You know that feeling when you're watching a movie and some annoying, pretentious kid in the corner mumbles "The book was better." I'm that annoying, pretentious kid. I'm hypercritical of movies that were developed from books because I view it like this: dude, it's all laid out for you. No one has to put any time into coming up with original plotlines or characters, no cool, new places have to be thought up or created. You just gotta stick to the text- cast some good people and maybe even mix in some special effects and whatnot, if you're feelin' tricky. I love when movies accurately represent the books they're based on, so I decided to compile a list of movies that did the job well.
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe by C.S Lewis
Sweet special effects, no major changes to plot, and a hottay with a boday cast as the oldest brother. The Chronicles of Narnia receives my full approval- I enjoyed the movie just as much as I did the book.
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by JK Rowling
I agreed with literally every casting decision made. Dumbledore was perfect- wise and intelligent yet a little freaky, Harry was freaking adorable and, in my fourth grade mind, quite a lil hunk, Hermione was as bossy and bushy-haired as described, and Ron ideally completed the trio. The music was epic, the special effects not overdone, and afterwards I found myself waiting for my Hogwarts letter. I actually still find myself waiting for my Hogwarts letter. Thanks, JK Rowling.
The Virgin Suicides by Jeffrey Eugenides
This book was trippy and a little crazy but I absolutely loved it, and the movie made me love it more. Seeing the characters come to life made me appreciate their complexity in a physical way that the text couldn't provide. Kirsten Dunst rocks in this indie film, and the book is a must-read.
Pet Sematary and The Shining by Stephen King
The movies were just as spooky as the books, if not more so. The casting was flawless and the music added insane suspense. Not to mention Jack Nicholson in The Shining- dude blew my mind. Amazing, amazing performance based on an amazing, amazing book.
So, what about you guys? What movies-based-on-books have you seen that you thought did justice to the original work?
The thing that really bothered me about the Harry Potter movies, though, was that Peeves was a sort of central character in the books, yet they never included him in the movies.
ReplyDeleteAnd, as much as I hate to admit, I read all of the Twilight books and loved them. The movies annoy the $%@# outta me, though. Kristen Stewart portrays no change in emotion. Ever.
There is nothing worse then being excited for a movie because you loved the book and being completely dissapointed. I like that you brought up Harry Potter because it is probably the most relevent example of this to our generation. Richard Harris as Dumbledore was the best casted character in the entire series (why did he have to die?!). As much as I have loved the movies I still get mad when they cut out little details. I think that was why the 7.1 movie was my favorite: it included little, unexplained references or people lurking in the corners that could be noticed and appreciated by those that read the books but weren't essential to the overall plot. It is always interesting to see what they powers that be choose to keep in or out of the movies.
ReplyDeleteI loved the Harry Potter movies but I never read the books because they were too long foe me..one book that was muuch better than the movie was my sister's keeper...the movie was awful!
ReplyDeleteYeah I'm usually firmly in the camp that the book is much better than movie. Not to say that the movie can't be good, but books leaves this up to the imagination and movies can't get all the little details and often leave so many things out.
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