Comments on: Top Ten Friday: Movies Based on Books

By: Jack

Jack — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 22:34:42 +0000

Niko,
JPark hasn’t aged well, perhaps, the landmark nature of its effects can’t be discounted. It’s also a pretty solid read.

Agreed on “No Country…” completely, and Cuckoo is major oversight (oops) but Contact, although well done in text was… less than optimal on film.

Nicole,
Wasn’t aware that “Unbearable…” was a movie as well… gotta add that on my Netflix. Oz is a great one but I wonder how many have read the book (interestingly, a satire against moving from the country to the city/NY (notice OZ are the letters right after NY… not a coincidence).

I too am very, very excited about Watchmen.

By: Nicole

Nicole — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 14:37:19 +0000

I’d like to add The Unbearable Lightness of Being, Naked Lunch, Crash (the 1998 James Spader film, not the more recent one), Dracula (the original Bela Lugosi film and “Dracula: Pages from a Virgin’s Diary” by Guy Maddin), Svankmajer’s Alice, and Ghost World. I have high hopes for the upcoming Watchmen.

A lot of people also forget that “The Wizard of Oz” is based on a book.

And Starship Troopers is only a good movie if you look at it as a completely separate piece, standing on it’s own with no relation to the book. Looking at it that way, it’s not bad. Looking at it as being based on the book, I think it’s atrocious.

I’m also still waiting for someone to do a good screen adaptation of H.P. Lovecraft material – word is that a Lovecraft movie is one of Guillermo Del Toro’s dream projects, but he will only do it if he can do “right”, with creative and financial freedom. If anyone can do it he can…but anyways, there’s my 2 (more like 10) cents.

By: Niko

Niko — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 15:05:12 +0000

I gotta say Jurassic Park (the movie) has not aged well in my opinion.

I haven’t read “There Will Be Blood” so I can’t vouch for both but I will say “No Country For Old Men” was both a great book and a fantastic movie.

A couple of others:

One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest
Contact (very good read)

By: Jack

Jack — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 15:56:43 +0000

Ayanna and Laura, those were major oversights. I guess that’s what happens when you put a stodgy northeastern educated white guy in his 20’s in charge of making a list like this

By: Ayanna Grady

Ayanna Grady — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 14:30:34 +0000

I watched “There Will Be Blood” and was totally weirded out! Maybe I should read the book instead…

I have to add “The Color Purple” by Alice Walker – great on film, paper and stage!

By: Laura

Laura — Sat, 25 Oct 2008 00:55:35 +0000

Love your list, but it is incomplete without “Gone With the Wind,” excellent both on paper and on film.