Best Novel to Movie Adaptation? Worst?

Stormbringer · Post by **Stormbringer** » 2002-09-21 03:12pm

Best:

I'd have to say Lord of the Rings. Sure they cut material and altered events somewhat but they got the essential core of the story and the themes. Plus they did a fine job of casting and the locations looked so very right. They got the language right, very important to retaining the style. And they even used Elvish!

Worst:

While it's tempting to say shlock like Starship Troopers, I think it's too easy. I'd say 2001 and 2010. They included the important events and characters and missed their signifigance. They had beautiful and elaborate FX to no point. The biggest problem with both is they missed the point completely. That's why no one can understand them, there's nothing to understand just a series of events.

RayCav of ASVS · Post by **RayCav of ASVS** » 2002-09-21 03:18pm

actually, if I'm not mistaken, Clarke says in the preface the movie came before the book.

Stormbringer · Post by **Stormbringer** » 2002-09-21 03:35pm

The Sentinel (short story) came first. The story idea from which 2001 evolved. Then it was turned into the movie script. And then the book.

Not quite adaption. But close enough. And 2010 definetly came before the movie.

Post by **Mr Bean** » 2002-09-21 04:28pm

Best LOTR its pretty much spot on

Worst

I have to go with Sum of all Fears, Not only did the slice the balls off the main-charater and have him drink Young and dumb agian juice which fucks with contiuinty worse than B&B do(To give you a comparsion what if on tommrow's Enterpise Archer was suddenly black to give you a good comparsion)

They changed everything from the essitnals of the plot, removed the main enemys and replaced them with Fucktards(Neo-Nazi's? Piiiiifff! Gimme back my Crazy Native American's and Iranians damn it!) Fucked with half the other charaters, espcialy on the Russian side and so general cause it bears repeating messed with what made the book good it made me physcialy hate the movie

The explosion for example... If it had been in the book it would have kick ass(Around 5 Nanoseconds is turned into around five mintues of reading) and then all the expolisive effects, The side polts(Some of which where quite good) annd all the normal Clancy good stuff(Stuff that was preserved for Say Hunt for Red October) was completly riped from Sum

Booo I say BOO

Post by **Sea Skimmer** » 2002-09-21 04:33pm

The Sum of All Fears.

I have still not seen it, and I have no intention of changing that. If even half of what I've heard to true about it, it wins this prize with ease.

Post by **Mr Bean** » 2002-09-21 04:42pm

Sum of all Fear=EVIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIL!

Tosho · Post by **Tosho** » 2002-09-21 04:47pm

Stormbringer wrote:Best:

I'd have to say Lord of the Rings. Sure they cut material and altered events somewhat but they got the essential core of the story and the themes. Plus they did a fine job of casting and the locations looked so very right. They got the language right, very important to retaining the style. And they even used Elvish!

I agree. assuming you mean Peter Jackson's version.

Worst: Ralph Bakshi's The Lord of the Rings a.k.a. Bakshi's crime against Humanity. http://flyingmoose.org/tolksarc/bakshi/bakshi.htm

Cal Wright · Post by **Cal Wright** » 2002-09-21 07:21pm

I have NEVER read the LotR books. I saw the Hobbit cartoon a long time ago. With that said, Lord of the Rings was just a bad fucking movie. It wasn't Star Wars and Spiderman (piss off) but god damn that was an awesome movie. I am extrememly hyped up for the Two Towers.

I will have to agree with you guys on the worst. I really, really expected Sum of All Fears to just blow me away, and all it did was bore me to sleep. Hey Clancy, still like your idea of dropping Harrison Ford? One word for the non believers. Indiana...

Master of Ossus · Post by **Master of Ossus** » 2002-09-21 07:23pm

I would have to say that the best movie-novel adaptations ever were:

Grapes of Wrath
To Kill a Mockingbird
Lord of the Rings.

The worst was the Lord of the Flies, followed by HG Well's The Time Machine (if you can even call it an adaptation).

RadiO · Post by **RadiO** » 2002-09-21 07:38pm

Best: Tie between LA Confidential and Hunt for Red October. Both films did a good job of putting the most important events from two long novels up on the screen; amazing how many adaptions screw something that basic up.
Plus HFRO has that scene where a Perry class frigate has to turn to open up the fire arc of its 3-inch gun - and this is not only shown, but actually mentioned in dialogue! Technical accuracy - yes, yes, yeeessss! Eat shit and die, Pearl Harbor!

Worst: For me a tie between two Alistar MacLean novels. The Satan Bug, the novel, was an inoffensive thriller about the head security man of a biological research institute and his attempts to stop a madman unleasing a killer virus. The Satan Bug, the movie, comes over like an extremely shitty episode of Get Smart, only played dead straight. Dreadful.
And then there's Ice Station Zebra, which must get a vote simply because it has very, very little to do with the novel other than the following basic plot threads:

* Some people are going to one of the Poles in a submarine.
* Somebody, somewhere, is a traitor.
* Some events occur at the Pole.
* They go home.
* The End.

I mean, what the fuck? Why didn't they save some cash and rename the movie Espionage and Shit Happening On An Icepack, With a Submarine?

Kelly Antilles · Post by **Kelly Antilles** » 2002-09-21 08:12pm

Master of Ossus wrote:I would have to say that the best movie-novel adaptations ever were:

To Kill a Mockingbird

Oh yes. I saw that for the first time in 8th grade. I still love that movie.

On the other end.

Logan's Run.

Had they actually used more from the book, the movie would have been even better. Granted, it is pretty good, especially for its time.

Alferd Packer · Post by **Alferd Packer** » 2002-09-21 08:31pm

Best: Lord of the Rings

Worst: Congo. Christ, they took a mediocre book and made a movie so terrible that you'd get Ebola just from watching it.

Raptor 597 · Post by **Raptor 597** » 2002-09-21 08:41pm

While, on the Subject of the Hunt for Red October. It was actually an unarmed friagte the Sientnal and the Captain was a hardcore Lenist who thought the Commustic form of Breshnevyism was too weak. Quite the opposite as the book which was wroten before the movie.

Post by **Dalton** » 2002-09-21 11:55pm

Best: Lord of the Rings...but I get the feeling that Ender's Game (which is coming in the future, IIRC) will be better, since OSC is actually writing the screenplay.

Worst: Dune. Fucking hell...

Post by **weemadando** » 2002-09-22 12:00am

Best - LotR, Bravo Two Zero (sure it added some stuff and lost some other stuff, but over all it was great fun)

Worst - Any Michael Crichton. Especially Congo and the Jurassic Park series. I pray that noone chooses to make a movie out of Timeline.

Lord Poe · Post by **Lord Poe** » 2002-09-22 01:54am

Best:

Rum Punch (Jackie Brown)

Miami Blues

Dirty Harry

First Blood

Worst:

Destroyer (Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins)

Private Parts

Raise The Titanic

Amityville Horror

Rathark · Post by **Rathark** » 2002-09-22 02:21am

Best:

The Fellowship of the Ring

Fight Club

Worst:

Sliver (You know, the one with Sharon Stone in the condominium with the fruitcake owner who's spying on everyone.)

Stormbringer · Post by **Stormbringer** » 2002-09-22 02:39am

Datlon wrote:Worst: Dune. Fucking hell...

Which version or is it both?

weemadando wrote:Worst - Any Michael Crichton. Especially Congo and the Jurassic Park series. I pray that noone chooses to make a movie out of Timeline.

They are doing exactly that. Why I have no idea but they are. It could be worse, they could be making a movie version of Airframe

Sienthal · Post by **Sienthal** » 2002-09-22 02:48am

Ahhh, LotR is definately the best. Whenever I think about it, I remember the neat scene when Legolas is walking quietly on TOP of the huge snow embankment, while the rest of them practically dig through it.

Post by **Dalton** » 2002-09-22 02:49am

Stormbringer wrote:
Datlon wrote:Worst: Dune. Fucking hell...
Which version or is it both?

Lynch's version. I never saw the Sci-Fi channel miniseries.

Cal Wright · Post by **Cal Wright** » 2002-09-22 02:58am

The Sci Fi mini version rocked!!!

Post by **weemadando** » 2002-09-22 03:15am

All nine wonderful hours of it!

neoolong · Post by **neoolong** » 2002-09-22 03:51am

A Children of Dune mini-series is being made. Let's hope it's as good as the Dune one.

Tsyroc · Post by **Tsyroc** » 2002-09-22 11:52am

I think they are already working on a Timeline movie.

Worst: So many Dracula movies so little space. If it weren't for the added
love story and Keanu Reeve's "actin" I might put BS Dracula as one of the best. Instead it kind of sucks.

Best: LOTR: Fellowship of the Ring. I also liked Where Eagles Dare alot. The book and movie follow each other very well, so much so that I wouldn't be suprised it the book was actually a novelization. The movie has Clint Eastwood and Richard Burton in it, can't go wrong there.

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Master of Ossus · Post by **Master of Ossus** » 2002-09-22 01:15pm

Actually, Lord of the Rings was also the subject of one of the worst book-movie adaptations ever. The original, cartoon version was absolutely horrible.

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Best Novel to Movie Adaptation? Worst?

Best Novel to Movie Adaptation? Worst?

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