Movies based on books ~ how often do they REALLY mess it up? (novel, comic)
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I have a question for all you long time readers. When a movie is made from a popular book, do they ALWAYS mess it up? I've never really been much of a reader, so never before have I seen a movie based on a book that I've read. Just saw My Sister's Keeper, and had read the book several months ago. Oh. My. Gosh!!!!! Is that normal? When I saw the previews for The Time Travelers Wife, I thought "I need to hurry up and read the book before that comes out!" But now I'm wondering if I'll just end up ticked off again.
I still don't understand how one of the most creative fantasy books ever, The Golden Compass, got butchered when it got made into a movie. part of the reason was b/c the film maker bowed to religious zealots and edited out many of the powerful religious elements that were a part of the stories. then they ruined the ending by "Disney-fying" it to make it all sweet and happy. the special effects were awesome and I liked a lot of the actors that were casted, but the movie still flopped
I liked the movie, but I was disappointed how much of "Slumdog Millionaire" was different from the book. there were certain elements in the books I wished had been in the movie (ie, the rabies story) that were dropped. plus, they made one character a horrible villainous person in the movie.
I think Pete Jackson did an AWESOME job w/ the Lord of the Rings books and I'm crossing my fingers and hoping Del Toro doesn't mess up The Hobbit. some of the Harry Potter movies were okay, in particular #3. movies based on Stephen King books are often hit of miss and I worry how my favorite SK books of all, the Dark Tower series, would fare as a movie(s) (rumor is JJ Abrams is looking adapt the books to film, so I have some faith in him)
Some movies come out flashier and more interesting than the book itself. Sometimes plot elements are left out, and it becomes harder to capture internal struggles on film. Yet sometimes, it can be a good thing to see happen. Stephen King, being a prolific writer, has managed to get many of his stories made into films. Some of those films were better than his books, which are sometimes overly wordy and tedious. Three pages to set a scene?
Don't you just wish they'd have a disclaimer on the title, like 'based on...such and such book'? My favorite book from the 70's was made into a movie and I was so excited to see it. And then so disappointed. It was What Dreams May Come, and while I usually enjoy Robin Williams, felt he was so miscast. While it was not bad, it did fall short of the spirit of the book. But it was big budget and I suppose they needed big star power. They have to sell that movie to more than the avid book readers. So sometimes they take huge liberties with a film.
Don't you just wish they'd have a disclaimer on the title, like 'based on...such and such book'? My favorite book from the 70's was made into a movie and I was so excited to see it. And then so disappointed. It was What Dreams May Come, and while I usually enjoy Robin Williams, felt he was so miscast. While it was not bad, it did fall short of the spirit of the book. But it was big budget and I suppose they needed big star power. They have to sell that movie to more than the avid book readers. So sometimes they take huge liberties with a film.
I enjoyed the movie, What Dreams May Come. Got it on VHS from a friend who thought it might help me through my grief after my husband died - and it did. Never knew there was a book, though. Who's the author so I can look for a copy of the book? (Sometimes reading a book after having seen the movie can make the experience even better.)
Found it in a few minutes searching on Ebay! Should have my copy in about a week.
Last edited by MsMcQ LV; 06-28-2009 at 09:31 AM..
Reason: further info
My favorite example of screwing up a book is when Six Days of the Condor was made as Three Days of the Condor for the movies. Anyone with half a brain, in my opinion, would have changed the movie title to at least try to hide the fact that you lost 3 days from the book. I was ticked off before I even saw it.
It would be almost impossible to make a movie that stays completely true to a book. They are different media. People who read spend hours upon hours reading a book, savoring well-written passages and enhancing the characters in their own imaginations. A film is extremely time limited and since each reader's perception of characters is influenced by their own imagination/experience, the character's portrayal on film is bound to disappoint. With regard to Stephen King - he tends to be very unhappy with films made from his books. He produced a couple (a remake of The Shining and another one Rose Red maybe?). I found them to be long and tedious movies - he couldn't let go of any detail. I do think a few films do a reasonably good job of trying to reflect the original story. Ones that stick out to me are To Kill a Mockingbird, The Kite Runner, Seabiscuit....I agree the Harry Potter series was OK not exceptional. I heard that LOTR was well done but I couldn't say as I never read the books. I found the movies beautiful visually but not being a fantasy fan, they were a bit long for me.
It would be almost impossible to make a movie that stays completely true to a book. They are different media.
Absolutely true. Books and movies transmit story in entirely different ways.
So I don't object to movie's making changes to a novel's story per se. Sometimes it's just necessary. (Lord of the Rings already mentioned was a good example.) Another example would be L.A. Confidential. Great book where the filmmakers had to "interpret" or "adapt" the gist of the book and did so brilliantly.
What I do object to is filmmakers completely changing the nature of the story for no apparent reason.
Dracula is a good example. Good book. It's never been turned into a good movie that even approached the central themes of the novel. And the tendency of the past few film versions to try to turn it into some sort of tragic romance is just silly.
On the other hand, I can think of lots of so-so to downright bad books that have been turned into fantastic movies: JAWS, The Godfather, Forrest Gump, Blade Runner, Minority Report.
But I can think of other cases where the movie departed pretty radically from the book, but both book and movie were great. The Shining has already been mentioned. There's also A Clockwork Orange and Jackie Brown and Apocalypse Now.
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Is that normal? When I saw the previews for The Time Travelers Wife, I thought "I need to hurry up and read the book before that comes out!" But now I'm wondering if I'll just end up ticked off again. 
