As good as the books?
Retro Bitches
Originally published on December 2, 2005
I had such fun writing this one, books and movies. The only thing missing is a movie based from a book with a sex scene featuring the main characters licking Nutella off of each others’ bodies. Yummy. *wink*
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire was released at the theatres not yet a month ago. In a few days I’ll be seeing Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, and Memoirs of A Geisha too (I LURVE this book, truly mesmerizing). The Da Vinci Code will soon be gracing the big screen as well, while The Devil Wears Prada is currently in production. Jeez, talk about being in need of a new story. Oh, alright, stop twisting my arm! Let’s talk about books adapted into movies then.
Enjoyed the book, enjoyed the movie:
◙ About A Boy by Nick Hornby
◙ Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton
◙ First Wives Club by Olivia Goldsmith
◙ Frida by Hayden Herrera
◙ Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell
◙ High Fidelity by Nick Hornby
◙ Interview with the Vampire by Anne Rice
◙ Little Women by Loiusa May Alcott
◙ Secret Garden by Frances Burnett
◙ Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen
◙ Troy, based on Homer’s Iliad (I honestly think this is such a POOR adaptation; just the sight of Orly Bloom as Paris... *shudder* But I did enjoy the movie. OH COME ON, did you not see Brad Pitt?!? Unless you’re blind, you have to admit this movie is a feast for all us bitches—er, I mean, women who appreciate the grandeur of male beauty. *g* Totally loved Eric Bana’s character, more so than the well-endowed Achilles.)
Enjoyed the book, gawd awful movie:
◙ Corelli’s Mandolin by Louis DeBernieres (Penelope Cruz’s voice is so fucking irritating, you’d wish someone would whack her in the head with the stupid mandolin. And, oh, yeah, it’s boring.)
◙ Harry Potter movies by J.K. Rowling (Ohhh, you don’t want me to get started with this one; too many things to bitch about, too little space. *sigh*)
◙ In the Cut by Susanna Moore (Definitely not up to the cut. How could the director who brought us The Piano make such a stinking fest???)
◙ Killing Me Softly by Nicci French (The movie is lousy, passionless and capricious. The acting is dreary, the script insipid. Yeah, this movie would surely kill you softly.)
◙ Possession by A.S. Byatt (Such a shame! Byatt deserved more than this crap. Paltrow, an overrated fake British actress—oh please, loose the accent!—and that Eckhart dude, there was no chemistry AT ALL. Everything appeared annoying. The only good scene was when Ash met his daughter at the finale; you’ll cheer as the agony of watching the film finally has come to an end.)
◙ Queen of the Damned by Anne Rice (Awful, awful, AWFUL!!!!)
◙ Time Machine by H.G. Wells (Seriously, nothing even remotely savable in this appalling film.)
Enjoyed the movie, better than the book:
◙ A Little Princess by Frances Burnett
◙ Circle of Friends by Maeve Binchy
◙ Forrest Gump by Winston Groom
◙ Lord of the Rings trilogy by J.R.R. Tolkien
◙ Memento by Jonathan Nolan
◙ Schindler’s List by Thomas Keneally
◙ Talented Mr. Ripley by Patricia Highsmith (Disclaimer: Not a Matt Damon fan.)
Enjoyed the movie, never read the book:
◙ A Beautiful Mind by Sylvia Nasar (I luuurve Russell Crowe, and he was fantastic, FANTASTIC in this movie, people!—can you hear me, you fuckwits at The Academy?!! I still cannot believe he didn’t win an Oscar for this one. Bastards.)
◙ Apollo 13 by Jim Lovell
◙ Big Fish by Daniel Wallace
◙ Bourne Identity by Robert Ludlum (Disclaimer: Still NOT a Matt Damon fan.)
◙ Bourne Supremacy by Robert Ludlum (Disclaimer: I do NOT find Matt Damon sexy, hot, nor anything that can be associated with being attractive or fuckable.)
◙ Chocolat by Joanne Harris
◙ Cold Mountain by Charles Frazier
◙ Cruel Intentions, based on Les Liaisons Dangereuses by Choderlos de Laclos
◙ Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk
◙ Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton
◙ Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving
◙ Out of Sight by Elmore Leonard
◙ The Godfather by Mario Puzo
◙ The Pianist by Wladyslow Szpilman
◙ What’s Eating Gilbert Grape? by Peter Hedges
Whew. I think I deserve a medal for this article LOL. Okay, what about you? What’s your list of books that are better than the movies made from them? Or movies that are better than the books they were adapted from?
Labels: bibliophile’s affair, bitch at the movies
You crack me up! LOL. I think one of the worst film adaptations was The Firm based on the John Grisham novel. The main character, Mitch, is described as over 6 foot, athletic with curly hair. Who did they cast as Mitch? Why the midget Tom Cruise! LOL.
12/04/2005 06:36:00 AM
Really? LOL. Well, haven't seen the movie nor read the book. Not a Grisham fan, and definitely not a Tom Weirdo Cruise fan, either. :P
12/04/2005 01:17:00 PM
lol, Harlot you're hilarious. Tart too. Never read The Firm but saw the move. I'm not a Tom Cruise fan. Okay I was in Top Gun but not after that. And please, talk about a fucktard!
Anyway, I remember this post and recall our discussion of Possession which I didn't like as movie and never read the book.
This is my problem if I don't like movie I won't bother with book.
Ones that pop up for me:
Bridget Jones was great as movie and book.
Harry Potter, love the books, movies are fine.
Circle of Friends, good movie just horrible fake Irish accent by Chris O'Donnell.
In Her Shoes, was much better book than movie. I just felt you didn't see the changes in the characters that you did in the book. It didn't feel complete although the casting was excellent.
Sure there are more but that's all I got for now.
2/28/2006 10:30:00 PM
Queen of the Damned as movie was just horrible. Horrible! Hubby loves that movie and I told him read the book and he'll think differently.
The Princess Bride by William Goldman was good book and really good movie.
3/01/2006 12:56:00 AM
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
3/01/2006 01:55:00 PM
Sorry for the delete, what I was trying to say was:
I loved Circle of Friends and The Little Princess both as books, better than the movies. I mean the movies were good, but to me the books were better. Guess I stand alone on that one.
My nomination for great book/terrible movie: The book A Prayer For Owen Meany, and then whatever they decided to rename it as a film. "Simon Pearce" I think. I guess it was so bad, they were embarassed to admit they ruined a great John Irving story.
I heard Robert Redford optioned Time and Again by Jack Finney. I'm very, very scared about this, as this book is on my greatest hits. Although I'm curious about the casting for that one.
3/01/2006 01:58:00 PM
Stop Bashing midget Tom Harlot. I used to like him you know...before I got old and knew better...so enough already.
He did ok in THE FIRM..but I was only 21 when I saw it. Love the book though.
Harlot, must definitely try Grisham. I was anti-anything by romance/romantic book when I read him and he managed to make me like him! There you go!
It's not another OUTLANDER you know. :P
3/01/2006 03:07:00 PM
My only real issue is with you ranking the LOR movies better than the movies. Please. Those movies, while not bad, were certainly not of the caliber of Tolkein. That man is a genious...Any takers on Lord of The Flies? Book vs. Movie?
3/01/2006 07:19:00 PM
Hullo E.S.
I agree with you that Tolkien is a genius, no question about that. The man created probably the most complex and most detailed mythological system. He reinvented our world by giving it a new history.
But the thing is, when i read his books, somehow, i found them boring. :S I think it's just me, just not my thing.. Or maybe i should give them another try? Anyway, no matter what, i do believe Tolkien's a gift to the literary world. I just like the movies better than his books. :P
3/01/2006 07:43:00 PM
Watching the movies before reading the books sometimes spoils all the fun for me. Exception to this rule are:
The Phantom of the Opera
The Count of Monte Cristo
Bridget Jones Diary
Readers get their own mental image of the characters of their favorite books, so when casting the actors theres a huge possibilty for deception.
In the issue of books being made into movies, the only rule is to be flexible; if the movie and characters capture the essence of the books then it's fine by me, but if it's close to perfection even better.
Carolina.
3/01/2006 08:50:00 PM
OK first of all I LOVE Harry Potter, the books AND the movies!!!!
Second, Tom Cruise is a fuck stick. My hubby loves War of the Worlds and I nearly beat the crap out of him for that. Top Gun was Tom's only semi-decent performance.
another HEY!!!!! warranted for the Queen of the Damned comments. Yea I know the book was way better but dammit Fuck Stick Tom Cruise ruined Lestat! Stuart Townsend was a natural for Lestat.
LOVED Forrest Gump.
Troy sucked, period.
Godfather movies are totally the shizznik. I love Al Pacino. Mario Puzo's book was really done well as a movie.
Exodus was a great translation into film from literature.
Now Toni Morrison's Beloved made a hell of a movie. Jon Demme did fabulous work transitioning Oprah into ex-slave Sethe.
The Color Purple is another great translation from book into film. Good casting, great acting and an all-around good story.
I can't watch Schindler's List. I can't even read the book because it sends me deep into depression. I experienced the same depression trying to watch Munich in the theater. I left with 40 minutes of film left and I was soooo depressed for a week my hubby couldn't shake me out of it. That doesn't happen often but wow...
I HATE Peter Jackson's work! LOR in my opinion sucks. I like Tolken's work but GOD PJ just draws shit out way too long! Look how he fucked up King Kong.
By the Way Age of Innocence is the next dvd I am begging hubby for after Goblet of Fire. I LOVE that book and the movie was just breath taking.
And I LOVED Narnia!
3/01/2006 10:09:00 PM
Oh wait Tom Cruise did do well in A Few Good Men and the Count of Monte Cristo
3/01/2006 10:10:00 PM
ok my wife just showed me her posts.
First of all I do not read books so I call her the book expert. I worked as a projectionist in a movie house for six years so I love movies, period.
Tom is not that bad. True he's a fruit but he can act no matter what my wife says. I liked War of the Worlds and I like the firm.
Please forgive Marlene for saying LOR sucked it does not! I will take away her new books I bought her last week from BAM as punishment.
And by the way I think Narnia sucked.
Thank you for your time.
Chris Malone
husband of Marlene
3/01/2006 10:16:00 PM
Forgive my husband. While he is a fan of literature, he is dyslexic which is why I am the one who reads like crazy. Not to take away from him, though. He is a good man (even if he does like Tom Cruise).
What I meant was that I liked Monte Cristo because I forgot to put that movie down on my original list.
I'll tell you he is quite a sharp cookie when it comes to movies. Ask him anything about any movie, director, special effects person, etc and he knows.
Speaking of Anne Rice I am reading her book about Jesus right now. I could see this one being made into a movie.
3/02/2006 07:15:00 AM
The Princess Bride references reminded me of another story, where the book and movie were equally good - The Neverending Story
3/02/2006 01:48:00 PM
Marlene, before i started reading romance novels, Anne Rice was my fave author. Yeah.. LOL. Anyway, although Tom Cruise wasn't the ideal Lestat, i actually liked "Interview with the Vampire." MUCH better than "Queen of the Damned"! Ugh. Hate hate hate that movie! Stuart Townsend acted like a poor copycat of The Crow--the horror! And to think it's my fave Anne Rice book. Such a crappy adaptation, the shame.
How can you hate LOTR??!? I don't care about some ape lol, LOTR movies however are simply AMAZING. :D
OMG, i LOVE "The Age of Innocence." Archer and Olensca(sp?), they're in love, but he's married. You can see it in his eyes, every time, how much he wants her, how much he aches for her.. oh my.. the sexual tension between them just sizzles. Great movie.
Didn't like Narnia. I thought it was a stupid movie. Sorry. *ducks* LOL
3/02/2006 02:30:00 PM
Aggie,
Not a fan of Tom but i loved "Jerry Maguire."
I like Tracy Chevalier's books. But haven't seen the movie version of GIRL WITH THE PEARL EARRING. Is it good?
Bawdy and Serendipity,
Let's see.. Will try Grisham someday. :P
Loved "The Princess Bride"! Will see "Pride and Prejudice" tomorrow, YAY!
3/02/2006 02:35:00 PM
Trollop, you're just jealous i'm gonna see PRIDE AND PREJUDICE tomorrow on the theatres. :P
Narnia was one of those movies last year i REALLY waited for. I was so excited to see it, even dragged BF to it--to my embarassment, and his enjoyment! Well, i tried to fake that i loved it just so he won't tease me; of course he saw through it and kept smirking, bastard. Anyway, LOL, i thought Narnia was boring and was trying too hard to be something it's not. :S
Wonder if people who love CS Lewis's books would still say it's a good movie if it's not based from it..
3/02/2006 05:00:00 PM
Hi Bitches,
Hubby wants to thank you girls for showing him hospitality. And not to worry, before he threatened to take away my new books I reminded him that I am paying his mechanic for fixing his car LOL
I think honestly the Narnia/LOTR debate stems from the fact if you really liked one you were not going to care for the other. Hubby personally found Narnia to be similar to LOTR in plot (huh?) and thoguht Narnia was dragging in parts. That is exactly my opinion on LOTR. Now don't get me wrong PJ did a heck of a job but he in my opinion is WAY too descriptive.
I would love to get some opinions on Toni Morrison's work. I've seen/read Beloved, finished Jazz, and am halfway through Paradise. I think Jon Demme was a perfect choice to make the movie Beloved because his style seems to compliment Toni Morrison's writing style (who in my opinion compares to Faulkner).
3/03/2006 07:45:00 AM
The Pianist was AWESOME. I loved it. I remember I had a hell of a shock at Harvey Keitel's full frontal - wasn't especting it...
2/20/2007 04:23:00 PM
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