Stephen King Movies

My mistake, replace "game" with "movie."

Hmm... I'm a big fan of King's and I enjoyed a lot of his movies. I think Carrie, Shining, The Stand, Pet Sematary, The Langoliers, and Shawshank would be on my top list. Also Christine, that was pretty cool. Oh, has anyone heard anything on his new one, Dolan's Cadillac? It isn't adapted by him, but it is from a story in his Nightmares and Dreamscapes. I think it'd be really cool, too.

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I love his books and most of his movies. the mini series made for tv movies seems to be lacking in the great department but are still enjoyable to watch

Favorite movies:

The Shining
Shawshank Redemption
Salem's Lot
Misery
The Dark Half
Christine
Pet Semetary
Stand By Me
The Green Mile

Ever since I was a yute I have loved Stephen King's books, and even most of his movies. My biggest complaint is that they almost always change the ending. King is not the most pleasant author in the world and quite often a child dies, but in the movies they seem to change that. The biggest example is probably Cujo.

I do still love his movies though and would have to say that Carrie, Shawshank, and Green Mile are my favorites, though IT and The Stand were unbelievable miniseries.

Sorry to post again on the same boring subject, but I just rewatched The Shining, AGAIN, and thought of something. First off let me say that if ya'll haven't read his books you need to quit watching so many movies and start reading some books. Stephen King books are ALWAYS, I repeat, ALWAYS superior to a movie. I think the reason for this is because his stories are very cerebral. What makes them so horrifying is knowing what is going on in the persons mind. The Shining is one of my favorite movies, and also one of the scariest I have ever seen, but it doesn't even begin to compare to the book, and I am a huge Kubrick fan. I think he did an excellent job adapting the book to the big screen, but it's so difficult to create a movie from a 'god-like' perspective. A viewer usually has to draw their own conclusions as to what the character is feeling, but the book is able to convey whatever it is the author wants the reader to know.

That's really the beauty of the different artforms, but that's also why they don't always compliment each other.

Sorry for the rambling post, just wanted to get my two cents in.

I don't understand why King didn't care for Kubrick's vision of THE SHINING. Jack Nicholson scared the Bejeezus out of me. Altho I like the TV re-make too.

I absolutely agree that all of Stephen King's books should be read--and if they can't be faithful to the book, they shouldn't make it into film. (I realize they can't squeeze a 500-page book into a film or even a TV movie but they should NEVER change the ending.)

Did they ever make THE MIST into a picture? That's my favorite King novella.

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Wart: They made a movie called The Fog that to me seems loosely based on The Mist. I agree, it's definately one of my favorites. Unfortunately the writers of The Fog didn't give King any credit (I think), and it really isn't that great anyways.

don't forget (IT)

I hear his new book, Dreamcatcher, will be made into a movie. I read the synopsis, and it sure sounds like a King book/movie alright, though I read something about aliens, which seems quite odd.

I just posted this on another thread, but think it's worth mentioning again... I hope that someday they make "The Long Walk" into a movie... would be unbelievable if done correctly.

I don't think it's fair to compare the books to the movies. They're entirely different art forms.

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I don't know if it's really possible to NOT compare the two. Of course you are correct though, they are two completely different art forms and must be considered as such. Books are always going to be better because the casting is perfect and the author can take as long as they want to introduce and develop the characters. In movies they often have to take out many of the God-like qualities the author has and this can detract from what makes the book so special. If a person goes into a movie expecting to see the book on a screen, they will be disapointed. If they go in with an open mind and understand that certain concessions had to be made in order to adapt the story to another form they will have a much better chance of enjoying themselves.

I would be quite hesitant to say that books are superior. With a book, an author can really get into the details of various landscapes and characters. However, at the same time, it leaves appearances to be interpreted. Despite great detail from Tolkien, for example, we don't really know how Frodo, or Gimli, or Gandalf, is SUPPOSED to look.

Not only that, but it takes more time to read a book, than it does to watch a movie. A page of detail can be summed up in 2 seconds of film, in some cases. They each have their strengths. Some people WANT to picture the various characters in their head a certain way consistent with what pleases them most (I usually visualize the characters), and others want to be shown how they look.

Of course you are correct TWT, it is personal preference... but to me books are almost always superior. One thing that really bothers me about movies is shoddy casting, luckily that doesn't happen in books... the casting in my mind is always correct

Still, you saying "books will always be better" is unfair. YOu can't say something like that. Movies need to be seen entirely outside of other art forms, whether adapted from books or not.

Sorry for the confusion Steve, but what I meant was that to me books will always be better. I have yet to watch a movie that was based on a book I have read that I enjoyed more than the book. I do, however, love movies and can appreciate them as a seperate art form, but if I had to make a choice I would prefer a book over a movie... wow, never thought I'd say that, my mom would be proud, LOL.

I enjoyed Jurassic Park: The Movie more than Jurassic Park: The Book. I saw the movie first, and I'm glad I did, because it made the book a million tims easier to understand, considering I was pretty young at the time. Some things NEED to be visual. I'm faced with an upcoming dillema: choosing between the LOTR books, and the LOTR movies. If they're as good as I hope they will be, I just may enjoy them more...BUT, If I do enjoy them as much as I think I will, it will surely be because I have already ready most of the series. So, in short, It's impossible for me to tell which is more enjoyable.

It's an odd issue, but I don't think there is any one area where books are completely superior to movies. Just as you said, the casting in your mind (how the character looks and acts, and says their "lines") is always what you consider to be good, but at the same time, the mind cannot visualize things as well by simply imagining them.

Basically, a poorly acted movie loses out to even a half decent book, but a well acted movie can blow a book out of the water, because you have most the benefits of the personal, high-quality cast in your head, but you get to see them vividly.

Of course, there are sometimes some hack books that get turned into movies and enough is changed so that the movie is far better than the book.

Take The Firm, for example. While parts of that book were okay, the last third or so was horrible and the ending was stupid. While the movie itself wasn't fabulous (I do like it a lot, though), it was far better than the book.

I think it really depends on the book. For example, a movie adaptation of the Counte of Monte Crist will never be as good as the book. BUT a book such as TIMELINE could be adapted to the big screen very well.

BUT movies and books are two entirely different forms of expression, so to say one is better than the other isn't really accurate.

Slightly off topic, anyone read the book Night Chills by Dean Kontz. CRAY-ZE book!

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Funny, they're making it into a movie that opens in September:
http://movies.yahoo.com/shop?d=hv&cf=info&id=1804578215