Being a self absorbed American, I have to assume that everyone is the same as I am. That means, everyone who reads a book constantly pictures it as a movie. Every once in a while, I read a book after seeing the movie, or when I already know a movie is in the process of being made from it, which adds a different spin to it, but most of the time, I can’t stop analyzing how good the book I’m reading would or would not play as a movie. Often I get anxious for someone to make the book into a movie so that I can compare how others picture the characters or settings to how I have, or see what someone else thought were the most important parts of the story line, etc. Sometimes a movie is made, and sometimes it turns out just how I pictured it. Other times I wonder if the person who adapted the story even read the book. Below are a few examples of books gone right and books gone wrong as movies in my opinion, as well as the book I want most to see made into a movie right now and why. Please follow up with your own experiences: What book adaptations have lived up to your expectations? Which were the worst? What story are you waiting to be made into a movie right now?
An example of a book that was adapted beautifully to me is The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe. Of course there were some things in the movie that didn’t follow exactly with what was written in the book, but overall, the feeling of magic and strength translated well on film. Prince Caspian was less impressive to me, but still decent as a movie. I hope that The Voyage of the Dawn Treader does in fact make it to the theater because, of all of the Chronicles of Narnia books, it is the one I most see as a big cinematic experience.
A book that was butchered at the theater recently was The City of Ember. When my kids and I first heard that a movie was being made of that book, we were so excited. It is one of their favorites and seemed like it would be pretty easy to adapt without losing its substance. When I found out Bill Murray was playing the mayor though, I knew it was in trouble. Not because I have anything against Bill Murray, but because they were obviously making a big deal out of the wrong character from the book. I knew it was a sign that it was being taken in the wrong direction, and after seeing the movie, I know now that that was just the tip of the iceberg. Adding a big huge sewer creature to the story? Come on.
The book I have most recently read and would love to see as a movie is The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins (Do you see a theme here with me reading a lot of young adult fiction to my kids?). As I was reading this book to my son, I actually stopped at one point and said, “I hope this gets made into a movie because I really want to see how they envision Katniss’s dress.” If I were to make a prediction, it would be that any movie producer who reads this book will snap it up. I think it’s got many timely themes packed into it: War and poverty, and the affects they have on kids; Government as oppressor; Reality TV and the dangers of going too far with it, etc. I can just picture it…
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Rhonda, this is really interesting. I love the discussion of books adapted into movies. Unfortunately, so many of them aren't done well, but I agree - they have done the Narnia series beautifully.
ReplyDeleteI think the only movie, though, that I like more than I like the book is the Wizard of Oz. I really didn't like the book that much at all, but the movie....well, it's pretty good. :-)
Thanks for sharing your post. :-)
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ReplyDeleteAs someone who studied writing and film in college, I can truly appreciate the topic of cinematic adaptations. In fact, I think about it all the time - given my passion for both artistic mediums (and my curiosity re: my own possible book-to-film process)... so I will try to answer your questions honestly.
ReplyDeleteBest adaptation? Hmm... that's a toughie. I'd say my four favorite book-to-movie adaptations are "The Shawshank Redemption" (which captured the essence of the novella and was perfectly cast, shot, and edited), "Wonder Boys" (which is also well cast - and which I like slightly better than the book), "The Princess Bride" (which, in my humble opinion, is WAY better than the book), and "Pride and Prejudice" (specifically, the mini-series starring Colin Firth, who is a pitch-perfect, sexy-as-hell Darcy).
Worst adaptation? Hmm... this is also a toughie. I have to go with Stephen King here, too - even though I love some of his adaptations (that is, "The Shining," "Carrie," "The Dead Zone," "Stand By Me," "Shawshank," and the like), "Dreamcatcher" was, hands down, one of the worst films I've ever seen. Demi Moore's version of "The Scarlet Letter" was also pretty horrendous.
Book-to-movie wish: Any of James Lee Burke's Dave Robicheaux mystery novels (but starring Will Patton as Dave, instead of his previous incarnations: Alec Baldwin and Tommy Lee Jones - Will does the audiobooks, and he's terrific!). As a New Orleans native, I utterly adore Burke's descriptions of life in southern Louisiana - and Dave is a wonderfully flawed, somewhat reluctant hero. I'd also like to see any of Carol Goodman's literary mysteries make it to the big screen.
But those are just my opinions!
Sorry about that. I set the comments to be moderated prior to posting. When dealing with cochlear implants, one can get some mean spirited responses, which is why I did it. I don't want my son to read some of the things people might write on that topic. So your posts are going through, I just have to approve them before they show up. Thanks so much for viewing and responding!
ReplyDeleteBy the way, another book to screen I love is Lonesome Dove, but since it went to TV, not theaters I wasn't sure if it counted.
ReplyDeleteHi Rhonda
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading your post. Thank you for putting it up for us all to enjoy.
I have to treat movies based on books as totally different things.
The more I loved the book the more therapy I need after watching them transfered to 'the big screen'!
Hi Rhonda, I'm going to go with the old 'usually disappointed with a movie adaptation' line. Generally the movie misses something for me, and is usually not as emotionally complex as I found the story. However, I found the Harry Potter series seemed to have the same sorts of imagery that I did, just missed a whole lot of the story.
ReplyDeleteOne exception to this would be Chocolat, which I saw and loved. i thought the scenery, sounds effect etc were wonderful, and then decided to read the book. The novel disappointed me.
Great topic to discuss :)
I tend to want things to stay in their original format. I saw The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe movie and enjoyed that. It was a pleasant surprise because I usually don't like fantasy. I have not read that series. I recently saw Revolutionary Road and liked it. I have not read the book, but now want to do so. I enjoyed The Time Traveler's Wife. Another surprise as I typically do not read science fiction and am confused by time travel. This has been made into a movie and I would imagine it would be pretty true to the book. We'll see, although I hesitate to see it.
ReplyDelete