Having talked in class about different ways to consume books, I began thinking about other movie adaptations and which ones have been good and which have been disgustingly bad. Here is a list of some of my favorite movie adaptations from books that I have read.
This iconic '80's movie starring Cary Elwes and Robin Wright is an adaptation from William Goldman's book by the same name. What I love about this book adaptation is that although the movie doesn't contain every scene from the book, what it does contain is surprisingly accurate. Even the grandfather reading the story to his grandson reflects how Goldman tells his story. This is refreshing in an industry that often takes liberties with the story lines they are adapting, resulting in a final product that resembles the original in name alone.
I think that many people don't realize that this move starring Marlon Brando as Don Corleone was originally a book by Mario Puzo. Although Puzo's book details much more than you see in the first movie, The Godfather tells the essential story of the Corleone family and their workings in the dark, yet honor bound world of the Italian-American mafia. This movie has become Hollywood's ultimate example of the mafia and is constantly alluded to in movies and TV programs. This is one of the must-see's in the world of cinema.
Richard Chamberlain stars in this mini-series that successfully takes James Clavell's Shogun to a new audience via TV. This mini-series lasts about 9 hours but is well worth the time for anyone interested in the exploration period, feudal Japan or simply a great story. The story told here is one of love, politics, isolation, religion and betrayal. It is very compelling, with excellent actors (including a surprising tie-in for this post). The Portuguese pilot is played by non other than John Rhys-Davies, also known as Gimli, the dwarf, in The Lord of the Rings Trilogy.
My all time favorite book adaptation has got to be To Kill a Mockingbird but not far behind is No Country for Old Men. Not just the characters and the dialogue but the tone of the book, the stark and bleak reality of the Cormac McCarthy prose, comes through in the landscapes and quiet stillness so well... The Coens put the soul of that book on the screen.
ReplyDeleteAnother one I love is Choke, based on the novel by Chuck Palahniuk of Fight Club fame. The film written and directed by Clark Gregg (most recently seen as Agent Coulsen in Thor and Iron Man) who took a dark edgy satire of a book and reached deep inside to find a heart that most people never found in the book. Not many people would expect a film based on a Palahniuk book to be warm, heartfelt, even touching, but Choke manages to be all those things.
No Country for Old Men is one of those on my list that I never seem to get around to. Although I'm not sure whether to read the book or watch the movie first.
ReplyDeleteGreat, great post. I love reading about stuff like this.
ReplyDeleteAlso-- respect for not being scared to talk about the Godfather for a byu class blog.
ReplyDeleteI agree with James on both comments. Awesome post! I have never heard of Shogun and I consider myself a movie buff. I also had no idea that "The Godfather" was a book. It is funny that you went from "The Princess Bride" probably the most popular movie in mormon culture to "The Godfather." I love it
ReplyDeleteThanks guys. I would recommend Shogun to anybody. It's one of my favorite books.
ReplyDeleteI read the Princess Bride last fall and absolutely fell in love with the book. Goldman was pretty heavily involved in the making of the film including writing the screenplay, hence the incredibly faithful adaptation.
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