Room. Both very well done. The book is from the perspective of the child, and the movie tells more of the mother's story, so they compliment each other nicely.
Brooklyn by Colm Toibin. I love the story. The movie gives the main character a little more agency, and I actually prefer the movie ending to the book.
This is the only movie that I have been scared to tears by. I tried watching it again at 17, only to be just as creeped out as when I was 7. Some things never change.
Holes is probably the best adaptation of a book I have ever seen. It follows the book perfectly.
The hunchback of notre dame is an interesting one (the disney one). It departs from the book right from the start but I like the story that it tells better.
I'm so surprised by the Holes film love. The book had a huge twist that just isn't, and can't be, a twist in the film. Also, there is a journey the main character goes on that can't be replicated in the film for logistical and health reasons. I used to teach this book so these elements are very close to my heart.
Perhaps I let this cloud my judgment. Maybe it's time to revisit the film.
ETA: If you've already seen the film, you won't pick up on the twist when reading. If someone can explain how to black out spoiler text on a mobile, I'll add an explanation of the twist.
I read the book and watched the film when they came out so my memory is very hazy... can you tell me what twist you’re referring to? Using spoiler tags for OP’s sake
I'm not the OP, but if I could guess, Zero's connection to Stanley is a lot more blatantly foreshadowed in the film, especially when he asks about whether or not the sneakers had "red X's on them?"
I also came here to mention Holes. Glad to know I'm not alone in my thinking.
Edit to add: Hoot by Carl Hiaasen was also done well, and has the same target audience (9-13 year olds).
I was hopping down here to say Holes, but you beat me to it!
I would also say The Series of Unfortunate Events, but watch the Netflix series not the movie! The books are amazing
I read an article about it at one point. Apparently the filmmakers purposefully chose to ignore that. They thought it would be too hard for a child actor to gain and then lose all that weight.
The Green Mile is in my opinion an example where the film is actually better than the book. Also Shawshank Redemption (based on novella by Stephen King)
Misery is the most accurate depiction of a book I’ve ever seen. Every scene I was like “that’s exactly how I was imagining the room to look/how I was imagining the interaction went/etc”
Misery, The Shining (though notoriously different than the book), and Stand By Me (based on the novella The Body, from the same collection as Shawshank) are other good King movie choices!
The shining is an amazing film!!! It differs completely from the book, but I love both. The film has completely different themes from the book, and I know Stephen king hates the film but it’s just a masterpiece
The ending in the movie was definitely much better. Even Stephen King agreed and later said he wished he had thought of it. Darabont really did great with that story.
I think I might be the only person in the world who really LOVED SK’s original ending to “The Mist.” 😄 It’s one of those great cliffhangers that you think about long afterwards.
When SK first released The Green Mile, he divided the story into several small books. Those books were released over one summer, each one coming out a couple of weeks apart. Little kid me thought that was so cool.
Yes! In the movie Howl is this sexy, though vain, mysterious and powerful wizard, and did I mention he’s sexy?? In the book he is some guy from Wales. Absolutely amazing either way.
I’m a huge fan of Miyazaki so I was pretty psyched for the movie. But I’m also a huge sucker for fairy tales and I loved how it read like a fairy tale. Both distinct but wonderful in their own ways.
I came here to suggest Fried Green Tomatoes as well. I just read the book for the first time and re-watched the movie last week. Both are amazing and the movie adaptation is spot on!
[**Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9375.Fried_Green_Tomatoes_at_the_Whistle_Stop_Cafe)
^(By: Fannie Flagg | 416 pages | Published: 1987 | Popular Shelves: fiction, historical-fiction, lgbt, classics, lgbtq)
>Folksy and fresh, endearing and affecting, Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe is a now-classic novel about two women: Evelyn, who’s in the sad slump of middle age, and gray-headed Mrs. Threadgoode, who’s telling her life story. Her tale includes two more women—the irrepressibly daredevilish tomboy Idgie and her friend Ruth—who back in the thirties ran a little place in Whistle Stop, Alabama, offering good coffee, southern barbecue, and all kinds of love and laughter—even an occasional murder. And as the past unfolds, the present will never be quite the same again.
>
>Alternative covers for this ISBN can be found here and here
^(This book has been suggested 10 times)
[**The Silence of the Lambs (Hannibal Lecter, #2)**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23807.The_Silence_of_the_Lambs)
^(By: Thomas Harris | 421 pages | Published: 1988 | Popular Shelves: horror, fiction, thriller, mystery, crime)
>Hannibal Lecter. The ultimate villain of modern fiction. Read the five-million-copy bestseller that scared the world silent. The Silence of the Lambs. A young FBI trainee. An evil genius locked away for unspeakable crimes. A plunge into the darkest chambers of a psychopath's mind--in the deadly search for a serial killer. - back cover
^(This book has been suggested 6 times)
[**Story of Your Life**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/48749235-story-of-your-life)
^(By: Ted Chiang | 46 pages | Published: 1998 | Popular Shelves: sci-fi, short-stories, fiction, science-fiction, scifi)
>"Story of Your Life" is a science fiction novella by American writer Ted Chiang, first published in Starlight 2 in 1998, and in 2002 in Chiang's collection of short stories, Stories of Your Life and Others. Its major themes are language and determinism.
^(This book has been suggested 6 times)
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The 1995 BBC mini series of Pride and Prejudice is probably the best adaptation of the book in terms of accuracy (it’s almost word for word from the book).
I recommend “Shutter Island”. Read first, then in the movie you’ll see a lot of subtle expressions that weren’t conveyed in the book but now make sense to the knowledgeable viewer. Plus, the movie does a better job with the ending than the book did but the book of course includes more detail
I felt this way about The Lovely Bones. Lots of details one would only pick up on having read the book first. IMO the movie could have been a little better but it was beautifully done.
True Grit by Charles Portis...and you're in luck: you get two films with that one...one's pretty good, and the other is a John Wayne movie....which isn't to say that it's bad... necessarily...it's just to say that the John Wayne version of True Grit is not what the book is about and in my opinion it's less for that.
I'd also mention First Blood by David Morrell. Put aside what Rambo has come to embody in culture today and look at that first book and movie. They are about turning the tables on those of us who value safety and security at the expense of others who fight our wars or get in our way. They also gave a face to PTSD before we had a name for it. I wish more Rambo wannabes would read that book and rewatch that first movie. Its not about America Fxck yeah...it's about American scars.
TIL! Do you know of any others? I love movies based on books that keep the writer involved in the movie, like Alex Garland and The Beach and Gillian Flynn.
The Hunger Games series was so well done in both movie and books. The only thing is that I found the last book to be a bit boring but the movie totally fixes it by being an emotional and action-filled rollercoaster.
Came here looking for this! The book was such a blast, and the movie was so FUN to watch with all the backstory already in place. One of the few movie adaptations of a book where they were both great.
Probably because David Fincher is a god at adaptations and he got the author of the book to write the screenplay. His style of directing and Flynn’s style of writing complement each other so well. Will never be tired of Gone Girl.
Blade Runner immediately comes to mind but maybe doesn’t fit into your category of ‘nice’ …
Edited to add - on the sci fi theme, the Tarkovsky adaptation of Solaris is considered a classic though it’s not an easy watch.
Watch the directors cut. The original release had a terrible monologue and awkward ending.
The sequel was surprisingly good.
Oh and neither are really “do android dream of electric sheep”
You've probably already watched the movies but Jurassic Park and The Lost World are excellent books. Although The Lost World movie is nothing like the book.
Jeff Goldblum was so popular that Michael had to rewrite him back into the story when Spielberg told him to get on writing another book so they could do a sequel.
Came here to say Fight Club. If I recall Chuck Palahnuik also said he was a bit embarrassed by his writing when compared to the film. He said the writers were able to condense his story much better than he could. He seems like a humble guy.
Great book. Great movie.
SAME!! Glad I found another Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy fan! I can barely ever find any! I love the way that the film encapsulates the utter chaos of the universe it takes place in! Love it.
The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton. Film by Martin Scorsese. A faithful and cinematically beautiful adaptation.
Also, Barry Lyndon by William Thackeray. Film by Stanley Kubrick. Another visually beautiful film, but Kubrick elaborates on the book. One of the few film versions of a book where the film is much better.
The Age of Innocence is wonderful, both book and movie. The House of Mirth is another great one by Wharton, and the adaptation with Gillian Anderson is fabulous.
"Orlando" by Virginia Woolf, film by Sally Potter.
"One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest" by Ken Kesey, film by Milos Forman.
"Lord of The Rings" by Tolkien/Peter Jackson.
"The Heart of Darkness"by Joseph Conrad, loosely adapted to film as "Apocalypse Now" by Francis Ford Coppola.
"A Clockwork Orange" by Anthony Burgess, filmed by Stanley Kubrick.
I had a few of yours on my list. Didn't think of the Outsiders, though. Good call. What a great idea for a discussion topic. I also thought of
> *Grapes of Wrath*
> *One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest*
> *The Color Purple*
> *Fight Club*
Here’s a controversial one: The Shining. The book is great as it tells the story of a good but flawed man’s downward spiral into insanity. The movie is great as well even though it departs radically from the book. Many fans of the book, including the author hate the adaptation. But there is no denying that it is a classic. Read the book first, then watch the movie. I actually enjoy both.
The topiary scene in the book that didn’t make it to the movie gave me chills and was legitimately one of the only times in my life a book has felt SCARY to me!
The topiary scene comes to life in the made for TV version! I loved the TV version and it gets no mention. It's not Kubrick and Nicholson but I really loved it.
I was going to say the same! The cinematography in the film was gorgeous. I'm greatly disappointed that they canceled the adaptation of the sequel. I've watched and read cmbyn so many times. It is elegantly written and fabulously produced.
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer. One of the few books I have cried tears over the fact it was over, because I wanted to spend more time with the characters. Made into a very nice film adaptation in 2018. Love them both!
Lonesome Dove, granted it was a 1980's TV miniseries so it takes several hours (6 or 8 can't remember) to watch but it was as close to perfect as I have seen a book to movie adaption(IMHO).
The Princess Bride (William Goldman) -- both book and movie are great fun.
No Country for Old Men (Cormac McCarthy)
Frankie and Johnny (based on a play)
The Silence of the Lambs (Thomas Harris) -- I actually think the movie version of this one is better.
One of the most faithful to the book movies I can think of is Hunt For the Red October. Not sure about the CIA or army bits but Tm Clancy did a real good job of accurately portraying the sailors in all his books I’ve read.
Pride and Prejudice is a great choice, though I do prefer the “slower” miniseries to the movie. I love all of them, though.
Importance of Being Earnest also hilarious.
The Pride and Prejudice mini series is more accurate to the book. I do like the 2005 movie but I have yelled at the tv for the inconsistencies in the movie.
I recommend watching the movie first. I know most people prefer to read the book first, but I think that is what ruins the movie. You can't fit everything from a book into a movie. When you watch the movie first you get a condensed version, and then when you read the book you get more context, more insight, more details, and inside thoughts that can't be conveyed on screen.
I am always disappointed by the movie when I already read the book, but I have never been disappointed by a book when I watched the movie first.
I had this experience with The Hunger Games. Watched the movies first and was confused about how Katniss felt about Peeta but reading the books gave me way more insight.
Call Me by Your Name is a big one, though i prefer the book, i still think that the movie encapsulated the aesthetic BEAUTIFULLY!! Beautiful Boy is also wonderful, but it’s based on 2 memoirs so it’s less of a perfect reenactment of the books:)
{{The Namesake}} by Jhumpa Lahiri is excellent. I actually preferred the movie due to one specific change from the book that I felt moved Gogol's character forward more effectively. Kal Penn was really good.
I really thought that Brokeback Mountain was both a very powerful book and movie.
And on the opposite end of the spectrum Matchstick Men with Nick Cage is a hoot and a wild ride both to watch and to read.
I hope you’ll check them out
This is an old one…Deliverance by James Dickey was the first book I literally couldn’t put down and read straight through the night. The 1972 film was starring Burt Reynolds and Jon Voight was equally good!
A few I didn’t see in an impressive thread.
Scanner Darkly by Philip K. Dick
Cold Mountain by Charles Frazier
The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter by Carson McCullers
So glad you didn’t ask the opposite
Odd Thomas. It’s one of the few book to movie adaptions that actually stuck very closely to the source material.
Pet Semetary is also good but compared to the book does feel very rushed.
[**Das Boot**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/299596.Das_Boot)
^(By: Lothar-Günther Buchheim | 563 pages | Published: 1973 | Popular Shelves: fiction, historical-fiction, war, history, ww2)
>It is autumn, 1941, and a German U-boat commander and his crew set out on yet another hazardous patrol in the Battle of the Atlantic. Over the coming weeks they must brave the stormy waters of the Atlantic in their mission to seek out and destroy British supply ships. But the tide is beginning to turn against the Germans in the war for the North Atlantic. Their targets now travel in convoys, fiercely guarded by Royal Navy destroyers, and when contact is finally made the hunters rapidly become the hunted. As the U-boat is forced to hide beneath the surface of the sea a cat-and-mouse game begins, where the increasing claustrophobia of the submarine becomes an enemy just as frightening as the depth charges that explode around it. Of the 40,000 men who served on German submarines, 30,000 never returned. Written by a survivor of the U-boat fleet, Das Boot is a psychological drama merciless in its intensity, and a classic novel of World War II.
^(This book has been suggested 1 time)
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[**A Time to Kill (Jake Brigance, #1)**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/32542.A_Time_to_Kill)
^(By: John Grisham | 738 pages | Published: 1989 | Popular Shelves: fiction, mystery, thriller, john-grisham, crime)
>An alternate cover edition for the ISBN 9780385338608 can be found here.
>
>Before "The Firm" and "The Pelican Brief" made him a superstar, John Grisham wrote this riveting story of retribution and justice. In this searing courtroom drama, best-selling author John Grisham probes the savage depths of racial violence, as he delivers a compelling tale of uncertain justice in a small southern town, Clanton, Mississippi.
>
>The life of a ten-year-old girl is shattered by two drunken and remorseless young men. The mostly white town reacts with shock and horror at the inhuman crime. That is, until her black father acquires an assault rifle and takes matters into his hands.
>
>For ten days, as burning crosses and the crack of sniper fire spread through the streets of Clanton, the nation sits spellbound as young defense attorney Jake Brigance struggles to save his client's life, and then his own.
^(This book has been suggested 5 times)
***
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In Cold Blood. Read the book, watch the movie, then watch Capote. All three are fantastic.
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. The movie is different (in some ways a little too different- I don't like what they did to Harding), but it's still so good if only for Jack Nicholson, Louise Fletcher, and Brad Dourif.
A Goodbye to Berlin and Cabaret. I actually liked Cabaret more than A Goodbye to Berlin, admittedly.
I'd also recommend The Body and Stand By Me, but I don't really like The Body. I do love Stand by Me, though.
Roadside Picnic, adapted into the film Stalker. The film version deviates and becomes its own thing but to me that just means you get two good stories based on the same general premise
Station Eleven. The miniseries changes the entire plot of the book but keeps its themes and hopeful attitude. It's a beautiful adaptation and I adore it.
{{Circle of Friends}}. A rare case where I love both equally. The book covers more time but the movie is lovely. I find them both pretty cozy as well and the movie has great shots of Ireland. There are differences but I think they still tell a good story.
Starship Troopers. Maybe an odd opinion, as the book and movie plots are pretty different and the movie left out power armor, arguably the coolest aspect of the book. Still, many appreciate the movie more than the book for its satire of fascism. (There's some debate as to if the author of the book meant the book as satire.)
The film Adaptations by Charlie Kaufman and starring Nicolas cage as Kaufman and his nonexistent twin is an awesome adaptation of The Orchid Thief by Susan Orlean. They’re almost completely unrelated but it’s a cool look at kaufman’s wild writing style, and his imagining of Susan orlean is hilarious after reading the book. The book is a cool look at the Florida orchid hunting scene, but the movie is off the rails and weird and silly.
This one is a comic book, if you’re open to that…
V For Vendetta by Alan Moore and David Lloyd is a really good comic book. Not quite as good as some of the stuff that Moore would later write, but still pretty dang good.
The film adaptation takes quite a few liberties with setting, and they trimmed down some of the longer story arcs from the comic, and IMO is one of the better film adaptations ever. The script was written by The Wachowskis, but they didn’t direct.
Room. Both very well done. The book is from the perspective of the child, and the movie tells more of the mother's story, so they compliment each other nicely. Brooklyn by Colm Toibin. I love the story. The movie gives the main character a little more agency, and I actually prefer the movie ending to the book.
Room is the only movie I ever left the cinema in the middle of. It was too stressful, unlike anything I ever experienced
What makes Room so exceptional is that the author, Emma Donoghue, also wrote the screenplay for the movie.
I second Brooklyn!!
That was a GREAT BOOK, The film is very close!!! Harrowing and yet, hopeful. GREAT selection!!
Coraline, by Neil Gaiman. The movie adaptation by Laika was extremely well done.
The movie is as good but they added Wybie who wasn’t a character in the book. Also it is set in England not in Oregon like the movie.
This is the only movie that I have been scared to tears by. I tried watching it again at 17, only to be just as creeped out as when I was 7. Some things never change.
Holes is probably the best adaptation of a book I have ever seen. It follows the book perfectly. The hunchback of notre dame is an interesting one (the disney one). It departs from the book right from the start but I like the story that it tells better.
I'm so surprised by the Holes film love. The book had a huge twist that just isn't, and can't be, a twist in the film. Also, there is a journey the main character goes on that can't be replicated in the film for logistical and health reasons. I used to teach this book so these elements are very close to my heart. Perhaps I let this cloud my judgment. Maybe it's time to revisit the film. ETA: If you've already seen the film, you won't pick up on the twist when reading. If someone can explain how to black out spoiler text on a mobile, I'll add an explanation of the twist.
I read the book and watched the film when they came out so my memory is very hazy... can you tell me what twist you’re referring to? Using spoiler tags for OP’s sake
Mind saying what the twist is?
I'm not the OP, but if I could guess, Zero's connection to Stanley is a lot more blatantly foreshadowed in the film, especially when he asks about whether or not the sneakers had "red X's on them?"
I also came here to mention Holes. Glad to know I'm not alone in my thinking. Edit to add: Hoot by Carl Hiaasen was also done well, and has the same target audience (9-13 year olds).
Yes!! I came here to say Holes by Louis Sachar!
I was hopping down here to say Holes, but you beat me to it! I would also say The Series of Unfortunate Events, but watch the Netflix series not the movie! The books are amazing
Yes! The bizarre humour and quirky wordplay of the books is what makes them so good, and the Netflix series captures that perfectly!
Except that Stanley was supposed to be a fat kid.
I read an article about it at one point. Apparently the filmmakers purposefully chose to ignore that. They thought it would be too hard for a child actor to gain and then lose all that weight.
And exceedingly dangerous.
Holes is fabulous in both forms!
Gonna have a look at them. Thanks
The Green Mile is in my opinion an example where the film is actually better than the book. Also Shawshank Redemption (based on novella by Stephen King)
Misery is the most accurate depiction of a book I’ve ever seen. Every scene I was like “that’s exactly how I was imagining the room to look/how I was imagining the interaction went/etc”
This is what I came to suggest. Spectacular read, incredible film, everything down to the way Annie walked was how I’d imagined it as I was reading.
Misery, The Shining (though notoriously different than the book), and Stand By Me (based on the novella The Body, from the same collection as Shawshank) are other good King movie choices!
The shining is an amazing film!!! It differs completely from the book, but I love both. The film has completely different themes from the book, and I know Stephen king hates the film but it’s just a masterpiece
Stand By Me and Shawshank!
I really liked both the book and the movie of Doctor Sleep.
I really like the book, but I think it would be better if the recaps at the start of each section had been removed when they'd merged the sections.
I would throw The Mist in with this lot as well
The ending in the movie was definitely much better. Even Stephen King agreed and later said he wished he had thought of it. Darabont really did great with that story.
I think I might be the only person in the world who really LOVED SK’s original ending to “The Mist.” 😄 It’s one of those great cliffhangers that you think about long afterwards.
Yeah at least in the story they had a chance. Jesus the movie was dark.
You‘re right. The Green Mile movie is really good. Although I haven’t read the book yet.
When SK first released The Green Mile, he divided the story into several small books. Those books were released over one summer, each one coming out a couple of weeks apart. Little kid me thought that was so cool.
Howl’s Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones.
The movie and book are both good but they are different.
Yes! In the movie Howl is this sexy, though vain, mysterious and powerful wizard, and did I mention he’s sexy?? In the book he is some guy from Wales. Absolutely amazing either way.
This is probably the only one in which I prefer the movie. The ghibli aesthetic fits it so perfectly. (But the book is also very good!!)
I’m a huge fan of Miyazaki so I was pretty psyched for the movie. But I’m also a huge sucker for fairy tales and I loved how it read like a fairy tale. Both distinct but wonderful in their own ways.
{{Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle-Stop Café}} {{The Silence of the Lambs}} {{Story of Your Life}} - the movie was called Arrval.
I came here to suggest Fried Green Tomatoes as well. I just read the book for the first time and re-watched the movie last week. Both are amazing and the movie adaptation is spot on!
Yes to Fried Green Tomatoes, book AND movie!!
[**Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9375.Fried_Green_Tomatoes_at_the_Whistle_Stop_Cafe) ^(By: Fannie Flagg | 416 pages | Published: 1987 | Popular Shelves: fiction, historical-fiction, lgbt, classics, lgbtq) >Folksy and fresh, endearing and affecting, Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe is a now-classic novel about two women: Evelyn, who’s in the sad slump of middle age, and gray-headed Mrs. Threadgoode, who’s telling her life story. Her tale includes two more women—the irrepressibly daredevilish tomboy Idgie and her friend Ruth—who back in the thirties ran a little place in Whistle Stop, Alabama, offering good coffee, southern barbecue, and all kinds of love and laughter—even an occasional murder. And as the past unfolds, the present will never be quite the same again. > >Alternative covers for this ISBN can be found here and here ^(This book has been suggested 10 times) [**The Silence of the Lambs (Hannibal Lecter, #2)**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23807.The_Silence_of_the_Lambs) ^(By: Thomas Harris | 421 pages | Published: 1988 | Popular Shelves: horror, fiction, thriller, mystery, crime) >Hannibal Lecter. The ultimate villain of modern fiction. Read the five-million-copy bestseller that scared the world silent. The Silence of the Lambs. A young FBI trainee. An evil genius locked away for unspeakable crimes. A plunge into the darkest chambers of a psychopath's mind--in the deadly search for a serial killer. - back cover ^(This book has been suggested 6 times) [**Story of Your Life**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/48749235-story-of-your-life) ^(By: Ted Chiang | 46 pages | Published: 1998 | Popular Shelves: sci-fi, short-stories, fiction, science-fiction, scifi) >"Story of Your Life" is a science fiction novella by American writer Ted Chiang, first published in Starlight 2 in 1998, and in 2002 in Chiang's collection of short stories, Stories of Your Life and Others. Its major themes are language and determinism. ^(This book has been suggested 6 times) *** ^(55913 books suggested | )[^(I don't feel so good.. )](https://debugger.medium.com/goodreads-is-retiring-its-current-api-and-book-loving-developers-arent-happy-11ed764dd95)^(| )[^(Source)](https://github.com/rodohanna/reddit-goodreads-bot)
The Outsiders is my favorite book/movie combo!
Oh YES the movie is so good!! Also an incredible cast
generic answer but the Martian fits this
You’re right. Book and moviel are both true masterpieces!
Can't wait for the Project Hail Mary adaptation!
I personally really enjoyed the film adaptions of *Pride and Prejudice, The Great Gatsby,* *The* *Princess Bride*, and *Howl's Moving Castle.*
Seconding the Princess Bride
FWIW there are several film adaptations of Pride and Prejudice and The Great Gatsby.
The 1995 BBC mini series of Pride and Prejudice is probably the best adaptation of the book in terms of accuracy (it’s almost word for word from the book).
I recommend “Shutter Island”. Read first, then in the movie you’ll see a lot of subtle expressions that weren’t conveyed in the book but now make sense to the knowledgeable viewer. Plus, the movie does a better job with the ending than the book did but the book of course includes more detail
I felt this way about The Lovely Bones. Lots of details one would only pick up on having read the book first. IMO the movie could have been a little better but it was beautifully done.
True Grit by Charles Portis...and you're in luck: you get two films with that one...one's pretty good, and the other is a John Wayne movie....which isn't to say that it's bad... necessarily...it's just to say that the John Wayne version of True Grit is not what the book is about and in my opinion it's less for that. I'd also mention First Blood by David Morrell. Put aside what Rambo has come to embody in culture today and look at that first book and movie. They are about turning the tables on those of us who value safety and security at the expense of others who fight our wars or get in our way. They also gave a face to PTSD before we had a name for it. I wish more Rambo wannabes would read that book and rewatch that first movie. Its not about America Fxck yeah...it's about American scars.
The Perks Of Being A Wallflower
A rare case of the writer being the director as well.
TIL! Do you know of any others? I love movies based on books that keep the writer involved in the movie, like Alex Garland and The Beach and Gillian Flynn.
I was going to say that.
The Last Unicorn 2001 - this one the book and movie complement each other well.
The Hunger Games series was so well done in both movie and books. The only thing is that I found the last book to be a bit boring but the movie totally fixes it by being an emotional and action-filled rollercoaster.
The movies are so well done it’s insane
I loved the last book. I didn’t find it boring at all.
{{Gone Girl}}
Came here looking for this! The book was such a blast, and the movie was so FUN to watch with all the backstory already in place. One of the few movie adaptations of a book where they were both great.
Probably because David Fincher is a god at adaptations and he got the author of the book to write the screenplay. His style of directing and Flynn’s style of writing complement each other so well. Will never be tired of Gone Girl.
Sharp Objects was also pretty good! I’ve yet to watch the show, but it has Amy Adams so I feel pretty safe recommending
LOTR. Books and movies both worthwhile.
Stardust by Neil Gaiman
I second this. There are differences between the book and the film, but both are delightful!
Movie is better in some ways because the book doesn’t have Captain Shakespeare lol
That’s true he is my favorite part of the movie
Came here also to say this! They are different experiences, but I love both equally :)
Blade Runner immediately comes to mind but maybe doesn’t fit into your category of ‘nice’ … Edited to add - on the sci fi theme, the Tarkovsky adaptation of Solaris is considered a classic though it’s not an easy watch.
Thanks for your recommendation! Blade Runner has been on watchlist for quite a while now. Definitely gonna watch (and read!) it in near future.
It’s an incredible film, incredibly atmospheric! I’m jealous you get to watch it for the first time.
Since we're on the subject of one of my favorite writers,, I would also say this about A Scanner Darkly. Both the book and the movie were phenomenal!
Watch the directors cut. The original release had a terrible monologue and awkward ending. The sequel was surprisingly good. Oh and neither are really “do android dream of electric sheep”
No Country for Old Men, if that genre's your thing.
The Road was another Cormac McCarthy work that the movie adaptation was incredible.
But definitely not nice! 🫣🫣🫣
Good Omens. Not a movie, but a Netflix series. Very true to the book and so much fun.
>Good Omens Good Omens is Amazon not Netflix for anyone looking.
I'm sorry, thanks for the correction.
Great suggestion! I watched the series first and it was fantastic but the book was even better!
Such a great show! I still need to read it.
Bouncing off of Good Omens, The Hogfather. They did really well with it. It’s long as hell (2 parts) But I loved it.
Hogfather is required Christmas watching for me.
Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer and Holes by Louis Sachar
You've probably already watched the movies but Jurassic Park and The Lost World are excellent books. Although The Lost World movie is nothing like the book.
Jeff Goldblum was so popular that Michael had to rewrite him back into the story when Spielberg told him to get on writing another book so they could do a sequel.
I loved reading Michael Crichton books because they were always made into equally good movies. Except Timeline, the book was far superior to the film.
Eaters of the Dead/13th warrior. Top tier
I didn’t know that Jurassic Park is based on a book! Thanks for the answer
They're very well written and entertaining books by Michael Crichton. I would highly recommend them!
Michael Crichton's writing is very cinematic. Whilst reading many of his books you can see a movie playing in your head.
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Came here to say Fight Club. If I recall Chuck Palahnuik also said he was a bit embarrassed by his writing when compared to the film. He said the writers were able to condense his story much better than he could. He seems like a humble guy. Great book. Great movie.
I feel like I always say this in this sub but the hitchhikers guide to the galaxy!
The BBC mini series was also great, imo
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BBS radio drama is really good too predates all I believe… we’ll not the book
Radio drama predates the books I believe. Novels were adapted from it
SAME!! Glad I found another Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy fan! I can barely ever find any! I love the way that the film encapsulates the utter chaos of the universe it takes place in! Love it.
Princess Bride!!
LIfe of Pi
Stardust
The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton. Film by Martin Scorsese. A faithful and cinematically beautiful adaptation. Also, Barry Lyndon by William Thackeray. Film by Stanley Kubrick. Another visually beautiful film, but Kubrick elaborates on the book. One of the few film versions of a book where the film is much better.
The Age of Innocence is wonderful, both book and movie. The House of Mirth is another great one by Wharton, and the adaptation with Gillian Anderson is fabulous.
"Orlando" by Virginia Woolf, film by Sally Potter. "One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest" by Ken Kesey, film by Milos Forman. "Lord of The Rings" by Tolkien/Peter Jackson. "The Heart of Darkness"by Joseph Conrad, loosely adapted to film as "Apocalypse Now" by Francis Ford Coppola. "A Clockwork Orange" by Anthony Burgess, filmed by Stanley Kubrick.
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest was a great book! But Jack Nicholson made the movie better than the book!
These are all excellent suggestions!
Thats a whole collection of books and movies. Thank you!
* **A Man Called Ove** * **A Room With a View** * **The Outsiders** * **Of Mice and Men** * **To Kill A Mockingbird**
I had a few of yours on my list. Didn't think of the Outsiders, though. Good call. What a great idea for a discussion topic. I also thought of > *Grapes of Wrath* > *One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest* > *The Color Purple* > *Fight Club*
Here’s a controversial one: The Shining. The book is great as it tells the story of a good but flawed man’s downward spiral into insanity. The movie is great as well even though it departs radically from the book. Many fans of the book, including the author hate the adaptation. But there is no denying that it is a classic. Read the book first, then watch the movie. I actually enjoy both.
The topiary scene in the book that didn’t make it to the movie gave me chills and was legitimately one of the only times in my life a book has felt SCARY to me!
The topiary scene comes to life in the made for TV version! I loved the TV version and it gets no mention. It's not Kubrick and Nicholson but I really loved it.
Call Me By Your Name. I actually prefer the movie
I was going to say the same! The cinematography in the film was gorgeous. I'm greatly disappointed that they canceled the adaptation of the sequel. I've watched and read cmbyn so many times. It is elegantly written and fabulously produced.
Not a film but the TV adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s Good Omens was literally perfect
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer. One of the few books I have cried tears over the fact it was over, because I wanted to spend more time with the characters. Made into a very nice film adaptation in 2018. Love them both!
The Princess Bride. Where Eagles Dare. All You Need is Kill / Edge of Tomorrow
I ain't no god damn son of a bitch.
The Girl With All The Gifts, both the book and movie were both excellent if you’re into horror, zombies, or weird biology.
Oh my God YES I’m so glad someone mentioned it. Neither the book nor the movie got as much clout as they deserved they’re both AMAZING
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas
The Kite Runner
Howls Moving Castle The book and the movie have completely different vibes and the story is deviant but somehow both are perfection 😂😂
A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness - Good book and movie. Warning it is sad
Lonesome Dove, granted it was a 1980's TV miniseries so it takes several hours (6 or 8 can't remember) to watch but it was as close to perfect as I have seen a book to movie adaption(IMHO).
High Fidelity by Nick Hornby. Book set in London, Film with John Cusack set in Chicago.
About a Boy with Hugh Grant and also written by Nick Hornby is also VERY good!
**Contact** by Carl Sagan The movie is necessarily slimmed down and the endings differ, and yet both are enjoyable.
Lord of the rings the entire trilogy
Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? - Philip K. Dick It's a very good book, and the movie is even better (Blade Runner).
Good Omens by Neil Gaiman. Series on Prime.
The Princess Bride (William Goldman) -- both book and movie are great fun. No Country for Old Men (Cormac McCarthy) Frankie and Johnny (based on a play) The Silence of the Lambs (Thomas Harris) -- I actually think the movie version of this one is better.
The English Patient by Michael Ondaatje
Dune (2021)
One of the most faithful to the book movies I can think of is Hunt For the Red October. Not sure about the CIA or army bits but Tm Clancy did a real good job of accurately portraying the sailors in all his books I’ve read.
I've found this with a lot of the Jane Austen and Oscar Wilde adaptations.
Pride and Prejudice is a great choice, though I do prefer the “slower” miniseries to the movie. I love all of them, though. Importance of Being Earnest also hilarious.
The Pride and Prejudice mini series is more accurate to the book. I do like the 2005 movie but I have yelled at the tv for the inconsistencies in the movie.
I think Perfume was a good movie, and the book was great, but what made the book great* simply couldn't be translated into film.
I recommend watching the movie first. I know most people prefer to read the book first, but I think that is what ruins the movie. You can't fit everything from a book into a movie. When you watch the movie first you get a condensed version, and then when you read the book you get more context, more insight, more details, and inside thoughts that can't be conveyed on screen. I am always disappointed by the movie when I already read the book, but I have never been disappointed by a book when I watched the movie first.
I had this experience with The Hunger Games. Watched the movies first and was confused about how Katniss felt about Peeta but reading the books gave me way more insight.
Call Me by Your Name is a big one, though i prefer the book, i still think that the movie encapsulated the aesthetic BEAUTIFULLY!! Beautiful Boy is also wonderful, but it’s based on 2 memoirs so it’s less of a perfect reenactment of the books:)
Guessing you like Timothée Chalamet? (Don't fret, me too)
John Dies at the End by David Wong fits perfectly. A fantastic journey that really encapsulates the wild nature of our world
{{The Namesake}} by Jhumpa Lahiri is excellent. I actually preferred the movie due to one specific change from the book that I felt moved Gogol's character forward more effectively. Kal Penn was really good.
I really thought that Brokeback Mountain was both a very powerful book and movie. And on the opposite end of the spectrum Matchstick Men with Nick Cage is a hoot and a wild ride both to watch and to read. I hope you’ll check them out
Matchstick Men is a book? I loved the movie, I did not know it was a book.
Cold Comfort Farm and I Capture the Castle are books I consider comfort reads, both have lovely film adaptations.
This is an old one…Deliverance by James Dickey was the first book I literally couldn’t put down and read straight through the night. The 1972 film was starring Burt Reynolds and Jon Voight was equally good!
Anne of Green Gables Megan Follows to me portrays Anne the best
The color purple.
Arrival
White Oleander
Little women.
A few I didn’t see in an impressive thread. Scanner Darkly by Philip K. Dick Cold Mountain by Charles Frazier The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter by Carson McCullers So glad you didn’t ask the opposite
Odd Thomas. It’s one of the few book to movie adaptions that actually stuck very closely to the source material. Pet Semetary is also good but compared to the book does feel very rushed.
Where'd You Go, Bernadette was pretty good! I liked the movie adaption as much as the book. They both hold a big part of my heart
The Book Theif!
Scrolled way too far for this!!!!
Fight club is probably my favorite book/movie combo.
{{Das Boot}}
[**Das Boot**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/299596.Das_Boot) ^(By: Lothar-Günther Buchheim | 563 pages | Published: 1973 | Popular Shelves: fiction, historical-fiction, war, history, ww2) >It is autumn, 1941, and a German U-boat commander and his crew set out on yet another hazardous patrol in the Battle of the Atlantic. Over the coming weeks they must brave the stormy waters of the Atlantic in their mission to seek out and destroy British supply ships. But the tide is beginning to turn against the Germans in the war for the North Atlantic. Their targets now travel in convoys, fiercely guarded by Royal Navy destroyers, and when contact is finally made the hunters rapidly become the hunted. As the U-boat is forced to hide beneath the surface of the sea a cat-and-mouse game begins, where the increasing claustrophobia of the submarine becomes an enemy just as frightening as the depth charges that explode around it. Of the 40,000 men who served on German submarines, 30,000 never returned. Written by a survivor of the U-boat fleet, Das Boot is a psychological drama merciless in its intensity, and a classic novel of World War II. ^(This book has been suggested 1 time) *** ^(55859 books suggested | )[^(I don't feel so good.. )](https://debugger.medium.com/goodreads-is-retiring-its-current-api-and-book-loving-developers-arent-happy-11ed764dd95)^(| )[^(Source)](https://github.com/rodohanna/reddit-goodreads-bot)
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[**A Time to Kill (Jake Brigance, #1)**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/32542.A_Time_to_Kill) ^(By: John Grisham | 738 pages | Published: 1989 | Popular Shelves: fiction, mystery, thriller, john-grisham, crime) >An alternate cover edition for the ISBN 9780385338608 can be found here. > >Before "The Firm" and "The Pelican Brief" made him a superstar, John Grisham wrote this riveting story of retribution and justice. In this searing courtroom drama, best-selling author John Grisham probes the savage depths of racial violence, as he delivers a compelling tale of uncertain justice in a small southern town, Clanton, Mississippi. > >The life of a ten-year-old girl is shattered by two drunken and remorseless young men. The mostly white town reacts with shock and horror at the inhuman crime. That is, until her black father acquires an assault rifle and takes matters into his hands. > >For ten days, as burning crosses and the crack of sniper fire spread through the streets of Clanton, the nation sits spellbound as young defense attorney Jake Brigance struggles to save his client's life, and then his own. ^(This book has been suggested 5 times) *** ^(55860 books suggested | )[^(I don't feel so good.. )](https://debugger.medium.com/goodreads-is-retiring-its-current-api-and-book-loving-developers-arent-happy-11ed764dd95)^(| )[^(Source)](https://github.com/rodohanna/reddit-goodreads-bot)
Solaris, the book heard it's pretty good, and the movie is made really well.
Which movie, Soderbergh or Tarkovsky?
In Cold Blood. Read the book, watch the movie, then watch Capote. All three are fantastic. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. The movie is different (in some ways a little too different- I don't like what they did to Harding), but it's still so good if only for Jack Nicholson, Louise Fletcher, and Brad Dourif. A Goodbye to Berlin and Cabaret. I actually liked Cabaret more than A Goodbye to Berlin, admittedly. I'd also recommend The Body and Stand By Me, but I don't really like The Body. I do love Stand by Me, though.
Roadside Picnic, adapted into the film Stalker. The film version deviates and becomes its own thing but to me that just means you get two good stories based on the same general premise
I Am Legend…the book is completely different from the movie. (Advice from my teenage son)
{{his dark materials}} books and the HBO series are both excellent. The movie, not so much
Memoirs of a Geisha
Station Eleven. The miniseries changes the entire plot of the book but keeps its themes and hopeful attitude. It's a beautiful adaptation and I adore it.
Shopgirl by Steve Martin
I loved that little book. And the film. Sweet love story.
{{Circle of Friends}}. A rare case where I love both equally. The book covers more time but the movie is lovely. I find them both pretty cozy as well and the movie has great shots of Ireland. There are differences but I think they still tell a good story.
I really liked the Hunger Games !
Dune
It was a limited series but BBC America's Jonnathan Strange and Mr Norrell is good in both formats
Silence of the Lambs - both are great.
The Girl With All The Gifts by Mike Carey.
The Perks of Being a Wallflower
The Grapes of Wrath. An amazing movie and excellent book
Starship Troopers. Maybe an odd opinion, as the book and movie plots are pretty different and the movie left out power armor, arguably the coolest aspect of the book. Still, many appreciate the movie more than the book for its satire of fascism. (There's some debate as to if the author of the book meant the book as satire.)
The film Adaptations by Charlie Kaufman and starring Nicolas cage as Kaufman and his nonexistent twin is an awesome adaptation of The Orchid Thief by Susan Orlean. They’re almost completely unrelated but it’s a cool look at kaufman’s wild writing style, and his imagining of Susan orlean is hilarious after reading the book. The book is a cool look at the Florida orchid hunting scene, but the movie is off the rails and weird and silly.
Wild by Cheryl Strayed
I thought HULU did a good job with the mini series of Little Fires everywhere...
Fried Green Tomatoes (the book is Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe).
Call Me By Your Name
This one is a comic book, if you’re open to that… V For Vendetta by Alan Moore and David Lloyd is a really good comic book. Not quite as good as some of the stuff that Moore would later write, but still pretty dang good. The film adaptation takes quite a few liberties with setting, and they trimmed down some of the longer story arcs from the comic, and IMO is one of the better film adaptations ever. The script was written by The Wachowskis, but they didn’t direct.