Books that become movies.

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pandajuice
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Books that become movies.

Post by pandajuice »

Anybody else into watching movies that have been adapted from books and comparing the two? i know, kinda dorky. i've been doin it a bit lately though. i'm really interested to see what happens with the new Memory Keeper's Daughter movie, it looks pretty good so far from the trailer. anybody got any favorites?
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Spoons
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Post by Spoons »

if i read the book then watch the film, im always disappointed. Prime example is the Harry Potter films butchering the books, especially 5.

I started reading no country for old men, but never finished it, then i watched the film. I loved the film so much. So am reluctant to read the book at the moment because i will be constantly comparing it. Im going to wait a while and read a few other books then start it again, and hopefully i can appreciate it for what it is rather than comparing it.

But with film versions of books and film remakes i normally always prefer whatever one i see/ read first.
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Scott
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Post by Scott »

I have heard some people say that they do not like to watch the movie adaptation of a book after they have read the book because they think it ruins it. On the other hand, like you, I enjoy watching movie adaptations of books that I've read. It interests me to see how the screen-writers, actors, and director's portray the novel on film. Even if the film is not done well, it interests me to see how they did it. That's just me, though.
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Tracey Neal
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Post by Tracey Neal »

I don't mind at all! If I really love a book and it comes to the sliver screen I'll watch it as well, I love the older Jane Eyre, 1944 version with Orson Welles and Joan Fontaine, Joan Fontaine made the perfect Jane to me :D
I also love the 1939 version of Wuthering Heights, Laurence Olivier made such a handsome Heathcliff :) I had big crushes on him and Orson Welles :oops: I still watch both of those movies when they come on TV :D
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Syrcco44
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Post by Syrcco44 »

There have been some great books out there but bad movies - like... Eragon - wow. Completely horrid. On the other hand there have been some very plausible movies from books like The Chronicles of Narnia (can't wait for Caspian! :D)... I don't trust hollywood all that much to make good movies - at least ones that are well thought of... I've heard that Ella Enchanted was nothing like the book... but that Lord of the Rings was pretty sweet... it really depends on whose filming and whose directing... still. I hate it when movies come out from books - they ruin it for people who chose to see the movie and assume that it's enough not to read the book. It's quite annoying. I hope they don't bomb Twilight... I won't see it, anyway, but I know people will flock to see that one... *sigh*
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Pappy
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Post by Pappy »

Hollywood isn't really looking for anything original in their own world. They seem to outsource and take ideas from tings that have proven popular in other forms of media. Video games, TV shows, comic books is a big one, and not just Spider-Man and all that, but other movies like 30 Days of Night, Sin City, and Unbreakable (though Unbreakable was not a comic book before a movie it is very closely tied with them). And books of course.

But it also seems that Hollywood is playing to the dumbest person in the audience in a lot of cases, trying to "cut the fat" from the story to give you two hours of streamlined, easy to follow, hmmm... don't want to say "shallow" exactly, but certainly not deep stuff.

Take JAWS for instance. In the book Hooper has an affair with Brody's wife leading to all sorts of drama.

But I also think that while they shouldn't play to the dumbest idea of a viewer they should also not play to the smartest. I recently watched a movie and it was so bad, so confusing that I had to watch it again with commentary on just so maybe the director would apologize for the awfulness that was his movie. He didn't. He actually said that the movie was about an hour longer and very easy to follow. Too easy to follow. So he "trimmed it down" because he doesn't underestimate the intelligence of the audience, which upset me a little. I don't really think I'm stupid and I've watched thousands of movies in my lifetime so far and think that when these movies come around the director should never claim that the audience just doesn't get it. It's fully possible the director made a steaming pile of movie and needs to accept it.

Anyhoo, I love movies and books and movies of books. I'm always interested to see just how deep they go into the book. It's fun for me.
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Post by sleepydumpling »

You know, I like to watch movies and read the books and compare and contrast. If it's crap... well it's crap. But sometimes a movie just captures the feel of a book perfectly and gives a kind of concise version of it. It's all entertainment.
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Libellus
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Post by Libellus »

Hey SleepyD is "crap" the word of the day? Nothing against it, quite a fan in fact....
Anyway I am normally apprehensive of films of books I like - dont like the risk of ruining the book for myself, should be less wary probably.
If the book isnt "a treasure" I am less bothered.
What I dont like is when the film follows a book, slavishly, as if it were the screenplay. Very few books can fulfill both roles successfully.
The exception that breaks the rule, for me, was the TV adaptation of Brideshead - Love the book and thoroughly enjoyed the series.
OTOH I didnt understand 2001 until I had read the book ...but that was alooong time ago. Once I had my head around things the film became so much better - or I was just a bit older?
One upside - watching a bad film means you only waste a couple of hours .... as long as you can forget it on leaving the cinema
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Tracey Neal
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Post by Tracey Neal »

Colin Firth made a beautiful Mr.Darcy too! :D Sorry I just can't seem to leave this thread :)
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KaeMartyndale
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Post by KaeMartyndale »

Star wrote:Colin Firth made a beautiful Mr.Darcy too! :D Sorry I just can't seem to leave this thread :)
Oh boy did he ever ;)
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Post by Jenn »

My 'book-to-movie' top favorite would have to be Helene Hanff`s '84 Charing Cross Road'. Tho I`m a bit biased cuz i love Anne Bancroft and Anthony Hopkins. And they played the roles so well.
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sleepydumpling
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Post by sleepydumpling »

KaeMartyndale wrote:
Star wrote:Colin Firth made a beautiful Mr.Darcy too! :D Sorry I just can't seem to leave this thread :)
Oh boy did he ever ;)
Amen sister!

I say crap a lot Libelius. Not just in one day, but all the time!
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HarmsWay
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Post by HarmsWay »

pandajuice wrote:Anybody else into watching movies that have been adapted from books and comparing the two? i know, kinda dorky. i've been doin it a bit lately though. i'm really interested to see what happens with the new Memory Keeper's Daughter movie, it looks pretty good so far from the trailer. anybody got any favorites?
Yeah the memory keeper's daughter movie is on tonight (Saturday) actually. The book really struck home wiht me so i'm curious to see if the movie will do the story justice
HappyReader
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Post by HappyReader »

While they did change a lot from the book to the movie I don't feel like it was anything too detrimental to the portrayal of the story. I thought it was really well done, and the acting was great. And Kim Edwards gave her stamp approval :P
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KaeMartyndale
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Post by KaeMartyndale »

I recently watched Into The Wild. I thought it was an excellent movie! The acting was absolutely brilliant, which I was surprised by because its the same kid who was also in The Girl Next Door. lol

So, I was thinking about adding the book to my to-read list. Is this a good idea?
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