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from book to film

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ok what im abouttosay i should be forgiven for as i was only 16 when i read it lol
thornbirds. i read the book and loved it, saw the film a few years later and omg what a pile of cack.
since then i have always avoided ever watching a film of a book i have loved.
i do find it amusing at times to discuss a book with friends and discover if anyone else has imagined a charecter to be the same as in my head. often wish i was a good artist and could draw what i see in my minds eye.
xx fem xx
Quote by fem_4_taboo
ok what im abouttosay i should be forgiven for as i was only 16 when i read it lol
thornbirds. i read the book and loved it, saw the film a few years later and omg what a pile of cack.
since then i have always avoided ever watching a film of a book i have loved.
i do find it amusing at times to discuss a book with friends and discover if anyone else has imagined a charecter to be the same as in my head. often wish i was a good artist and could draw what i see in my minds eye.
xx fem xx

I reckon you've hit the nail on the head. That's whats wrong with film adaptations of books. What you get is somebody elses view of what was going on.
The BBC did a series on Gormenghast a few years ago. A truely awesome and wonderful set of books. There vision was so so very different to mine that it took me a while to get into it. The series was good, very good but inside my head it looked and sounded better.
i know what you mean........
after having to sit thru "Captain Corelli's Mandolin" which is a brilliant book... and they made what can only be described as a pig's ear of the film , i actually made a vow to myself not to ever again watch a film from a book i have read... as i don't want to be that disappointed again! smile :)
One book I did enjoy reading was 'Contact' by Carl Sagan. I'm not normally into science fiction but I thought it looked interesting and gave it a go. Wow! It's not what I expected at all, the two seemingly opposing themes in the book were maths and philosophy - two passions of mine - and I was blown away.
It was later made into a film starring Jodi Foster and Mathew Mconathingymajig :shock: and was definitely a 'dumbed' down screenplay, but still extremely enjoyable. I must have seen it 10 times!
Trainspotting is by far the best film from book I have seen. The characters, plot and sequence of events was absolutely spot on.
I'd really like to see the Time Traveller's Wife made into a GOOD film. It was a fantastic story.
Quote by Marya_Northeast
Trainspotting is by far the best film from book I have seen. The characters, plot and sequence of events was absolutely spot on.
I'd really like to see the Time Traveller's Wife made into a GOOD film. It was a fantastic story.

i just couldnt get into Time Travelllers Wife, Marya, still half read in my cupboard, maybe i should try it again,
Suze xx
I thought Trainspotting was a pretty good adaptation of the book, and personally I think Peter Jackson did a damn good job with the Lord of the Rings, certainly in the extended versions of the films, if not quite in the theatrical release.
I can think of at least two instances where book and film were both written in parallel, which I think works very well. The two I know of are 2001: A Space Odyssey, and The Abyss.
Possibly the worst example I can think of for an adaptation would be A View to a Kill - in it's original form a wonderful short story, when it came time to make the film they took the name and ditched everything else.
Incidentally, somebody mentioned that Catch 22 would betricky to do because of it's non-linear narrative and large battle scenes. Personally I can think of films that have been successful despite being non-linear (Pulp Fiction is the one that immediately springs to mind), and large aerial battles are something that CGI got it's collective head around five years ago (the scene in Band of Brothers where they drop into Normandy would be an excellent example of what could be achieved even back then).
Quote by Suze43
Trainspotting is by far the best film from book I have seen. The characters, plot and sequence of events was absolutely spot on.
I'd really like to see the Time Traveller's Wife made into a GOOD film. It was a fantastic story.

i just couldnt get into Time Travelllers Wife, Marya, still half read in my cupboard, maybe i should try it again,
Suze xx
I can understand if you struggled with it. Some people just don't liket he constant jumping backwards and forwards but that's what i did like about it.
Give it another bash when you've got time and we'll start a book club! lol
Quote by Marya_Northeast
Trainspotting is by far the best film from book I have seen. The characters, plot and sequence of events was absolutely spot on.
I'd really like to see the Time Traveller's Wife made into a GOOD film. It was a fantastic story.

i just couldnt get into Time Travelllers Wife, Marya, still half read in my cupboard, maybe i should try it again,
Suze xx
I can understand if you struggled with it. Some people just don't liket he constant jumping backwards and forwards but that's what i did like about it.
Give it another bash when you've got time and we'll start a book club! lol
One of the best things I've ever read-but it would take phenomenal vision to turn it into a good film IMHO.
Quote by Marya_Northeast
Trainspotting is by far the best film from book I have seen. The characters, plot and sequence of events was absolutely spot on.

Trainspotting is indeed 'any good', as film but particularly as book.
I think mostStephen King's - except perhaps It, Christine and any i have yet to see - are reasonably good.
The better ones being the forementioned Shawshank and Green Mile, but I also put forward the Shining and Carrie.
Trainspotting is by far the best film from book I have seen. The characters, plot and sequence of events was absolutely spot on.
I'd really like to see the Time Traveller's Wife made into a GOOD film. It was a fantastic story.

i just couldnt get into Time Travelllers Wife, Marya, still half read in my cupboard, maybe i should try it again,
Suze xx
I can understand if you struggled with it. Some people just don't liket he constant jumping backwards and forwards but that's what i did like about it.
Give it another bash when you've got time and we'll start a book club! lol
One of the best things I've ever read-but it would take phenomenal vision to turn it into a good film IMHO.
Agree with Winchwench, one of my all time favourite books, fabulous book. Turning into a film I can see problems with the time travel however would be great to see BUT they'd have to cast it really well as to get the two central characters would be crucial. If I didn't fancy either of them I'd be disappointed wink
pink x
Quote by Marya_Northeast
I think most Stephen King's - except perhaps It, Christine and any i have yet to see - are reasonably good.
The better ones being the forementioned Shawshank and Green Mile, but I also put forward the Shining and Carrie.

I love Shawshank Redemption, Green Mile was amazing and Carrie scared me half to death!!
Suze xx
They've made some real turkeys from Stephen King stuff sad The Stand , It.
He also wrote Maximum Overdrive. Absolute kakk.
Quote by keeno
They've made some real turkeys from Stephen King stuff sad The Stand , It.
He also wrote Maximum Overdrive. Absolute kakk.

I agree - very much hit n miss.
Has anyone seen 1984? That is my favourite book of all time, ever but I've so far avoided the film because if it is in the teeny tiniest bit shite, I'll cry.
Quote by Marya_Northeast
They've made some real turkeys from Stephen King stuff sad The Stand , It.
He also wrote Maximum Overdrive. Absolute kakk.

I agree - very much hit n miss.
Has anyone seen 1984? That is my favourite book of all time, ever but I've so far avoided the film because if it is in the teeny tiniest bit shite, I'll cry.
Don't on any account see the Richard Burton/John Hurt version. I repeat don't watch it.
They changed the ending mad :x :x :x
How can they change the feckin ending ffs????????? mad
Thanks for the heads-up, i'll certainly avoid it even nore now.