Did the Movie Do the Book Justice?

Question: Has there been a movie based on a book, or a series based on a series of books and characters, that did the book(s) justice?

Yes, of course. Two series that come to mind are the Harry Potter movies and the Star Wars movies. The Lord of the Rings movies have all also been outstanding. We could probably name many other books and movies that worked very well, but I'm happy to single out two favorites!

Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird is my first pick. Published in 1960, and released as a movie in December of 1962, starring Gregory Peck, the film is a powerful commentary on racial hatred in the American South. In what I consider to be his finest performance of all time, Peck, as the lawyer Atticus Finch, and his supporting cast of characters show a depth rarely seen in the films of that time. Yes, I am biased, but I believe Gregory Peck had more on-screen presence, greater ability as an actor, and delivered more power in a single sentence than all the movie actors of today. Mockingbird also introduced a young Robert Duvall to audiences.

My second choice is A Time to Kill, by Mississippi Lawyer John Grisham. He could not find anyone to publish his book until Wynwood Press in New York agreed to produce a modest 5,000 copies in 1989. It was not until 1996 that the movie was released with an outstanding cast featuring Samuel L. Jackson, Sandra Bullock, Kevin Spacey, Donald Sutherland, Ashley Judd, and a young Matthew McConaughey, as attorney Jake Tyler Brigance. Brigance defends Jackson’s character, Carl Lee Hailey, in the murders of two white supremacists who raped and brutalized his little girl. Also set in the American South, A Time to Kill is an outstanding motion picture that did very well at the box office.

Good movies are often made from good books. Admittedly, some movies don’t measure up to the books from which they are crafted, but the successes appear to outnumber the failures. Making a two or three-hour screenplay out of a book is not a simple task. Staying true to the story and characters when creating a screenplay from a book requires great writing skill. Doing justice to a good book also requires a director who has the integrity and the desire to make the film as good as it must be to satisfy audiences who've read and enjoyed the book.


Share with me what movies you like that did the book justice?