# Greatest book AND screen adaptation of all time is.... **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 13, 2015, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-book-and-screen-adaptation-of-all-time-is/719984 "2015-05-13T23:37:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2015, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-book-and-screen-adaptation-of-all-time-is/719984/21 "2015-05-14T14:05:03Z")
A prior thread on this subject had **To Kill A Mockingbird** as the most common answer. Link to the prior thread: [What do you think are the best book and movie pairings? - Cafe Society - Straight Dope Message Board](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=493254) I think the Lord of the Rings is a great candidate. I think I mentioned in the prior thread, Godfather may well be the greatest movie but the book was only very good at best. ---
**Author:** ![LH75](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lh75/32/4438_2.png) [@LH75](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LH75)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2015, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-book-and-screen-adaptation-of-all-time-is/719984/22 "2015-05-14T14:13:30Z")
> [@WordMan](#): > > Assumed this was the steered-towards answer. It almost has the weight of _conventional wisdom_, like starting a discussion of best bball players with Michael Jordan. > > I love both; the book has held Favorite Novel position for me at various points in my life. > > Question: given how the world is evolving, non-white-straight-male voices are gaining share in mainstream culture. As an old white straight guy, I applaud this general direction. Does this movement impact how we will view To Kill a Mockingbird? It could be described as illustrative of the _white savior_ approach. The best example ever, but still positioned from that perspective, relegating black characters and voices to small, but critical roles like Tom and Calpurnia. > > Probably should be in another thread. Again, I love the book and movie. This is a very interesting question. I think as we move on to a much more homogenized society it is possible, and even likely, that the context of this great novel will be lost. I prefer to think of Atticus Finch’s role as more “moral character in the face of adversity” rather than seeing him as a “white savior.” Atticus Finch has always define the word “Character” for me ---
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2015, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-book-and-screen-adaptation-of-all-time-is/719984/23 "2015-05-14T14:13:58Z")
I saw the thread title and immediately thought of To Kill A Mockingbird. It is perhaps the only case of a great book made into a great movie. Great books generally make so-so films; great films are generally made from so-so books. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2015, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-book-and-screen-adaptation-of-all-time-is/719984/24 "2015-05-14T14:16:26Z")
Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep/Blade Runner get my vote. ---
**Author:** ![puddleglum](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puddleglum/32/137_2.png) [@puddleglum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puddleglum)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2015, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-book-and-screen-adaptation-of-all-time-is/719984/25 "2015-05-14T14:27:47Z")
A Christmas Carol by Dickens and the movie starring George C Scott. One of the great books ever written and a great movie too. To Kill a Mockingbird is such an interior book in that it is all about Scout’s feelings and thoughts. Whereas A Christmas Carol is told from an outside perspective, this leads to more of what was great about To Kill a Mockingbird being left off the screen. ---
**Author:** ![Sitnam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Sitnam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sitnam)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2015, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-book-and-screen-adaptation-of-all-time-is/719984/26 "2015-05-14T15:02:06Z")
> [@zombywoof](#): > > The Big Sleep The Big Lebowski was really good. ---
**Author:** ![LVBoPeep](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/858c86/32.png) [@LVBoPeep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LVBoPeep)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2015, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-book-and-screen-adaptation-of-all-time-is/719984/27 "2015-05-14T15:52:57Z")
> [@Bridget\_Burke](#): > > I’d like to nominate the book & series, _Lonesome Dove_… For the win…the miniseries couldn’t have been cast any better for one thing. I did like To Kill a Mockingbird book and movie but I only needed to see/read TKAM once. Lonesome Dove I read every 2-3 years and basically watch whenever it shows up on the tv guide… ---
**Author:** ![gwendee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/35a633/32.png) [@gwendee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gwendee)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2015, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-book-and-screen-adaptation-of-all-time-is/719984/28 "2015-05-14T16:48:40Z")
> [@Stoid](#): > > To Kill A Mockingbird. > > And thus ends the discussion we never had because this is the definitive answer. There is no other, greater book that also has a just-as-or-even-greater screen adaptation. > > And if you have not read the book and seen the movie, you are culturally deprived and need to correct that straightaway. I agreed before I even opened the thread. Furthermore, the version read by Sissy Spacek is the finest audio book I’ve listened too. ---
**Author:** ![dataguy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/eada6e/32.png) [@dataguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dataguy)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2015, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-book-and-screen-adaptation-of-all-time-is/719984/29 "2015-05-14T18:49:33Z")
The Godfather When I saw the movie everything was just like I pictured it in my head when reading the book. ---
**Author:** ![Eonwe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eonwe/32/240_2.png) [@Eonwe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eonwe)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2015, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-book-and-screen-adaptation-of-all-time-is/719984/30 "2015-05-14T18:56:31Z")
The Princess Bride. ---
**Author:** ![TCMF-2L](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tcmf-2l/32/16553_2.png) [@TCMF-2L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TCMF-2L)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2015, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-book-and-screen-adaptation-of-all-time-is/719984/31 "2015-05-14T19:13:40Z")
I’m going to go for another novella and **Bubba Ho-Tep**. Anyone can churn out crazy stuff as a horror comedy. In writing that’s what is is - an imaginative and serviceable horror comedy. But in the film you have a black man as John F Kennedy and (actor) **Ossie Davies** imparts a genuine dignity in the role. Further the idea of \*\*Bruce “Evil Dead” Campbell \*\*doing a cheap Elvis Presley impersonation sounds like an easy laugh. But Campbell is playing the role straight, his best work in my opinion, and making Elvis a resigned, bitter old man. Sure you get the cheap horror film laughs as well. However there is some solid acting in there. All in my opinion of course. TCMF-2L ---
**Author:** ![DummyGladHands](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/49beb7/32.png) [@DummyGladHands](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DummyGladHands)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2015, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-book-and-screen-adaptation-of-all-time-is/719984/32 "2015-05-14T20:25:44Z")
> [@Stoid](#): > > To Kill A Mockingbird. > > And thus ends the discussion we never had because this is the definitive answer. There is no other, greater book that also has a just-as-or-even-greater screen adaptation. > > And if you have not read the book and seen the movie, you are culturally deprived and need to correct that straightaway. Bravo. As with any “challenge” thread, the mind races thru choices before opening the thread. In this case, my mind came to a screeching halt. Well done. And to whomever said “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest”, methinks I read a different book with the same title. ---
**Author:** ![HubZilla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ccd318/32.png) [@HubZilla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HubZilla)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2015, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-book-and-screen-adaptation-of-all-time-is/719984/33 "2015-05-15T19:38:09Z")
“The Grapes of Wrath” with Henry Fonda captures the spirit of the book very well. Per IMDB: > [@](#): > > Prior to filming, producer Darryl F. Zanuck sent undercover investigators out to the migrant camps to see if John Steinbeck had been exaggerating about the squalor and unfair treatment meted out there. He was horrified to discover that, if anything, Steinbeck had actually downplayed what went on in the camps. Ma steals the show in the movie. The only quibble is that the movie ends on a more optimistic note than the book. ---
**Author:** ![dasmoocher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/dbc845/32.png) [@dasmoocher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dasmoocher)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2015, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-book-and-screen-adaptation-of-all-time-is/719984/34 "2015-05-16T00:11:40Z")
The problem with _To Kill A Mockingbird_ is that it’s a completely misleading title–there’s no killing of a mockingbird. 😕 ---
**Author:** ![TBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@TBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TBG)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2015, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-book-and-screen-adaptation-of-all-time-is/719984/35 "2015-05-16T00:30:14Z")
> [@Stoid](#): > > To Kill A Mockingbird. > > And thus ends the discussion we never had because this is the definitive answer. There is no other, greater book that also has a just-as-or-even-greater screen adaptation. > > And if you have not read the book and seen the movie, you are culturally deprived and need to correct that straightaway. pfft… that movie’s in black and white, it can’t be no good. ---
**Author:** ![Stoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stoid/32/272_2.png) [@Stoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stoid)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2015, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-book-and-screen-adaptation-of-all-time-is/719984/36 "2015-05-16T17:22:17Z")
> [@HubZilla](#): > > “The Grapes of Wrath” with Henry Fonda captures the spirit of the book very well. > > Per IMDB: > > Ma steals the show in the movie. The only quibble is that the movie ends on a more optimistic note than the book. That’s one way of putting it. I would have said “the movie wusses out” - but I guess showing a grown man nursing from a woman from sheer hunger is something too challenging to portray even now. Best left to the imagination. ---
**Author:** ![Charlie\_Wayne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4bbf92/32.png) [@Charlie\_Wayne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Charlie_Wayne)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2015, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-book-and-screen-adaptation-of-all-time-is/719984/37 "2015-05-16T17:34:54Z")
nm. ---
**Author:** ![Charlie\_Wayne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4bbf92/32.png) [@Charlie\_Wayne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Charlie_Wayne)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2015, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-book-and-screen-adaptation-of-all-time-is/719984/38 "2015-05-16T17:36:28Z")
> [@TBG](#): > > pfft… that movie’s in black and white, it can’t be no good. So is your post. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2015, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-book-and-screen-adaptation-of-all-time-is/719984/39 "2015-05-16T18:00:05Z")
I agree with the OP but other movie/book combos that are well done could be more appealing to some. ---
**Author:** ![Charlie\_Wayne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4bbf92/32.png) [@Charlie\_Wayne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Charlie_Wayne)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2015, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-book-and-screen-adaptation-of-all-time-is/719984/40 "2015-05-16T18:14:44Z")
> [@Stoid](#): > > That’s one way of putting it. I would have said “the movie wusses out” - but I guess showing a grown man nursing from a woman from sheer hunger is something too challenging to portray even now. Best left to the imagination. I didn’t read the book, but the movie was boring, boring, boring. One of the most boring films I’ve ever seen. IMO, nothing interesting ever happens. The major events in the film would make for a good book. But not for a good film. Sorry. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-book-and-screen-adaptation-of-all-time-is/719984.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greatest-book-and-screen-adaptation-of-all-time-is/719984.md?page=3)