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Thursday, May 14, 2009
When did the movies get the books right?
It seems like every time a movie version of a best-seller comes out (such as Angels & Demons, which I will review Friday), people complain about how Hollywood messed it up. And the landscape of book-to-film adaptations is littered with botches.
Once in a while, though, Hollywood does get it right. So today I’m asking you: Which movies got the books right - or at the very least, did them justice? And are there even examples where the movie is BETTER than the book?
Off the top of my head, here are some fine adaptations.
The Grapes of Wrath: No movie can hope to match John Steinbeck’s unique writing style and techniques in this book, but John Ford’s film comes about as close as any film possibly could. A magnetic lead performance from Henry Fonda surely helped.
Misery: When I read Stephen King’s novel, I couldn’t see how a movie could convey all those internal thoughts of the kidnapped writer, but Rob Reiner found a way to do it. Kathy Bates’ Oscar-winning performance surely helped.
The Wizard of Oz: Well, duh. Fun as Baum’s book is, it doesn’t have “Over the Rainbow.”
Spider-Man: Yes, comic books count too. The second movie is easily the best.
So what are your favorite book-to-film adaptations? And just to balance the scales, tell me the absolute WORST adaptations. I vote for a tie: The Bonfire of the Vanities and The Cat in the Hat.
Discuss while I try to purge my memory of those movies, click my heels three times and say “There’s no place like home …”
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