Movies made from Books?

Read any good books lately?
jdb1

Re: African Queen relief

Post by jdb1 »

JulieMarch4th wrote:Judith, THANK you for telling me. I read somewhere that the ending was changed in the movie, and I was afraid that they had drowned/blownup/died somehow in the explosion! I'll see if I can find it somewhere!

Julie
Forgot to mention one more significant difference: Charlie Allnut isn't a 'Canadian,' as they made Bogart in the film, he's a Cockney. Guess Bogie couldn't manage a good East End accent.
Mr. Arkadin
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Post by Mr. Arkadin »

It really depends on the depth and scope of the book and the directors treatment of the story.

I have seen some incredibly lauded films (namely "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" (1975)) that I personally thought were awful compared to the novel. However, there are some films like "King Rat" (1965) that are fairly close (helps that Clavell did the screeplay of his own book).

I also thought the adaptation of Solzhenitsyn's "One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich" (1970) was incredibly well done for a book where there was little talk and not much action (wish it was out on DVD!).

Another thing to consider is what "The Code " would allow you to show in the early days. Many stories were changed or edited for just this reason (KR included). Some acually came off better because of it.

With a shallower book and not as much depth to characterization, obviously you can make a good film. Many of these were of higher quality than their source material.
jdb1

Post by jdb1 »

Mr. Arkadin wrote:It really depends on the depth and scope of the book and the directors treatment of the story.

With a shallower book and not as much depth to characterization, obviously you can make a good film. Many of these were of higher quality than their source material.
This is very true - while the book "Mildred Pierce" is OK and a good read, the film adds so much more to flesh out the characters (changing them a bit, but for the better). Jean Renoir's "The River" is a really beautiful film, made from a so-so novella by Rumer Godden. I saw that film long before I ever read the book. Had it been the other way round, I probably would have passed on seeing the film.

I found "Rebecca" the book and "Rebecca" the movie to be pretty equal, although since I don't care much for either Fontaine or Olivier, I tend to favor the book.

What do you all think of the movie/book relationship of "Gone With the Wind?" We've talked about this at Old TCM. I think the book is one of the great mainstream American novels (as opposed to what the bookstores these days call "Literature"). I was not a bit disappointed by the book, which I read after I saw the movie.
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Post by Mr. Arkadin »

jdb1,

I've read "Rebecca". Good book. Haven't read the book that GWTW was based on (don't remember the name, but it wasn't the same title was it?).

I have read "The Godfather" and although it was a simplistic read, I don't feel that the movie--which I did like and enjoy--captured a lot of the points behind the book. It kinda just took a few ideas and ran with them.

One thing in particular was the "not personal, just business" refrain. Although this is said in the book, Puzo made a point of explaining that even though you stand on the side of honor and manners, business is always personal.

This might have been dealt with in the Pt. 2 sequel, but I could never get through that one (found it incredibly boring).
jdb1

Post by jdb1 »

I've thought of some other interesting book/movie relationships; those of the works of Patricia Highsmith.

In the case of her most famous work, "Strangers on a Train," I think that although the book was pretty good, the Hitchcock version was much better. Hitchcock and Reville made significant changes to the characters and the plot. It was Highsmith's first published book, and I think she learned from what Hitchcock did.

Another one of her well-known works is "The Talented Mr. Ripley" (there are several Tom Ripley books, some better than others). This book was very good, and I don't think the films made from it - I know of at least two - do the book justice. We know of the Matt Damon version (is he Matt Damon? I get him confused with all the other callow young men onscreen these days.), but there was an earlier French version with, I think, Alain Delon as the Ripley character. I can't think of the title - something maybe with the word "sun." I saw that one years ago and I remember liking it pretty well, although I can't really remember details now. However, I read the book after I saw that film, and I can also recall thinking that the book was better.

Highsmith's works are good fodder for films, because they are small in scale, and deal with people who lead lives of deception -- some feel guilt about it and some do not. The consequences of that guilt, or its absence, drive the plots.
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Dewey1960
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PATRICIA HIGHSMITH

Post by Dewey1960 »

Hi - The French film you're thinking of is PURPLE NOON from 1960. Directed by Rene Clement (from PH's novel "The Talented Mr. Ripley") it is, in my opinion far superior to the Matt Damon film from a few years back. Highsmith is one of my favorite novelists, but films adapted from her works have not entirely done her justice. Part of the problem, I think, is that she refuses to provide easy answers as to why her characters do the things they do. Her progtagonists are often seen as antagonists, and that is very often problematic for filmmakers. My favorite book of hers, THE CRY OF THE OWL, was turned into a Swedish film in the early 90's and it captured the disturbing tone her writing better than any other (with the possible exception of STRANGERS ON A TRAIN, which, as you pointed out, underwent many changes with respect to characterization and structure.) Two other books of hers, DEEP WATER and THE TWO FACES OF JANUARY, would make excellent films if done properly.
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Post by MissGoddess »

It has been a pleasure to read through everyone's posts and learning what your favorite and not-so-favorite book-to-screen translations are.

I will first chime in about Nancy Drew and say how big a fan I was as a kid of the books---so much so that I read one a day. I would check one out from the school library in the morning, and by the end of the day I had it finished and ready to exchange next morning. I was too crazy for them. Someone mentioned "The Hidden Staircase," while I don't remember any of them that title sounds familiar enough that I may have read it several times, too. :o

However, I read the 50s & 60s versions I think. I remember the cover art vividly. I don't know if any of the earlier stories were included. There were hundreds, it seemed.

I have never cared for any of the film versions.

I have read lots of books in recent years because I enjoyed the movies made from them. I agree that many times the movies are an improvement, as Hitch's films demonstrate. However, in the case of Rebecca I think it's about even. I've read that book at least 20 times and seen the movie many more times. Both great stuff. I think maybe Daphne du Maurier's other novels have had better success than most other authors: The Birds, Jamaica Inn and Frenchman's Creek are all entertaining at least. I haven't seen Don't Look Now, but it's gotten its share of praise, too.

Peter Ibbetson is an excellent realization of Gerald Du Maurier's classic.

GWTW, based on Margaret Mitchell's novel of the same name, is peerless perhaps, though my Mother categorically disagrees. She thinks the elimination of Scarlett's other children a crime. :roll: Frankly my dear, I don't give a dern about seeing her with a bunch of kids. Doesn't she even criticize Melanie once for only being capable of "raising a passle of mealy-mouthed brats just like her"? It would have seemed too cruel an irony to saddle Katie Scarlett with her own "passle".

I love the 1996 adapatation of Jane Austen's Emma. It's actually my favorite Austen based film, along with the Olivier/Garson Pride and Prejudice, which takes many liberties. I don't like the actor in the A&E Pride and Prejudice, so I can't watch that version, though it has many fans. However I really do enjoy their version of Persuasion. And I won't print here my opinion of Emma Thompson's S&S.

One last favorite, I am happy to say I received the dvd of today in the mail----1944's Jane Eyre. It too takes many liberties, or rather makes many deletions, but I find it closest to the spirit of the almost peerless novel. By the way, any thinking about getting it should know it's packaged beeeautifully, in a slipcase no less, with post cards of stills from the movie, a leaflet about the production and gazoodles of commentaries. Fox is really stepping up.
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Post by MissGoddess »

I thought ND fans might enjoy this.

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Post by SSO Admins »

MissGoddess wrote:Someone mentioned "The Hidden Staircase," while I don't remember any of them that title sounds familiar enough that I may have read it several times, too. :o

However, I read the 50s & 60s versions I think. I remember the cover art vividly. I don't know if any of the earlier stories were included. There were hundreds, it seemed.
"The Hidden Staircase" was the second Drew book. "The Secret of the Old Clock" was the first.

I read the 1930s versions, since they belonged to my mom.
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Post by MissGoddess »

Continuing this topic, I want to add the books/stories of W. Somerset Maugham have been brought to the screen numerous times (most recently with last year's version of The Painted Veil) and often to great effect.

The other night, one of his most oft-filmed stories, Rain, was presented on TCM in Columbia's version for Rita Hayworth, as Miss Sadie Thompson. I have only seen Joan Crawford's version to compare, but as fine as her performance and the cinematography in that one was, I still prefer the more realistic tone of the 50s version. Rarely does a 1950s movie compare so well to a pre-code, especially when it deals with such heavy matter as prostitution and religion, but Curtis Bernhardt's (who he?) direction is less "artsy" but more compassionate to the characters.

Maugham himself seldom liked what Hollywood did to his work but, as Robert Osbourne pointed out, Rita was his ideal "Sadie".

Other Maugham works that I've enjoyed seeing on the big screen include: The Razor's Edge (Power/Tierney version), The Letter (Bette Davis/Herbert Marshall), The Moon and Sixpence (George Sanders) and to a lesser extent, both earlier versions of The Painted Veil (1934-Garbo; 1957 aka The Seventh Sin, with Eleanor Parker), and my least favorite, Of Human Bondage (Bette's version I like best, but I just don't find the story pleasant at all). It's been a loooong time since I saw Our Betters, but I recall it as a charming pre-code.

Maugham is one of my tippy-top favorite English writers.
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Turning pages

Post by Moraldo Rubini »

I'm not sure if I've ever read a book because I enjoyed the movie first. But I've attended movies because I was curious as to how they would bring it to the screen. One of my biggest transfer disappointments was John Irving's masterpiece, A Prayer For Owen Meany, which was brought to the screen as Simon Birch. Perhaps there were too many important details to bring to a two-hour movie. Maybe some books beg for a mini-series instead.

Miss Goddess said
GWTW, based on Margaret Mitchell's novel of the same name, is peerless perhaps, though my Mother categorically disagrees. She thinks the elimination of Scarlett's other children a crime. Frankly my dear, I don't give a dern about seeing her with a bunch of kids. Doesn't she even criticize Melanie once for only being capable of "raising a passle of mealy-mouthed brats just like her"? It would have seemed too cruel an irony to saddle Katie Scarlett with her own "passle".
When I first saw Gone with the Wind, I was surprised to discover that the character of Will Benteen was missing. He was so instrumental in getting Tara back in order, and of course he married Suellen (thus lending Scarlett some misguided rationale for having "stolen" her sister's fiance). But if Will Benteen were in the movie, who would play him? Joel McCrea?
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Re: Turning pages

Post by MissGoddess »

Moraldo Rubini wrote: When I first saw Gone with the Wind, I was surprised to discover that the character of Will Benteen was missing. He was so instrumental in getting Tara back in order, and of course he married Suellen (thus lending Scarlett some misguided rationale for having "stolen" her sister's fiance). But if Will Benteen were in the movie, who would play him? Joel McCrea?
It goes to show you how long it's been since I last read the novel, I have completely forgotten about "Will Benteen". I wonder if he ever was considered for inclusion in the millions of rewrites Selznick & Co. went through in developing the production. As long as the final product is, there were thousands of feet of film edited out, much of which my mouth waters to see, but I suppose it was destroyed.
jdb1

Post by jdb1 »

MissGoddess wrote:Continuing this topic, I want to add the books/stories of W. Somerset Maugham have been brought to the screen numerous times (most recently with last year's version of The Painted Veil) and often to great effect.

Other Maugham works that I've enjoyed seeing on the big screen include: The Razor's Edge (Power/Tierney version), The Letter (Bette Davis/Herbert Marshall), The Moon and Sixpence (George Sanders) and to a lesser extent, both earlier versions of The Painted Veil (1934-Garbo; 1957 aka The Seventh Sin, with Eleanor Parker), and my least favorite, Of Human Bondage (Bette's version I like best, but I just don't find the story pleasant at all). It's been a loooong time since I saw Our Betters, but I recall it as a charming pre-code.

Maugham is one of my tippy-top favorite English writers.
I very much like the screen treatment of The Razor's Edge, although the mystic/transcendental aspects of Larry's quest are played down somewhat in the film. I especially like Gene Tierney, who gives a very good performance as a selfish socialite who wants Larry more and more because she can't have him, and never really understands what he's all about. Of course Clifton Webb is fabulous - the best performance he ever gave, and it's the only movie I ever saw Anne Baxter actually "act" in (rather than just successfully pose and posture) - she deserved her Oscar for that one. I find this film the most faithful to Maugham's writing, of all the Maugham books I've read. But I haven't yet read them all.

I agree about Of Human Bondage, and I've never been able to read the book through to the end.[/b]
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Post by sandykaypax »

I have to agree with Marco--the film version of John Irving's book, A Prayer for Owen Meany, re-titled Simon Birch, was a disappointment. I believe I read somewhere that the names of the characters were changed at Irving's request because he didn't like the adaptation.

However, the film version of The Cider House Rules is a wonderful film. It does condense things and leave out some characters, but remains true to the spirit of the book. And it is filmed on location in Maine, which is beautiful.

The film of E.M. Forster's Howards End is a beautiful, faithful adaptation. Emma Thompson is exactly how I pictured her character in the book. An outstanding performance.

Sandy K
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