best book to movie transitions

[txhawk36]

The Notebook, though that quite possibly be the only book I've ever read that was later a movie, oh wait I take it back...I saw Twilight ugh! I loved the book and the movie, found them to both be very powerful ... but maybe it was just me

[Giesela]

Often it depends on what I've seen first. If I read the book and loved it I'm often disappointed in the move. But if I've seen the movie first, it never seems to ruin the book and for whatever reason I don't look back and think "oh now I think the movie was awful".

I can't remember which I did first, book or movie (I think movie) but I would add
Gone With the Wind
as a good transition.

I thought the first and second Harry Potter movies were good transitions.

For me how successful a transition is when I've read the book first is usually casting. If it seems mis cast to me I can't get past it.

Bram Stoker's Dracula - beautifully shot, seemed well done, Keannu Reeves, Winonna Ryder, Gary Oldman - may be good actors but I thought they were awful casting and ruined the movie.
Same with Ann Rice's Vampire movie - the movie should have worked but I think the casting was bad. If they had just even switched Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt to each others character's it might have been better. (Vampire's must be hard to cast?

Also because of casting and not sticking with the books entirely I'd disagree with Lord of the Rings. I haven't been able to watch it in more than tiny bits and pieces.
As someone who had read the books many many times I couldn't stand any of the Hobbits in the movie - they were nothing like the characters in the book even if they were speaking right from the book. Stryder was the only decent transition.

[oeccscclhjhn]

Originally Posted by EnricoV

Tops of my list, though, is The World According to Garp.

Excellent choice! Read the book first, great story and it was lol funny.

Originally Posted by Truly Heartless

Almost all of the choices for Dickens tales to movies were great. Especially the ones the Brits produced.

Of course: David Lean's Great Expectations (1946) and Oliver Twist (1948).

Originally Posted by Mark S.

The Shawshank Redemption, ...The Shining, The Dead Zone...

Shawshank was from King's short story novel: Different Seasons, story name: Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption. I had read this before seeing the movie, and when I reread it, Red's narrative story, I can picture Morgan Freeman speaking the words right out of the page. Perfect movie casting. The Shining: first King novel that I read. The second was The Stand. The Dead Zone: great story, I liked Christopher Walken's performance in the movie.

I'll add a couple more:

Richard Mckenna's The Sand Pebbles (1966).
Herman Wouk's The Caine Mutiny (1954).
Cormac Ccarthy's No Country for Old Men (2007) and The Road (2009).

[jtur88]

Sometimes, when readng a book, I actually picture in my mind a certain actor or actress playing the character. Of course, it is never the star who actually is cast in a subsequent film.

The first time I noticed myself doing this, was Alan Ladd, who seemed to perfectly fit the character in Nabokov's "Invitation to a Beheading", and for some reason, that stands out vividly in my mind to this day.

[plmokn]

Helter Skelter

[boner]

I loved Gene Wilders portrayal of Willie Wonka

[Ketabcha]

The Man Who Loved Cat Dancing

[jtur88]

"Unbearable Lightness of Being" was a better movie than book, mainly I think because it dealt with only about half the book, concerning only the lives of the Lewis-Binoche characters, which by itself was a much more compelling story than the world travels of the Olin character, who was reduced to only a minor role in the very good screenplay.

[fromupthere]

I thought they did a good job with The Help. Good casting and kept the story good even though some stuff was limited or made less significant.