Stephen King... Another Rodent Countdown

[The Rodent]

Stephen King has written a ton of novels, novellas and short stories over the years.

This list is my Top 15 Movies that were adapted from King’s novels, novellas, short stories and so on.
Any movie written as a movie or written as a screenplay and anything classed as a mini-series don’t count.
Sadly that does mean IT, Sleepwalkers and The Tommyknockers are out of the running :(

http://i1163.photobucket.com/albums/q552/The-Rodent/Rodent%20MoFo%20Stuff/King_zps9c704626.png (http://s1163.photobucket.com/user/The-Rodent/media/Rodent%20MoFo%20Stuff/King_zps9c704626.png.html)

[The Gunslinger45]

But it also means The Shining mini series is off the list so no worries there. :D

[The Rodent]

15
Secret Window - 2004

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/7/70/Secret_Window_movie.jpg

Johnny Depp, John Turturro, Maria Bello
Novel: 1990
Wiki (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secret_Window)

[The Gunslinger45]

I am pretty sure I have heard of this one, but I never saw it.

[christine]

That's a bit of a shame as The Stand mini series wasn't bad.

King is one of my favourite writers :)

[The Rodent]

14
The Running Man - 1987


http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/e/ee/Running_Man_Theatrical_Poster.jpg


Arnold Schwarzenegger, Maria Conchita Alonso, Yaphet Kotto
Novel: 1982
Wiki (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Running_Man_(1987_film))

[The Rodent]

13

Dreamcatcher - 2003

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/6/66/Dreamcatcherposter.jpg



Thomas Jane, Damian Lewis, Timothy Olyphant, Jason Lee, Morgan Freeman, Tom Sizemore, Donnie Wahlberg

Novel: 2001

Wiki (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dreamcatcher_(film))

[Sexy Celebrity]

I don't get it... if you're going to do Stephen King, you should make a countdown featuring ALL possible Stephen King movies. This is very limited. And 15 movies? That's nothing.

Have you read a lot of Stephen King books?

[The Rodent]

I've read a few of them. Seen almost all of the films though, most are cack.

[Sexy Celebrity]

Which did you read? You might as well talk about him. And I'm curious.

[The Rodent]

12

Dolores Claiborne - 1995

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/d/db/Dolores_claiborne_ver1.jpg



Kathy Bates, Jennifer Jason Leigh, John C Reilly, Christopher Plummer

Novel: 1993

Wiki (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dolores_Claiborne_(film))

[Sexy Celebrity]

I read Dolores Claiborne. I liked it a lot at the time. I have never seen all of the movie, though.

[Sexy Celebrity]

I didn't think Secret Window was all that great when I saw it years ago.

[The Rodent]

My favourite books are Cat's Eye, Misery and Carrie.


My mum had all of his books once and I borrowed them all at various times.

[Sexy Celebrity]

Cat's Eye?

That's not a book. Although, it's a movie with tales from his short story collection, Night Shift. Maybe that's what you're thinking of. Unless they released it as a book called Cat's Eye over there.

[The Rodent]

I've read the stories for Cat's Eye at some point. Think I'm confusing the book with the film.


I know the last act of Cat's Eye isn't a book/story though. It was written for the film.

[Sexy Celebrity]

I've said this before, but I'd like to see a biopic movie all about Stephen King. A really good one. They should have made that instead of doing a Stephen Hawking movie.

[The Gunslinger45]

The Running Man! Now we are talking! I know King hated this movie adaptation, but then again he hated The Shining too. I loved it as an Arnie vehicle!

[christine]

Sexy - you a fan of the books more than the films? I am. What's your favourites?

[Gatsby]

I loved it as an Arnie vehicle!
Love it for this reason too. Gives an excuse for some awesome quotes. :D

[The Rodent]

11
The Dead Zone - 1983


http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/7/78/The_Dead_Zone.jpg


Christopher Walken, Tom Skerrit, Anthony Zerbe, Martin Sheen
Novel: 1979
Wiki (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Dead_Zone_(film))

[christine]

Loved The Dead Zone, Christopher Walken was perfect in it. Haven't seen it for years tho, I wonder if it holds up?

[The Rodent]

10
Thinner - 1996


http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/4/4a/Thinnerposter.jpg


Robert John Burke, Joe Mantegna, Lucinda Jenney
Novel: 1984
Wiki (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thinner_(film))

[The Gunslinger45]

That movie I saw. Creepy stuff.

[The Rodent]

Thinner knocked me sideways. Brilliant film, especially for a King adaption on a low budget.

[Kaplan]

Hey, Thinner was written by some guy Richard Bachman. Now you're cheating.

[The Rodent]

:p

[Sexy Celebrity]

Sexy - you a fan of the books more than the films? I am. What's your favourites?

I had kind of an obsession with Stephen King books growing up -- but -- I never really read a lot of them. A lot of them I started and didn't finish (as I do with a lot of books -- my patience thing again). I really like him as a writer and a person.

The Dead Zone stands out as a book I read all of and enjoyed -- funny because I didn't really care for the movie.

Now I wanna go read something of his. I read Cell all the way through. I enjoyed that and I believe it's gonna be a movie this year with Samuel L. Jackson and John Cusack.

Danse Macabre, his non-fiction book on horror in general, was pretty interesting.

[The Rodent]

09

Needful Things - 1993


http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/8/89/Needful_Things_Move_Poster.jpg



Max Von Sydow, Ed Harris, Bonnie Bedelia, J.T Walsh, Amanda Plummer

Novel: 1990

Wiki (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Needful_Things_(film))

[dadgumblah]

Sexy, I'm waiting for Cell to be released also. It's been finished for a while, so I hope that doesn't bode ill for the film. I loved the book as well. Rodent, good topic! Glad to see The Dead Zone made the list. It's my favorite King novel and I thought they did a decent job with the movie, even though a few things were changed. But, that's part for the course with book-to-film adaptations.

[The Rodent]

08
The Mist - 2007


http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/a/a1/The_Mist_poster.jpg


Thomas Jane, Laurie Holden, Marcia Gay Harden, Toby Jones
Novella: 1980
Wiki (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Mist_(film))

[The Rodent]

07
Stand By Me - 1986


http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/7/74/Stand_By_Me_1986_American_Theatrical_Release_Poster.jpg


River Phoenix, Wil Wheaton, Corey Feldman, Jerry O’Connell, Kiefer Sutherland, John Cusack
Novella: 1982
Wiki (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stand_by_Me_(film))

[The Rodent]

06
The Shawshank Redemption - 1994


http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/8/81/ShawshankRedemptionMoviePoster.jpg


Tim Robbins, Morgan Freeman, Clancy Brown, William Sadler, Bob Gunton
Novella: 1982
Wiki (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Shawshank_Redemption)

[Sexy Celebrity]

I've never seen Shawshank. Love Stand By Me.

[rauldc14]

I've never seen Shawshank. Love Stand By Me.

GASP!!!!

You've never seen my favorite film of all time?!?!?

Chances are you'd be bored by it anyways.

[Swan]

I was shocked too. I thought everyone had seen Shawshank. I thought babies born yesterday had seen it.

[Sexy Celebrity]

GASP!!!!

You've never seen my favorite film of all time?!?!?

Chances are you'd be bored by it anyways.

Redemption and Morgan Freeman doesn't sound too appetizing to me.

Tim Robbins, though... *shrugs*

[Swan]

But it's about Tim Robbins becoming free, man.

[Sexy Celebrity]

I accidentally typed "Morgan Freedom" a moment ago in that last post.

[The Rodent]

SC ain't seen nuffin'.


Thought you guys knew that.

[Swan]

Now we just need a movie about Morgan Freeman turning into a robin.

[rauldc14]

Don't watch it. You would probably put a curse on Morgan Freeman

[Sexy Celebrity]

Don't watch it. You would probably put a curse on Morgan Freeman

You know -- I watched some of What Dreams May Come about two weeks before Robin Williams killed himself. I hadn't seen that in forever until then. That's the movie where Robin Williams dies and goes to Heaven, too.

[The Rodent]

05
Christine - 1983


http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/5/5a/ChristinePoster.jpg


Keith Gordon, John Stockwell, Alexandra Paul, Harry Dean Stanton
Novel: 1983
Wiki (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christine_(1983_film))

[Sexy Celebrity]

I have never seen Christine. I have the book, but I tried reading it a long time ago and I thought it was very boring at the time. NOTHING really happened and I was, like, halfway through the book.

[The Rodent]

Another one SC hasn't seen :D


The movie is better than the book.

[christine]

Agree about Christine. The film is better than the book ...but not as good as the real thing of course ;)

[christine]

I loved The Mist (the film) . Even Stephen King thought that Frank Darabont wrote a better ending than King did himself. I was riveted to the seat at the end. Brilliant!

[Kaplan]

Agree about Christine. The film is better than the book ...but not as good as the real thing of course ;)

Are you the real thing?

I've read these books by King (and maybe some I'm forgetting):

The Stand
Cujo
Pet Semetery
The Dark Half
Needful Things
Night Stand
Thinner (and I think a couple other Bachman books)

The Stand I really liked. I read the shorter version. It like most King books has a kind of silly bad guy, but it's far and away the best of his I've read. Needful Things I'm just amazed I finished it, but I only did because I brought it work during a slow time and read it there. It's not really a good book in my opinion.

I think King is best at short stories, because his novels are tedious. I've given up on a few of his books. I couldn't even read the Stand by Me novella. I can't stand how the story is going along and then all of a sudden I'm reading ten pages of a character's backstory. It's the kind of stuff the author should know, but the reader doesn't necessarily need to know.

I've also read Danse Macabre and On Writing.

[christine]

I had kind of an obsession with Stephen King books growing up -- but -- I never really read a lot of them. A lot of them I started and didn't finish (as I do with a lot of books -- my patience thing again). I really like him as a writer and a person.

The Dead Zone stands out as a book I read all of and enjoyed -- funny because I didn't really care for the movie.

Now I wanna go read something of his. I read Cell all the way through. I enjoyed that and I believe it's gonna be a movie this year with Samuel L. Jackson and John Cusack.

Danse Macabre, his non-fiction book on horror in general, was pretty interesting.

I love his early books which I read back in the 70s & 80s when they came out . The Stand is my all time favourite, but I'd read anything of his books written as Stephen King. I really like the way he made that fictional place,Castle Rock, that features in so many of his books, it makes everything seem so familiar.
I read his first step into the crime novel - Mr Mercedes - a while back, which was fast paced if a little far fetched, but being Stephen King it felt alright to be like that :D

[christine]

Are you the real thing?

I've read these books by King (and maybe some I'm forgetting):

The Stand
Cujo
Pet Semetery
The Dark Half
Needful Things
Night Stand
Thinner (and I think a couple other Bachman books)

The Stand I really liked. I read the shorter version. It like most King books has a kind of silly bad guy, but it's far and away the best of his I've read. Needful Things I'm just amazed I finished it, but I only did because I brought it work during a slow time and read it there. It's not really a good book in my opinion.

I think King is best at short stories, because his novels are tedious. I've given up on a few of his books. I couldn't even read the Stand by Me novella. I can't stand how the story is going along and then all of a sudden I'm reading ten pages of a character's backstory. It's the kind of stuff the author should know, but the reader doesn't necessarily need to know.

I've also read Danse Macabre and On Writing.

I am. That's my name :)

You think Randall Flagg is a sily bad guy? wow, I think he's proper evil. I love that book!
Can't agree about his novels being tedious either!

[Kaplan]

I am. That's my name :)

You think Randall Flagg is a sily bad guy? wow, I think he's proper evil. I love that book!
Can't agree about his novels being tedious either!

Well, he's less silly than some of his bad guys, but yeah, I think he's portrayed pretty much as the typical silly Stephen King bad guy. It's been a while since I've read the book, so I can't exactly give details on why I think that, but King isn't exactly known for his sophisticated and nuanced characters. But I did like The Stand, I liked it a lot. I breezed through the book, enjoying it immensely. (Not so much the mini-series.)

And lots of people obviously don't find his books tedious. Then lots do. He's sold millions of copies, but I don't think it's even remotely debatable that many of his books would be stronger if he knew how to edit himself. He throws in every detail that comes to him and apparently he's never able to chop out stuff. I wish he he did know how chop off the fat, because I've always wanted to like him more than I capable of. I remember when he only had a few books published and he was the hot name in horror fiction. It's amazing how prolific he's been in his career, and he's an interesting guy.

[The Rodent]

04
The Green Mile - 1999


http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/c/ce/Green_mile.jpg


Tom Hanks, Michael Clarke Duncan, David Morse, James Cromwell, Michael Jeter, Barry Pepper
Novel: 1996
Wiki (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Green_Mile_(film))

[dadgumblah]

Except for a very few novels, I've read almost all of his stuff. Only one novel of his did I absolutely hate and that was Under the Dome. It was a novel from earlier in his career that he never finished and then came back to it and finished a few years ago and you can totally tell that it's basically two novels crammed together from different phases of his career no matter how he tried to update it. Besides being needlessly massive without having much story advancement, it was a purely political book that should have been titled "Stephen King: What I Believe." The hero of the piece basically does nothing to bring the proceedings to a logical conclusion, the bad guy and his bad son don't go up against the "hero" in the climax, and the, ahem, reveal of what causes the dome to come down in the first place is ridiculous. Not that what is responsible is stupid in and of itself, but the way it's handled is just bad. I've not seen the series, but I understand it's a lot better than the book (which wouldn't take much) and many interesting things are added or substituted to make it more enjoyable. I'm glad to hear that because even a little would go a long way to improve upon the novel. But wait! Let me tell you what I really think! I kid! I kid! :)

Rodent, excellent choices on Christine and The Green Mile. Two of my favorites there.

[gbgoodies]

Except for a very few novels, I've read almost all of his stuff. Only one novel of his did I absolutely hate and that was Under the Dome. It was a novel from earlier in his career that he never finished and then came back to it and finished a few years ago and you can totally tell that it's basically two novels crammed together from different phases of his career no matter how he tried to update it. Besides being needlessly massive without having much story advancement, it was a purely political book that should have been titled "Stephen King: What I Believe." The hero of the piece basically does nothing to bring the proceedings to a logical conclusion, the bad guy and his bad son don't go up against the "hero" in the climax, and the, ahem, reveal of what causes the dome to come down in the first place is ridiculous. Not that what is responsible is stupid in and of itself, but the way it's handled is just bad. I've not seen the series, but I understand it's a lot better than the book (which wouldn't take much) and many interesting things are added or substituted to make it more enjoyable. I'm glad to hear that because even a little would go a long way to improve upon the novel. But wait! Let me tell you what I really think! I kid! I kid! :)

Rodent, excellent choices on Christine and The Green Mile. Two of my favorites there.


Since I may give up on the TV series "Under the Dome", how did the book end? Where did the dome come from, and how did it go away?

[dadgumblah]

I'll send you a PM, gbgoodies, so as not to spoil it for those who are still watching the show.

[Kaplan]

With only three spots left, it looks like a couple decent movies won't make your list. But it's nice The Shawshank Redemption won't be #1. That would have been too easy and predictable.

[Captain Spaulding]

Cool idea for a thread, Rodent, although I wish you'd write something about each movie.

Stephen King is one of my favorite writers. I prefer his earlier stuff, like The Shining, The Stand, Salem's Lot, It, Firestarter, etc., to the books he has written post accident. I think the "newest" book I've read by him is Lisey's Story, which I struggled to finish. Under the Dome has been collecting dust on my bookshelf for a couple of years now, but I've yet to start it. His film adaptations are a very mixed bag. Contrary to some of the comments in this thread, I think King's biggest strength as a writer -- besides his laid-back, deceptively simple, welcoming writing style -- is characterization. The horror and supernatural elements in his books are believable to me because the characters are so believable. Much of his characterization is accomplished through internal dialogue, however, so that doesn't translate well to the screen.

As for the movies on your list so far, I haven't seen Dreamcatcher, Dolores Claiborne or Needful Things, and I've only seen portions of The Green Mile. Your inclusion of Dreamcatcher surprises me since I've always heard it was terrible. I've heard that Dolores Claiborne is one of King's better adaptations, but I want to read it before watching it (the book is also currently collecting dust on my bookshelf). I know nothing about Needful Things.

I don't think Secret Window is anything special. It's a slightly-above-average psychological thriller, yet I absolutely love it. I think it's one of those movies that consisted of just the right ingredients for my sensibilities. It stars my favorite actor in an adaptation by my favorite writer. Johnny Depp plays a reclusive writer living in a secluded area with just his dog. If I'm lucky, that will be me one day. (I've already accomplished the secluded area and dog part of the movie, but I'm still working on the "reclusive writer" bit.) He may or may not be losing his mind, which is a theme that has always appealed to me in movies and literature. I could listen to John Turturro pronounce "Mississippi" all f*cking day. I like corn-on-the-cob. Plus my girlfriend and I had just broken up when I watched the movie, so I was in a dark, bitter, angry state of mind, which allowed for me to relate to Depp's character more than I should probably admit. Quality-wise, Secret Window isn't more than a 3, yet I would happily include it among my 100 favorites.

I think Stephen King wrote The Running Man in a span of five days, which blows my mind. It takes me that long to write a f*cking paragraph sometimes. If I hadn't read the book beforehand, I think I'd be more forgiving to the film, since I love Schwarzenegger and I don't mind cheesy action, but the book is just so much better. A proper adaptation would've felt like a cross between The Fugitive and Blade Runner.

The Dead Zone is one of King's tighter novels. For people like Kaplan, who complain about the "fattiness" of his novels, give it a try. The film adaptation was solid and workmanlike and relatively faithful to the original material from what I remember, but I didn't love it.

I remember seeing Thinner when I was a kid. I don't remember much about it, but a few scenes/images from the film have stuck with me. I need to re-visit it. I haven't read the book.

I love The Mist. I haven't read the novella, but the film is excellent. I thought the cast did an excellent job and they felt like actual Stephen King characters. The polarizing ending is one of the boldest I've ever seen. I own the DVD, but I've only watched the color version so far, despite hearing from many that the black-and-white version is superior, since that's how Darabont originally intended it to be seen.

I've never read the stories that Stand By Me and The Shawshank Redemption are based on, but both movies are great. I prefer Stand By Me, which is one of the best coming-of-age films of all-time, in my opinion. As for Shawshank, every time I see it listed #1 on IMDB's top 250 I feel like I'm missing out on some elaborate joke. I like the movie a lot, but I'll never understand why so much of the population thinks it is the greatest movie ever made.

I'm not a fan of John Carpenter, but I like what he did with Christine. I don't fault anyone for preferring the movie to the book.

I'm very curious to see what your top three will be!

[Sexy Celebrity]

I think Stephen King wrote The Running Man in a span of five days, which blows my mind. It takes me that long to write a f*cking paragraph sometimes.

You'd never know it.

[boolaa]

I never saw it. I guess I will someday.

[The Rodent]

03
Carrie - 1976


http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/d/d7/Carrieposter.jpg


Sissy Spacek, Piper Laurie, John Travolta, Nancy Allen, Amy Irving
Novel: 1974
Wiki (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_adaptations_of_works_by_Stephen_King)

[The Rodent]

I'll be posting up the top 2 together later...


15
Secret Window - 2004
Johnny Depp, John Turturro, Maria Bello
Novel: 1990


14
The Running Man - 1987
Arnold Schwarzenegger, Maria Conchita Alonso, Yaphet Kotto
Novel: 1982


13
Dreamcatcher - 2003
Thomas Jane, Damian Lewis, Timothy Olyphant, Jason Lee, Morgan Freeman, Tom Sizemore, Donnie Wahlberg
Novel: 2001


12
Dolores Claiborne - 1995
Kathy Bates, Jennifer Jason Leigh, John C Reilly, Christopher Plummer
Novel: 1993


11
The Dead Zone - 1983
Christopher Walken, Tom Skerrit, Anthony Zerbe, Martin Sheen
Novel: 1979


10
Thinner - 1996
Robert John Burke, Joe Mantegna, Lucinda Jenney
Novel: 1984


09
Needful Things - 1993
Max Von Sydow, Ed Harris, Bonnie Bedelia, J.T Walsh, Amanda Plummer
Novel: 1990


08
The Mist - 2007
Thomas Jane, Laurie Holden, Marcia Gay Harden, Toby Jones
Novella: 1980


07
Stand By Me - 1986
River Phoenix, Wil Wheaton, Corey Feldman, Jerry O’Connell, Kiefer Sutherland, John Cusack
Novella: 1982


06
The Shawshank Redemption - 1994
Tim Robbins, Morgan Freeman, Clancy Brown, William Sadler, Bob Gunton
Novella: 1982


05
Christine - 1983
Keith Gordon, John Stockwell, Alexandra Paul, Harry Dean Stanton
Novel: 1983


04
The Green Mile - 1999
Tom Hanks, Michael Clarke Duncan, David Morse, James Cromwell, Michael Jeter, Barry Pepper
Novel: 1996


03
Carrie - 1976
Sissy Spacek, Piper Laurie, John Travolta, Nancy Allen, Amy Irving
Novel: 1974

[TheUsualSuspect]

Never realised Running Man was Stephen King

[The Rodent]

I only found out about 2 years ago when I was searching wiki for interesting crap. Kinda surprising.

[the samoan lawyer]

05



Christine - 1983




http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/5/5a/ChristinePoster.jpg




Keith Gordon, John Stockwell, Alexandra Paul, Harry Dean Stanton



Novel: 1983



Wiki (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christine_(1983_film))





Is this worth watching? I notice it often on TV but never bother watching it

[The Rodent]

Well, it made 5th on my list :D :D

[TheUsualSuspect]

Well, it made 5th on my list :D :D


And that's all we know about it!!!!

[The Rodent]

02
The Shining - 1980


http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/2/25/The_Shining_poster.jpg


Jack Nicholson, Shelley Duvall, Danny Lloyd, Scatman Crothers
Novel: 1977
Wiki (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Shining_(film))


---

01
Misery - 1990


http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/b/b4/Miseryposter.jpg


James Caan, Kathy Bates
Novel: 1987
Wiki (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Misery_(film))

[christine]

aha. I thought it'd be those two, but I thought maybe the other way round. Nice list Mr R. I remembered while I was reading your posts that I quite liked Room 1408, but never rewatched it so don't know now if it'd hold up. You seen that?

[The Rodent]

It nearly made the list tbh but Secret Window took it's place

[Sexy Celebrity]

The last two sadden me. Carrie is good... The Shining deserves another rewatch from me, but it always seemed boring in the past.......

But Misery... while that may be a good movie, I find it really claustrophobic and depressing. Unhappy.

[Kaplan]

Seems to me notable movies you didn't include are Cujo, Pet Semetery, Firestarter, and Apt Pupil, from what I've seen.

[cricket]

Secret Window is on my watchlist.

The Running Man is awesome.

Not familiar with Dreamcatcher but it looks very interesting with that cast.

Saw Dolores Claiborne recently-very good.

I like The Dead Zone, needs a rewatch.

Not really interested in Thinner; maybe I should be?

I saw Needful Things, but hardly remember it.

Love The Mist, Stand By Me, and Shawshank.

I saw Christine at the drive-in when it came out-long time favorite.

The Green Mile, Carrie, The Shining, and Misery are all great movies.

[The Rodent]

Cheers for the praises guys!


Cricket adding Secret Window to a watch list is cool... Crick has become a solid MoFo, and taking my advice is praise enough.

[Sexy Celebrity]

I need to fast track a Shining rewatch.