# Worst movie based on a book? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 26, 2002, 6:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-movie-based-on-a-book/138850 "2002-11-26T06:27:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![alex\_arg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ebca7d/32.png) [@alex\_arg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alex_arg)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2002, 6:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-movie-based-on-a-book/138850/1 "2002-11-26T06:27:29Z")
All right. So they hardly ever live up to the books. But I watched Monte Cristo the other day and could not believe it said _Alexandre Dumas’_ Count of Monte Cristo. I realize it’s a very complicated plot to tell in 2 hours but jeez… the movie just plain sucked. What’s the movie that bothered you the most for not living up to the book? ---
**Author:** ![Netbrian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/71e660/32.png) [@Netbrian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Netbrian)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2002, 7:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-movie-based-on-a-book/138850/2 "2002-11-26T07:05:48Z")
The Time Machine, undoubtedly. ---
**Author:** ![Eidolon909](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ce7236/32.png) [@Eidolon909](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eidolon909)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2002, 7:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-movie-based-on-a-book/138850/3 "2002-11-26T07:33:51Z")
Hands down… Frank Herbert’s _Dune_. The movie was gorgeous but it butchered the story so badly… Nothing even comes close. So you may now lock the thread. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Muad\_Dib](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/35a633/32.png) [@Muad\_Dib](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muad_Dib)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2002, 7:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-movie-based-on-a-book/138850/4 "2002-11-26T07:49:33Z")
The Sci-Fi channel or the Movie version? Well, I hated the movie version untill I saw the Sci-Fi channel version. They turned me into even more of a whinny bitch then Luke Skywalker. _sends a mighty herd of Shai-Halud after Sci-Fi executives_ ---
**Author:** ![vivalostwages](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/d07c76/32.png) [@vivalostwages](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vivalostwages)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2002, 7:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-movie-based-on-a-book/138850/5 "2002-11-26T07:58:32Z")
**Flowers in the Attic** , a truly wretched thing based on the VC Andrews book. ---
**Author:** ![meyer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ccd318/32.png) [@meyer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/meyer)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2002, 7:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-movie-based-on-a-book/138850/6 "2002-11-26T07:59:58Z")
**Simon Birch** geez, did they even _read_ **A Prayer for Owen Meaney**? ---
**Author:** ![Eidolon909](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ce7236/32.png) [@Eidolon909](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eidolon909)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2002, 8:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-movie-based-on-a-book/138850/7 "2002-11-26T08:08:56Z")
Oh… also every single screen adapation of Mary Shelley’s _Frankenstein_. I had high hopes for Kenneth Branagh’s version of the same name… with DeNiro as the Monster even! But no… it was a gross divergence as well. Again a gorgeous movie but butchered the book. ---
**Author:** ![Eidolon909](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ce7236/32.png) [@Eidolon909](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eidolon909)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2002, 8:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-movie-based-on-a-book/138850/8 "2002-11-26T08:11:08Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Muad’Dib \* > \*\*The Sci-Fi channel or the Movie version? > > Well, I hated the movie version untill I saw the Sci-Fi channel version. > > They turned me into even more of a whinny bitch then Luke Skywalker. > > _sends a mighty herd of Shai-Halud after Sci-Fi executives_ \*\* Both were poo poo. Where’s your Gom Jabbar now? ---
**Author:** ![Muad\_Dib](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/35a633/32.png) [@Muad\_Dib](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muad_Dib)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2002, 8:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-movie-based-on-a-book/138850/9 "2002-11-26T08:35:29Z")
Well, I do forgive the feature film for a lot merely because the still suits were perfect (okay, they did leave the head uncovered, and this is a big mistake that is actually a major plot point in book four, but still…). The look of those suits was spot on. And don’t forget that Mr. Herbert helped moke the thing. Though damned if I know where the hell the blood drinking, stupid sound weapons, and magically making it rain came from. ---
**Author:** ![Crunchy\_Frog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ebca7d/32.png) [@Crunchy\_Frog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crunchy_Frog)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2002, 9:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-movie-based-on-a-book/138850/10 "2002-11-26T09:19:30Z")
I’ve read the book, but never saw the movie version of _Bonfire of the Vanities_. Can anyone here verify if the film version was truly as bad as the reputation it got? ---
**Author:** ![Tristan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tristan/32/18058_2.png) [@Tristan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tristan)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2002, 9:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-movie-based-on-a-book/138850/11 "2002-11-26T09:21:47Z")
The postman. Mildly enjoyable book, incredibly bad movie. ---
**Author:** ![amanset](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8dc957/32.png) [@amanset](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amanset)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2002, 11:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-movie-based-on-a-book/138850/12 "2002-11-26T11:16:10Z")
How long before someone mentions “Starship Troopers”? (For the record, I enjoyed the film when I actualyl though about it, rather than treating it as a SCI-FI action film played by the cast of Beverly Hills 90201, but I found the book to be bordering on uneradable.) ---
**Author:** ![Geek\_Mecha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ecae2f/32.png) [@Geek\_Mecha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Geek_Mecha)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2002, 11:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-movie-based-on-a-book/138850/13 "2002-11-26T11:49:51Z")
Do short stories count? If so, then the honor should clearly go to _The Lawnmower Man._ ---
**Author:** ![Sublight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/439d5e/32.png) [@Sublight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sublight)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2002, 11:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-movie-based-on-a-book/138850/14 "2002-11-26T11:53:59Z")
Well, I was thinking **Starship Troopers** when I opened the thread, but it’s hard to believe that it was based on anything. Worst movie based on a book that even remotely resembled the book? **Battlefield Earth**. Worst movie based on a book that was worth reading in the first place? **Nightfall**. Worst movie (after **Starship Troopers** ) based on a book that no one involved with the movie read? **The Running Man**. ---
**Author:** ![TwistofFate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/cdc98d/32.png) [@TwistofFate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TwistofFate)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2002, 12:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-movie-based-on-a-book/138850/15 "2002-11-26T12:35:42Z")
Angela’s Ashes. actually, both book and movie sucked ass. ---
**Author:** ![norinew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/eb9ed0/32.png) [@norinew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/norinew)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2002, 1:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-movie-based-on-a-book/138850/16 "2002-11-26T13:09:01Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by meyer \* > \*\ ***Simon Birch** > > geez, did they even _read_ **A Prayer for Owen Meaney**? \*\* Nah, my guess is they just read the jacket, and said “oh, there’s probably a movie in this” I haven’t seen The Cider House Rules, but from other examples I’ve seen, I’m guessing that even if you’re trying real hard, it’s tough to make movies of John Irving novels. I think his characters work better in print than on screen (not saying that the makers of Simon Birch were trying very hard) ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2002, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-movie-based-on-a-book/138850/17 "2002-11-26T13:26:34Z")
Given the fact that “Battlefield Earth” is an adaptation, that’s got to be the winner, doesn’t it? “Battlefield Earth” is a movie of legendary badness, one of the five or six worst theatrical release movies ever made. I can only think of a handful of worse movies, and none of them were adapted from novels. I mean, “the Postman” and “Starship Troopers” were friggin’ awful, but they were Citizen Kane compared to the horror, the horror, that was John Travolta’s “saga.” ---
**Author:** ![dragongirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b38774/32.png) [@dragongirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dragongirl)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2002, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-movie-based-on-a-book/138850/18 "2002-11-26T13:38:26Z")
Raise the Titanic ---
**Author:** ![dantheman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dantheman/32/9421_2.png) [@dantheman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dantheman)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2002, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-movie-based-on-a-book/138850/19 "2002-11-26T13:51:30Z")
How about 1966’s **The Bible**? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Edward\_The\_Head](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ce73a5/32.png) [@Edward\_The\_Head](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Edward_The_Head)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2002, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-movie-based-on-a-book/138850/20 "2002-11-26T13:59:36Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by alex\_arg \* > \*\*All right. So they hardly ever live up to the books. But I watched Monte Cristo the other day and could not believe it said _Alexandre Dumas’_ Count of Monte Cristo. I realize it’s a very complicated plot to tell in 2 hours but jeez… the movie just plain sucked. > > What’s the movie that bothered you the most for not living up to the book? \*\* How can you say this, yes it’s VERY difficult to try and do well over a 1000 page book with tons of sub-plots into a movie. However, I think that Count of Monte Cristo is a very good movie, yes they did change a lot around but the movie still flowed and I liked the way they did it. I’m in the process of re-reading the book now and still think they did a good job. As for worst movie like that I don’t know, I think I’m forgeting a lot of movies any more, oh and I stayed away from Battlefield earth. 😃 [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-movie-based-on-a-book/138850.md?page=2)