Books CAN be good movies...sometimes

[MsMartha]

To Kill a Mockingbird was a great book, and the movie was done well. There are others, I'm sure, but that's the first one to pop up in my brain.

I have to agree with you! I've re-read (and re-watched) To Kill a Mockingbird numerous times--and I'll be thrilled when the next opportunity comes along.

[Jemma Haber]

I'm not sure if this really counts because it was originally a play, but I saw a movie interpretation of Shakespeare's Twelfth Night with Helena Bonham Carter in it and it was SPECTACULAR. Absolutely loved it.

[Amh73090]

Black mass was great as a book and movie. Each hit the details perfectly. The worst book to movie would have to be Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. The original movie was great but the remake was awful.

[Bill]

The Martian was a good movie but not nearly at good as the book. Sometimes that key element just doesn't translate.

[lane_vespertine]

My favorite examples of movies that are better than the books:
Ben-Hur
Forrest Gump

Books that are even with the movie:
Carrie
Trainspotting

[Genaaa]

A book that I think turned into a great movie was the first book in The Maze Runner series. They actually stuck to the plot and I think it was executed wonderfully. The second movie for the second book was still good, but they didn't really stick to the book as much.

[Wendi]

The Help was great in both!

[R-Myra]

I always like seeing books that I have read as movies. It's fun to see the story acted out on screen. Of course, I think the books are always better than the movies.

I have the same opinion. I like the movies when the actors justify the characters they are playing and when they stood up to our expectation. But that is a lot of pressure on the actors and that's what makes them give their best. So I really appreciate their work for that.

[AshleyFNoe]

Not too often...

[Haute_Coffee]

Gerald’s Game on Netflix was actually better than the book. I love Stephen King but that book was kind of a dud. The movie was well done though and I couldn’t believe they were adapting it at first. It’s basically one character in isolation throughout the story (but with flashbacks etc). The movie got good reviews too.

[Butterflybookworm]

I love the miniseries The Stand which was from Stephen Kings novel. Some of his short stories like Langoliers and Christine didn't make good films though.

[DesireeRose]

Okay,
Here is something that has been interesting to me lately - what great books have you read that have turned into really great movies?

Or what great books have you read that have turned into really AWFUL movies?

I'll tell you mine (if you tell me yours!)

Great book to Great movie
Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil book and movie are very different but both fantastic. Movie is well done - the book is a hard act to follow b/c it's so great!

Great book to AWFUL movie
A Series of Unfortunate Events (have taught this book to middle schoolers and LOVE the writing style. HATED the movie!

So what are yours?

Have you tried watching the Netflix original A Series of Unfortunate Events? I thought it was pretty well done.

[DATo]

To Kill a Mockingbird was a great book, and the movie was done well. There are others, I'm sure, but that's the first one to pop up in my brain.

I have to agree with you! I've re-read (and re-watched) To Kill a Mockingbird numerous times--and I'll be thrilled when the next opportunity comes along.

The film adaptation of this book is, to date, the best I have ever seen. Much was left out, but most of these things were digressions anyway and not directly relevant to the story proper; such as, the family gathering at Finch's Landing or when Calpurnia takes Scout and Jem to church with her.

[Amanda Nixon]

Harry Potter movies turned out great of course. They actually did not disappoint

[Allie_L]

My all time favourite book to movie adaption is a tie between The Outsiders by S.E. and The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky. In both of these cases a large amount of dialogue came straight from the books with only minor changes to plot. Maybe it was easier to adapt these books because they were both fairly short reads, but regardless I was very happy with the results and consider both the books and the movies to be in my favourites.