It's been seen before, but flicked it on last night on C4. Maybe not a classic for it's storyline but certainly a cult classic for it's stylishness and Christian Bale's performance.
The book is, as has been said, much better. It was the same with Less Than Zero. But to be honest, the books won't be everyone's cup of tea either. It's a depressing view of the world and some of the vacuous people in it, and some would rather not be reminded.