# What do you think are the best book and movie pairings? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 17, 2008, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-are-the-best-book-and-movie-pairings/473074 "2008-11-17T02:29:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![ivan\_astikov](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/58f4c7/32.png) [@ivan\_astikov](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivan_astikov)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2008, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-are-the-best-book-and-movie-pairings/473074/21 "2008-11-17T15:25:24Z")
**The Boys From Brazil** movie near enough lived up to it’s written version, imho. And the **Manhunter/Red Dragon** coupling wasn’t bad, either ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2008, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-are-the-best-book-and-movie-pairings/473074/22 "2008-11-17T16:11:50Z")
I was gonna say _The Boys From Brazil_, too. Brrr, they’re both chilling but good. Jane Austen’s _Pride and Prejudice_ and the 2005 movie remake are both simply excellent (although I understand and appreciate that Austen purists don’t like the many omissions of the movie). As a non-Austen acolyte, I will further - and heretically - say I prefer the 2005 movie to the 1995 BBC miniseries. Owww! Stop hitting me! Charles Frazier’s Civil War romance/adventure _Cold Mountain_ and the movie are very complimentary to each other. I’d actually bogged down in the book before I saw the movie, and the movie totally opened up the book to me. Very odd, but wonderful. Kit Denton’s _The Breaker_ is quite good on its own, and gives considerable background detail to the outstanding Australian court-martial drama _Breaker Morant_. Alan Dean Foster’s novelization of _Star Wars_ (ghostwritten for George Lucas) is just as good fun as the movie. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2008, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-are-the-best-book-and-movie-pairings/473074/23 "2008-11-17T16:16:50Z")
**Dr. Zhivago** –Having Yevgrav, who is a minor character in the book, tell the story was a stroke of genius. ---
**Author:** ![Stauderhorse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce7236/32.png) [@Stauderhorse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stauderhorse)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2008, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-are-the-best-book-and-movie-pairings/473074/24 "2008-11-17T17:42:38Z")
_The Green Mile_ was one of the best and most faithful adaptations of a book I’ve ever seen. They kept as close to the book as they could (with a few itty-bitty changes that I hardly even noticed when I watched it), and that’s a very good thing, IMO. The book was fantastic; the characters, story, and spirit of the book all translated very well to the screen. Also, the casting was absolutely spot on. I can’t look at David Morse anymore without thinking of Brutus Howell. The performances were great, of course, and this all translated to one hell of a movie. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2008, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-are-the-best-book-and-movie-pairings/473074/25 "2008-11-17T17:51:02Z")
_Stand By Me_ was one of the best and most faithful adaptations of a novella I’ve ever seen. They kept as close to the book as they could (with a few itty-bitty changes that I hardly even noticed when I watched it), and that’s a very good thing, IMO. The novella was fantastic; the characters, story, and spirit of the book all translated very well to the screen. Also, the casting was absolutely spot on. The performances were great, of course, and this all translated to one hell of a movie. _The Shawshank Redemption_ was one of the best and most faithful adaptations of a novella I’ve ever seen. They kept as close to the book as they could (with a few itty-bitty changes that I hardly even noticed when I watched it), and that’s a very good thing, IMO. The novella was fantastic; the characters, story, and spirit of the book all translated very well to the screen. Also, the casting was absolutely spot on. The performances were great, of course, and this all translated to one hell of a movie. ---
**Author:** ![Stauderhorse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce7236/32.png) [@Stauderhorse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stauderhorse)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2008, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-are-the-best-book-and-movie-pairings/473074/26 "2008-11-17T18:01:25Z")
Is there an echo in here? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2008, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-are-the-best-book-and-movie-pairings/473074/27 "2008-11-17T18:09:53Z")
> [@Homebrew](#): > > You may have picked the best pair in the OP. The best I can can think of otherwise is _The Princess Bride_. Princess Bride is an odd transition from book to movie. Both are brilliant; both are hilarious; and the film’s plot is quite faithful to the text. (The only major differences I can see is that we never learn Fezzik’s backstory in the movie, Wesley gets the “Life is pain!” line, and the ambiguity of the book’s ending is discarted.) But for all that, the tones of the two works are utterly different, and they are very different experies. This is a huge difference from, say, Silence of the Lambs, in which the movie is basically the book brought to life with no real changes at all. ---
**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:** [November 17, 2008, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-are-the-best-book-and-movie-pairings/473074/28 "2008-11-17T18:43:42Z")
> [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > Princess Bride is an odd transition from book to movie. Both are brilliant; both are hilarious; and the film’s plot is quite faithful to the text. (The only major differences I can see is that we never learn Fezzik’s backstory in the movie, Wesley gets the “Life is pain!” line, and the ambiguity of the book’s ending is discarted.) But for all that, the tones of the two works are utterly different, and they are very different experies. This is a huge difference from, say, Silence of the Lambs, in which the movie is basically the book brought to life with no real changes at all. But I don’t think this should be restricted to most true to the book or else I would not have mentioned the Lord of the Rings and Wizard of Oz. Hell if the Shining had been a better book, I would have nominated that pair and the movie only has a passing resemblance to the book. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2008, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-are-the-best-book-and-movie-pairings/473074/29 "2008-11-17T19:22:31Z")
> [@What\_Exit](#): > > But I don’t think this should be restricted to most true to the book or else I would not have mentioned the Lord of the Rings and Wizard of Oz. Hell if the Shining had been a better book, I would have nominated that pair and the movie only has a passing resemblance to the book. Oh, I wasn’t saying PB doesn’t count; I was just commenting on the strange combo–quite faithful plotwise, utterly different tone-wise. I’m with Goldman-the-character in thinking that novel-Buttercup & novel-Wesley probably; but the movie has an unalloyed happy ending that works just as well, because the tone is so different. Every sentence in the book is writ ironically; every line of the movie (except for Humperdinck’s lies) is sincere. ---
**Author:** ![pepperlandgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f17d59/32.png) [@pepperlandgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pepperlandgirl)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2008, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-are-the-best-book-and-movie-pairings/473074/30 "2008-11-17T19:41:16Z")
My top three are **The Exorcist** , **Misery** , and **Lonesome Dove**. ---
**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:** [November 17, 2008, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-are-the-best-book-and-movie-pairings/473074/31 "2008-11-17T20:51:32Z")
> [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > Oh, I wasn’t saying PB doesn’t count; I was just commenting on the strange combo–quite faithful plotwise, utterly different tone-wise. I’m with Goldman-the-character in thinking that novel-Buttercup & novel-Wesley probably; but the movie has an unalloyed happy ending that works just as well, because the tone is so different. Every sentence in the book is writ ironically; every line of the movie (except for Humperdinck’s lies) is sincere. Regarding _The Princess Bride_, I’ve always said that the book is a satire and the movie is a parody. What they have in common is a deep affection for the fairy tales that are their inspiration. Satires and parodies can be mean, but neither of these is. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2008, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-are-the-best-book-and-movie-pairings/473074/32 "2008-11-17T22:05:34Z")
More Stephen King: “The Stand” miniseries. An epic handling of an epic book. “It” is also recommended, just for all the famous names and Tim Curry’s “Pennywise” ---
**Author:** ![Malthus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@Malthus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malthus)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2008, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-are-the-best-book-and-movie-pairings/473074/33 "2008-11-17T22:13:01Z")
> [@Tangent](#): > > My all-time favorite movie, one of the rare films that surpasses its source novel (IMHO). > I’ll add **Watership Down**. The movie–as far as I can tell–isn’t as widely appreciated as the novel, but I think it’s very good. There are the obvious disappointments when characters and plotlines are condensed, but it did an excellent job of capturing the tone of the novel. There is an uneasiness and a sense of danger throughout, and it stayed true to the harsh and violent episodes from the book. Not a kiddie movie, for sure. Heh, I was just watching that on DvD the other day. They had an interview with the director/producer where he talks about how difficult it was to get funding, essentially because no-one could adequately explain who the potential audience was (something like “see, it’s an _adult_ movie. An animation about the adventures of talking rabbits. With rabbit secret police, war, and horrific genocide.” - _business types chomp, unconvinced, on cigars_) ---
**Author:** ![Rattlehead02](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rattlehead02/32/3944_2.png) [@Rattlehead02](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rattlehead02)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2008, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-are-the-best-book-and-movie-pairings/473074/34 "2008-11-17T22:19:30Z")
How about No Country for Old Men? ---
**Author:** ![Tangent](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tangent/32/3098_2.png) [@Tangent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tangent)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2008, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-are-the-best-book-and-movie-pairings/473074/35 "2008-11-18T01:18:09Z")
> [@Stauderhorse](#): > > _The Green Mile_ was one of the best and most faithful adaptations of a book I’ve ever seen. They kept as close to the book as they could (with a few itty-bitty changes that I hardly even noticed when I watched it), It’s been too long since I’ve watched the movie–and even longer since I read the book–but there is one major difference between the book and the movie. In the book there is a fairly big subplot that takes place in the “present” in which the narrator is telling the story to his friend in the nursing home. The movie does show us the nursing home as bookends to the story–but in the book there were a lot more cuts to the present throughout the story and it involved a worker at the nursing home who was kind of a bully in the same way that Percy was in the prison. None of that conflict made it into the movie. I need to watch it again–it really is a good movie and I totally agree with you about the casting being terrific–especailly David Morse. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2008, 7:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-are-the-best-book-and-movie-pairings/473074/36 "2008-11-18T07:24:26Z")
> [@Bridget\_Burke](#): > > Can I nominate a mini-series? Hope so–many books suffer from being cut to feature-movie length. > > My choice is Larry McMurtrey’s _Lonesome Dove_. Which was mighty fine on the small screen. Here’s an interesting site about the [film](http://alkek.library.txstate.edu/swwc/ld/ldexhibit.html). If we are nominating mini-series then I have to mention my favorite obsession, _Band of Brothers_. Book and series were excellent. And they compliment each other. Certain parts of the book are barely mentioned and others are expanded. (Both got PVT Blithe wrong) ---
**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:** [November 18, 2008, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-are-the-best-book-and-movie-pairings/473074/37 "2008-11-18T13:31:59Z")
One thing for sure this thread is doing, it is making me add to my reading list. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![eleanorigby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee7513/32.png) [@eleanorigby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eleanorigby)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2008, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-are-the-best-book-and-movie-pairings/473074/38 "2008-11-18T14:10:30Z")
_Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day_ Most of you probably haven’t read the Winifred Watson book or seen the 2008 movie, but if you like dry British humor in the Golden Age of mystery (it’s not a mystery, but set in the early 30s), you’ll like both of them. The film stays remarkably true to the novel, only changing those details that wouldn’t film well. A pleasure. Not a laugh riot, just an enjoyable few hours. Agree re TKAM, Rebecca, GTWT(again the spirit, if not the details) and LOTR. _Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone_ was very true to the book. The rest, not so much (I still like them, though). The series does get the flavor and tone of the books (except for Gambon’s Dumbledore–he’s too intense and dour). _Bridget Jone’s Diary_ (only the first one) is also a very good fit between book and film. ---
**Author:** ![NAF1138](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naf1138/32/3245_2.png) [@NAF1138](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NAF1138)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2008, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-are-the-best-book-and-movie-pairings/473074/39 "2008-11-18T16:46:46Z")
Lot’s of good stuff on this list so far, but I can’t believe that no one has mentioned _2001: A Space Odyssey_ yet. An amazing film and a book that makes the symbolism make sense. ---
**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:** [November 18, 2008, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-are-the-best-book-and-movie-pairings/473074/40 "2008-11-18T17:03:14Z")
> [@NAF1138](#): > > Lot’s of good stuff on this list so far, but I can’t believe that no one has mentioned _2001: A Space Odyssey_ yet. An amazing film and a book that makes the symbolism make sense. I’ll be honest. I dismissed that as the book was based on the screenplay in an odd writing project where both were written effectively at the same time. To me it just didn’t seem to fit. I am probably not being fair though. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-are-the-best-book-and-movie-pairings/473074.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-are-the-best-book-and-movie-pairings/473074.md?page=3)