21st Century Literature discussion
Question of the Week
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What Are Some Of The Best Book & Movie Pairings? (4/27/24)
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Cyrano de Bergeracand
Roxanne (1987 Steve Martin & Daryl Hannah film)
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roxan...
https://youtu.be/BTZImXfnrXM?feature=...
Stacia wrote: "Cyrano de Bergeracand
Roxanne (1987 Steve Martin & Daryl Hannah film)
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roxan..."
Good choice. Roxanne was excellent.
Mine are all a little darker
Badlands & The Executioner's Song
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Badland...
Apocalypse Now & Heart of Darkness
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apocaly...
The Act Of Killing & Black Water
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Act...
Ishiguro's The Remains of the Day, The Remains of the Day with Anthony Hopkins and Emma Thompson. Sublime.
Aubrey wrote: "Ishiguro's The Remains of the Day, The Remains of the Day with Anthony Hopkins and Emma Thompson. Sublime."That's an excellent pairing. Both the book and the movie are extraordinary!
Seconding the HoD and Apocalypse Now pairing. On a different note, I really disliked the book The English Patient. And I disliked the movie too. But that makes it a matched pairing, right? ;-p (At least the movie was visually stunning.)
Thought of a few more:Cloud Atlas (one of my favorite books) & the movie by the same name. They had to be somewhat different but I love both.
https://youtu.be/hWnAqFyaQ5s?feature=...
Fight Club -- awesome in both book & movie form.
https://youtu.be/qtRKdVHc-cE?feature=...
The Martian was fun in both book & movie form.
https://youtu.be/ej3ioOneTy8?feature=...
The Princess Bride, another one that is fun in both formats.
https://youtu.be/P9FRDyTerZA?feature=...
Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, another pair where both were well done, imo.
https://youtu.be/8CD9ksgofU0?feature=...
Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mount Everest Disaster is one of my favorite non-fiction books. It pairs really well with the National Geographic documentary Everest (the film crew was on the mountain at the same time as the Into Thin Air disaster, but the film crew was with a different hiking group; the IMAX crew didn't focus on the disaster but it did cover it a little bit).
https://macgillivrayfreeman.com/proje...
(ETA: The documentary would be a good one to watch when reading Two Sherpas.)
Movie or show is better than the book:
The Godfather. (Probably don't need to link either, lol.)
Killing Eve (first season) is better than Codename Villanelle.
https://youtu.be/Kk0PyD-XNZA?feature=...
One I imagine would be a good book (I remember the movie being amazing): Kiss of the Spider Woman. So, I need to read the book.
https://youtu.be/8ljMaR_hSaU?feature=...
Also, I need to read The Painted Veil because I am a fan of W. Somerset Maugham & I really did love the movie.
https://youtu.be/_z9PsiS9ag4?feature=...
I love books. And I love movies. And I often love both versions. (Can you tell?) It doesn't bother me when the movie doesn't follow the book usually. And now I'll immediately list an exception that: For some reason, it bugged me in the Baz Luhrmann version of Gatsby that Daisy had blonde hair in the movie instead of being a brunette like in the book. Don't know why that stood out to me, but it did. Lol.
https://youtu.be/rARN6agiW7o?feature=...
As Stacia probably knows by now, I love a few books, and a few movies :-). So I'd say if you hated both the book and the movie, that's a match!I just saw American Fiction, based on one of my favorite Percival Everett novels, Erasure, which I read a few years ago and don't remember the details that well. I was grumbling about some of the family soap operatics in the movie; then I read some reviews of the novel and realized they were also in the novel. I'm guessing they didn't bother me before because they're mediated and distanced by Everett's writing.
On a related note, I also hate just about all the Lovecraft movie adaptations I've seen, not by Stuart Gordon. Another exception is Sean Branney's "The Whisperer in Darkness" (2011), which is great fun and doesn't take itself seriously for a moment. I loved the original as a teen, but probably can't stand rereading it now. So maybe it's not a match either.
These are wonderful! I absolutely agree about The Remains of the Day--stunning in both formats.Another that I found necessary in both book and film versions was Zorba the Greek.
I have some wanna-be pairings. I'd love to read Ten Days that Shook the World because I loved the film Reds. And because of Lawrence of Arabia" I'd like to read Seven Pillars of Wisdom: A Triumph.
Oh, and speaking of Peter O'Toole, quite a while back I happened on a film I think is little-known called Dean Spanley. I would love to see it again, and also to read Dean Spanley: My Talks with Dean Spanley.
How about The Odyssey with O Brother, Where Art Thou?https://youtu.be/eW9Xo2HtlJI?feature=...
Also, In Cold Blood and Capote.
https://youtu.be/1LO2nv4aEpw?feature=...
(A side note. When I read In the Miso Soup, I kept picturing Philip Seymour Hoffman as Frank. That's the movie/cast that was never made that I regret never being able to see.)
Speaking of In the Miso Soup reminds me of another of the author's books I enjoyed, Popular Hits of the Showa Era. There is apparently a film of it (named Karaoke Terror), which I have not seen, but would like to. It looks as absolutely hilariously over-the-top as the book is.
https://youtu.be/iOmejgHTpVc?feature=...
Bill, thank you for your support in that disliking a book and disliking its movie make it a pair! Figured you could appreciate that. Lol.
Here's a few I haven't seen mentioned yet that deserve some love!Solaris by Stanisław Lem
The beautifully cryptic Russian adaption:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solaris...
The Talented Mr. Ripley by Patricia Highsmith
A not very faithful but extremely fun and stylish French adaption: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Purple_...
Orlando by Virginia Woolf
A loose adaption starring the fabulous Tilda Swinton that captures the subversive spirit of the book wonderfully:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orlando...
A Single Man by Christopher Isherwood
It can't capture the unfilmable gorgeous final extended metaphor at the ending of the book, but it's a great companion nevertheless:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Singl...
Silence by Shūsaku Endō
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silence...
The Turn of the Screw by Henry James
captures the ambiguity of the book perfectly:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Inn...
A Room with a View by E.M. Forster
the remarkably faithful and delightful Merchant Ivory adaption:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Room_...
series beginning with Leviathan Wakes by James S.A. Corey
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Exp...
In general, I prefer to read books before I see the adaptions, but I think it works well either way with most of these.
Mod
The Physics of Sorrow which was adapted into a short, interesting animation (free online: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5H_KV...)
Glad to see there are a lot more interesting pairings than I expected!
On Ripley, I haven't read the book, but have seen both Purple Noon and Anthony Minghella's movie. Both quite entertaining, as I recall.I'm also 5 episodes into the Netflix series. I'm a big fan of Andrew Scott, and the cinematography is gorgeous. Those vintage Italian interiors! But it's sooooo slooooow. After Ripley kills Freddy, how many shots did we have of Ripley wiping the blood off stuff? (Talk about watching fluids dry.) Was the book this insufferable?
Book: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg LarssonMovie: In Swedish - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1132620/
In English - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1568346/
I loved the book. I thought the Swedish actress who played Salander was better suited for the role than the actress in the American movie. I liked the book more than either movie but both had the right atmosphere.
Mod
I'm also 5 episodes into the Netflix series. I'm a big fan o..."
I've read the book and seen most the Ripley-related movies. Alain Delon was a great Ripley, and, aside from the ending, that was the version that seemed closest to the original book. I agree that the Minghella film was also excellent. Wim Wender's The American Friend wasn't a bad movie (it was based on Ripley's Game, not The Talented Mr. Ripley), but Dennis Hopper was an odd choice for Ripley, although maybe not as odd as John Malkovich in the later version. I haven't seen Barry Pepper's take in "Ripley Underground".
I freakin' LOVE the netflix series. It definitely takes it time, but I think the slow scenes are some of the best; you can almost see the wheels in Andrew Scott's head turning . And I thought Eliot Sumner was amazing as Freddie. Although (view spoiler)
This is great fun and brings back so many happy experiences .... unable to do hyperlinks (on my phone on holiday) but want to add The Grapes of Wrath from way back . That film had a big impact on me when I saw it as a child and , although it's of its time , presented another version of USA to the world . On the same theme I loved The Colour Purple and Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe . From England I'm going to give you The L Shaped Room / Lynn Reid Banks and Don't Look Now/ Daphne du Maurier...
Another vote for The Remains of the Day – although I'm so in love with how Ishiguro handles his particular brand of emotionally-unreliable narrator that the book always wins out for me.How about To Kill a Mockingbird? Although it's a big ask to compress the book into 130 minutes, the 1962 film is actually rather wonderful. Moody, atmospheric, black-and-white. And... Gregory Peck! 😁
Guy wrote: "How about To Kill a Mockingbird? Although it's a big ask to compress the book into 130 minutes, the 1962 film is actually rather wonderful. Moody, atmospheric, black-and-white. And... Gregory Peck! 😁"And the music. And the opening with the cigar box. And the last line that always makes me cry.
Mod
Kathleen wrote: "And the music. And the opening with the cigar box. And the last line that always makes me cry..."Yes to all of these! The music is very haunting. It's always a little weird for me to remember that Dill is based on Truman Capote, who Harper Lee knew from her own childhood: and yet, once you know it, he so clearly is a miniature version, fussiness and all. (I loved what Philip Seymour Hoffman did with Capote in the film of the same name... but then I'd watch Hoffman in pretty much anything.)
Marc wrote: "I'm waiting for someone to herald Satantango and Béla Tarr's 7+hour Sátántangó film adaptation (to nudge me into finally watching it; I did love the book... )..."Seven hours?! You could film your own adaptation in that time 🤣
Marc wrote: "I'm waiting for someone to herald Satantango and Béla Tarr's 7+hour Sátántangó film adaptation (to nudge me into finally watching it; I did love the book... )..."I'll give it a thumbs up. I did a read/watch and enjoyed the experience though I streamed the film and watched over a few viewings. The film is mesmorizing visually and were I not reading the novel would have felt the visuals take away from content a bit so one is left thinking of the visuals rather than content but I recommend both highly.
Mod
Suite for Barbara Loden and Loden's Wanda (probably my favorite)
Howards End and Ivory's film with Thompson & Hopkins
Orlando and Potter's film with Tilda Swinton
A special shutout for American Fiction that Bill mentioned, also endorsed by Everett himself.
I will add a couple of my own. A Clockwork Orange: both film are worth the effort and i suggest the book first.Staying with Kubrick I suggest Barry Lyndon to be watched in comparison to the Thackeray novel to see what a good filmmaker can do with a so-so novel.
In that same vein I suggest watching Roeg's amazin adaptation of du Maurier's weak story, Don't Look Now
More recently, I recommend Toews' Women Talking with a tremendous adaptation by Sarah Polley.
And finally film book watches need not be original/adaptation. I think The MANIAC and Nolan's Oppenheimer are a good match.
Mod
Or just a good night's sleep!
-------------------------------------
Sam wrote: "I'll give it [Satantango film] a thumbs up."
Thanks for the vote of confidence re: the Tarr version.
I ended up really liking both the book and film versions of a Clockwork Orange, although I saw the film first and could not prevent myself from seeing and hearing Malcolm McDowell the entire time I was reading (such a commanding performance).
Whitney wrote: "I freakin' LOVE the netflix series. It definitely takes it time, but I think the slow scenes are some of the best..."I also had trouble with some of the inconsistent personality swings. (I'm inconsistent too, but please.) Other than Freddie, there was the scene where Dickie gave a pile of cash to a woman (car trouble?), and Ripley warned him it was a scam. In the next scene, Ripley met this mafia character, took him to Greenleaf's house, and wanted to participate in this shady courier arrangement. I know Ripley needed money, but he's not stupid. And Greenleaf would get annoyed with Ripley, then wave off his obviously suspicious behavior.
So was all this in the book?
I also enjoyed John Malkovich in Ripley's Game. But then I find Malkovich mostly enjoyable.
Bill wrote: "On Ripley, I haven't read the book, but have seen both Purple Noon and Anthony Minghella's movie. Both quite entertaining, as I recall.I'm also 5 episodes into the Netflix series. I'm a big fan o..."
The books are nowhere near as languid, I raced through the series.
Aubrey wrote: "Ishiguro's The Remains of the Day, The Remains of the Day with Anthony Hopkins and Emma Thompson. Sublime."Agree, awesome film, awesome book.
Mod
It's been awhile, but I'm pretty sure neither of those two scenes were in the book. The series makes Tom less effortlessly competent than the book, and less experienced at moving among the moneyed class. In the series, he fumbles more and has to scramble to catch up. The addition of the Camorra gangster was interesting. As Dickie caught on, Tom recognized a fellow hustler, but maybe they were showing he still wasn't clued in enough to recognize the gulf between his crowd and Dickie's.
As for Dickie waving off his behaviour, the gay subtext is much less sub depending on which version you're reading or watching. The book definitely implies Dickie is closeted, and is flattered by Tom's devotion. Tom in the book is much more entertaining as well, sort of a proto Kato Kaelin.
A couple pairings I've thought of: D-Day, June 6, 1944: The Battle for the Normandy Beaches by Stephen E. Ambrose with Saving Private Ryan
Public Enemies: America's Greatest Crime Wave and the Birth of the FBI, 1933-34 by Bryan Burrough with Bonnie and Clyde
LindaJ^ wrote: "Book: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg LarssonMovie: In Swedish - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1132620/
In English - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1568346/
..."
Agree that both the movies captured the right atmosphere. The book & the movies, just brutal, really. I thought both movies were well done (but slightly preferred the Swedish version).
Mod
I was going to ask if people had examples such as these. Books and films that inform each other indirectly, rather than just the book being the basis for the film. Historical fiction films and true histories seem a natural pairing.
Aguirre: The Re-Creation of a Sixteenth-Century Journey Across South America and "Aguirre, the Wrath of God" are a good pairing in that category.
Marc's example of Barbara Loden was a more unique example, with a book written in response to a film. There are likely lots of books about films that are natural companions. One of my favorites is Pictures at a Revolution: Five Movies and the Birth of the New Hollywood, which looks at the five Oscar nominees of 1967 and the restless cultural milieu that produced them.
Edited to add that the five films are "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner", "The Graduate", "In the Heat of the Night", "Bonnie and Clyde", and outlier in terms of cultural relevance, "Doctor Doolittle".
Greg wrote: "Orlando by Virginia WoolfA loose adaption starring the fabulous Tilda Swinton that captures the subversive spirit of the book wonderfully:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orlando...
"
What I most remember about that movie is feeling like I was absolutely freezing when watching the snow/ice scenes on a big screen. (I think I watched it in summer, which is why it felt so strange to be freezing.)
Stacia wrote: "What I most remember about that movie is feeling like I was absolutely freezing when watching the snow/ice scenes on a big screen. (I think I watched it in summer, which is why it felt so strange to be freezing.)."Ha ha, well, I guess it's a testament to the cinematography that the place felt so present that you experienced the cold!
Whitney wrote: "There are likely lots of books about films that are natural companions. One of my favorites is Pictures at a Revolution: Five Movies and the Birth of the New Hollywood, "I could have sworn I've read Pictures, but maybe not... I'm kind of wary about opening the floodgates here; I actively hunt down books on movies/directors that I really like. But I'll just mention:
Glenn Frankel, Shooting Midnight Cowboy: Art, Sex, Loneliness, Liberation, and the Making of a Dark Classic is a fascinating book about the same era.
Also books on Atom Egoyan, Derek Jarman, Brothers Quay, Bruce LaBruce. Tsai Ming-Liang, etc. One more:
Michael Ondaatje, The Conversations: Walter Murch and the Art of Editing Film
Films that have illuminated the book for meKes & A Kestrel for a Knave
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kes_(film)
The Last Emperor & From Emperor to Citizen: The Autobiography of Aisin-Gioro Pu Yi
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Las...
21st Century Literature
Books mentioned in this topic
From Emperor to Citizen: The Autobiography of Aisin-Gioro Pu Yi (other topics)A Kestrel for a Knave (other topics)
The Conversations: Walter Murch and the Art of Editing Film (other topics)
Shooting Midnight Cowboy: Art, Sex, Loneliness, Liberation, and the Making of a Dark Classic (other topics)
Pictures at a Revolution: Five Movies and the Birth of the New Hollywood (other topics)
More...
Authors mentioned in this topic
Stieg Larsson (other topics)Stephen E. Ambrose (other topics)
Bryan Burrough (other topics)
Stieg Larsson (other topics)
Stanisław Lem (other topics)
More...
I think my favorite might be:
Suite for Barbara Loden by Nathalie Léger paired with the movie Wanda (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0067961/)
I read the book first, but I don't think I would have found the pairing any less wonderful; however, the film probably wouldn't have taken me to the book where the book most definitely leads you to the film.