Best Book to Film Translation
 

My first thought goes to 1984 with Richard Burton and John Hurt. The translation was near perfect if I recall correctly.Of course that alignment with the classic book made me want to jump off a building.

Re: Best Book to Film Translation
 

The Dead Zone is another. The movie sparked my interest with King's book and I enjoyed both.

Five films come to mind for me on this subject:

The Godfather
Gone with the Wind
The Exorcist
Mystic River
The Outsiders

Re: Best Book to Film Translation
 

Let's not forget 2001 a Space Odyssey! The last part of that book was not an easy fit for the big screen but that didn't stop them from doing their darnest best. There was a little ambiguity with the ending and I'm sure a few movie goers asking as they left the theater: "what just happened?"

I read the Exorcist (and agree). I also heard that not only was The Godfather movie faithful to the book - the movie was the better story. Or so I heard since I didn't read the book.

Re: Best Book to Film Translation
 

If you took all The Great Gatsby films and edited them together you would have the definitive Book to Movie match.

What an interesting idea.

Re: Best Book to Film Translation
 

Ian Fleming's "From Russia with Love" with Robert Shaw as the KGB assassin. A much better translation. Again, the film pointed me to the book and I was not disappointed with either.

This is the third time!!!? I've tried to post on this thread here- mofo keeps knocking me off. So if this works , my list will be considerably shorter

1- To Kill a Mockingbird
Each is one the best books and movies of all time.


2- The Grapes of Wrath
Powerful Steinbeck book well translated into a movie classic

3- Agatha Christie's Murder on the Orient Express and Death in the Nile
Both well paced with strong characters.


4- The Andromeda Strain
Chrichton's sci fi thriller became a taut suspenseful film


5- Superman - ok it's a comic book, but the Reeve/Kidder movies were the best representation imho of the old DC comics, and of any comics. Sorry, fans of Batman , Spidey, Ironman etc.

And at the bottom of the list:
Bridges of Madison County
A bad book made into an equally bad movie. Book was lazily written and jejune, the sappy movie was the only time I didn't enjoy Clint Eastwood in a film. Big yawn for both.

Re: Best Book to Film Translation
 

There’s several great ones but LOTR stands out for me.

I had forgotten The Andromeda Strain! Great book and movie - good choice.

Re: Best Book to Film Translation
 

Fight Club

Two Cronenberg movies come to my mind : Cosmopolis and Naked Lunch

Naked Lunch - Now there's a film I have not thought about for years. I didn't make it through the book but it didn't appear to be related to the movie. I recall the book being a first-person autobiography.

Re: Best Book to Film Translation
 

Sort of. From what I remember it's a (re)collection of drug-induced nightmares produced by the author while high. The movie is only loosely based on the book, but I don't think it would really be possible to adapt it faithfully.

Re: Best Book to Film Translation
 

Aside from the title, Charly (1968) was a pretty faithful to the book Flowers for Algernon.

I remember John Hurt saying that he had dinner with Burton after they'd finished the film and then the following morning he was dead.

I think I've said this before somewhere but I think Moby Dick (1956) improves on the book. The book gets too science-heavy in the middle and the narrative gets lost and then picked up again at the end. Also, the film adds some supernatural touches that really benefit the story.

Dune (1984) is an excellent book to film translation too. Some of the best production design I can think of – for starters. I think maybe the only thing going against it is Lynch's tendency to overindulge in his own ideas, with aspects that I'm pretty sure were never in Herbert's novels.

Christopher Reeve is Superman :). That's a pretty great thing to have had going for the film from the outset.