The Film of the Book

In his latest post Do Android Books Dream of Electric Movies Eyeris (or Mike the Man) talks about movie adaptations of books and whether it's best to read the books before watching the movies.

He thinks reading should definitely come first and I agree with him. Having said that, I think I'd have enjoyed The Lord of the Rings movies more if I'd not read the books first. As it is, I still haven't forgiven Peter Jackson for his depiction of ... well, lots of things. And I'm not even a big fan of Tolkien!

Mike is, however, right to say that reading allows you to come up with your own vision of a story, and at least I can cling on to my own idea of LOTR and not be haunted forevermore by the image of  village idiots when I think of Pippin and Merry, or heaving breasts when I picture Arwen.

Anyway, I thought I'd list my favourite movie/TV adaptations of books. Do write and tell me yours.

Breakfast at Tiffany's
Starring Audrey Hepburn and George Peppard
It's only very superficially like the book (by Truman Capote) and I can't forgive Mickey Rooney, with eye make-up, being passed off as Japanese, but it has its own charm; Hepburn sparkles as usual; and I love the scene in which she sings Moon River. Henry Mancini got that right anyway!

The Death of a Heart
Starring Patricia Hodge and Nigel Havers
An extremely faithful and perfectly cast TV adaptation of Elizabeth Bowen's novel, The Death of the Heart. The characters look and the scenes play out exactly how I imagine when I read the book.

Pride and Prejudice
Starring Elizabeth Garvie and David Rintoul
I preferred this TV adaptation to the 90s one that starred Colin Firth and Jennifer Ehle. For a start, David Rintoul  is much more convincing as Darcy.

All the President's Men
Starring Dustin Hoffman and Robert Redford
The book, by Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward, put me to sleep, but maybe being 10 when I tried to read it didn't help. Loved the movie though. It's the only film in which I think Dustin Hoffman looks sexy. And it's so funny, in this day of being expected to tape all one's interviews, to see journalists being asked if they're written down quotes. Their response: "Yes! I got everything down, almost verbatim!" is hilarious (to me).

The Joy Luck Club
Starring Ming Na Wen
I enjoyed the movie as much as I love the book. The ending in both versions always makes me cry.

Sophie's Choice
Starring Meryl Streep
I was traumatised by the book and the movie, but Streep is just so good in it. I think it's her best ever performance, but I can't watch it ever again as it depresses me too much.

Gigi
Starring Leslie Caron and Louis Jourdan
The movie (based on the novella by Colette) is one of my Top 5 favourite musicals of all time. Martin thinks it's a bit dodgy considering how the hero Gaston is pulling Gigi's pigtails one minute and wanting to bed her the next, not to mention the fact that she's being groomed by her aunt to be a courtesan! I just think it's very romantic. I love the songs and the way Gaston redeems himself in the end.

I can't think of anymore right now (this is Day 3 of a real killer of a migraine), but I will mention one of the worst TV adaptations I have ever seen. It's the 1983 TV series of Jane Austen's Mansfield Park. This is my least favourite Austen anyway as I find Fanny Price tiresome, but the actor who plays her makes her seem much worse. Dim  is the word that springs to mind! The1999 movie also got her totally wrong.

P.S. Thursday, December 16
Flambards!!! I so loved this mini-series, but Martin remembers it as tacky (His description: "It's abt this young girl who goes to live with relatives and she's the only female for miles around so all the guys fall in love with her even though she's ugly.") so I need to watch it again, just to be certain. I remember it being very true to the KM Peyton novels, which I adore, especially Edge of the Cloud. (The other books are Flambards, Flambards in Summer and Flambards Divided.)

Comments

[Daphne]

I can't believe I forgot Brideshead Revisited. It's probably my favourite TV adaptation. And Middlemarch. That's also good.

[Christopher]

I like Hugh Grant; smarmy is good! But he’s not in any of my top five adaptations, which are, in ascending order:
5) Jaws. The film’s held up better than the book. Robert Shaw’s monologue. Roy Scheider peeking at his appendix scar. Richard Dreyfuss crushing that Styrofoam cup. I’ve watched it over and over again, but the book seems soooo cumbersome now.
4) Silence of the Lambs. I really, really wanted this movie to be good. It was.
3) Ghost World (comics count, don’t they?). Thora Birch is dead solid perfect as Enid. Daniel Clowes co-wrote the screenplay -- and although the movie’s storyline is more conventional than the book’s, Enid’s still the teenager you sort of wish you’d been but who also makes you guiltily glad not to be the adult you suspect she’s going to become.
2) Stand By Me/The Body. My wife reminded me of this one. I think Stephen King’s at his best when writing about childhood and children. The movie didn’t let him (or me) down.
1) Brideshead Revisited. To me this is the world-heavyweight-champion-olympic-gold-medalist-scored-in-the-dying-seconds-to-win-the-world-cup daddy of all adaptations. Now when I reread the book it’s with Jeremy Iron’s world-weary, regretful, self-indulgent voice in my ears. And when I turn on the DVD player again, I remember the way the pages opened up, late at night, when I first went to Brideshead.
Honourable Mentions: The Big Sleep. Blade Runner. Apocalypse Now/Heart of Darkness. The Godfather. The Exorcist (The book’s unreadable now; the movie’s still not bad at all).

[Sarah]

Can't stand Hugh Grant. He is so smarmy.

[Lee]

Ah yes. Hugh Grant. A very good point. Why do screenwriters think a costume drama is impossible without him?

[Daphne]

I really hated the portrayal of Beth in Little Women (starring Winona Ryder). Clare Danes played her like she was mentally backward - the vacant (ga-ga) smile was esp scary!

Yes, Sense and Sensibility was pretty good. HOwever, I find ithard to totally enjoy any film starring Hugh Grant. I thought Kate Winslet and Greg Wise were very well cast tho.

[Lee]

I think I'll be avoiding Mansfield Park adaptations - good or bad - because I've yet to read it. Sense and Sensibility is (I think) my #1 favourite film adaptation of all time. Emma Thompson's screenplay did the book more justice than I ever could have imagined. Just superb. :)

[Sarah]

Loads of movie adaptations of books. The Talented Mr. Ripley by Patricia Highsmith. Didn't see the movie nor read the book. Mystic River by Dennis Lehane. Have the book but not read it yet. Heard the movie is really good. I love Little Women; the book and the movie. Good acting all around and Winona Ryder is great as Jo. What's Eating Gilbert Grape by Peter Hedges. Movie has Leonardo DiCaprio and Johnny Depp in it. Don't have a problem with people watching the movie first and reading the book after. If they like the movie they'll be intrigued about the book and would want to check it out.

[eyeris]

I just finished Amy Tan's memoirs Opposite of Fate, and she talks about making the movie. she was closely involved in making the film, and wrote the screenplay together with two others herself. I think that counts for a lot when an author is adapting a book.

That said, ROWLING should bloody stop messing around on the set of her movies.