Best movies based on books

[rocklobster]

Lots of times when Hollywood adapts a book, the results aren't good. However, there have been times Hollywood got it right. So what are the best movies based on books. Note: you can only post movies if you read the books they're based on.
Here are some of my faves:
To Kill a Mockingbird
Wizard of Oz (I think it was a good idea to make the Witch the central villain. In the book, she only gets one chapter. Besides, Marge Hamilton is great in this role)
any Harry Potter movie
both Chronicles of Narnia
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (the one with Gene Wilder)
James and the Giant Peach
Matilda
The Diary of Anne Frank (yes, there is a movie and it's very well done. be sure to have a box of kleenex if you watch)
Watchmen (ok, so it didn't have the squid. It was still good)

[Roy Mustang]

There is a lot of movies base on books really. But here is my list of fav ones.

Fried Green Tomatoes

Patriot Games

Charlotte's Web

Pride and Prejudice (1940)

Friday Night Lights

The Color of Money

Apollo 13

Field of Dreams

Blade Runner

Dr. Strangelove or: How I learned to stop worrying and love the bomb

The Green Mile

First Blood

Dances with Wolves

The Untouchables

Die Hard

Goodfellas

Schindler's List

The Shawshank Redemption

The Godfather

[font="Book Antiqua"][color="Red"]Col. Roy Mustang[/color][/font]

[Cognitive Gear]

The Thing

Any Kubrick movie based on a book.

Trainspotting

The Secret of Nimh

Children of Men

The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford

The Princess Bride


Incidentally, most of the movie's I've listed are very different from their book sources.

[yukoxholic]

I typically loathe all "books being made into movies" but recently the only 3 I could stand would be: Twilight series, The Lovely Bones (flawed but still wonderful), and The Chronicles of Narnia films.

As for the Harry Potter series I liked from Goblet of Fire up until the recent Half-Blood Prince. Though I am needing to rewatch the first three.

[TGJesusfreak]

That's easy.

The very best book turned into a movie is The Lord of the Rings movies (all three).

[Radical Dreamer]

Oh, definitely the Lord of the Rings trilogy, extended versions included. XD

The Prestige, which is both an incredible movie and a really interesting book.

Also, The Princess Bride is a fan-freaking-tastic book-to-movie adaptation. I love that book and movie so much. XD

And The Count of Monte Cristo, while it differs greatly from the book, is an amazing movie and everyone should watch it. <3

Other great movies based on books:

Big Fish
Paprika
Hamlet (1996 with Kenneth Branagh)
Les Miserablés

[Wikiwalker]

The 1990 version of Treasure Island, faithful to the book, great action scenes, and a gold mine of Charlton Heston one liners. If only it weren't nearly impossible to get a hold of a copy.

[Htom Sirveaux]

Fight Club
The Road
Jurassic Park
The Haunting (1963)
The Silence of the Lambs
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (BBC miniseries)

[GeneD]

I second Lord of the Rings, excluding the second movie, and The Count of Monte Cristo. I enjoyed the movie almost more than the book, mostly that I didn't feel so sorry for poor Mercédès.

The 1995 Pride and Prejudice serial is a great adaptation too.

[Mr. Hat'n'Clogs]

I fourth The Lord of the Rings, and second some of the Harry Potter movies. Goblet was just awful though...

The first Chronicles of Narnia movie was good.

[the_wolfs_howl]

The Lord of the Rings, hands down (and you can have your Tom Bombadils, I don't care!)

Bridge to Terabithia (they modernized it, but since it's such a short book they were able to stay incredibly true to the original)

Howl's Moving Castle (so different it's basically a different story, but I loved it as much as the book)

Pride and Prejudice (BBC version - need I say more?)

Sense and Sensibility (with Emma Thompson and Kate Winslet; it so deserved the awards it got)

Treasure Planet (awesome take on the classic story)

I, Robot (completely different from the book, yet so good)

I Am Legend (ditto)

...that's all I can think of right now.

[rocklobster]

I forgot about Pinocchio. In fact, this is one of those rare cases where the movie is actually better than the book. In the book, Pinoccio is far from as endearing as he is in the movie.

[Radical Dreamer]

Oh by the way.

Disney's animated Peter Pan, anyone?


<333

[ilikegir33]

I SIXTH Lord of the Rings...

And I think these are good as well:

Left Behind (not Tribulation Force or World At War, just the first film)
A Series of Unfortunate Events
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (Tim Burton version more so than the old 70s one)
Nightmare Before Christmas (yes, that WAS based on a book)
Both Narnia films
It (better than any other Stephen King book-to-film adaptation)
Fantastic Mr. Fox (pretty good and sophisticated, like the book)
Pride and Prejudice (the BBC and Keira Knightley versions were both great)
Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (BBC wins on this one; the Touchstone version was NOTHING like the book at all, but Marvin the Paranoid Android was cuter.)
Harry Potter 1 and 2 (the others are good films in their own right, especially 6, but in the ones after 2, key plot points are simply glossed over or left out entirely)
Brave Story (an anime film that's surprisingly close to its source material, even though it was like 700 or 800 pages)
Watchmen (Ultimate Director's Cut more so than theatrical version, since it has Black Freighter and more scenes in it)
Horton Hears a Who (Finally, a Dr. Seuss film that didn't make him turn in his grave)
Road to Perdition (even my graphic novel-hating mother likes this movie)
Precious: Based on the Novel "Push" by Sapphire (not as close to the book as I'd like, but an excellent film all the same)

Heck, any movie based on a book by Roald Dahl is really good. The Big Friendly Giant animated film, The Witches, and Matilda were all good (but not totally following the books).

[Scarecrow]

Stardust... it wasn't 100% faithful by any means but it was an excellent movie and an excellent book.

Of course LOTR is the best book to movie film but that's been said a gazillion times already.

[rocklobster]

Heck, any movie based on a book by Roald Dahl is really good. The Big Friendly Giant animated film, The Witches, and Matilda were all good (but not totally following the books).

There's a reason. The Roald Dahl estate won't let you make a movie unless they have control over it. They want it to be as authentic as possible. I heard that somewhere.
And The Witches is pure, undistilled Nightmare \Fuel.

[ilikegir33]

There's a reason. The Roald Dahl estate won't let you make a movie unless they have control over it. They want it to be as authentic as possible. I heard that somewhere.
And The Witches is pure, undistilled Nightmare \Fuel.

Dr. Seuss' estate is doing the same thing as of now. And I agree. The Witches was only rated PG, by the way.

[rocklobster]

That's kind of the point. It's PG, and it's still scary!

[Etoh*the*Greato]

Stardust... it wasn't 100% faithful by any means but it was an excellent movie and an excellent book.

Of course LOTR is the best book to movie film but that's been said a gazillion times already.

Stardust. Stardust. Stardust! I'm a diehard fan of Neil Gaiman, but I'm gonna reach out and say that I felt the movie was an improvement.

Jurassic Park,
The Time Traveler's Wife,
The Harry Potter series

[Wyntre Rose]

I agree with all the LotR love...very much.
The BBC Chronicles of Narnia series. Sure, the special effects were a joke - anyone remember the centaur whose human and horse parts you could actually see sliding apart? And the beavers looked like pineapples...lol - but for sheer obsessive faithfulness to the source material, they win hands down. I loved those movies as a kid, and still do.
Sense and Sensibility - played fast and loose with a few things (Colonel Brandon is much more likeable and interesting in the movie for example, but then, he is played by Alan Rickman...) but I LOVED it so.
Much Ado About Nothing - the Kenneth Branaugh/Emma Thompson version
The Masterpiece Theater version of Tale of Two Cities - great version of a great book, and very cool that they actually got British actors for the British characters and French actors for the French ones. That I could tell, not a fake accent in the bunch.
Les Mis
The miniseries of Pride and Prejudice, though the new Kiera Knightley version is good too.
The Jane Eyre starring Timothy Dalton. I don't care if he's known for playing 007, he was born to be Rochester.
Anne of Green Gables. The Sequel too. Really mixed at least 3 of the books, but did it in such a way that it works. Don't even talk to me about the third one, though...
Nicholas Nickleby - both the feature movie with Anne Hathaway and Christopher Plummer, and the 9 hour filmed live stage performance with most actors playing at least two roles - VERY cool.

[steenajack]

Nicholas Nickleby was AWESOME! Did you know that the guy who wrote that book also wrote A Christmas Carol.

BTW: A Christmas Carol (with Jim Carey) was a pretty good one in my opinion.

I LOVE the Anne of Green Gables series. Megan Follows IS Anne Shirley, in my opinion. X3!

Les Misrebles with Liam Nelson. I hear it is a bit different, but I still love this movie. Very well done, fantastic acting......love this movie a lot.

Pride and Prejudice. I personally prefer the Kiera Knightley version over the BBC version.

Of course, no one can beat Lord of the Rings! Epic movie series I say. It's like a once in a decade type-thing-great.

I've seen Much Ado About Nothing. X3! Loved this one.

The Newer version of Phantom of the Opera! I believe this is a play, not a book, but still pretty epic in my opinion.

Howl's Moving Castle was great. I've read the book after seeing the movie, and yes it was different. But this movie is done so well and wonderfully, that it didn't matter to me. XD!

Ooooo, there are many others, but I can't remember their names. *pouts* I shall return.....

[Wyntre Rose]

Nicholas Nickleby was AWESOME! Did you know that the guy who wrote that book also wrote A Christmas Carol.

BTW: A Christmas Carol (with Jim Carey) was a pretty good one in my opinion.

I LOVE the Anne of Green Gables series. Megan Follows IS Anne Shirley, in my opinion. X3!

Les Misrebles with Liam Nelson. I hear it is a bit different, but I still love this movie. Very well done, fantastic acting......love this movie a lot.

Pride and Prejudice. I personally prefer the Kiera Knightley version over the BBC version.

Of course, no one can beat Lord of the Rings! Epic movie series I say. It's like a once in a decade type-thing-great.

I've seen Much Ado About Nothing. X3! Loved this one.

The Newer version of Phantom of the Opera! I believe this is a play, not a book, but still pretty epic in my opinion.

Howl's Moving Castle was great. I've read the book after seeing the movie, and yes it was different. But this movie is done so well and wonderfully, that it didn't matter to me. XD!

Ooooo, there are many others, but I can't remember their names. *pouts* I shall return.....

Oh, yes, Dickens wrote Nicholas Nickleby, A Christmas Carol, Oliver, Tale of Two Cities, Great Expectations, and the list goes on...I love his stuff.

Actually, the Phantom of the Opera was originally a book by Gaston Leroux that the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical was rather loosely based on, so it definitely fits here.

[rocklobster]

heck, any Charles Dickens-inspired movie is good. Even Oliver and Company (and yes, it counts. It's basically like what Disney did with Robin Hood. Besides it's got songs by Billy Joel, Huey Lewis and Bette Midler. How can it notbe good.
I also submit Charly. Which is based on Flowers For Algernon. And yes, it's sad. And Watership Down. Very faithful and great animation to boot! ([spoiler]those poor, poor bunnies:waah!:)[/spoiler]

[Wikiwalker]

How could I have forgotten about Watership Down? I second Watership Down!

[airichan623]

Harry Potter movie 1-3 (hey the dursleys are there and all the side plots included/
Princess Diaries (better than the book, clean-ness wise; still hilarious)
Ella Enchanted (totally different, but good on its own; i kinda liked the movie better)
Willy Wonka (Johnny Depp version: the songs for the oompa loompas are better; and i
found a crazy 70s michael jackson-ish wonka hilarous)
Walk to Remember (wept for both; both good in their own rights)
Charlotte's Web (Dakota Fanning version)
Chronicles of Narnia both movies

[Wyntre Rose]

Murder on the Orient Express - best Agatha Christie novel-turned-movie ever, though the old Miss Marple series, with Joan Hickson and the Hercule Poirot series with David Suchet are pretty good, too.

Rebecca directed by Hitchcock - imho, he improved on the source material. Not surprising, though, considering it's HITCHCOCK. lol.

The Scarlet Pimpernel - with Anthony Andrews, Jane Seymour and Ian McKellan

[ShiroiHikari]

Oooh, somebody mentioned Anne of Green Gables! I love that book and the movie is just as wonderful.

[the_wolfs_howl]

How could I forget to mention these?!

A Series of Unfortunate Events (taking things from different books, changing things slightly, adding in new adventures and such, they made a completely different episode in the Baudelaire's unfortunate lives, yet somehow managed to perfectly capture the essence of Lemony Snicket's writing)

Horton Hears a Who (can't tell you how much I loved being able to see Dr. Seuss in this)

A Christmas Carol (the newest one; I recognized many lines taken exactly from the book, and it actually made the spirits intimidating like they were supposed to be, rather than just cheesy)

Inkheart (one of those few movies based on a book that, I think, did it better than the original - I felt the book lagged a bit in some parts and didn't like the way it ended Dustfinger's part, both of which are fixed in the movie)

Oliver Twist (the newest one; I gaped at the screen all throughout the movie, because the characters and even some of the places looked exactly the way I'd pictured them when I read the book)