies that were better than the books I've read (two of which were Kubrick films)...A Clockwork Orange (even though it was a great book by Burgess), and The Shining and The Shawshank Redemption, which were far better than the King novels, but all the rest of his novels seem superior to the movies...the Green Mile is a toss-up. Also The Godfather, at least parts I and II, were way better than the books. I didn't find the Puzo novels all that great. Of Mice and Men is another toss-up, because the movie and novelette are both great. Grapes of Wrath...loved the book, hated the movie (I don't care for the old films). I thought the Da Vinci Code was a really entertaining book, but I hated the movie. I liked most of the Grisham novels I read, but never really cared for the movies of them...The Rainmaker, Runaway Jury and The Firm were decent. A Time to Kill, The Pelican Brief and the Client I thought were mediocre at best. That's all for now.
rps Posted January 12, 2011 Posted January 12, 2011 A rare situation where the book and the movie are among the top all time of each group: To Kill a Mockingbird
ozark trout fisher Posted January 12, 2011 Posted January 12, 2011 How about A River Runs Through it? It was of the best and most beautifully written pieces of American literature ever, and certainly the best book ever written where fly fishing played a major role. Then it was made into my favorite movie of all time. It's tough to say whether the movie or the book was better in that case, but I'll go with the book just because I love the way Norman Maclean writes. The last paragraph of that book is what really makes it great.
Outside Bend Posted January 12, 2011 Posted January 12, 2011 I still love One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, both the book and the movie... <{{{><
jdmidwest Posted January 13, 2011 Posted January 13, 2011 Although my mental image of Jack Ryan wasn't Harrison Ford, he did a great job with those movies: Patriot Games, Clear and Present Danger. I really can't identify any differences between the books and the movies off the top of my head, but I thought they were all great. Alec Baldwin makes a better Jack Donaghy than a Jack Ryan. They blew it in the Sum of All Fears, the movie strayed from the book based on political correctness. The movie came out after 9/11 and they were afraid to use the Middle Eastern Terrorists like the book did. All in all, good series of books, I think Tom Clancy jumped the shark after SSN, making a few books with technical short stories instead of a novel. The Hunt for Red October was good except for Baldwin. Looking at Wiki, there are a few titles I have not read, need to get to the library. Something I would like to see a few more movies made of would be Stephan Coonts, his Flight of the Intruder was a good movie and followed the book well too. "Life has become immeasurably better since I have been forced to stop taking it seriously." — Hunter S. Thompson
eric1978 Posted January 13, 2011 Posted January 13, 2011 I still love One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, both the book and the movie... I bet a nickel.
ness Posted January 13, 2011 Posted January 13, 2011 A rare situation where the book and the movie are among the top all time of each group: To Kill a Mockingbird +1 John
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