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Thursday Thirteen: Books to Film

13/3/2014

18 Comments

 
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Ciao a tutti! Hi, everybody! I'm back for another Thursday Thirteen, where I'm sharing some of my favorite book-to-film adaptations. Most of these are films I saw after I'd read the book, a few I read after seeing the film, and only one is a film where I haven't read the book at all.

It's worth noting that some adaptations were quite faithful to the source material and others weren't. In fact, one of my picks was actually "disowned" by the author, in that he asked they change the names of the characters and of the film itself because he didn't think the screenplay could do it justice. Do you know which film/book it is?

(
I'll share the answer at the end of the post.)

If you have a little time to kill (heh, that's a little book-to-film humor for ya), I hope you'll have a look at these clips - I've tried to find the best quality version for each one, but some are too old to have a good trailer available on YouTube.

And so, now, please allow me to share with you

Thirteen Books-to-Film I Love!

1) First off, a Stephen King classic! (To be fair, I could have done nearly the whole list using only Stephen King stories, but I thought better of it.)
2) Next, a film which I still watch compulsively whenever I find it on TV. It truly had a profound effect on me at an impressionable age. I've been a fan of John Irving ever since. (Fun fact - Irving has a cameo as the wrestling referee in the film.)
3) I saw this film the day it was first released in theaters, and I'm not embarrassed to admit I still get chills when I watch the trailer. Michael Crichton created a classic which endures, in my humble opinion.
4) This film just might qualify as an addiction for me. I've watched it so many times I have literally lost track of my viewings. I have the DVD in the US. I have the DVD in Italy. If I come in at any point of the film on TV, I have to watch it all the way to the end. Irvine Welsh's characters really came to life in this film, and now I can't read their stories without picturing these actors in the roles.
5) I saw this with a friend of the family - she vowed never to go to a film with me again. I took that as a sign of the quality of the film as opposed to the quality of my company. *ahem* A genuinely creepy novel made into a supremely disturbing film. Another Stephen King classic.
6) To be fair, it might not be the best film on this list, but I really enjoyed it anyway. I admit I wasn't disappointed in the transition of this book to the big screen, but it would have been impossible to make a film as good as the source material.
7) It's the '80s in a nutshell; a slimy, scary, spectacularly twisted nutshell. Casting Christian Bale as Patrick Bateman in this adaptation of Brett Easton Ellis' novel was a stroke of genius, as he gave the character all the nuances necessary to elevate the shallow go-getter to someone we start rooting for in spite of ourselves.
8) Another John Irving adaptation - this time of his novel A Widow For One Year - this film actually only depicts (approximately) the first third of the book. I had read the book long before seeing the film, but that doesn't make the story any less compelling.
9) Another film I compulsively watch is Fight Club, based on Chuck Palahniuk's novel. I don't know what it is about the film, but once I start watching it, I'm compelled to see it through to the end. Surprisingly, I haven't read the novel yet, but I have read a few of his other works. (I really need to add it to my TBR pile.)
10) Yet another John Irving adaptation (he even has a cameo as the stationmaster!), The Cider House Rules won two Academy Awards, for Best Adapted Screenplay and for Best Supporting Actor (Michael Caine).
11) Another brilliant film, based on the Cormac McCarthy novel of the same name. Stark, bleak and utterly without hope, it features Javier Bardem's chilling portrayal of a hitman on a mission. Tommy Lee Jones is also a wonder to watch; his final scene is particularly memorable to me, love it or hate it.
12) This film, an adaptation of Stephen King's novella Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption, came along at precisely the right moment of my life. I'd already enjoyed the story (it was originally published in King's collection, Different Seasons), but the line "Get busy living, or get busy dying" hit home with me in a most unexpected way. An all-time favorite film.
13) As crazy as it sounds, Watership Down is one of the most important films I ever saw, if only for the effect it had on me. After becoming (essentially) obsessed with the movie, I sought out the book, and I can say it truly did change my life. I even wrote about it!




Well, I hope you've enjoyed these trailers. If you guessed that Simon Birch was the film "disowned" by John Irving (it was nominally based on his heartbreaking masterpiece A Prayer for Owen Meany), you guessed correctly! Well done!









And now, I hope you'll indulge me just one last time.


















No, it's not a trailer...
























But I hope you'll agree...






















This is one actor who's worth the price of admission!

Picture
Italian actor, Raoul Bova.
Ciao for now!
18 Comments
sandy link
13/3/2014 10:28:55 am

my heart stopped wow

Reply
Kimberly Menozzi link
13/3/2014 11:24:49 am

Signore Bova has been known to have that effect before. LOL! :)

Reply
Paige Tyler link
13/3/2014 10:54:54 am

Love Jurassic Park, and was totally surprised how much I liked Shawshank Redemption!

And that eyes candy?! Yummy!

*hugs*
Paige

My TT is at http://paigetylertheauthor.blogspot.com

Reply
Kimberly Menozzi link
13/3/2014 11:25:47 am

I know, right? Wonderful, wonderful film!

Glad you liked Raoul, too - can't go wrong with the classics. ;)

Reply
Ron. link
13/3/2014 12:15:58 pm

I'm with you on most of these!
Another potentially interesting list might be "Worst Screen Adaptations", though admittedly it'd be a much longer list and there would probably be far more debate about which is #1. My vote would go to John Gay's 1970 screenplay of Ken Kesey's novel "Sometimes A Great Notion." Totally missed the mark.

Reply
Kimberly Menozzi link
13/3/2014 01:44:37 pm

Now *that's* an intriguing notion, Ron! :) I'm not sure where to start, though. LOL!

Reply
Alice Audrey link
13/3/2014 12:47:27 pm

It's been ages since I've see The World According to Garp.

Reply
Kimberly Menozzi link
13/3/2014 01:45:43 pm

I'm going to have to find it on DVD - soon! I need to watch it again! LOL!

Reply
Heather link
13/3/2014 01:12:39 pm

Haven't seen or read 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 11 or 13. Have not read #3, but saw part of the movie -- turned it off before the end. Have not read 1, 2, 5 or 12 but have seen the movies multiple times. <i>The Shawshank Redemption</i> is one of my favorite movies.

Reply
Kimberly Menozzi link
13/3/2014 01:49:05 pm

If you find the time, all of these are worth checking out, I promise! ;) I watched Shawshank Redemption not too long ago on Italian TV - luckily for me, it was in English.

Reply
Shelley Munro link
13/3/2014 02:06:33 pm

I liked Jurassic Park and the Shawshank Redemption surprised me. I really liked that one. I haven't seen any of the others.

Reply
Kimberly Menozzi link
13/3/2014 02:56:10 pm

I was getting chills watching the Jurassic Park trailer this morning - it's great to know it can still get to me like that. :) Shawshank Redemption is definitely one of Stephen King's finest moments. I really could do a list of mostly Stephen King films - I loved The Green Mile, for example. I cry every time at that one.

Reply
colleen link
13/3/2014 03:55:53 pm

Seems like Shawshank is on everyone's Best Of list. I really liked Cider House Rules and Fight Club haunts me to this day.

Reply
Kimberly Menozzi link
19/3/2014 07:46:26 am

:) It's certainly on mine! LOL!

Reply
CountryDew link
13/3/2014 04:38:27 pm

I have seen a few of these but most I have not. I have never been much of a movie watcher.

Reply
Kimberly Menozzi link
19/3/2014 07:47:59 am

Have you read any of the books, though? They're some pretty darn good books, too. ;)

Reply
Jennifer Leeland link
14/3/2014 06:30:19 am

"No Country For Old Men" was such a disturbing movie to me. I've never read the book but it made an impact on film for me. Great TT, Kim.

Reply
Kimberly Menozzi link
19/3/2014 07:49:40 am

I know, right? But sooooo good! Thanks for commenting, Jennifer! :)

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