[Film] Film As Good As The Book

[Peteinblack]

As a lover of French Cinema I nominate the 2 films based on a 2 volume novel (which I read in its English translation). "Jean De Florette" and Manon De Sources" had a brilliant performance by Daniel Auteuil who even (just) outshone Yves Montand who appeared in both and easily Gérard Depardieu who was in the first. Both book and films excellent plots.

Love those two films, and the actors you refer to. The first film actually inspired me to visit Aix-en-Provence for a weekend!

 

[cirC]

So HE was responsible for the 1960s bouffant hairdos and makeup on the women, the helicopter that lands in The Schloss Adler that wasn't made until after the war, the 1950s era bus they escape in, the truth drug that wasn't in use until the 1950s...

And your point is?

 

[carlzeiss]

The Flight of the Phoenix ( 1965 version )a classic film although the original novel it was based on by Trevor Elleston wasn't too shabby either .

 

[Razzoo]

View attachment 141451

Film WAY better than the book

It's a good film but I enjoyed the book a lot, once I had got into the Edinburgh phonetic writing style. I was about halfway through until I cottoned on to what a Weedgie was. If I recall rightly Weedgie was usually followed by bastirt.

 

[Pevenseagull]

The two adaptations of Graham Greene's, 'The Quiet American' are of some interest.


The 50s one is shit as the makers utterly corrupted the story. The 2001 adaptation was a fine film that got buried due to events as questioning American foreign policy wasn't box office magic all of a sudden ... Or indeed ever.

Michael Caine is absolutely superb. Going back to the book after seeing it made the book better.

 

[Skaville]

The Road

Really? I’d rate the book in my top three of all time so didn’t want to soil it by watching a movie

 

[Skaville]

No Country for Old Men. The film is basically identical to the book but the performance of Javier Bardem adds extra layers of menace to the character of Chigurh IMO.

I haven't read it but they turned a short story into one of the best films of all time with the Shawshank Redemption, so that could be up there?

On a side note it's interesting how many iconic movies have been adapted from books/novels. Just perusing the imdb top 250 I make out at least 7 of the top 10 were novels/stories beforehand.

Yep, at just 108 pages, Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption is more of a novella. Film infinitely better.

Another King one would be the Running Man, although I haven’t watched it since I was a teenager.

 

[Muhammad - I’m hard - Bruce Lee]

The Hobbit films are truly awful- "like butter spread over to much bread"- would have been fine as a single film or possibly the two originally planned, but the decision half way through production to stretch to three films was just greed rather than needing the time to tell the story. The Hobbit whilst brilliant IS a childrens book, and trying to change it to the same style and make it into an Adult film IMO simply didnt work

LOTR is actually multiple books spread over three volumes, and with the scourging of the shire removed the need for Saruman to be there at the end was removed. As I said the book and film had multiple points where it could have ended, the scourging of the shire never sat comfortably with me, always seemingly an add on (although foreshadowed in Galadriels mirror in both book and film).

And there in a nutshell, is why the whole topic is subjective.
I am a huge lover of the books.
All the hobbit books ‘do it’ for me, as did the films.
LoTR books were a massive part of my youth and got me into books.
There are faults (rather missing detail) with the film but I enjoyed them all immensely.
Then again, I am a big Tolkien fan.
I am willing to overlook the inaccuracies of the middle earth lore based on the fact that the films worked as well as the books for me.

 

[nickbrighton]

And there in a nutshell, is why the whole topic is subjective.
I am a huge lover of the books.
All the hobbit books ‘do it’ for me, as did the films.
LoTR books were a massive part of my youth and got me into books.
There are faults (rather missing detail) with the film but I enjoyed them all immensely.
Then again, I am a big Tolkien fan.
I am willing to overlook the inaccuracies of the middle earth lore based on the fact that the films worked as well as the books for me.

i recently rewatched the LOTR films, and once again loved them, yes there were lots of missing pieces (crickhollow, tom bombadil, scourging of the shire to name a few) some big plot changes (frodo and sam being taken to Osgiliath, ) but it did tighten the narrative and actually made a bit more sense if you like. They remain far and away my favourite films

The hobbit films though- I just didnt like them, perhaps I will give them another chance and rerwatch them all over a wet week when I cant get out

I think pert of the problem with the Hobbit adaptation was expectations were so high after the LOTR films, and they then suffered by comparison

Im looking forward to the forthcoming series on Apple tv. It wii be interesting to see someone elses take on the Tolkien World, and see a period that hasnt been shown on screen at all before, and where the story isnt anywhere as well known, or even laid out by tolkien other than in a very superficial way


EDIT: It Amazon not Apple!

 

[sparkie]

i recently rewatched the LOTR films, and once again loved them, yes there were lots of missing pieces (crickhollow, tom bombadil, scourging of the shire to name a few) some big plot changes (frodo and sam being taken to Osgiliath, ) but it did tighten the narrative and actually made a bit more sense if you like. They remain far and away my favourite films

The hobbit films though- I just didnt like them, perhaps I will give them another chance and rerwatch them all over a wet week when I cant get out

I think pert of the problem with the Hobbit adaptation was expectations were so high after the LOTR films, and they then suffered by comparison

Im looking forward to the forthcoming series on Apple tv. It wii be interesting to see someone elses take on the Tolkien World, and see a period that hasnt been shown on screen at all before, and where the story isnt anywhere as well known, or even laid out by tolkien other than in a very superficial way

I thought Amazon were doing the Tolkien series not apple TV ?

 

[nickbrighton]

I thought Amazon were doing the Tolkien series not apple TV ?

You are quite correct, it is Amazon, not sure why I put Apple tbh!!

 

[Muhammad - I’m hard - Bruce Lee]

You are quite correct, it is Amazon, not sure why I put Apple tbh!!

Brainwashed by Bozza