# What are some great novels that are unfilmable? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 9, 2005, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-great-novels-that-are-unfilmable/298592 "2005-04-09T21:34:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![ouryL](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ouryl/32/6067_2.png) [@ouryL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ouryL)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2005, 9:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-great-novels-that-are-unfilmable/298592/41 "2005-04-11T09:48:36Z")
I was gonna say anything by Dan Brown, but that ain’t true. They are filmable, but I doubt they will be watchable!! ---
**Author:** ![PookahMacPhellimey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pookahmacphellimey/32/3175_2.png) [@PookahMacPhellimey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PookahMacPhellimey)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2005, 12:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-great-novels-that-are-unfilmable/298592/42 "2005-04-11T12:09:41Z")
> [@Lola](#): > > Anything By Flann O’Brien (aka “Ireland’s greatest writer”. James Joyce? Pshaw.) Agreed! And that’s the first time he’s gotten a mention on this board by someone other than myself that I’m aware of. Personally I’m inclined these days to say that no books are filmable. That isn’t true, but I just get so irritated by people getting excited when one of their favourites is being filmed or when they are forever hoping that it will be filmed. Yes, it’s sometimes nice to see something on the screen, but I sometimes get the feeling that many people feel the ultimate achievement for a book is being filmed, i.e. that being a film is the superlative of being a book. It’s not. End of rant. Thank you for reading. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2005, 12:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-great-novels-that-are-unfilmable/298592/43 "2005-04-11T12:28:50Z")
> [@](#): > > I have yet to see a faithful adaptation of Frankenstein. The James Whale classic is great, but it isn’t Mary Shelley’s novel. Actually, I think that the movie called **Victor Frankenstein** and **Terror of Frankenstein** comes pretty close [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0076881/](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0076881/) . It was intentionally made to be a faithful adaptation, and it comes pretty close. Some people find it kind of dull, but I don’t For that matter, I’m willing to cut Kenneth Branaugh’s version more slack than most people are, despite its shortcomings (and it had a much bigger budget and better stars than Victor Frankenstein did). I’d say the graphic novel **Watchmen** isn’t filmable, and that the current film version will prove this. ven done as a miniseries, it would run up against the inevitable conflict between a film made for a broad audience and the highlt detailed, challenging film it ought to be. I would’ve said that **war and Peace** was unfilmable, but the 7 hour Russian version did a pretty good job. I haven’t seen the BBC miniseries, but I’ll bet they did a decent job, too. ---
**Author:** ![dasgupta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e56c9b/32.png) [@dasgupta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dasgupta)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2005, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-great-novels-that-are-unfilmable/298592/44 "2005-04-11T13:54:04Z")
> [@Hamish](#): > > Anything by Douglas Coupland, too. Just too cerebral. Here’s to hoping _[All Families are Psychotic](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0424788/)_ comes out ok. ---
**Author:** ![FriarTed](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/friarted/32/1052_2.png) [@FriarTed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FriarTed)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2005, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-great-novels-that-are-unfilmable/298592/45 "2005-04-11T14:55:21Z")
> [@Bryan Ekers](#): > > Every couple of years, someone threatens to adapt _Atlas Shrugged_, which I expect couldn’t result in anything other than a spectacular train-wreck. But everyone who died in it would have deserved it. 😃 Seriously, Ayn was a big champion of a movie or TV version, having written a screenplay of it herself which AFAIK is still gathering dust at NBC. I’d like to see it done & I think it can be done well- given the finances & the will to keep it true to itself. Contra prior opinions here- I thought the Coppola-Branaugh FRANKENSTEIN was quite good & substantially faithful to the book. The main deviation- the fate of Elizabeth- I think was actually an improvement that Mary S would smile at. However, the Alec Newman-Luke Goss version made by Hallmark TV last year is THE DEFINITIVE VERSION. I think Stoker’s DRACULA is filmable but nobody has quite gotten it right yet. The Coppola version finally has all the main characters but Romantic-Dracula was the BIG deviation. ---
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2005, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-great-novels-that-are-unfilmable/298592/46 "2005-04-11T15:15:34Z")
I don’t believe that **Gene Wolfe’s “Book of the New Sun”** could be filmed and turn out as anything like the novels. There was an attempt a few years back to make a comic book based on **The Shadow of the Torturer** which didn’t turn out well at all. His work just doesn’t lend itself to visual media. ---
**Author:** ![Dancer\_Flight](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dancer_flight/32/7601_2.png) [@Dancer\_Flight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dancer_Flight)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2005, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-great-novels-that-are-unfilmable/298592/47 "2005-04-11T17:30:52Z")
> [@Carm6773](#): > > A lot of Stephen King’s literature is turned into mediocre movies. The obvious exceptions are: _The Stand_, _The Green Mile_, and _Dreamcatcher_. _Thinner_ sucks on film. One King novel (written as Richard Bachman) that would be difficult to translate to film is [The Long Walk](http://www.stephenking.com/pages/Works/Long_Walk/). It could be put on film, but it would be boring. > > One tale (also written as Richard Bachman) I would LOVE to see translated into film is called _Rage_. It is permanently out of print and will probably never be filmed because the Columbine kids allegedly got some inspiration from it. If you find it somewhere, pick it up. It’s good. Both “The Long Walk” and “Rage” are in an omnibus collection along with “The Running Man” and “Roadwork” called “[The Bachman Books](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0451147367/qid=1113240630/sr=8-3/ref=sr_8_xs_ap_i3_xgl14/102-9490652-9458509?v=glance&s=books&n=507846)” ([amazon.com](http://amazon.com) link, shows book will ship in 1-2 days, so the story is in print). -DF ---
**Author:** ![Dancer\_Flight](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dancer_flight/32/7601_2.png) [@Dancer\_Flight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dancer_Flight)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2005, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-great-novels-that-are-unfilmable/298592/48 "2005-04-11T17:35:25Z")
> [@Dancer\_Flight](#): > > Both “The Long Walk” and “Rage” are in an omnibus collection along with “The Running Man” and “Roadwork” called “[The Bachman Books](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0451147367/qid=1113240630/sr=8-3/ref=sr_8_xs_ap_i3_xgl14/102-9490652-9458509?v=glance&s=books&n=507846)” ([amazon.com](http://amazon.com) link, shows book will ship in 1-2 days, so the story is in print). > > -DF D’oh :smack: , Book is out of print, but used copies are available if you’re that curious. -DF ---
**Author:** ![Shades\_of\_Pale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/65b543/32.png) [@Shades\_of\_Pale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shades_of_Pale)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2005, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-great-novels-that-are-unfilmable/298592/49 "2005-04-11T17:40:14Z")
So many of the great unfilmable novels have already been brought to film. Sadly. Dan Simmons’ _Carrion Comfort_ could be one. ---
**Author:** ![Don\_Draper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b2d939/32.png) [@Don\_Draper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_Draper)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2005, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-great-novels-that-are-unfilmable/298592/50 "2005-04-11T18:25:57Z")
Anything by P.G. Wodehouse would be unfilmable. Terrific books (especially the “Jeeves” series), but they are all about witty dialogue and the style of his writing with only occasional filmable “action” scenes (i.e. scenes in which people _do_ something rather than just sit and talk to each other.) ---
**Author:** ![Cliffy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/59ef9b/32.png) [@Cliffy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cliffy)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2005, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-great-novels-that-are-unfilmable/298592/51 "2005-04-11T18:47:08Z")
Fry & Laurie did a Jeeves & Wooster TV series several years ago that brilliant, largely because Laurie’s perfect portrayal of a good-natured but empty-headed gentleman. –Cliffy ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2005, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-great-novels-that-are-unfilmable/298592/52 "2005-04-11T18:57:04Z")
I kinda thought **Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas** was unfilmable, but they gave it a damn good try. I’ve always wondered if David Foster Wallace’s **Infinite Jest** could be translated to the screen. It’s too long for a movie, would have to be a mini-series to even have a chance of working. And there are so many things in the book that are fantastic or satirical that the characters just take for granted; I think any filmed adaptation would just be too literal to treat those things in an offhand way. In a movie, can you show a person in a wheelchair, on a ledge halfway up a mountain, with no explanation of how he got there? ---
**Author:** ![Judith\_Prietht](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/b19c9b/32.png) [@Judith\_Prietht](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Judith_Prietht)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2005, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-great-novels-that-are-unfilmable/298592/53 "2005-04-11T19:01:07Z")
> [@Robot Arm](#): > > I’ve always wondered if David Foster Wallace’s **Infinite Jest** could be translated to the screen. It’s too long for a movie, would have to be a mini-series to even have a chance of working. And there are so many things in the book that are fantastic or satirical that the characters just take for granted; I think any filmed adaptation would just be too literal to treat those things in an offhand way. In a movie, can you show a person in a wheelchair, on a ledge halfway up a mountain, with no explanation of how he got there? I agree with you. But part of me really wants to see the Eschaton debacle play out on screen. ---
**Author:** ![TellMeI\_mNotCrazy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tellmei_mnotcrazy/32/3419_2.png) [@TellMeI\_mNotCrazy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TellMeI_mNotCrazy)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2005, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-great-novels-that-are-unfilmable/298592/54 "2005-04-11T19:10:58Z")
Stephen R. Donaldson’s “The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant.” Even if it got the same treatment as Lord of the Rings, the story just wouldn’t port onto the big screen very well in my opinion. So much of the really good stuff was internal, emotional stuff that could never be properly handled in even a 3 hour movie-per-book. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2005, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-great-novels-that-are-unfilmable/298592/55 "2005-04-11T19:17:35Z")
> [@Judith Prietht](#): > > I agree with you. But part of me really wants to see the Eschaton debacle play out on screen. Yeah, but then you get into the problem of casting and special effects. No real 14-year-old girl could portray Ann Kittenplan in full-on 'roid rage. ---
**Author:** ![Judith\_Prietht](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/b19c9b/32.png) [@Judith\_Prietht](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Judith_Prietht)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2005, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-great-novels-that-are-unfilmable/298592/56 "2005-04-11T20:02:53Z")
> [@Robot Arm](#): > > Yeah, but then you get into the problem of casting and special effects. No real 14-year-old girl could portray Ann Kittenplan in full-on 'roid rage. Heh. You are again correct. And I think studios might be a tad squeamish about filming the U.S.S. Millicent’s attempted seduction of Mario Incandenza. ---
**Author:** ![SolGrundy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bbce88/32.png) [@SolGrundy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SolGrundy)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2005, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-great-novels-that-are-unfilmable/298592/57 "2005-04-12T01:55:33Z")
> [@Tentacle Monster](#): > > I would say Vonnegut’s _Galapagos_ would be unfilmable, but they did a pretty good job of _Slaughterhouse Five_. I’ve never seen it. But now I’m interested in seeing a movie version of _Galapagos_. I doubt it’d be anywhere near as good as the book; I just like the image of characters in the movie who are about to die, having a big asterisk hanging over their head. ---
**Author:** ![laughingboy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/9f8e36/32.png) [@laughingboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/laughingboy)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2005, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-great-novels-that-are-unfilmable/298592/58 "2005-04-12T02:35:43Z")
[The Roaches Have No King](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1852427469) is a fantastic novel that’s pretty much unfilmable. Well, maybe not unfilmable per se, but the resulting film would be pretty much unwatchable. Unless, of course, [this film](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0116707/) is your cup of tea… ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2005, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-great-novels-that-are-unfilmable/298592/59 "2005-04-12T02:53:27Z")
> [@laughingboy](#): > > [The Roaches Have No King](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1852427469) is a fantastic novel that’s pretty much unfilmable. Well, maybe not unfilmable per se, but the resulting film would be pretty much unwatchable. > > Unless, of course, [this film](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0116707/) is your cup of tea… Well, in all fairness, _Joe’s Apartment_ worked well as a series of shorts on MTV. It was only when they got the “bright idea” of making a full length movie out of it, that it attained suckitude. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Blue_Sky)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2005, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-great-novels-that-are-unfilmable/298592/60 "2005-04-12T03:08:12Z")
Dan Simmons’ Hyperion/Endymion saga. If for no other reason than the sheer length. There was some talk a couple of years ago about fiming it with Matt Damon (insert puking smiley here), but I’ve heard nothing else. No matter how they did it, they’d screw up the Shrike. They could do John Varley’s Gaea trilogy IF they went the animation route. For some reason, when I think of it that way, the style of _Fantastic Planet_ comes to mind. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-great-novels-that-are-unfilmable/298592.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-great-novels-that-are-unfilmable/298592.md?page=4)