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JRandomRohirrim
Nargothrond
Mar 23 2007, 9:43am
Post #1 of 31
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An Amazon Poll to Visit...
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And the poll is:
What's the greatest book-to-movie adaptation of all time?
And the link is here:
The results won't be announced until April 2.
(Edited by Altaira: the url was so loooooong it was stretching the whole thread way to the right in flat mode for Firefox users)
Boycott New Line!
http://www.boycottnewline.com
(This post was edited by Altaira on Mar 23 2007, 7:27pm)
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Advising Elf
Nargothrond
Mar 23 2007, 1:59pm
Post #2 of 31
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It's the only movie I've ever seen that changed nothing sustantial from the book. I saw the movie first, then read the book, and the only differences were:
- In the movie, one of the characters was female instead of male, but it made no difference at all.
- The movie left out one of the technical aspects of the effects of the organism on the human body.
- The movie had the scientists discover that the intent of the facility was biological warfare, whereas they knew that already in the book.
Not asked for, but as far as the *worst* adaptation "Logan's Run" springs to mind.
Yahoo!Group with good stuff to download:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/LOTRgoodies/
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grammaboodawg
Elvenhome
Mar 23 2007, 2:03pm
Post #4 of 31
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I haven't read it... but I think the scientists finding out the facility was intended for warfare as in the film was a change that added to the story.
 
Trust him... The Hobbit is coming!
"Barney Snow was here." ~Hug like a hobbit!~ "In my heaven..."
TORn's Observations Lists
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Wynnie
Nargothrond
Mar 23 2007, 2:18pm
Post #5 of 31
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between A Room with a View and Sense and Sensibility. I like adaptations to be as book-faithful as possible, and I was very satisfied with those two on that count.
Owlamoo
ink drawing by JRRT
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Annael
Elvenhome
Mar 23 2007, 2:49pm
Post #6 of 31
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The English Patient and To Kill a Mockingbird. Faithfulness to the word counts less for me than faithfulness to the spirit of the work, and those two brought out all the beauty and meaning in the books and perhaps even more.
But since we can vote as often as we want, I'll put in a vote for LOTR too 
Only a real man would dare do his morning power walk in a puffy shirt.
NARF and member of Deplorable Cultus since 1967
(This post was edited by Annael on Mar 23 2007, 2:50pm)
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Owlyross
Nargothrond
Mar 23 2007, 2:51pm
Post #7 of 31
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The Shining... Turning a piece of pulpy horror writing into a tense masterpiece of terror and the supernatural.
Or one that's not one there. Jaws. Turning a book which is quite frankly **** into a modern masterpiece and one of the most entertaining films of all time.
Note... Neither of them stick to the book exactly (in some places making stuff up and diverting to the benefit of the film) and are better for it, because for the most part, a book doesn't fit the conventions of the screen and vice versa... Really, how many good film-to-book adaptations have you read? And you're surprised there's not more good book adaptations?!
"Any society that would give up a little liberty to gain a little security will deserve neither and lose both."
Benjamin Franklin
The world is a tragedy to those who feel, but a comedy to those who think.
Horace Walpole (1717 - 1797)
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Morwen
Nargothrond
Mar 23 2007, 2:56pm
Post #8 of 31
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My favorite Michael Crichton book
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I remember feeling like I could see the movie in my head while I read it. Nothing really needed to be changed.
I wish you could have been there
When she opened up the door
And looked me in the face
Like she never did before
I felt about as welcome
As a Wal-Mart Superstore--John Prine
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Wynnie
Nargothrond
Mar 23 2007, 3:17pm
Post #9 of 31
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was a close third, for me. I can't judge The English Patient for faithfulness, since I never read the book; I did love the film. And yes, capturing the spirit and beauty and meaning is very important; the two I chose exceeded expectations in that regard too.
Didn't realize multiple votes were possible; I'll have to go back!
Owlamoo
ink drawing by JRRT
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Advising Elf
Nargothrond
Mar 23 2007, 3:44pm
Post #10 of 31
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The fact that it was bad thing needed more emphasis.
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The fact that it's a dangerous thing to mess around with is implicit in the book.
Of course, being prepared to defend against it is a different thing than planning or it's use, but I wonder if effective defenses could be devised without messing sround with possible weapons? What a messy business.
Yahoo!Group with good stuff to download:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/LOTRgoodies/
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Advising Elf
Nargothrond
Mar 23 2007, 3:46pm
Post #11 of 31
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Jurassic Park might even have edged it out for first. Considering I've read it more times, that's probably the case.
*makes note to look for AS and read it again*
Yahoo!Group with good stuff to download:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/LOTRgoodies/
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JRandomRohirrim
Nargothrond
Mar 23 2007, 3:47pm
Post #12 of 31
(1587 views)
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That Would be My Second Place Choice
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I really love To Kill a Mockingbird (the book as well as the movie - the adaptation is brilliant). It's also another example of perfect casting.
Boycott New Line!
http://www.boycottnewline.com
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N.E. Brigand
Gondolin
Mar 23 2007, 4:25pm
Post #13 of 31
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"If it's worth doing, it can't be done. If it can be done, it's not worth doing."
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A stricture on adaptations postulated in the late 1950s by the film and theater critic, John Simon. (Occasionally refered to as Simon's law.) The idea being that the genius of a great work is inherent in its form. Which hasn't stopped Simon from praising films adapted from good novels.
I voted for Howards End (1992), whose film version Simon panned. It was one of my two or three favorite films that year (along with The Crying Game and Un Coeur en hiver, neither an adaptation) but I only read the novel a few months ago. Yes the novel is both subtler and a bit harsher on the "good" characters, but I still find the film remarkable.
Interesting list. Stanley Kauffmann's review of John Huston's The Dead (1987) discusses the limitations of film adaptation at some length. He points out that Joyce at one point has someone "literally bowled over" -- Kauffmann pointed out that there's no filmic way to convey Joyce's "literally".
The one and only film class I ever took was on "Film and Literature", taught by Tony Macklin, who edited the journal Film Heritage in the late 1960s. The class was subsumed in the English department; there was no film department at the University of Dayton. (A couple years later, the alumni magazine carried a short story about Macklin teaching a film course that lacked a literary correlation: a survey of Clint Eastwood's flims. In response, someone wrote an angry letter to the editor about how such pop culture excursions were inappropriate in an academic setting.) We read/watched Don Quixote (1957 Russian film), Fahrenheit 451, The Graduate, 2001: A Space Odyssey, and The Silence of the Lambs. I remember several students identifying the last one as a clear improvement on the book.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 Tolkien Illustrated! Jan. 29-May 20: Visit the Reading Room to discuss art by John Howe, Alan Lee, Ted Nasmith and others, including Tolkien himself.
Mar. 19-25: Tolkien illustrates The Lord of the Rings
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Darkstone
Elvenhome
Mar 23 2007, 5:09pm
Post #14 of 31
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Where’s:
Breakfast at Tiffany's
Doctor Zhivago
Orlando
American Psycho
Lawrence of Arabia
Dracula (1931)
Frankenstein (1931)
Schindler's List
Wizard of Oz
Butterfield 8
Planet of the Apes (1968)
Grapes of Wrath
Of Mice and Men
The Old Man and the Sea
and....ah, well....
I’m tempted to say The Last Time I Saw Paris, but since they left that one out too, I’ll go with LOTR.
I met a Balrog on the stair
He had some wings that weren't there.
They weren't there again today.
I wish he would just fly away.
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GaladrielTX
Dor-Lomin
Mar 23 2007, 5:57pm
Post #15 of 31
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Maybe they weren't very good adaptations?
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I'm sure Lawrence of Arabia departed from the source material to a great degree because the movie is one of my favorites, but I couldn't get past the first few pages of the book. *snore*
~~~~~~~~
I used to be GaladrielTX, but my TX went off into the Blue to have mad adventures.
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Patty
Elvenhome
Mar 23 2007, 6:05pm
Post #16 of 31
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I've never read Orlando, but..
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I'm willing to bet this is a great adaptation. Due to the constant time (and gender) shifts, it must have been the very devil to adapt.
At home, amongst the Mallorn trees.
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Morwen
Nargothrond
Mar 23 2007, 6:20pm
Post #17 of 31
(1554 views)
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I suspect that Chrichton writes his books with the expectation that they will be made into movies and structures them accordingly.
I wish you could have been there
When she opened up the door
And looked me in the face
Like she never did before
I felt about as welcome
As a Wal-Mart Superstore--John Prine
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Advising Elf
Nargothrond
Mar 23 2007, 6:42pm
Post #18 of 31
(1547 views)
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The first CGI was in a Crichton movie.
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In Westworld, when Richard Benjamin throws the acid into Yul Brenner's face, his eyesight goes weird and pixelated.
Here's a link to the story about it: http://www.michaelcrichton.com/westworld/index.html
Yahoo!Group with good stuff to download:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/LOTRgoodies/
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Morwen
Nargothrond
Mar 23 2007, 7:15pm
Post #19 of 31
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Interesting bit of movie history
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I've never seen Westworld. I'll have to stick it on my Netflix list.
I wish you could have been there
When she opened up the door
And looked me in the face
Like she never did before
I felt about as welcome
As a Wal-Mart Superstore--John Prine
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namadriel
Menegroth
Mar 23 2007, 7:37pm
Post #20 of 31
(1553 views)
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The Princess Bride. The movie and book are both amazing! And they managed to capture the sarcastic tone of the book in the movie.
I also think The Green Mile is one of the best book-to-movie adaptations I've ever seen.
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Idril Celebrindal
Dor-Lomin
Mar 24 2007, 12:50am
Post #21 of 31
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Emma
The Godfather
Ben Hur (1959)
Spartacus
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
The African Queen
Being There
The Harry Potter movies
The Shining
Carrie
Blade Runner
All Quiet on the Western Front (1932)
I could go on and on ....
With caffeine, all things are possible.
The pity of Bilbo will screw up the fate of many.
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N.E. Brigand
Gondolin
Mar 24 2007, 1:43am
Post #22 of 31
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is on amazon's poll.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Tolkien Illustrated! Jan. 29-May 20: Visit the Reading Room to discuss art by John Howe, Alan Lee, Ted Nasmith and others, including Tolkien himself.
Mar. 19-25: Tolkien illustrates The Lord of the Rings
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Finding Frodo
Dor-Lomin
Mar 24 2007, 2:15am
Post #23 of 31
(1552 views)
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Under the Amazon poll there was also a list of movies that were considered better than the books they were based on. I didn't click on it but there was a picture of Jaws by it. I would also nominate 'The Firm" in that category if it isn't already there.
Where's Frodo?
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Finding Frodo
Dor-Lomin
Mar 24 2007, 2:19am
Post #24 of 31
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Hey, how about best movie novelization?
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We found my husband's paperback copy of The Karate Kid in a box that was in his parents' garage. My copy of E.T., the Extraterrestriel is around somewhere too. They are hilarious. I also just remembered doing a book report on Close Encounters of the Third Kind when I was in jr. high. Great literature, eh? Well, I liked it at the time.
Where's Frodo?
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diedye
Hithlum
Mar 24 2007, 3:53am
Post #25 of 31
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As much as I love LOTR, I had to pick To Kill A Mockingbird...
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The acting was superb and the movie stayed quite true to the book.
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Not to mention ...
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