We don’t usually watch the Oscars in our household, but we have some friends staying with us and had a fun evening of watching Hollywood’s premier awards gala on Sunday.
Two of my three favorite movies are adaptations from books: "The Shawshank Redemption" from Stephen King's "Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption" and "The Crow" from James O'Barr's graphic novel. It would be hard not to mention "The Princess Bride" too, which adapts the frame story so well.
For nonfiction, "Black Hawk Down" was a superb adaptation of Mark Bowden's book. I also stop and watch every time "Catch Me If You Can" is on the channel; the movie really brings Frank Abagnale's story to life.
I loved the four-episode Netflix series adaptation of All The Light We Cannot See and I am looking forward to the upcoming series 'A Gentleman in Moscow.'
Lonesome Dove was terrific, as was Tinker, tailor, soldier, spy (the 2011 version). The recent PBS series All Creatures Great and Small seasons 1-3. Season 4 seemed to feature less veterinary work and more focus on the people…
Bram Stoker's Dracula by Coppola hugely improved on the book (despite Keanu Reeves and Wynona Ryder - they're great now, but in the 90s, not so much). Silence of the Lambs is also an excellent adaptation. The Road is another great pairing.
Most recently, I think the Apple TV+ limited series adaptation of Lessons in Chemistry was so well done, and even though I loved the book, I loved the show even more. I also really enjoyed the Amazon Prime limited series adaptation of Daisy Jones & the Six, it was a phenomenal production that brought not only the characters but even the music to life!
Eh, personally I preferred it as a short story. Ang Lee's adaptation pads it out with a lot of filler that tips over into melodrama in the latter half of the movie, in my opinion.
Lord of the Rings was superb. I also loved both Dune films. No Country for Old Men is really good, like you said. I like Javier Bardem as Stilgar better. He doesn't give me nightmares like Chigurh. The Count of Monte Cristo with Jim Caviezel, Guy Pierce, and Sir Richard Harris is another one I love, even though it is so different from the book. Christopher Nolan's Dark Knight trilogy changed comic book, super hero movies, and is still probably the best. I have also loved The Scarlet Pimpernel with Jane Seymour and Ian McKellen.
The Jane Austin adaptations - I rewatch them a lot. The various Jane Eyre movies over the years. And the recent Lincoln Lawyer (Michael Connelly) series on Apple TV
I really liked the HBO miniseries Station Eleven. There were a lot of differences from the book but I thought all the changes for tv worked really well.
I’m usually deeply distrustful of film adaptations of novels and tend to avoid them like the plague, but a few that do stand out are The Age of Innocence, Little Women (1994), Gone Girl, Atonement, and On Chesil Beach.
I haven’t watched it, not really into the Gerwig hysteria. Her works feels a bit too self-referential for me. I did love Lady Bird though, so maybe I’m being harsh.
Ah ok, I gotcha. I think starting from a place of deep distrust is wise when it comes to these things that you cherish. Then it's delightful if it wins you over and you can pretend it doesn't exist if it doesn't!
Loved the Dune films David Lynch’s version and the current Villeneuve ones, like you I’ve only seen part one so far. I also really liked Prime Video Jack Reacher take, it was actually why I decided to read the books, think there are 28 at the moment.
Agreed about Reacher! But I want to hear more about your love for David Lynch's Dune. It's like I know people who love the movie exist but I've never met one so I'm intrigued.
The Handmaids Tale no question. While Atwood's story was a great starting place, it really is very brief and poses more questions than gives answers. While on the other hand, staring into Elizabeth Moss' face is like staring into the sun. The power of that TV show is unmatched.
I think that's an interesting perspective with which I differ... I much prefer literature and TV/film adaptations that ask more questions than give answers. While it's definitely possible to tip over into answer-less incoherence (::ahem:: Lost, anyone?), for the most part, I vastly prefer the open-endedness of literature that doesn't provide pat answers. I think our culture is decreasingly comfortable with uncertainty, doubt, and ambiguity, and generally over-demands pre-packaged answers, and preferably ones that conform to our prior assumptions and judgments.
I appreciate the sentiment and agree with you! Leave the World Behind was one of my favorite reading and film experiences of the last few years and its incredibly open ended. Maybe what I was really getting at but didn't take the time to word correctly was that the novel starts a discourse on the topic but isn't long enough to really engage, at least for me. Atwood got us going in the right direction but I wanted MORE. Not exactly answers from the text/show but more content, more meat to digest.
That makes sense to me. A book can be so abbreviated that it doesn't keep exploring where you wish it would. Ironic that I referenced a Damon Lindelof show above, because I thought his adaptation of The Leftovers was excellent (perhaps he learned his lessons from Lost). The original Tom Perrotta novel was relatively short, so the show was able to go into some really wild and interesting territory once it left the book behind.
Of those listed, Erasure is a great read and the film American Fiction is an excellent sit. They are comedic and have pointed things to say about the Black experience and how that is not just one thing, it is many things that is as vast as any other group's experience. It won for best adapted screenplay and the writer/director Cord Jefferson gave an excellent speech (that was televised) and Q&A that you can find on YouTube.
Oppenheimer is so deserving of all the awards it won. How Nolan managed to adapt the book in his signature non-linear way is remarkable. There's so much that can be said about that one. It has made my list of favorite adaptations.
Two of my three favorite movies are adaptations from books: "The Shawshank Redemption" from Stephen King's "Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption" and "The Crow" from James O'Barr's graphic novel. It would be hard not to mention "The Princess Bride" too, which adapts the frame story so well.
For nonfiction, "Black Hawk Down" was a superb adaptation of Mark Bowden's book. I also stop and watch every time "Catch Me If You Can" is on the channel; the movie really brings Frank Abagnale's story to life.
The Princess Bride! So different but both are great.
The Shawshank Redemption is amazing! One of my favorites I forgot to mention.
Shawshank is my all time favorite film.
Wuthering Heights
Jane Erye
Pride and Prejudice
Sense and Sensibility
Little Women
have all been remade, so many times that eventually there was a good adaptation,
and, of course, GWTW.
There was a mini-series on television in the ‘70’s that was an adaptation of one of my all time favorite books A Testimony of Two Men
by Taylor Caldwell. It was well done for its time, but I’ve always wished it had been made into a film.
I loved the four-episode Netflix series adaptation of All The Light We Cannot See and I am looking forward to the upcoming series 'A Gentleman in Moscow.'
Memoirs of a Geisha
Lonesome Dove was terrific, as was Tinker, tailor, soldier, spy (the 2011 version). The recent PBS series All Creatures Great and Small seasons 1-3. Season 4 seemed to feature less veterinary work and more focus on the people…
Bram Stoker's Dracula by Coppola hugely improved on the book (despite Keanu Reeves and Wynona Ryder - they're great now, but in the 90s, not so much). Silence of the Lambs is also an excellent adaptation. The Road is another great pairing.
The Road, both the novel and film, are so good.
Most recently, I think the Apple TV+ limited series adaptation of Lessons in Chemistry was so well done, and even though I loved the book, I loved the show even more. I also really enjoyed the Amazon Prime limited series adaptation of Daisy Jones & the Six, it was a phenomenal production that brought not only the characters but even the music to life!
The soundtrack for Daisy Jones was my second-most listened to music last year - I could NOT get enough!
Yes! I definitely replayed each track countless times 😅 even bought the vinyl!
Forgot to mention Brokeback Mountain
Eh, personally I preferred it as a short story. Ang Lee's adaptation pads it out with a lot of filler that tips over into melodrama in the latter half of the movie, in my opinion.
Lord of the Rings was superb. I also loved both Dune films. No Country for Old Men is really good, like you said. I like Javier Bardem as Stilgar better. He doesn't give me nightmares like Chigurh. The Count of Monte Cristo with Jim Caviezel, Guy Pierce, and Sir Richard Harris is another one I love, even though it is so different from the book. Christopher Nolan's Dark Knight trilogy changed comic book, super hero movies, and is still probably the best. I have also loved The Scarlet Pimpernel with Jane Seymour and Ian McKellen.
The Jane Austin adaptations - I rewatch them a lot. The various Jane Eyre movies over the years. And the recent Lincoln Lawyer (Michael Connelly) series on Apple TV
I really liked the HBO miniseries Station Eleven. There were a lot of differences from the book but I thought all the changes for tv worked really well.
Agreed! Good one!
I’m usually deeply distrustful of film adaptations of novels and tend to avoid them like the plague, but a few that do stand out are The Age of Innocence, Little Women (1994), Gone Girl, Atonement, and On Chesil Beach.
One more: Stand By Me (adapted from Stephen King’s ‘The Body’)
Gone Girl was done well! And The Age of Innocence is superb!
Not a 2019 Little Women fan eh?
I haven’t watched it, not really into the Gerwig hysteria. Her works feels a bit too self-referential for me. I did love Lady Bird though, so maybe I’m being harsh.
Ah ok, I gotcha. I think starting from a place of deep distrust is wise when it comes to these things that you cherish. Then it's delightful if it wins you over and you can pretend it doesn't exist if it doesn't!
Loved the Dune films David Lynch’s version and the current Villeneuve ones, like you I’ve only seen part one so far. I also really liked Prime Video Jack Reacher take, it was actually why I decided to read the books, think there are 28 at the moment.
Agreed about Reacher! But I want to hear more about your love for David Lynch's Dune. It's like I know people who love the movie exist but I've never met one so I'm intrigued.
My favorite books-to-screen is Wild (book by Cheryl Strayed, movie with Reese Witherspoon).
Jane Eyre, the Orson Welles / Elizabeth Taylor / Joan Fontaine version.
All the Right Stuff is another great film adaptation. Who's the greatest pilot you ever saw?
In the same lines of Wild, Into the Wild by John Krakauer was adapted very well into film. Loved them both equally.
Good Omens, Hunger Games, BBC Sherlock are the ones that come to mind
The Handmaids Tale no question. While Atwood's story was a great starting place, it really is very brief and poses more questions than gives answers. While on the other hand, staring into Elizabeth Moss' face is like staring into the sun. The power of that TV show is unmatched.
I think that's an interesting perspective with which I differ... I much prefer literature and TV/film adaptations that ask more questions than give answers. While it's definitely possible to tip over into answer-less incoherence (::ahem:: Lost, anyone?), for the most part, I vastly prefer the open-endedness of literature that doesn't provide pat answers. I think our culture is decreasingly comfortable with uncertainty, doubt, and ambiguity, and generally over-demands pre-packaged answers, and preferably ones that conform to our prior assumptions and judgments.
I appreciate the sentiment and agree with you! Leave the World Behind was one of my favorite reading and film experiences of the last few years and its incredibly open ended. Maybe what I was really getting at but didn't take the time to word correctly was that the novel starts a discourse on the topic but isn't long enough to really engage, at least for me. Atwood got us going in the right direction but I wanted MORE. Not exactly answers from the text/show but more content, more meat to digest.
That makes sense to me. A book can be so abbreviated that it doesn't keep exploring where you wish it would. Ironic that I referenced a Damon Lindelof show above, because I thought his adaptation of The Leftovers was excellent (perhaps he learned his lessons from Lost). The original Tom Perrotta novel was relatively short, so the show was able to go into some really wild and interesting territory once it left the book behind.
First, thanks for pointing out that The Leftovers is a book, I gotta check that out!
Second, Lindelof is a genius. See: Watchmen.
Of those listed, Erasure is a great read and the film American Fiction is an excellent sit. They are comedic and have pointed things to say about the Black experience and how that is not just one thing, it is many things that is as vast as any other group's experience. It won for best adapted screenplay and the writer/director Cord Jefferson gave an excellent speech (that was televised) and Q&A that you can find on YouTube.
Oppenheimer is so deserving of all the awards it won. How Nolan managed to adapt the book in his signature non-linear way is remarkable. There's so much that can be said about that one. It has made my list of favorite adaptations.
Fun discussion, my favorite in fact!