# Book to movie. What's your favourite?



## WriterCTaylor (Jul 11, 2011)

We have all been to the cinema, anticipating the movie that was a book we once read. Sometimes we are greatly disappointed, but sometimes we are blown away that the movie was as good as or even better than the book. What's your favourite? 
I loved Misery by Stephen King. The hobbling with a sledgehammer scene has been burned into my mind forever and even now makes me cringe when I think about it. The idea and characters were unique and Kathy Bates played a crazy woman like no other.


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## RhondaRN (Dec 27, 2009)

There are a good many, but I'd have to say, Memoirs of a Geisha to be my fav book to movie.


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## Kitchen Witch (Jul 3, 2011)

I liked Dangerous Liaisons very much. The movie captured the decadent ambiance and the absolute emotional detachment of the main characters very well.


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## MJFredrick (Jun 20, 2011)

Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter (except the 6th one). I still remember being in awe of that first HP movie, wondering how they got in my head to copy those images! It was JUST as I'd pictured it!


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## TWErvin2 (Aug 7, 2010)

I'd have to say Lonesome Dove (although technically not a movie but a mini series).


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## MJFredrick (Jun 20, 2011)

TWErvin2 said:


> I'd have to say Lonesome Dove (although technically not a movie but a mini series).


Oh! I've been meaning to rewatch that. It's streaming on Netflix.


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## ColinJ (Jun 13, 2011)

In terms of literary faithfulness then I have to cite Frank Darabont's masterpieces of Stephen King's THE SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION and THE GREEN MILE.

And Darabont's adapation of King's THE MIST was superb. Although his invented new ending wasn't nearly as powerful as King's original ambiguous conclusion.


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## MJFredrick (Jun 20, 2011)

ColinJ said:


> In terms of literary faithfulness then I have to cite Frank Darabont's masterpieces of Stephen King's THE SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION and THE GREEN MILE.
> 
> And Darabont's adapation of King's THE MIST was superb. Although his invented new ending wasn't nearly as powerful as King's original ambiguous conclusion.


I hated the ending of The Mist. I should probably read the book, then. This reminds me, The Stand was pretty great book-to-miniseries, as was Salem's Lot, the original with David Soul (WHY isn't that out on DVD yet?)

Can you tell I love movies?


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## Meemo (Oct 27, 2008)

In chronological order, the 3 filmed versions that come to mind are:
To Kill a Mockingbird
Lonesome Dove
Lord of the Rings


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## Sean Thomas Fisher (Mar 25, 2011)

I love Stanley Kubrick's adaptation of _The Shining_. It's amazing in Blu ray too.

And I agree with ColinJ about Darabont's ending of _The Mist_, but will let it slide because he brought us _The Walking Dead_ on AMC. October can't get here soon enough...


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## ljcharles (Jul 6, 2011)

Okay, I almost hate to admit this but it's Eat, Pray, Love. I couldn't get into the book at all, but I did like the movie. 

I also really liked Julie and Julia the movie, but reading it just didn't do that much for me. 

I'm the other way around with the Harry Potter books. Love the books. Like the movies. 

Lucie j.


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## Christine Kersey (Feb 13, 2011)

I preferred the movie version of Lord of the Rings. The books move so slooowly. But they do have their own charm. One book to movie I'm looking forward to is The Hunger Games.


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## The Big Glen (Jul 2, 2011)

I actually really enjoyed the adaptation of Chabon's "Wonder Boys", which is odd, because the movie is one of Hollywood's most famous flops.


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## KateEllison (Jul 9, 2011)

_A Walk to Remember_--I'm not a huge Sparks fan to begin with, and AWtR is probably the only book of his that I really like, but I loved the movie as a teenager. I watched it over and over, and I just read the book once.

I also prefer the movie Emma (any version) to the book.

There's another one, I KNOW there is, but I can't remember it! This is going to drive me crazy ...

I've found that if I watch the movie adaptation and then read the book, I usually tend to enjoy both just fine (unless the movie version sucked), but if I read the book and then watch the movie I'm usually let down somehow, even if the movie was done well. I think it's because I already imagined everything in my mind, and it wasn't the same.


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## Bob Mayer (Feb 20, 2011)

Lonesome Dove

I detested the ending of the movie The Mist.


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## mooshie78 (Jul 15, 2010)

Lots.  Though for many/most I saw the movie first as I'm a bigger movie buff than I am an avid reader--though the balance isn't nearly as skewed since getting a Kindle a couple of years ago.  To ramble a few off the top of my head...

The Godfather is one case where I think the movie is much better than the book.  

The Road is another case where I didn't really care for the book, but thought the movie was great.

Lord of the Rings was a great adaptation, as were Fight Club and High Fidelity.

Mystic River and Gone Baby Gone I loved the movies, but haven't read the books yet.  Same with The Lovely Bones.


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## Casper Parks (May 1, 2011)

In the past year. The Road was rough read, film was good.


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## Stephen_Melling (Jun 26, 2011)

'Salem's Lot
Lord of the Rings
Carrie
Do Androids dream of...
Didn't like the Phantoms movie based on the excellent Koontz novel.


Good question.


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## LaRita (Oct 28, 2008)

The 1981 PBS miniseries of "A Town Like Alice."


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## NogDog (May 1, 2009)

There are several threads here on this already. A few of the more recent ones:

Movies That Are Better Than Their Books

Good Book, BETTER Movie ?

Best book to movie...


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## Victoria J (Jul 5, 2011)

Do plays count?

Then, Branagh's Henry V
and then
LOTR
Ang Lee's Sense and Sensibility
Contact


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## David Alastair Hayden (Mar 19, 2011)

Lord of the Rings, because I never could get into reading the book. Tried three times, couldn't get far past Tom Bombadil.


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## mooshie78 (Jul 15, 2010)

David Alastair Hayden said:


> Lord of the Rings, because I never could get into reading the book. Tried three times, couldn't get far past Tom Bombadil.


Maybe try starting past that part next time as the LOTR books really pick up steam after that part.


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## David Alastair Hayden (Mar 19, 2011)

mooshie78 said:


> Maybe try starting past that part next time as the LOTR books really pick up steam after that part.


Good idea. I made it a few chapters past that point once but was just too underwhelmed by the writing style. I think I've always stopped short of the exciting parts because when I saw the movies I was like: "Where did all this cool action stuff come from?"

I grew up reading sword & sorcery and adventure fantasy. Pulpy, fast-paced fiction.


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## Kevis Hendrickson (Feb 28, 2009)

Since LoTR has been mentioned so many times in this thread, I won't bother to add any more about it except it's great. But the movie that impressed me the most being adapted from book to film is Prince Caspian. I love C.S. Lewis and the Narnia Books. But Prince Caspian was not a good book. It had it's moments, to be sure. But it never really went anywhere. It was the only Narnia book that left me thinking that Lewis had dialed it in.

The film on the other hand focused on creating tension and conflicts between characters where there were none in the books (the tell-tale sign that a story is going to be hum-drummingly boring). Just watching Caspian and Peter constantly at each other's throat is worth the price of admission alone! One of the rare times where Hollywood outdoes the source material.


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## Kitchen Witch (Jul 3, 2011)

Ooh yes, _Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep_ was a great adaptation. And so was _Scanner Darkly_, but only if you really like disturbing movies. I do.
Branagh does excellent adaptations of The Bard, my favourite was Othello. His Iago was really awe-inspiring.


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## Riven Owler (Jul 9, 2011)

Victoria J's post reminds me of how much I love Kenneth Branagh's Hamlet.  Others are...Of Mice and Men with Gary Sinise; the Crucible with Winona Ryder and Daniel Day Lewis; and Out of Africa.

My favorite is A Room with a View (novel by E.M. Forster).  I think it was a Merchant Ivory Production.


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## NogDog (May 1, 2009)

David Alastair Hayden said:


> Good idea. I made it a few chapters past that point once but was just too underwhelmed by the writing style. I think I've always stopped short of the exciting parts because when I saw the movies I was like: "Where did all this cool action stuff come from?"
> 
> I grew up reading sword & sorcery and adventure fantasy. Pulpy, fast-paced fiction.


In a way, I think the movies can ruin the books. The movies are essentially action/thrillers that happen to take place in middle earth, with a lot of modern-style editing for slam-bam action. The books, written about half a century ago now, are much more leisurely and introspective. Anyone who reads them expecting the same tempo and action level of the movies will likely go away disappointed.

And, of course, they may not be for everyone, anyway.


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## Stephen_Melling (Jun 26, 2011)

NogDog said:


> In a way, I think the movies can ruin the books. The movies are essentially action/thrillers that happen to take place in middle earth, with a lot of modern-style editing for slam-bam action. The books, written about half a century ago now, are much more leisurely and introspective. Anyone who reads them expecting the same tempo and action level of the movies will likely go away disappointed.
> 
> And, of course, they may not be for everyone, anyway.


Good point - counterpoint. I loved middle earth in both novel and screen. But of course I still prefer the novel. That was just me and middle earth. I shared the movie with everyone else!


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## Keira Lea (Apr 15, 2011)

Under the Tuscan Sun


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## gregoryblackman (Jul 11, 2011)

The Notebook...just joking, but probably Stand By Me.


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## navythriller (Mar 11, 2011)

Meemo said:


> In chronological order, the 3 filmed versions that come to mind are:
> To Kill a Mockingbird
> Lonesome Dove
> Lord of the Rings


I haven't seen (or read) _Lonesome Dove_, but your other two choices are my top two - in the same order I would have chosen.


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## LunaraSeries (Jun 19, 2011)

Jurassic Park.  The book and movie are different but they are both fantastic.  The sequel to each is blah.


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## WriterCTaylor (Jul 11, 2011)

Casper Parks said:


> In the past year. The Road was rough read, film was good.


I'm glad you said that. I loved The Road and was going to buy the book. I'm having second thoughts.

I knew LOTR would make an appearance and Stephen King was mentioned more than I thought. In fact, I thought I would be mocked for my Misery pick.

Did anyone choose a comic to movie?


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## Richard Raley (May 23, 2011)

LunaraSeries said:


> Jurassic Park. The book and movie are different but they are both fantastic. The sequel to each is blah.


That's the one I thought of for fiction. Mostly I read fantasy and it just doesn't translate well. Seems like more movies are actually made from Non-Fiction novels than fiction recently.


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## Colin Taber (Apr 4, 2011)

I was pretty pleased with the Lord of the Rings adaption and would love to see some of the tales out of the Silmarillion fleshed out and brought to screen.


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## Meemo (Oct 27, 2008)

navythriller said:


> I haven't seen (or read) _Lonesome Dove_, but your other two choices are my top two - in the same order I would have chosen.


I highly recommend *Lonesome Dove* - both book and miniseries. Loved the book, and the miniseries was very faithful to it, to the point that I dreaded certain parts as they come up because I knew they'd break my heart all over again. Beautifully cast and acted. Any time I come across it while channel-surfing I have to stop and watch at least for a bit, even though we have it on DVD.

I really want to read the book again - and I'm not much of a re-reader these days.


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## Dawn McCullough White (Feb 24, 2010)

Guess I'd have to go with *Interview with the Vampire*, it's well done and stays pretty true to the book, with a couple exceptions. Maybe it's so close because Anne Rice wrote both the novel and the screenplay.

Dawn


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## lillady83 (Jul 12, 2011)

I would have to say The Green Mile by Stephen King.  I read the book and then watched the movie and was amazed.  It seemed to match perfectly and loved both.


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## Carolyn J. Rose Mystery Writer (Aug 10, 2010)

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo - the Swedish version - and the sequels. The characters seemed just about the way I imagined them. I doubt I'll watch the Hollywood version.


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## Adam Pepper (May 28, 2011)

No Country for Old Men.  Loved the movie.  Loved the book.


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## Adam Pepper (May 28, 2011)

WriterCTaylor said:


> I'm glad you said that. I loved The Road and was going to buy the book. I'm having second thoughts.


I thought The Road was brilliant. It was dark, but if you saw the movie you already know that. If you havent read any McCarthy then I strongly recommend it.


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## tituspowell (Dec 29, 2010)

I actually hated the movie of No Country For Old Men. Then someone gave me the book and I read that and all the things I didn't like about the movie were in the book too. So the movie is actually a decent adaptation of a book I don't like.

I did like both the book and the movie of The Road though.

Fight Club is one where I think both are excellent but the film is even better.


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## balaspa (Dec 27, 2009)

Shawshank Redemption and The Green Mile, both from Stephen King books are among my favorites.  All the President's Men, I think, is a better movie than a book.  Also, any adaptation of Moby Dick (well, OK, maybe not the John Barrymore one) is better than the book...what a snooze-fest that book is!


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## RuthMadison (Jul 9, 2011)

What a great thread!  I can't think of any movies that I liked better than the books, so this thread (and the others linked) will help give me some ideas of some good movies to watch!


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## anguabell (Jan 9, 2011)

Funny how some topics appear again and again 
I was just recently re-watching a modern adaptation of _Great Expectations_ with Ethan Hawke and Gwyneth Paltrow. It's visually stunning, I think they did a nice job. Of a very few Pratchett adaptations, _Hogwatch _is still my favorite. _Being There _was much better as a movie, I loathed the book. And many Agatha Christie-based TV films are great, particularly Poirot with David Suchet.


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## Steven Slavick (May 15, 2011)

I thought Silence of the Lambs was more riveting than the book. I thought also thought Out of Sight was better as a movie, just because George Clooney and Jennifer Lopez had great chemistry that was even better than the great chemistry Elmore Leonard produced on the page.


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## Joseph Robert Lewis (Oct 31, 2010)

I really liked the Watchmen movie, as a fan of the book. No film could capture the whole book, but Snyder's movie hits a whole lot of good points and even hints at a lot of the points it couldn't cover. I was impressed that someone got it as well as he did.


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## Geemont (Nov 18, 2008)

Kitchen Witch said:


> Ooh yes, _Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep_ was a great adaptation.


Whenever I read this kind of praise for that movie, I cringe. I saw _Blade Runner_ on opening night. It was bad. Very bad. And perhaps one of the worst film endings of all time. I know there was a director's cut that remove the pure crap, but it really wasn't much better, and you never get a chance to make an other first impression. The film caused me to avoid Philip K. Dick for more than twenty years and that makes me loathe the movie even more.

As general rule, I think film adaptations are a waste of time for people who read. (I probably stand alone with that view.) However, I'm not sure if it's a "good" movie, but someone made a 30 minute B&W silent movie of "Call of Cthuhlu." It showed creativity in absence of a big budget. If the film makers had been given the money for a feature length special effects driven film it probably would have been just awful.


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## WriterCTaylor (Jul 11, 2011)

Meemo said:


> I highly recommend *Lonesome Dove* - both book and miniseries. Loved the book, and the miniseries was very faithful to it, to the point that I dreaded certain parts as they come up because I knew they'd break my heart all over again. Beautifully cast and acted. Any time I come across it while channel-surfing I have to stop and watch at least for a bit, even though we have it on DVD.
> 
> I really want to read the book again - and I'm not much of a re-reader these days.


I didn't even think about a mini series. When I started the thread I asked about movies, but thanks for expanding the thread because you have reminded me of a book I loved, but didn't really like the television version of it. Roots, by Alex Haley. I read the book recently while overseas away from family and it really took me away from my reality at the time. I remember the mini series when I was a child, but didn't really pay much attention to it at the time. It is on TV here now as a repeat and I really dislike it. The book is amazing though.


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## anne_holly (Jun 5, 2011)

Wow - this is a great topic, and soooo hard...

_Silence of the Lambs_, I loved. 
_Sarah Plain and Tall_. 
_What's Eating Gilbert Grape?_ 
I thought _LA Confidential_ was a spectacular job of making a movie out of an unfilmable book.


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## IndiaLeeBooks (Apr 10, 2011)

I agree with a lot of the ones mentioned! Here are two of my favorites: I think _American Psycho_ was a fantastic adaptation. Boiling down all the gore and pulling out that story was no easy feat! And while I loved the novel _Little Children,_ the ending didn't work for me the way the movie ending did... I can go on and on about how that was one of the best changes made in a book-to-movie adaptation.


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## adegan (Apr 27, 2010)

LOTR
I Am Number 4 (Don't hate me)
Pretty Little Liars (If we also are counting TV)
Ender's Game (If that ever happens)


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## Tara Maya (Nov 4, 2010)

Kevis Hendrickson said:


> Since LoTR has been mentioned so many times in this thread, I won't bother to add any more about it except it's great. But the movie that impressed me the most being adapted from book to film is Prince Caspian. I love C.S. Lewis and the Narnia Books. But Prince Caspian was not a good book. It had it's moments, to be sure. But it never really went anywhere. It was the only Narnia book that left me thinking that Lewis had dialed it in.
> 
> The film on the other hand focused on creating tension and conflicts between characters where there were none in the books (the tell-tale sign that a story is going to be hum-drummingly boring). Just watching Caspian and Peter constantly at each other's throat is worth the price of admission alone! One of the rare times where Hollywood outdoes the source material.


I completely agree. The movie adaptations of both these series were awesome. I LOVE the books, but the movies added some nice touches. In LoTRs, the movie integrated the Aragon's love story into the plot, where it belonged. (You put the only romance in you whole series into an appendix, Tolkien? Really?) And the Narnia movies really brought character tension to life. One of my favorite scenes in the movie that was not in the book was when the White Queen revealed to Tumus that Ed had been the one to betray him. Tumus' look was priceless.


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## Xealous (Apr 6, 2010)

Wow a lot of Stephen King fans! <3

I would agree with the OP that Misery (both book and film) is awesome and stayed with me with a long while. But my favourite adaption is Secret Window, Secret Garden - a short story by Stephen King about a writer (yay) accused of plagiarism. It's incredibly haunting and funny in a weird way.

Plus bonus: Johnny Deep (double yay!). What more can you ask for!?


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## jamiedierks (Jul 5, 2011)

Water for Elephants, and The Cider House Rules.


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## Adam Pepper (May 28, 2011)

IndiaLeeBooks said:


> _American Psycho_ was a fantastic adaptation. Boiling down all the gore and pulling out that story was no easy feat!


American Psycho was awesome. I've been meaning to read the book for some time. I must get to it.


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## JRTomlin (Jan 18, 2011)

I forgot to mention _Atonemen_t. I liked the novel (although I thought it was a touch over-rated) and thought the movie was excellent.


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## StephenLivingston (May 10, 2011)

V for Vendetta was a brilliant cinematic version of the graphic novel.  Peter Jackson did very well with The Lord of the Rings too.


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## DD Graphix (Jul 15, 2011)

This is an oldie but a goodie; the adaptation of the Black Stallion for the screen, directed by Coppola. Amazing.

And not really a "movie" per se, but Game of Thrones has been incredible.


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## emilyward (Mar 5, 2011)

Movies I liked more than the books:
The Lovely Bones (that book should have been half as long)
Memoirs of a Geisha (^ same)

Adaptations that I loved:
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows! Those were awesome, but I couldn't care less about 1-6. 
First Narnia movie
Everything Is Illuminated
The Green Mile
The Princess Bride
Lord of the Rings (everyone already said it, but it's true!)

I actually blog about book/movie comparisons. I need to write another one soon!


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## Tamara Rose Blodgett (Apr 1, 2011)

Okay, I'm doing the reverse here but that sappy romance, _The Notebook_....was such a better movie! That weird love scene in the end of the book (creeper-factor 10) was so much better translated in cinema...just saying!


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## That one girl (Apr 12, 2011)

I love the LOTR, HP (except for the 4th movie), The Wizard of Oz, Disney's Alice in Wonderland cartoon version, Misery, The Shining, and Shawshank Redemption. I must admit, though, I'm not a fan of the Narnia movies. Of course, I read the books about 25 years ago so I may be mistaken, but the movies just didn't leaving me feeling as enchanted as the books did.


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## joanhallhovey (Nov 7, 2010)

*Stand by Me * based on the story by the incomparable Stephen King, directed by Rob Reiner. It was previously titled 'The Body' in his book Different Seasons. It was 1984 and I was attending a writer's workshop in London, England, where he was a celebrated panelist, along with P.D. James and Robert Parker. Stephen King signed his book for me. What a wonderful experience, both the workshop and London.


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## WriterCTaylor (Jul 11, 2011)

joanhallhovey said:


> *Stand by Me * based on the story by the incomparable Stephen King, directed by Rob Rener. It was previously titled 'The Body' in his book Different Seasons. It was 1984 and I was attending a writer's workshop in London, England, where he was a celebrated panelist, along with P.D. James and Robert Parker. Stephen King signed his bok for me. What a wonderful experience, both the workshop and London.


I forgot about Stand By Me. Yes, that was a great movie and I just found a copy of the book in my 'to read' pile. I am going to load up my Kindle this weekend, so may put that on there.


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## Adam Pepper (May 28, 2011)

JRTomlin said:


> I forgot to mention _Atonemen_t. I liked the novel (although I thought it was a touch over-rated) and thought the movie was excellent.


I wasnt crazy about Atonement, but Enduring Love was excellent. Book was better than the movie though.


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## Elizabeth Black (Apr 8, 2011)

"Gone With The Wind". It's my favorite movie, too. Everyone was perfect, especially Vivien Leigh as Scarlett O'Hara.

"The Haunting", the original film version of Shirley Jackson's "The Haunting Of Hill House". That's one of the few movies that was very faithful to the book.


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## SArthurMartin (Jul 1, 2011)

The Princess Bride, though I saw the movie before I read the book. The author wrote the screenplay, so reading the book was almost like a 'director's cut' with even more awesome.


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## NS (Jul 8, 2011)

Dolores Claiborne, Green Mile, Silence of the Lambs, Let me in, The Mist (though the ending was horrible), Devil wears Prada (The movie was better than a book in my opinion)


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## WriterCTaylor (Jul 11, 2011)

I recently read 'The Firm.' The movie was good too. Even Tom Cruise, who I am not fond of, was good in it, but I think it was due to the story, rather than his acting. Good book, good movie.


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## lcook0825 (Jul 16, 2010)

I would have to agree with "Lonesome Dove" although as said it was a mini-series as opposed to a movie. Great series.


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## leearco (Jul 17, 2011)

Great topic.
Lord of the Rings and HP for sure.


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## ColinJ (Jun 13, 2011)

StoutWriter said:


> By comparison, I HATED the movie version of "Guns of Navarone," so if anyone feels like doing a remake that even remotely resembles the book, that would be a great service to society


Ouch! I love THE GUNS OF NAVARONE. It's one of my favourite movies.

Granted, I haven't read the book but I think the movie is wonderful.


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## Tracy Sharp (Jul 13, 2011)

I just watched The General's Daughter based on the Nelson Demille novel. I loved it so much that I picked up the book. Excellent movie!


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## Kathy Bennett (Jun 15, 2011)

Hands down, Gone With the Wind.  They could never make that movie today at today's prices.

Gotta say, Misery is another good choice.


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## Randy Kadish (Feb 24, 2010)

The Maltese Falcon, A River Runs Through It.


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## krystiana (Oct 9, 2010)

I know this is an oldie but I'd have to say The Wizard of Oz.  The book is great - the movie is almost better...


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## WriterCTaylor (Jul 11, 2011)

I was going to get Shutter Island, by Dennis Lehane, but I have already seen the movie. I really enjoyed the twist at the end, but I'm wondering, if I know the twist already, will it spoil the book? I so enjoy a twist that really takes me by surprise and I will know the whole time what the 'secret' is.

Very good movie though.

Good fellas was an amazing movie too, but I don't know if the book it was based on, Wiseguy by Nicholas Pileggi, matches in word form the amazing job of Liotta, Pesci and De Niro.


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