# Most bastardized work from book to screen? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 13, 2006, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-bastardized-work-from-book-to-screen/339876 "2006-01-13T20:50:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2006, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-bastardized-work-from-book-to-screen/339876/21 "2006-01-14T01:40:06Z")
Oh, come on, if we’re going to include Disney we might as well just list them all. “Disneyfied” is a common-use synonym for “bastardized.” (_Alice in Wonderland_ infuriates me the most.) ---
**Author:** ![asterion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/4da419/32.png) [@asterion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asterion)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2006, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-bastardized-work-from-book-to-screen/339876/22 "2006-01-14T02:07:01Z")
> [@Bryan Ekers](#): > > Oh, they _tried_, but the versions I’ve seen couldn’t resist slapping on happy endings or spoon-feeding the audience (“Hey! Look at this part! This is important! Did you see it? Well, let’s see it again! Let’s explain what it means! Got it? This is _important!_”) If you can find an old VHS copy of the animated version, you might get the most amazing marketing WTF in history. I believe the blurb actually said “Fun for the whole family.” ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2006, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-bastardized-work-from-book-to-screen/339876/23 "2006-01-14T02:24:30Z")
Re: Disney’s _Hunchback_ (which has a [sequel](http://imdb.com/title/tt0257778/) as well), my favorite message was Esmerelda’s reaction to Quasi at the end and the lesson she had learned. Basically it was > [@](#): > > Esmerelda: And I have learned that just because Quasi is deformed and ugly to look at, his heart and his mind are better than anybody’s I know, and he is just as deserving of happiness and he risked his life to save mine and thus he is my hero to the Nth degree! > > Person 2: Yeah. So are you going to marry him instead of the pretty boy Phoebus? > > Esmerelda: The hell?! Are you drunk or something? **Beloved** was a compelling novel (far from my favorite but it definitely kept you watching), but the Oprah vehicle movie was absolutely unwatchable. **The Firm** is not what most would consider great literature, but it was a really good escapist adventure thriller. The characters were well developed, the plot was feasible, and the ending (their escape through the endless mom & pop motels on the Florida Gulf Coast) was tense and brilliant. I couldn’t believe the ending of the movie, in which he tells her about the affair _he doesn’t in the book_ and they indict the Mafia on a _MAIL FRAUD!_ charges rather than stealing millions from them and hauling ass to the Caribbean like in the book ---
**Author:** ![DrFidelius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drfidelius/32/3447_2.png) [@DrFidelius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrFidelius)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2006, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-bastardized-work-from-book-to-screen/339876/24 "2006-01-14T02:53:02Z")
**Starship Troopers** has been mentioned already, but the current adaptation of Heinlein’s **Glory Road** is even more removed from the book. It’s like the filmmakers never even heard of the novel… ---
**Author:** ![Lemur866](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lemur866/32/434_2.png) [@Lemur866](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemur866)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2006, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-bastardized-work-from-book-to-screen/339876/25 "2006-01-14T03:01:14Z")
Yeah, Oscar was a football star, not a basketball star. ---
**Author:** ![Llama\_Llogophile](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@Llama\_Llogophile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Llama_Llogophile)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2006, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-bastardized-work-from-book-to-screen/339876/26 "2006-01-14T03:10:10Z")
I vote for **Total Recall**. This is especially galling, because Phillip K. Dick wrote a lot about the inhumanity of war and violence. Having Arnie up there blowing everyone away was about the worst way to bastardize what he wrote. ---
**Author:** ![Leaper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4bbf92/32.png) [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2006, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-bastardized-work-from-book-to-screen/339876/27 "2006-01-14T03:24:54Z")
> [@Mach Tuck](#): > > I vote for **Total Recall**. > > This is especially galling, because Phillip K. Dick wrote a lot about the inhumanity of war and violence. Having Arnie up there blowing everyone away was about the worst way to bastardize what he wrote. While true, I would argue that unless “the inhumanity of war and violence” was the message of _that particular work_ (which I don’t THINK it was, but it’s been a while since I read “We Can Remember It For You Wholesale”), this point is irrelevant for the purposes of discussing **Total Recall**. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2006, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-bastardized-work-from-book-to-screen/339876/28 "2006-01-14T03:28:09Z")
> [@Mach Tuck](#): > > I vote for **Total Recall**. > > This is especially galling, because Phillip K. Dick wrote a lot about the inhumanity of war and violence. More jarringly, Dick’s protagonist is something less than an every-man – dull, unimaginative, physically underwhelming – REKAL is appealing to him because exciting real-life experiences are simply never going to happen to him. Who to cast, who to cast? Ooh! _MR. UNIVERSE!_ _The Running Man_ went in exactly the same direction. Here’s a guy with no options – a sickly, exhausted no-hoper. The kind of person to whom the slim chance offered by the ultimate in exploitive television would appeal. Who to cast, who to cast? Ooh! _MR. UNIVERSE!_ ---
**Author:** ![Sublight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/439d5e/32.png) [@Sublight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sublight)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2006, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-bastardized-work-from-book-to-screen/339876/29 "2006-01-14T17:08:12Z")
> [@Superdude](#): > > 1. [I, Robot](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0343818/). I haven’t seen this one, but my understanding (from reading about it on this board) is that it really only shares the title as the Asimov story, not any plot points. According to what I’ve read, it wasn’t even intended to be an adaptation of the Asimov’s book. The producers were making their own movie when someone pointed out that their story had enough similarities to Asimov’s to raise the possibility of plagiarism. They decided to cover their assets by buying the rights to his book and renaming their movie. It’s not the worst offender by far, but Disney’s _Hercules_ certainly made the Greek Gods a lot more family-friendly than they were in the original stories. ---
**Author:** ![lee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lee/32/7455_2.png) [@lee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lee)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2006, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-bastardized-work-from-book-to-screen/339876/30 "2006-01-14T17:33:34Z")
> [@DrFidelius](#): > > **Starship Troopers** has been mentioned already, but the current adaptation of Heinlein’s **Glory Road** is even more removed from the book. It’s like the filmmakers never even heard of the novel… I so panicked when I heard they were going to make a movie of **Glory Road** , (How could Disney do it justice with all that nudity and how could they do the great copulation?) I immediately looked up the details and was quite pleasantly surprised. ---
**Author:** ![Flipstrip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f6c823/32.png) [@Flipstrip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flipstrip)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2006, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-bastardized-work-from-book-to-screen/339876/31 "2006-01-14T17:42:02Z")
“The Hotel New Hampshire.” It’s been a good 15 years since I’ve seen it, but it was just slashed to ribbons, IIRC. One of my friends told me that if I hadn’t told her about the book, she would have never been able to follow what was going on. Of course, when you take a character that’s supposed to be fairly unattractive and cast Nastassia Kinski in the role, you know they just don’t understand the source material. Hmmm…reading this thread, it seems that John Irving books really get bastardized once Hollywood gets a hold of them. ---
**Author:** ![Speaker\_for\_the\_Dead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c77e96/32.png) [@Speaker\_for\_the\_Dead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Speaker_for_the_Dead)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2006, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-bastardized-work-from-book-to-screen/339876/32 "2006-01-14T17:45:29Z")
> [@Sublight](#): > > It’s not the worst offender by far, but Disney’s _Hercules_ certainly made the Greek Gods a lot more family-friendly than they were in the original stories. Ah, _Hercules_. That movie was my first realisation that perhaps movies don’t always take the actual stories into account. Man, that show irritated me. ---
**Author:** ![middleman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9a140/32.png) [@middleman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/middleman)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2006, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-bastardized-work-from-book-to-screen/339876/33 "2006-01-14T17:53:08Z")
_Adaptation_\* was a hilariously bastardized version of Susan Orlean’s book _The Orchid Thief_. ---
**Author:** ![Linty\_Fresh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Linty\_Fresh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Linty_Fresh)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2006, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-bastardized-work-from-book-to-screen/339876/34 "2006-01-14T17:53:38Z")
Both Lynch and the Sci-Fi channel took major liberties with Dune’s plot and events. In particular, Sci-Fi channel’s production of **Children of Dune** basically made up a new story. In their defense, I’m beginning to doubt that a live action version of **Dune** is possible, especially with the third book. On the other hand, an innovative anime just _might_ do the books justice. ---
**Author:** ![Tevildo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9bd4f/32.png) [@Tevildo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tevildo)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2006, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-bastardized-work-from-book-to-screen/339876/35 "2006-01-14T17:55:07Z")
> [@Bryan Ekers](#): > > By the way, no filmmaker has yet done justice to _Animal Farm_. Hmm. The [1999 version](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0204824/) (with Pete Poslethwaite as Jones) wasn’t that bad. I assume your main objection would be to the happy ending? No votes yet for **Bonfire of the Vanities**? Although that is arguably just a bad film, rather than just a poor adaptation of the book. ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2006, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-bastardized-work-from-book-to-screen/339876/36 "2006-01-14T18:46:36Z")
[Creator](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0595179614/qid=1137264305/sr=2-1/ref=pd_bbs_b_2_1/002-9178506-1204811?s=books&v=glance&n=283155) by Jeremy Leven. The movie only vaguely resembled the book. However, having just finished the book I can say that this is a \*good \*thing. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Rieux](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@Dr.Rieux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Rieux)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2006, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-bastardized-work-from-book-to-screen/339876/37 "2006-01-14T19:00:46Z")
> [@Linty Fresh](#): > > Both Lynch and the Sci-Fi channel took major liberties with Dune’s plot and events. In particular, Sci-Fi channel’s production of **Children of Dune** basically made up a new story. In their defense, I’m beginning to doubt that a live action version of **Dune** is possible, especially with the third book. On the other hand, an innovative anime just _might_ do the books justice. HuH? I just watched the miniseries again and found it a faithful–if highly condensed–adaption of both Dune Messiah and Children of Dune. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Rieux](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@Dr.Rieux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Rieux)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2006, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-bastardized-work-from-book-to-screen/339876/38 "2006-01-14T19:02:36Z")
> [@divemaster](#): > > Seven minutes already and no one has mentioned **Starship Troopers**? Man, y’all are letting me down! Since when is turning a dreary and didactic book into an exciting action film with touches of dark satire a considered bastardization? YMMV. ---
**Author:** ![RikWriter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/49beb7/32.png) [@RikWriter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RikWriter)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2006, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-bastardized-work-from-book-to-screen/339876/39 "2006-01-14T19:08:02Z")
> [@Dr. Rieux](#): > > Since when is turning a dreary and didactic book into an exciting action film with touches of dark satire a considered bastardization? Since you’re laughably wrong on both counts? ---
**Author:** ![Linty\_Fresh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Linty\_Fresh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Linty_Fresh)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2006, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-bastardized-work-from-book-to-screen/339876/40 "2006-01-14T19:13:55Z")
> [@Dr. Rieux](#): > > HuH? I just watched the miniseries again and found it a faithful–if highly condensed–adaption of both Dune Messiah and Children of Dune. The first episode ( **Dune Messiah** ) was OK, but the last two? Vital characters and subplots were eliminated from the storyline altogether. Both Gurney Halleck and the Lady Jessica were _significantly_ cleaned up for the TV version (Admittedly, in the book, they were pretty far out to the point of being unbelievable.). I give the Sci-Fi channel props for separating out the hallucinogenic sludge and philoso-babble to make a decent show, but faithful? Forget it. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-bastardized-work-from-book-to-screen/339876.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-bastardized-work-from-book-to-screen/339876.md?page=3)