IMO to really “take a dump” on the source material the film doesn’t just have to be very different to the book, but actually go against the implied or explicit point the author was making in the book.
Hence the examples of World War Z, which in the book went to great lengths to stress the international nature of the war and not just make it a “shiny handsome American hero bravely saves world from threat singlehandly” story. And I, Robot where Azimov explicitly said he didn’t like that plotline they told in the film.
I Am Legend is a good example of that too, its right there in the title of the book dammit! (though the last act of the Will Smith film, that did the dumping, was apparently changed at the last minute by the studio)
This is a bit different to the other cases. It wasn’t just different to the book, it was deliberately satirizing the book, to mock the pretty fascist-y lesson of the book and turn the film into a satire of the militaristic world view the book exposed.
I don’t actually know of any other examples of this (maybe Dr Strangelove, though AFAIK that was just a comedy based on serious book, not a deliberate attempt to the mock the point the book was making)
Two, actually, though neither were by Philip K. Dick. “The Bladerunner” was a 1974 novel by Alan E. Nourse. It was a science-fiction book about black-market medical services.
In 1979, William S. Burroughs wrote a story adaptation of Nourse’s book, which began as a film treatment. It was called “Blade Runner (a movie).” The title of Burroughs’ book was purchased for use as the title of the film, though neither book has any plot resemblance to the film.
the movie was not adapted from the book. The script had been written, and I even thing they had begun filming when someone decided they wanted to use the title, so they bought the rights and renamed a couple of characters.
Starship Troopers* is a good example though the movie was incredibly stupid.
The first movie I thought of when I read the title was The Cat in the Hat live action movie with Mike Myers in the title role. I thought it was horrendous and Dr. Seuss’ widow disliked it so much she refused any more attempts to make live action movies of his work.
The strongest memory I have of Wild Wild West is seeing Kevin Kline’s performance. He’s a terrific actor, always brings something interesting to every role, but I’ll be damned if it didn’t look like he was only doing this movie because Phoebe Cates had been kidnapped by the producers.
Oh, and it had a giant mechanical spider. And a legless Kenneth Branagh. What a mess of a movie.
I think this may be a little controversial, since I’ve discovered many fans of this movie who are completely unaware of the book it is based on.
I was really excited when I read on the cover of the sci-fi novel Logan’s Run (published 1967) was “soon to be a major motion picture”. The dystopian utopia in which everyone is euthanized on reaching the age of 21 is an odyssey though scenes and situations that scream for a cinematic treatment.
When the movie finally appeared in 1976, I was disappointed to find the age for termination was now 30 and instead of straightforward “you get killed to stabilize society”, there was a strange religious subplot. The scenes crossing the entire globe had collapsed to the “enclosed city”, the “wilderness” and the “Sanctuary”, all amorphously defined. And finally, the dizzying odyssey through all strata of this weird underage society had become a long drawn out chase with all the standard “twists”.
After all this time, I still haven’t seen Logan’s Run, but, yes, I remember the book being just as you describe it. So, I’m still in no hurry to see the film. Let’s not mention the TV show, mkay?
For me, the best part of Damnation Alley was when the team is attacked by the man-eating cockroaches and my brother’s best friend screamed at the top of his lungs, “Get 'em off me!” and started scratching his ass off, which made every single person in the movie house start scratching furiously, laughing all the way!
It seems not. I’ve read the Richard Matheson story many, many times, it’s one of my favorites, and it grips me with every read. Although it was a low-budget production, I’ve always thought the 1964 Vincent Price version, “The Last Man on Earth,” was the only version to somewhat capture the the darkness of the story and the methodical grimness of the narrator’s every day existence. Perhaps it was because it was in black and white, and Price always made whatever he was in just a little bit better. “The Omega Man” with Heston was not memorable, and the one with Will Smith was nothing special either.
I saw “The Last Man on Earth” in a movie theater in 1964. Believe it or not, it was the Saturday afternoon kids matinee feature. (How many kids had nightmares that night!) For weeks, my friends and I went around saying “Morgan…come out!”
^ The only part of the Will Smith version that gripped me was Where he had to strangle his dog; I cried like a baby! Did that have to be in there? Oh, $6/gallon gas hit close to home.
Re: “The Omega Man” – when Anthony Zerbe in a cloak and sunglasses is the most compelling character, you’ve got a problem.
Yes, that movie was utter shit. Granted actually filming the book would produce something along the lines of a Ken Burns documentary; not really suitable for a theatrical release, but ideal for cable TV or streaming.
They aged up the kids to 17 from 12. This seems OK, except in the books, the kids age one year per book “harry potter style”. A prophecy specifically is linked to his age and this made no sense.
They eliminated the main quest from the book. No, I mean literally they changed his quest into some kind of “find these pearls” stuff that is not in the books.
Most shocking, Percy leaves Grover to save his mother from Hades’ Underworld. In the book, he makes a shocking decision to abandon his mother in the underworld. It’s bold, surprising, and is a genuine moment of choice for a hero. So shocking they changed it in the movie.
There is more, but it is one of the worst book adaptations I’ve ever seen.
