Recommend any good books that were later made into good movies? (1 Viewer)

[NickSo]

Can anybody recommend any good books that were later made into good movies? I figure that it might keep my attention more if i seen the movie so i can actually visualize the events...

I have Sphere, sure the movie sucked, but i enjoyed the book...

Is Black Hawk Down any good?

Any other suggestions?

Thanks...

 

[Dheiner]

For S/F try "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?".

Or if you dig Westerns, try "Catlow".

Or for adventure, try "Raise the Titanic".

Or for Crime you could try "Get Shorty".

these are the first that came to mind.

 

[Marvin]

Off the top of my head:

The Godfather, The Caine Mutiny, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn

I'm sure I'll think of another as soon as I hit 'submit reply.'

 

[Dustin B]

Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption.

Great short story by Stephen King and one of my all time favorite movies. The movie has a better ending than the book, but the book is a little better in the middle.

There are many more short stories by King that have been made into movies as well you can check out. The short story of Apt Pupil was much better than the movie.

 

[Scott Weinberg]

Congo
Flowers in the Attic
Sphere
Watchers
Hideaway
Bonfire of the Vanities
Breakfast of Champions
Battlefield Earth
Ohh, you wanted good movies. My bad.
Jaws - Benchley
The Godfather - Puzo
Fight Club - Palahiuk
The Great Train Robbery - Crichton
The Dead Zone - King
Interview with the Vampire - Rice
Starship Troopers - Heinlein
Goodfellas - (Wise Guy by N. Pileggi)
Or how about a good movie based on a bad book?
American Psycho - Ellis
Hannibal - Harris
Here are some fun little novels that have movies "in the works":
Dust - Charles Pellegrino (End of the world stuff. Damn solid book. Jan de Bont was attached for the movie version.)
Riptide - Lincoln Child & Doug Preston - The authors of The Relic are behind this really FUN "hidden treasure" adventure. This is a book you'll read in three sittings and love it.
MEG - Steve Alten (Prehistoric shark is discovered. It's about the size of a football field. Check out some really cool concept art here:
http://www.megsite.com/Images
Gotta love giant sharks.

 

[Bill Catherall]

For something light but fun The Princess Bride.
And who can forget The Lord of the Rings...duh!

 

[Steve Tannehill]

The Silence of the Lambs...a good book made into a great movie.

Ditto on One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest.

And don't forget Harry Potter and the Sorceror's Stone.

- Steve

 

[Matthew Chmiel]

Ghost World - Graphic novel (aka comic book ) by Clowes
Logan's Run - Nolan and Johnson
The Neverending Story - Ende (The movie is good, but the movie only deals with the first half of the book)
Requiem for a Dream - Selby Jr.
I'd recommend Battle Royale, but the book isn't available in English. :frowning:
Also, hopefully Big Trouble will be a good movie when it's released in April (it's based on the good book by Dave Barry and it has one hell of a cast and Barry Sonnenfeld [Men In Black, Get Shorty] is directing).

Or how about a good movie based on a bad book?
American Psycho - Ellis

Pffft, the book is a thousand times better than the disgrace that the movie was. The only saving factor of the movie was the talented Christian Bale.

 

[Malcolm R]

Man, I've been wanting a "MEG" movie ever since the first book came out. Though I must say, those photos seem just a little exaggerated (if I remember, the first Meg was described as about 70 feet long; Angel about 90 feet). Disney's Touchstone/Hollywood Pictures was originally supposed to make this movie, wonder who's on board now? I just hope this is a serious, well-budgeted attempt and not some Grade-B movie version.
Any of the Preston/Child novels would make bang-up movies in the right hands. "The Relic" book was much better than the movie.
To the topic at hand, I'd add:

• Legends of the Fall
• Jurassic Park
• Fried Green Tomatoes (at the Whistle Stop Cafe)
• The Hunt for Red October
• Patriot Games
• Clear and Present Danger
• A Time To Kill
• Silence of the Lambs
• Misery
• Pet Sematary
• The Green Mile

 

[NickSo]

Hmm... ill check out some of the later movie-books, coz im no movie buff, never seen the older ones :p)
I have Congo and Jurassic Park..
I might take a read at LOR:FOTR once i watch the movie lol

 

[Eric Walsh]

The Beach - book by Alex Garland and movie directed by Danny Boyle
Now I know everyone seems to dislike this movie greatly but I however don't and the book is just amazing in my opinion, especially for a first novel from a young writer. Maybe reading the book makes the movie better, even though they really changed it all around, but don't they always?
Anyway I like them both, even though they are differnt, but that is half the draw I think. Movies are movies and books are books. There is some interesting lines about that from Danny Boyle in the commentary.
-Eric

 

[Josh_Hill]

LOTR of course!

Red Dragon

Silence of the Lambs

Hannibal

Girl, Interrupted

Thing of Beauty: The tragedy of Supermodel Gia

 

[Kevin Leonard]

Great suggestions so far!
I'd like to add the following; both the books and films come highly recommended:
Bringing Out the Dead (book by Joseph Connelly, film by Martin Scorsese)
Clockers (book by Richard Price, film by Spike Lee)
From Hell (graphic novel by Alan Moore & Eddie Campbell, film by The Hughes Bros.)
The Grifters (book by Jim Thompson, film by Stephen Frears)
The Killing (book by Lionel White, film by Stanley Kubrick)
L.A. Confidential* (book by James Ellroy, film by Curtis Hanson)
Last Exit to Brooklyn (book by Hubert Selby Jr., film by Uli Edel)
Naked Lunch** (book by William Burroughs, film by David Cronenberg)
The Right Stuff (book by Tom Wolfe, film by Philip Kaufman)
Rumble Fish (book by S.E. Hinton, film by Francis Ford Coppola)
The Wanderers (book by Richard Price, film by Philip Kaufman)
Wonder Boys (book by Michael Chabon, film by Curtis Hanson)
* (just so you know, the film version of L.A. Confidential is actually adaptated from the book of the same name, in addition to other Ellroy books including White Jazz and The Big Nowhere)
** (Naked Lunch is not really an adaptation of Burroughs' book as it is a grouping of various stories by Burroughs, including the title novel. Still worth a look though. )

 

[DonRoeber]

Dances with Wolves.

 

[Bill J]

The Longest Day

The Thin Red Line

The Right Stuff

To Kill a Mockingbird

 

[Eric Kahn]

Starship troopers is a very good Classic 1950's sci fi book

that was made into, in my opinion, a very bad movie that bears little resembalance to the book other than names used

when you read the book, if you have seen the movie first, you will be lost for awhile, but it iwll be worth it because the book is better

 

[Mike Huay]

The Tailor of Panama

by John Le Carre

 

[Mark Pfeiffer]

High Fidelity by Nick Hornby (one of my favorite books, plus a terrific movie too--looking forward to the adaptation of About a Boy)

Wonder Boys by Michael Chabon (there is a good deal of material in the book not in the film that I found quite interesting)

Emma by Jane Austen (a literary classic and a delightful film)

The Ice Storm by Rick Moody (both are totally shattering experiences)

The Sweet Hereafter by Russell Banks (there are some definite differences between the two, especially the book's last third(?)--worth comparing)

 

[Darren Crouse]

How about Nikos Kazantzakis' Last Temptation of Christ and the Scorsese film to boot. Both are wonderfully spiritual works.

-Take care,

Darren.

 

[Ken_McAlinden]

East of Eden

The Kazan movie only adapted a small part of the Steinbeck book, but they were both excellent.

Grapes of Wrath

Can't forget that one.

I would also say The Autobiography of Malcolm X, although Spike Lee cited a few other sources for the film as well.

Regards,