Movies that ruin the book.

[3chordcharlie]

I thought 'Dreamcatcher' did a decent job of cramming a book into 2 hours.

 

[DesiPower]

LOTR, HP, Bourne, Time Machine... I guess all movie adaptations are crap. The comic adaptations like Batman, spidyman... they are OK

 

[Kelemvor]

This thread is why I don't read books that would ever get turned into movies. I like watching moves just to watch the movie and not care about what it was based off of. Lots of movies listed in here are good movies if you haven't read the books or don't' care about that.

 

[DaWhim]

battlefield earth
count of monte cristo

 

[PrinceofWands]

Was that based off a book?


I didnt know that!


SEE WHAT I MEAN!!!!

See sig.

I know that's not really fair, but the book holds a very special place for me so it's a pet peeve.

 

[spacejamz]

Lost World: Jurassic Park 2

I couldn't put the book down when I was reading it (finished it in 3 days)....the movie was just as bad as Sphere...

 

[CoinOperatedBoy]

This thread is why I don't read books that would ever get turned into movies. I like watching moves just to watch the movie and not care about what it was based off of. Lots of movies listed in here are good movies if you haven't read the books or don't' care about that.

That's kind of silly considering that, in most cases, the book is better. You would deprive yourself of the superior version out of willful ignorance?

 

[hanoverphist]

This thread is why I don't read books that would ever get turned into movies. I like watching moves just to watch the movie and not care about what it was based off of. Lots of movies listed in here are good movies if you haven't read the books or don't' care about that.

yup. ive enjoyed every movie listed in here, including the one i said was butchered. i have very low expectations from movies, so im usually entertained. i even stayed through that showgirls movie.

 

[bearxor]

I just read hitchhikers guide to the galaxy and the thought i would watch the movie. The movie sucked. Big time. It was only took small parts of the book. And they changed the context.


Name other movies where the book was awesome and the movie sucked

This is hilarious. I saw the thread topic and clicked it to come in here and yell about the latest movie adaptation of Hitchhikers Guide, but thats what the thread was started over. Hilarious.

After watching the movie, I had to go reread the book to console myself. It's too bad, because I thought it was a pretty good cast. The story just wasn't there.

 

[Kelemvor]

That's kind of silly considering that, in most cases, the book is better. You would deprive yourself of the superior version out of willful ignorance?

Absolutely. As they say, Ignorance is Bliss.

 

[jhu]

Dune, although Sting in tights is pretty hawt.

 

[thraashman]

battlefield earth
count of monte cristo

I actually disagree with this one. It was a pretty vast difference, true. But after reading the book I actually prefer the movie. Oddly enough I prefer the movie for Stardust to the book too.

I've never seen the movie for Eragon, but I've read the book. And from all I've heard about the movie from friends who did see it, this is one of the biggest butcherings.

The Stand. Some of the general things were kept, but the book was just so much more enthralling.

 

[mpo]

I thought 'My Life as a Dog' was a good movie. The book was just okay. Maybe something was missing in translation.

'Striptease' was a great book with funny things happening on every page. If you take out all the good bits, you end up with the Demi Moore movie.

 

[Kadarin]

battlefield earth

Battlefield Earth was a pretty shitty book, too.

 

[zoiks]

Worst book to film adaptation ever!

Yeaps. Congo is my fav Crichton book.

 

[Farang]

I'm going to prejudge it and say Shataram. Although Big B starring opposite Johnny Depp will be interesting, this thing is going to be a stripped down script-by-committee if it ever gets made. From wiki:

When the novel Shantaram was published, several parties, including actor Russell Crowe, expressed interest in a film adaptation. Although Crowe was temporarily attached to a bid, Warner Bros. went forward with a $2 million bid primarily due to actor Johnny Depp's expression of love for the book to studio executive Brad Grey. With the rights won, Depp was attached to star in the film, which would be based on a script written by the book's author Gregory David Roberts.[10] Roberts commended the casting choice, stating of Depp's suitability "He is the only American actor I know who is clued into India – from its cuisines and writers to Satyajit Ray" and the author said of his intended script, "The screenplay I am writing will be as complex and will have the same sense of layering and texturing. Thematically, it will reflect everything that is in the heart of the book and that is the exile experience, and the power of love to transform and change the heart of a person. But the book is a book and the film is a film—they are different art forms so the film will have an independent life."[11][12] In October 2005, Warner Bros. hired screenwriter Eric Roth to rewrite the initial draft created by Roberts.[13] The following November, director Peter Weir was hired by the studio to helm Shantaram and develop the script with Roth. The studio originally planned to schedule production for late 2006.[14]

By June 2006, Weir departed from the project with a studio spokesperson citing different interpretations between the director and the studio and producers.[15] In January 2007, director Mira Nair replaced Weir at the helm. The studio anticipated for production to begin by fall 2007 for a 2008 release.[16] Roth began rewriting the script to lower project costs, and actor Amitabh Bachchan joined to star opposite Depp. By November 2007, the anticipated February production start was canceled by Warner Bros., who cited the 2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike's interference with the script's readiness, the impending monsoon season in India, and Depp's schedule difficulties in filming between India and New Mexico in the United States.[17] The studio anticipated for production to finally begin in September 2008,[18] but the film remained postponed as of January 2009. Nair said that the film was still on track and that it would be released by 2011.[19]

And it isn't really a book that would translate well into film, as most of its good parts come from its narration and not necessarily the action sequences

 

[DesiPower]

battlefield earth

There was a book for that, WOW!

 

[Gooberlx2]

Jurassic Park and The Lost World.

Jurassic Park was a good movie, the book was much better. Jurassic Park "2" was a shitty movie and The Lost World was almost as good as the first book.

 

[Kyteland]

Was that based off a book?


I didnt know that!


SEE WHAT I MEAN!!!!

The book is awesome. I recommend that you read it.

 

[clamum]

Timeline. I like the book a lot, but the movie was absolute utter shit.

 

[Suspicious-Teach8788]

DaVinci Code?

 

[HumblePie]

Here's the thing. Pretty much every movie adaptation from a book is going to vary. Some are completely different such as Starship troopers. This is why I decide the merits of each separately.

With the Starship Troopers example, I actually like BOTH but for vastly different reasons. Personally I disliked Jurassic Park the movie and loved the book, which is typically the common theme.

But for the opposite, a good example of a movie that is better than the book is Fast Times at Ridgemont High. The book came out before the movie, but the movie was better. Same thing with the Princess Bride. Mainly because the characters come off much more animate and quarky in the movie than the book which was too fairy tailish.


So, there are examples of all. Typically the book is better than the movie but not in all cases. There are quite a few cases where I like both equally well, and there are rarer cases where the movie is plainly better than the book.

 

[SKORPI0]

Timeline. I like the book a lot, but the movie was absolute utter shit.

Yes, I had high expectations since it was written M.Crichton. Boy was I disappointed. Ended up reading the book again after watching the movie just to refresh what was changed/missing. I rarely find books being nicely interpreted in the movies probably due to time constraints perhaps.

The biggest ruin to me as mentioned earlier were the Jason Bourne series, Robert Ludlum must be spinning in his grave. I wonder if they have plans on making movies based on the next 5 J.Bourne books written by Eric Van Lustbader.

 

[kitchiku]

harry potter series
lotr
da vinci code
angels and demons
....
almost all movie adaptations imo