And the Oscar Goes to���
What's the most successful book-to-screen film you've ever seen? What was the least (and why)?
I���m probably like most people in that I usually think books are better than the movies made from them. Maybe it���s because my imagination is more actively engaged when reading���picturing what the characters and settings look like, rather than having the filmmakers foist their interpretations upon us. Maybe it���s the fact that we often get right into the heads of the characters in a book, something that���s very difficult to do in a film (I mean, who wants a ten-minute voiceover?). Or perhaps it���s simply a matter of time spent within the story. In a book, a reader might spend five or six hours immersed in the story, whereas a movie lasts only a couple of hours.
Whatever the reason, the best books usually seem to outdo the best movies.
So I���ll offer up a list of movies that I thought did a very good job of fulfilling the promise of their respective books:
Jurassic Park ��� Super cool concept, and I thought the dinos were pretty darn realistic.
Mystic River ��� Good book, great movie. Superb acting.
Silence of the Lambs ��� Great book, great movie, great villain, great hero. Do not invite Hannibal Lechter over for dinner, just sayin���
A Time to Kill ��� In my opinion, one of Grisham���s better books.
Jaws ��� Who doesn���t love killer sharks?
The Martian ��� I really enjoyed reading this book, and I was a little afraid of what might happen when it made the jump to the big screen. Matt Damon and company pulled off a very good adaptation.
And what would this list be (for me, anyway) without a few Stephen King works:
Dead Zone ��� Christopher Walken. ���Nuff said.
Firestarter ��� Do NOT make Drew Barrymore mad.
Misery ��� Do NOT make Kathy Bates mad, either.
As for the least favorite adaptation I���ve seen, I���ll go with The Bonfire of the Vanities. As I recall, they took a well-done satire and turned it into some kind of bizarre farce. I haven���t seen that one again, so my memory of that has faded.
Fortunately.
(This entry is ���simul-posted��� on Criminal Minds.)
