Adaptation: Book VS Film discussion

Oh that's the worst isn't it...when you completely love and connect with a literary work, just to have it adapted into a film or tv show which you think completely ruined it.
Film is obviously a different medium than print and of course those who adapt it need to take certain liberties in condensing the material. Sometimes it can be appreciated, sometimes, it just doesn't hit it's mark.

What are some books you LOVE that you personally feel didn't hit the mark as a film or show?



Me personally the first that springs to mind is 'Eat,Pray,Love'. The book was amazing and certainly changed my life. I connected with it on many levels and the film felt soooooo condensed that it seemed to miss 3/4 of the whole reason the book was so good. The inner discomfort,wanting more, spirituality- if you want to know the story...read the book. I think whoever watched the film first wont pick up the book afterwards.

I loved the book The Firm and Hollywood completely changed the ending.

Dara S. wrote: "I loved the book The Firm and Hollywood completely changed the ending."
I didn't know that Dara, I have seen the film and never read the book (you have just reminded me to add some Grisham to the book shelves :) Did the different endings make for a different experience? (Did it truly matter to the story?)

Brett wrote: "I have a long list for this topic, but one that is fresh in my mind is 'Unbroken'. Like you mentioned about 'Eat, Pray, Love', they condensed the story too much and left out major events and elemen..."

So Funny you should say 'Unbroken' Brett as I watched the film 2 days ago!! AND i just ordered the book (which I have not read) The first 20 mins of the film bored me to tears, loved the left at sea portion of the film (and i am hoping the book has heaps more details about that experience) the camp stuff was interesting and of course remarkable, but i have a feeling the book will shed the light on his true experience more so as the film almost felt like some kind of quick step into bullet points of the mans life

Brett wrote: "Kerry wrote: "Brett wrote: "I have a long list for this topic, but one that is fresh in my mind is 'Unbroken'. Like you mentioned about 'Eat, Pray, Love', they condensed the story too much and left..."

Yes for sure, Hopefully I will get the book within the week. so is it definitely worth a read? does it have much more detail and emotional connectivity in it? yes I heard Louie wrote 2 memoirs, I will check them out aswell - maybe we can buddy up and read and set a link up when we are ready for 'unbroken'?

awesome, will let you know when i get the book

Child 44 (the film) was horrible! I absolutely loved the book though.

I just looked up the trailer and as someone totally unfamiliar with Child 44 (book or film) - that film looks great, it definetly held my attention. Since I haven't read the book, i'll note what i think of it as independent when i see it.

That sucks though if they completely rearranged or left out parts. Plot twists...they shouldnt really touch that. Brett...since the books are a trilogy, did the film incorporate plot twists and characters from the other 2 books? that could be an explenation..?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uia6y...

Did u know child 44 was inspired by real events of a soviet serial killer?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrei_...

The movie was solely based on the first book. If I hadn't have read the book it wouldn't have been that bad. Lol.

I did not know it was based on real life events.

I may like it then LuLu :) yep, real events.

Good to know. (I thought maybe they could have overlapped storylines from 3 books) - noted. :) Oh dear, about your friend wondering what on earth was happening. i wonder if it will be like that for me. trailer looks good and seems a good film. will let u know when i see it

Oh my goodness there are so many. The movie is rarely as good a the book. I can't say that I loved The Time Traveler's Wife ( I gave it 2 starts I think) but the movie was absolutely terrible.

I have heard so many people say the same thing about TIME TRAVELERS WIFE. i saw the film....was 'meh' started the book but accidently left it behind when i moved. I have heard the book is complicated but actually explains the characters and time periods quite well , and in comparison people just hated the film.

Yeah the book is way too complicated as far the time travel aspect. The movie was just corny.

Eragon by Christopher Paolini, The Best of Me by Nicholas Sparks, Harry Potter 3-6.,

Eragon by Christopher Paolini, The Best of Me by Nicholas Sparks, Harry Potter 3-6.,

American sniper,

Miranda wrote: "American sniper,"

Really? i just saw the film about 3 weeks ago AND LOVED IT so much. ....Tell me of the book, worth reading? does it get pushed down alot in jargan?

Yes don't get me wrong the movie was good but after reading the book I was disappointed the book is amazing

ill put the book on my list thanks

Miranda wrote: "American sniper,"

Wow. I thought the movie was awesome. I know both he and his wife wrote books. I have to move up on my TBR list

yeah me too MAYA loved the film and have reserved the book

Best of Me by Nicholas Sparks and Eragon

I recently read half of a yellow sun and the book was awesome. I was beyond disappointed with the movie.

SARAH - I have that film ready to watch funny enough, KISHA a few ppl felt the same

Devil Wears Prada. I don't get why they changed so much from the book.

I wasnt even much of a fan of the film, even WITH the amazing streep

Kerry wrote: "I wasnt even much of a fan of the film, even WITH the amazing streep"

Me either! (not a fan of Hathaway)

I agree, the Robert Langdon movies sucked big time (haven’t seen the latest tough). However, the books admittedly were entertaining, yet very shallow reads. If you read one Dan Brown novel, you read them al.

A movie that I absolutely hated compared to the book was The Silver Linings Playbook. It’s not the world’s best novel, but I liked it quite a bit. The movie however, is crap.

A movie that I didn’t hate, yet preferred the book was Fatherland. I only saw the movie once, and thought it was ok. As far as I remember it was a mid-nineties TV-movie, so nothing much to expect from that. However when I read the book back when I was fourteen, I listened the Infernal Love record by Therapy?, and therefore associate the music with the story. I still can’t listen to that record (that I still adore) without thinking about the book. So the thing I didn’t like about the movie was that it didn’t evoke the emotions the connection of book and music produced in me when reading. Obviously I know that 90s punk rock doesn’t fit in a post WWII-dystopian movie, but still, that music belongs to the story for me, and the movie didn’t deliver there.

I saw the Davinci code once ages ago and honestly barely remember much except the scary albino monk whipping himself (eek) and a dead dude in the Lurve. So I guess the DAVINCI film didn't impact me much....however I started not long ago to read the book and am enjoying it so far.

(*Simon I bought 2other Dan Browns cheap at an op shop thinking 'this davinci book;s good, ill pick up 2 others for later....LOL. so oh dear if you're right lol.)

I havent read or seen THE SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK yet - and I have the film ready to go. I like Bradley Cooper (amazing in American Sniper.) but the film looks like some kind of romantic comedy????? and that makes me unsure about it (as I'm a mental health advocate and enjoy stories of mental illness and life struggles in general. ) Perhaps I should read the book first?

FATHERLAND sounds interesting. I totally understand what you mean about the audio cues in memory and how that can always stay with you. I myself love 2 pieces of music. One of which is a beautiful instrumental in the MINI SERIES THE THORN BIRDS which is so incredible a story and series and is close to my heart,

Let me know what you think of his other books…as I mentioned, I think if you read one, you read them all.

Well, I’m not the biggest Bradley Cooper fan and American Sniper never really piqued my interest, although I got it on my watch-list on Netflix or Amazon Prime purely because of Oscar buzz back then. Silver Linings Playbook obviously also got it’s Oscars, yet I do not understand why. From my point of view it is one of the most overrated movies of the last decade. It’s a RomCom and nothing more, while the book deals with these mental health issues playful yet in depth. It is a RomCom as well, yet it has its really dark undertones, and I completely missed them in the movie.

Music for me is a key element in movies as well as in books. I take great pleasure in putting together a playlist for every book I read. I do need some music to completely shut out the world around me and to be fully immersed in a book.

thats a very cool type of journaling to do :)

Has anybody watched/read BirdBox?
Devoured the book this week (5 stars) and watched the movie last night with the wife.
She hasn't read the book and liked the movie quite alright, I however didn't like it at all. It is a completely different story and there are some cringe-worthy moments in it (the doctor?? seriously??)
Complete waste of great talent in front and behind the camera.

So, any other thoughts?

Year of the Dragon - good book, awful Oliver Stone screenplay
Anne of Green Gables - the Netflix version, and the one that
showed up on PBS a few years ago
The Firm and The Pelican Brief
American Assassin - bad casting ruined it
Stick - a lot of the Elmore Leonard was taken out & it suffered
Mansfield Park, the 1999 version
Bonfire of the Vanities - up there with the worst adaptations ever