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General Category => General Discussion => Topic started by: oldbike54 on August 20, 2019, 05:55:18 PM

Title: Favorite movie based on a great book
Post by: oldbike54 on August 20, 2019, 05:55:18 PM
 I tend to prefer movies that tell a story , minimal special effects , although with modern CGI those can be made to look pretty realistic . Violence and chase scenes leave me wondering if the screenwriter can tell a story , although a good action adventure movie can be fun .

 Not much of a movie buff , perhaps 10 movies have been memorable to me .

 So what is your favorite movie based on a great book , one that tells a great story ? Help me compile a list , reading has become more problematic lately , I fall asleep  :laugh: Hoping maybe you guys can steer me towards some worthwhile movies .

 Maybe at the top of the list is The Shipping News , based on Annie Proulx's book of the same name , just to give a hint . Thanks

 Dusty
Title: Re: Favorite movie based on a great book
Post by: davedel44 on August 20, 2019, 05:59:49 PM
Grapes of Wrath

Classic

Title: Re: Favorite movie based on a great book
Post by: Ncdan on August 20, 2019, 06:03:57 PM
Rambo and jaws are two movies that I read the book first.
Title: Re: Favorite movie based on a great book
Post by: drw916 on August 20, 2019, 06:07:53 PM
Master and Commander by Patrick O'Brian.  The 20+ book series is outstanding.  The movie , although a compilation of a couple of the books, was also excellent.
Title: Re: Favorite movie based on a great book
Post by: Beowulf on August 20, 2019, 06:09:01 PM
I have to go with Ben Hur. The book was amazing to read. Really hit on the customs of the time. That book did a good job of depicting a scene. Loved the movie with Charlton Heston not the new one.

Best trilogy of movies based on a book i have seen not read is the samurai trilogy starring Toshiro mifune.
Title: Re: Favorite movie based on a great book
Post by: yogidozer on August 20, 2019, 06:12:11 PM
I've always found books to tell a story better than most movies. Into the wild, is one example.
Jeremiah Johnson is one of my favorite movies, based on a book called Crow Killer.
The book Woman Walking Ahead: In Search of Catherine Weldon and Sitting Bull and the movie
Woman Walks Ahead are equally good.
I'm lucky to have a really good library in town. Too much junk on TV
Title: Re: Favorite movie based on a great book
Post by: adaven on August 20, 2019, 06:12:33 PM
A few that I think are good translations are Sometimes a Great Notion, Little Big Man, and The Maltese Falcon.
Title: Re: Favorite movie based on a great book
Post by: oldbike54 on August 20, 2019, 06:12:56 PM
 That is kind of the problem , almost invariably the book is just so much better than the movie , Jaws being an example . The book tells a helluva story, more about how people really are than anything , the movie was really kinda stupid . Same with The Shining , the book delved into the human psyche, it had pathos and a real plot , apparently the screenwriters for the movie just read the Cliff's Notes , because the movie didn't have anything to do with the book .

 Dusty
Title: Re: Favorite movie based on a great book
Post by: blackbuell on August 20, 2019, 06:15:28 PM
Dave already beat me to it: Grapes of Wrath. Also like Bruce Springsteen's song inspired by book/movie: Ghost of Tom Joad
Title: Re: Favorite movie based on a great book
Post by: yogidozer on August 20, 2019, 06:24:55 PM
Dusty, sounds like we share a love for reading. I think you might enjoy a few books by a woman named Anne LaBastille.
This are non fiction, her love for the outdoors. She built her own cabin, by herself, mostly, in the Adirondacks.
The first is titled Woodswoman.

(https://i.ibb.co/F46xhxP/woodswomancv-375.jpg) (https://ibb.co/F46xhxP)
Title: Re: Favorite movie based on a great book
Post by: JC85 on August 20, 2019, 06:39:28 PM
It's not based on a book, but if you've never seen "My Dinner With Andre," I have a feeling that you'd love it. Nothing exciting; the entire movie consists of a conversation between two characters over dinner. But it is well worth the watch. It is a love it or hate it kind of movie. You'll either love it for the content of the conversation between the two characters, or hate it, because nothing really "happens" in the movie.
Title: Re: Favorite movie based on a great book
Post by: oldbike54 on August 20, 2019, 06:41:40 PM
Dusty, sounds like we share a love for reading. I think you might enjoy a few books by a woman named Anne LaBastille.
This are non fiction, her love for the outdoors. She built her own cabin, by herself, mostly, in the Adirondacks.
The first is titled Woodswoman.

(https://i.ibb.co/F46xhxP/woodswomancv-375.jpg) (https://ibb.co/F46xhxP)


 Mentioned this in the first post , reading has become problematic , I just fall asleep . For probably over 50 years I read somewhere in the vicinity of 40 books a year , maybe more , nearly a novel or biography or historical faction a week , usually over 100 pages every night . Now , two paragraphs in and sleep just takes over . What I want are movies that stay at least somewhat true to the book , where the screenwriters and director know the story and have some respect for that story .

 Dusty
Title: Re: Favorite movie based on a great book
Post by: oldbike54 on August 20, 2019, 06:43:35 PM
It's not based on a book, but if you've never seen "My Dinner With Andre," I have a feeling that you'd love it. Nothing exciting; the entire movie consists of a conversation between two characters over dinner. But it is well worth the watch. It is a love it or hate it kind of movie. You'll either love it for the content of the conversation between the two characters, or hate it, because nothing really "happens" in the movie.

 Thanks JC , there have been a couple of good movies that were all dialogue driven that weren't based on a book .

 Dusty
Title: Re: Favorite movie based on a great book
Post by: Bisbonian on August 20, 2019, 06:52:08 PM
Fight Club.
But I can't talk about it.
Title: Re: Favorite movie based on a great book
Post by: kingoffleece on August 20, 2019, 06:53:33 PM
Gorkie Park.  GREAT book and the movie was well done.

Papillon, with Steve McQueen, was fantastic.  Absolutely a must read.
Title: Re: Favorite movie based on a great book
Post by: fotoguzzi on August 20, 2019, 06:59:22 PM
Slaughterhouse 5
Title: Re: Favorite movie based on a great book
Post by: yogidozer on August 20, 2019, 07:01:37 PM
Sorry Dusty, I misunderstood. Thought you meant the things you've been reading lately haven't held your interest.
Title: Re: Favorite movie based on a great book
Post by: oldbike54 on August 20, 2019, 07:03:09 PM
Sorry Dusty, I misunderstood. Thought you meant the things you've been reading lately haven't held your interest.

 No problem Yogi , it is frustrating to not be able to read like I did for all of those years .

 Dusty
Title: Re: Favorite movie based on a great book
Post by: JC85 on August 20, 2019, 07:05:02 PM
Thanks JC , there have been a couple of good movies that were all dialogue driven that weren't based on a book .

 Dusty

I love good flicks like that, so if you have others you can recommend, feel free. Another good one is The Man From Earth (not to the confused with The Man Who Fell to Earth.) It was really low budget, but if you can look past the iffy production (lighting and things like that,) it is a fascinating movie.
Title: Re: Favorite movie based on a great book
Post by: tazio on August 20, 2019, 07:11:06 PM
Silence of the lambs.
"It rubs the lotion on it's skin or else it gets the hose again.."
 
Title: Re: Favorite movie based on a great book
Post by: oldbike54 on August 20, 2019, 07:23:57 PM
I love good flicks like that, so if you have others you can recommend, feel free. Another good one is The Man From Earth (not to the confused with The Man Who Fell to Earth.) It was really low budget, but if you can look past the iffy production (lighting and things like that,) it is a fascinating movie.

 12 Angry Men comes to mind .

 Dusty
Title: Re: Favorite movie based on a great book
Post by: wrbix on August 20, 2019, 07:28:54 PM
The Road
Title: Re: Favorite movie based on a great book
Post by: maquette on August 20, 2019, 07:35:02 PM
The Road

The book was great, haven't seen the movie yet. I've read all of Cormac McCarthy's books and he is something special (and kinda scary).  :laugh:
Title: Re: Favorite movie based on a great book
Post by: QuattroValvole on August 20, 2019, 07:43:00 PM

I’ll second ‘Sometimes a great notion’ and ‘Gorky Park’. I’d also add ‘Never Cry Wolf’ based on the book by Farley Mowat.
Title: Re: Favorite movie based on a great book
Post by: alanp on August 20, 2019, 07:49:23 PM
No Country for Old Men.  Not Cormac McCarthy's best book but a darned suspenseful movie. 

I am really enjoying books by David Mitchell lately;  Cloud Atlas, number9dream and The Bone Clocks are fabulous.  Only one really lousy movie,  Cloud Atlas, has been based on any of them though. 

Title: Re: Favorite movie based on a great book
Post by: Ncdan on August 20, 2019, 07:54:55 PM
Mentioned this in the first post , reading has become problematic , I just fall asleep . For probably over 50 years I read somewhere in the vicinity of 40 books a year , maybe more , nearly a novel or biography or historical faction a week , usually over 100 pages every night . Now , two paragraphs in and sleep just takes over . What I want are movies that stay at least somewhat true to the book , where the screenwriters and director know the story and have some respect for that story .

 Dusty
If you get a chance, read FIRST BLOOD (Rambo).  Surprisingly It follows the movie fairly consistently.
Title: Re: Favorite movie based on a great book
Post by: oldbike54 on August 20, 2019, 07:56:24 PM
If you get a chance, read FIRST BLOOD (Rambo).  Surprisingly It follows the movie fairly consistently.

 Dan , that would require the rest of my days one paragraph at a time .

 Dusty
Title: Re: Favorite movie based on a great book
Post by: oldbike54 on August 20, 2019, 08:00:49 PM
Where the red fern grows.

 That story took place just about 30 miles East of here , an area I am very familiar with .

 Dusty
Title: Re: Favorite movie based on a great book
Post by: yogidozer on August 20, 2019, 08:09:09 PM
Where the red fern grows.
A favorite of mine! Something how you can tell hounds apart by their howls.
Redbone, Blue ticks, Walkers  :grin:
Title: Re: Favorite movie based on a great book
Post by: fotoguzzi on August 20, 2019, 08:09:58 PM
To Kill a Mockingbird.
Title: Re: Favorite movie based on a great book
Post by: Muzz on August 20, 2019, 08:15:56 PM
The Old Man and the Sea.

Spencer Tracey starred in the movie.  A long time ago since I saw it but it really struck a chord.

For Whom the Bell Tolls.  Ingrid Bergman.  The final scene was gut wrenching.
Title: Re: Favorite movie based on a great book
Post by: wrbix on August 20, 2019, 08:30:25 PM
The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension

...a lot of weird stuff in the movie that’s not in the book.....a cult favorite.
Title: Re: Favorite movie based on a great book
Post by: davedel44 on August 20, 2019, 08:31:35 PM
A favorite of mine! Something how you can tell hounds apart by their howls.
Redbone, Blue ticks, Walkers  :grin:

Best Dog book ever!  Never saw the movie.

Even though I taught Science I was assigned to help the reading teacher.  One student was having particular trouble so we'd met after school and read it Round Robin.  Got to the last few pages and everyone was bawling.  The new Superintendent walked in to see what was going on, I just held up the book and she nodded and walked on

Two other of my favorite movies.
ET
Goonies

Dave
Galveston
Title: Re: Favorite movie based on a great book
Post by: john fish on August 20, 2019, 08:34:12 PM
One Flew Over a Cuckoos Nest.

Cool Hand Luke
Title: Re: Favorite movie based on a great book
Post by: davedel44 on August 20, 2019, 08:39:12 PM
McMurtry
Last Picture Show
Lonesome Dove
Hud

Pat Conroy
Conrack
Great Santini
Prince of Tides

James Dickey
Deliverance you'll hear banjos.

Dave
Galveston
Title: Re: Favorite movie based on a great book
Post by: Gliderjohn on August 20, 2019, 08:49:40 PM
Three come to mind:
Hunt for Red October
Bat 21
One Flew Over a Cuckoos Nest (already mentioned).
GliderJohn
Title: Re: Favorite movie based on a great book
Post by: LowRyter on August 20, 2019, 08:50:48 PM
Slaughterhouse 5

Have to agree.  Masterful job taking a very difficult book to make a really good movie. 

Also, in the same era, Catch 22.  Both movies came to my mind when I saw the subject.


Bev agrees with Dusty regarding the Shipping News.  I never read the book bit loved the movie.
Title: Re: Favorite movie based on a great book
Post by: PJPR01 on August 20, 2019, 08:54:28 PM
From Alistair MacLean:  Ice Station Zebra, Guns of Navaronne, Force 10 from Navaronne, all of his books are excellent

Forrest Carter:  The Outlaw Josey Wales, based on the book Gone To Texas

Robin Moore:  The French Connection (Gene Hackman)

Frederick Forsyth:  The Day of the Jackal

John Le Carre: Tinker, Tailor, Soldier Spy

Other Great adventure authors:  Clive Cussler, Eric Van Lustbader, Robert Ludlum
Title: Re: Favorite movie based on a great book
Post by: rdtricks on August 20, 2019, 08:56:44 PM
"Into the Wild": The movie followed the book closely and told the same story.
Title: Re: Favorite movie based on a great book
Post by: Shorty on August 20, 2019, 09:12:46 PM
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo  series.
Title: Re: Favorite movie based on a great book
Post by: AJ Huff on August 20, 2019, 09:15:04 PM
Full Metal Jacket

-AJ
Title: Re: Favorite movie based on a great book
Post by: AJ Huff on August 20, 2019, 09:17:05 PM
Harry Potter

Princess Bride

-AJ
Title: Re: Favorite movie based on a great book
Post by: oldbike54 on August 20, 2019, 09:32:57 PM
 Thanks guys .

 It won't be the same as reading the books , although I have read several mentioned here .

 

 Dusty
Title: Re: Favorite movie based on a great book
Post by: slowmover on August 20, 2019, 09:50:04 PM
Mario Puzo  The Godfather
Title: Re: Favorite movie based on a great book
Post by: Buckturgidson on August 20, 2019, 10:38:52 PM
Slaughterhouse 5

Great book and movie. The casting was perfect, all the way down to the Paul Lazarro character.
Title: Re: Favorite movie based on a great book
Post by: SmithSwede on August 20, 2019, 10:56:16 PM
I’m surprised nobody said Forrest Gump. 

Dusty, I suspect you would really like A Beautiful Mind. 

Shutter Island is also very good.
Title: Re: Favorite movie based on a great book
Post by: jbell on August 20, 2019, 10:56:36 PM
The man who would be king. 
Title: Re: Favorite movie based on a great book
Post by: kirby1923 on August 20, 2019, 11:02:40 PM
the Odyssey...Homer.

Konchalovskiy's movie was sadly only fair but the book.....

I like W.H.D. Rouse's translation the best.
Title: Re: Favorite movie based on a great book
Post by: Kiwi_Roy on August 20, 2019, 11:23:02 PM
Lawrence of Arabia, I don't think the film was based on any particular book more likely on bits from many.

I do like the Odyssey...Homer. but I haven't seen the film.
Title: Re: Favorite movie based on a great book
Post by: Knuckle Dragger on August 20, 2019, 11:39:37 PM
Lawrence of Arabia, I don't think the film was based on any particular book more likely on bits from many.

I do like the Odyssey...Homer. but I haven't seen the film.

Seven Pillars of Wisdom, T E Lawrence.
Title: Re: Favorite movie based on a great book
Post by: harry h on August 21, 2019, 12:52:08 AM
The Art of Racing in the Rain.  Movie was just released.
Title: Re: Favorite movie based on a great book
Post by: Socalrob on August 21, 2019, 02:53:17 AM
Not a movie, but a mini series.

The Stand by Steven King.

The book is outstanding.  The mini series format allowed for the book material not to be cut short.

I think often the mini series is a better way to adapt books.  Lonesome Dove worked really well doing this too.


For recent movies/books, The Martian was great in both formats.

And last, Lord of the Rings.  Read the books as a child, then again a couple of times, and the movies were great too.
Title: Re: Favorite movie based on a great book
Post by: john fish on August 21, 2019, 04:46:02 AM
Not to the original intent of the OP but worth mentioning, imo.

Lawrence of Arabia, I don't think the film was based on any particular book more likely on bits from many.


This is coming back to theaters on 9/1 and 9/4 in some locales.

https://www.fathomevents.com/events/tcm2019-lawrence-of-arabia-1962?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIqfaSgdaT5AIVzluGCh3o5wgGEAAYASAAEgJFUvD_BwE

I've seen it a number of times but, since it came out the year of my birth, never in the theater.  It should be magnificent on the big screen.

Title: Re: Favorite movie based on a great book
Post by: mobiker on August 21, 2019, 06:24:03 AM
Some good suggestions. I'll second (or third) Josey Wales, Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Silence of the Lambs.
One that hasn't been mentioned is the Winds of War/War and Remembrance mini series. The books are superb. The mini series follows the books surprisingly close. These tell a story.
I haven't read the book, but the movie, "In the Heat of the Night" is excellent.
Title: Re: Favorite movie based on a great book
Post by: twowheeladdict on August 21, 2019, 06:44:04 AM
Raising our children, we required them to read the book before ever seeing the movie. 

They quickly realized that the movie never quite captures the essence of the book and leaves out a lot of detail and even changes the storyline to meet some marketing agenda.

As adults they have a library of books instead of movies.   :thumb:
Title: Re: Favorite movie based on a great book
Post by: Devildog on August 21, 2019, 06:44:53 AM
'Islands in the Stream', Hemingway's last book was so well written, I fell in love with the Bahamas and hadn't even been there. Been lots of times since and still think of that book every trip. A great book, can't say the same about the movie.
Title: Re: Favorite movie based on a great book
Post by: Zoom Zoom on August 21, 2019, 07:09:39 AM
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo  series.

Just to add a comment to the above: The Swedish version is considerably better than the newer release of the Americanized version IMHO.

When the Legends Die
Three Days of the Condor

John Henry
Title: Re: Favorite movie based on a great book
Post by: blackcat on August 21, 2019, 07:17:50 AM
The Shawshank Redemption
Gone With The Wind
In Cold Blood
Breakfast at Tiffany’s
LA Confidential
No Country for Old Men
Prizi’s Honor
The Shining
The Silence of the Lambs
Trainspotting


Title: Re: Favorite movie based on a great book
Post by: Chuck in Indiana on August 21, 2019, 07:18:44 AM
Oh Brother where art thou?
 :grin:
Loosely based on the Odyssey, and a hoot.
Title: Re: Favorite movie based on a great book
Post by: oldbike54 on August 21, 2019, 07:24:53 AM
Oh Brother where art thou?
 :grin:
Loosely based on the Odyssey, and a hoot.

 Loosely based on the Odyssey ? Well , yeah , kinda like History of the World part 1 is based on the writings of Tacitus  :laugh:

 Dusty
Title: Re: Favorite movie based on a great book
Post by: Knuckle Dragger on August 21, 2019, 07:41:24 AM
Not to the original intent of the OP but worth mentioning, imo.

This is coming back to theaters on 9/1 and 9/4 in some locales.

https://www.fathomevents.com/events/tcm2019-lawrence-of-arabia-1962?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIqfaSgdaT5AIVzluGCh3o5wgGEAAYASAAEgJFUvD_BwE

I've seen it a number of times but, since it came out the year of my birth, never in the theater.  It should be magnificent on the big screen.

It was originally shot in 70mm.  From the mid 50s until about 1970 there were a very few (maybe <100) films shot in 70mm filmstock.  70mm Eastman or Fuji stock are both rare & bloody expensive.  It requires special, big, heavy duty cameras, dollies & trollies, huge, heavy & hideously extravagant lenses (although not the infamous Zeiss f 0.7 multi-million dollar lens that Kubrick borrowed from NASA for just one candle-lit scene in Barry Lyndon - if that'd been a 70mm format lens it would've been valued in the tens of millions!), and of course that marvellous old super-large, powerfully illuminated projection equipment.  Then there is of course Tarantino's deliberately trashy & somewhat masturbatory Hateful Eight as well, done I'm assuming on something of an indulgent whim, and mostly printed & projected worldwide instead on crappy 35mm and of course digital.

There's a very few rare cinemas with suitable (65mm & 70mm) projection equipment still installed.  If you have the opportunity, these screenings are utterly awesome.  As mentioned, there's precious few left.  3 in Melbourne (Astor in St Kilda, Sun in Yarraville, & Village Rivoli in Hawthorn), & 3 in Sydney (Hayden Orpheum in Mosman, Event in the City, & Ritz in Randwick).  That's all in Oz.  Don't know how other places fare, but I gather there's quite a few (20 odd total) still in major European cities.  I love going to watch some of these 70mm epics (in every sense of the word) when visiting my sister in Melbourne.

With almost 4 times the print size of standard 35mm, these few flicks become an extremely powerful visual cinematic experience.  Lawrence unfortunately lost its audio master soundtrack sometime in the last 60 odd years, which had to be reproduced as part of the overall negative restoration done sometime in the 1980s.  You wouldn't know.  They've done a superb job.

Those who claim that "celluloid is dead" need only attend a 70mm screening, if not of David Lean's masterpiece, then maybe Chris Nolan's Dunkirk or an alternate classic such as South Pacific, West Side Story, Ben-Hur, 2001, Baraka or Samsara to fall in love with "proper" cinema all over again.

Title: Re: Favorite movie based on a great book
Post by: larrys on August 21, 2019, 07:48:56 AM
The Harry Potter movies were pretty faithful to the books. I read all of the books, after my then teen aged daughter was done with them. The Green Mile, Christine, and The Shawshank Redemption, all written by Steven King. Another vote for Farley Mowats' Never Cry Wolf. I read that as a teenager, and was fascinated by his descriptions of life in the great white north.
Larry
Title: Re: Favorite movie based on a great book
Post by: Siamese on August 21, 2019, 08:30:37 AM
Ditto on To Kill a Mockingbird.

At least for me, the movie is better than the book. 
Title: Re: Favorite movie based on a great book
Post by: Sheepdog on August 21, 2019, 08:42:59 AM
A very young Don Johnson made a sci-fi film called, "A Boy and His Dog" in 1975. It was based on a Harlan Ellison novella of the same name. Post apocalyptic and dark, but funny and clever at the same time. It follows the book well. Pre-digital...

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=5BDxqhI9qDw

Also, "Being There," which features Peter Sellers, Shirley MacLaine,and Melvyn Douglas (among many other notables). It's based on the Jerzy Kosinski novel of the same name. Well written and acted, this 1979 film enjoyed a great deal of critical acclaim. It was one of Sellers' last films. Great dialog...

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=FcPQ9gww_qc
Title: Re: Favorite movie based on a great book
Post by: rocker59 on August 21, 2019, 08:52:19 AM
What I want are movies that stay at least somewhat true to the book , where the screenwriters and director know the story and have some respect for that story .

 Dusty


Gone to Texas / Outlaw Josie Wales.

True Grit - both movies (1969 and 2010) are good in their own ways.

Woe to Live On / Ride with the Devil.

Title: Re: Favorite movie based on a great book
Post by: rocker59 on August 21, 2019, 08:54:07 AM
Oh Brother where art thou?
 :grin:
Loosely based on the Odyssey, and a hoot.

Yep, that's a good 'un !!!

Homer's Odyssey, Mississippi style!
Title: Re: Favorite movie based on a great book
Post by: yogidozer on August 21, 2019, 08:59:48 AM
True Grit - both movies (1969 and 2010) are good in their own ways.
Only chance the 2010 remake had was due to Jeff Bridges. Great acting in every movie he's been in.
Title: Re: Favorite movie based on a great book
Post by: rocker59 on August 21, 2019, 09:04:39 AM

Gone With The Wind
In Cold Blood
Breakfast at Tiffany’s
LA Confidential
No Country for Old Men


I really like these.

The 1967 film "In Cold Blood" is intense.  Robert Blake and Scott Wilson were really good in this movie.

Another is the 1973 movie about Charles Starkweather, "Badlands", starring Martin Sheen.  Several books preceeded the movie about this killer's 1957 spree across Nebraska and Wyoming. 
Title: Re: Favorite movie based on a great book
Post by: rocker59 on August 21, 2019, 09:08:32 AM
True Grit - both movies (1969 and 2010) are good in their own ways.
Only chance the 2010 remake had was due to Jeff Bridges. Great acting in every movie he's been in.

Only chance?  The cinematography was fantastic.  Great costuming.  The young lady, Hailey Steinfeld did a great job.  I love Bridges, but thought he struggled with delivering some of the dialogue effectively/believably.
Title: Re: Favorite movie based on a great book
Post by: LowRyter on August 21, 2019, 09:33:13 AM

Great book and movie. The casting was perfect, all the way down to the Paul Lazarro character.

General, I can see that you are connoisseur of good movies. 

Do you still want a Doomsday Machine?   :wink:
Title: Re: Favorite movie based on a great book
Post by: LowRyter on August 21, 2019, 09:37:26 AM
Oh Brother where art thou?
 :grin:
Loosely based on the Odyssey, and a hoot.

My favorite Cohen's movie.  And there's a lot of good ones.   It is based on the Odyssey.   Even an Oracle and Cyclops

(https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/villains/images/0/07/Eyepatches-goodman-o-brother1.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20180205184018)

C'ya in the funny papas' boys'
Title: Re: Favorite movie based on a great book
Post by: Sheepdog on August 21, 2019, 10:08:35 AM
I'm also a fan of the "True Grit" films, but the Jeff Bridges version was more true to Portis' book. I also enjoyed the occasional authenticity of "The Outlaw Josey Wales." In the cap and ball days if you wanted more cartridges, you carried more guns...reloading took a while.
Title: Re: Favorite movie based on a great book
Post by: adaven on August 21, 2019, 10:20:03 AM
Re: The Odyssey - to get closer to the original experience, from an oral tradition - you can buy the Fagles translation (easily found used (guzzi content)), then on YouTube there is Ian McKellen (Gandolf) reading the story to you. A great story, great modern translation, and Ian McKellen gets all the words right, with style. Almost as good as having Homer in your living room.
However, the sleep issue may come into play.

Since I am essentially illiterate I liked the shmoop.com/odyssey/ summary for an outline of the story in the current local vernacular, made it a little easier to grasp when I got confused and eased the transition into actually thinking.

Also:

True Grit - Bridges version was more enjoyable to me. Mattie Ross made the movie, Bridges was often hard to understand, as if he had marbles in his mouth, but was a better Rooster than John Wayne. The closer the movie is to Portis' book the better it will be.
Title: Re: Favorite movie based on a great book
Post by: rocker59 on August 21, 2019, 11:11:17 AM
I'm also a fan of the "True Grit" films, but the Jeff Bridges version was more true to Portis' book.

Other than the ending scene, how so?

I found this interesting comparo online:
https://auxiliarymemory.com/2011/01/04/true-grit-by-charles-portisbook-versus-movies/

Title: Re: Favorite movie based on a great book
Post by: yogidozer on August 21, 2019, 11:12:14 AM
Only chance?  The cinematography was fantastic.  Great costuming.  The young lady, Hailey Steinfeld did a great job.  I love Bridges, but thought he struggled with delivering some of the dialogue effectively/believably.
So if Alec Baldwin played the part, it would still be good? But I agree, Hailey Steinfeld was awesome in her role.
Title: Re: Favorite movie based on a great book
Post by: Two Checks on August 21, 2019, 11:16:48 AM
The Killer Angels/Of Gods and Generals.


Those 70mm movies look good but transportation and storage costs were out the wazoo. Plus the 70mm projectors were basically a huge 8 track tape player. Wore the film eventually.
The digital format is so much more hassle free and astronomically cheaper to present.
And anyone can do it. No film breakage, etc.
Title: Re: Favorite movie based on a great book
Post by: oldbike54 on August 21, 2019, 11:33:25 AM
 My biggest problem with the True Grit story is that John Franklin Cogburn was never a US Marshall , or any kind of lawman . He was really an outlaw who fought with law enforcement . Kind of disappointing .

 Dusty
Title: Re: Favorite movie based on a great book
Post by: Moto on August 21, 2019, 12:05:06 PM
Loosely based on the Odyssey ? Well , yeah , kinda like History of the World part 1 is based on the writings of Tacitus  :laugh:

 Dusty

 :thumb:

Well, Herman Melville is my favorite writer, I guess, as he should be for all motorcyclists.

No Melville movies have impressed me like Billy Budd, which I found better than the novelette. So I nominate it:

Billy Budd. 1962. Dir. by Peter Ustinov, w/ Terence Stamp unforgettable as the title character.

Moto
Title: Re: Favorite movie based on a great book
Post by: 2dogs on August 21, 2019, 12:10:12 PM
Never give an inch/Sometimes a great notion based on Keseys great book.

Henry Fonda,directed by and starring Paul Newman
Title: Re: Favorite movie based on a great book
Post by: pebra on August 21, 2019, 12:54:19 PM
The French Lieutenant's Woman, a great novel by John Fowles, has a surprising twist to the story.
The film (Meryl Streep, Jeremy Irons) is simply wonderful and has a surprising, although quite different, twist.
Title: Re: Favorite movie based on a great book
Post by: adaven on August 21, 2019, 01:08:20 PM
My biggest problem with the True Grit story is that John Franklin Cogburn was never a US Marshall , or any kind of lawman . He was really an outlaw who fought with law enforcement . Kind of disappointing .

 Dusty
Well...it is a work of fiction. But even so, in the Jeff Bridges version, as well as the book, the whole U.S. Marshall thing was kind of a ruse that he was getting away with. Narrowly (if even) inside the law. I would guess that for the U.S. Marshalls in AR and OK in that time period, that was more commonly the case.
Title: Re: Favorite movie based on a great book
Post by: rocker59 on August 21, 2019, 01:09:24 PM
My biggest problem with the True Grit story is that John Franklin Cogburn was never a US Marshall , or any kind of lawman . He was really an outlaw who fought with law enforcement . Kind of disappointing .

 Dusty

That, and "Frank" was born in 1867 and wasn't yet alive when Quantrill was raiding Kansas.  The author may have borrowed some atributes of John Franklin "Rooster" Cogburn for his character, like the name, but the historical figure is not the "Rooster" of the True Grit story.
Title: Re: Favorite movie based on a great book
Post by: rocker59 on August 21, 2019, 01:11:10 PM
the whole U.S. Marshall thing was kind of a ruse that he was getting away with. Narrowly (if even) inside the law. I would guess that for the U.S. Marshalls in AR and OK in that time period, that was more commonly the case.

Riding alone out of Fort Smith into Indian Territory to dispatch outlaws during Judge Parker's time was a job for hard men.
Title: Re: Favorite movie based on a great book
Post by: JQ on August 21, 2019, 01:18:02 PM
The Heart Is A Lonely Hunter

The Godfather
Title: Re: Favorite movie based on a great book
Post by: LowRyter on August 21, 2019, 01:21:15 PM
Riding alone out of Fort Smith into Indian Territory to dispatch outlaws during Judge Parker's time was a job for hard men.

hang 'em high
Title: Re: Favorite movie based on a great book
Post by: Sheepdog on August 21, 2019, 01:28:38 PM
Other than the ending scene, how so?

The locations were wrong and the John Wayne version really glossed over the seedier side of the story. At that point in the Duke's career, fans had certain heroic expectations...Holl ywood was happy to oblige.
Title: Re: Favorite movie based on a great book
Post by: LowRyter on August 21, 2019, 01:43:33 PM
I agree the Coen's and Bridges' movie was better. 

But I saw the original again and think John Wayne did a great job, even Oscar worthy.  It was surprisingly good considering Wayne's legacy and being made in 1969.  Yes, the ending was saccharine, his character wouldn't see Matti again, and Wayne couldn't jump a horse over a fence considering his age and health.
Title: Re: Favorite movie based on a great book
Post by: adaven on August 21, 2019, 01:51:49 PM
Riding alone out of Fort Smith into Indian Territory to dispatch outlaws during Judge Parker's time was a job for hard men.
Yup, lots of tough guys.
Title: Re: Favorite movie based on a great book
Post by: rocker59 on August 21, 2019, 02:25:46 PM
The locations were wrong and the John Wayne version really glossed over the seedier side of the story. At that point in the Duke's career, fans had certain heroic expectations...Holl ywood was happy to oblige.

If by "locations were wrong" you mean "filming locations were wrong", then I agree.  Even as a kid seeing it at the theater, the 1969 version's beautiful Rocky Mountain landscapes made me go, "hmmm..."

But, the names were correct in the script, and the 2010 version filmed nowhere near Fort Smith, or The Winding Stair Mountains, but the landscapes did seem a little more believable.  A little more.

The Okie Campout is held smack in the middle of the area where the events in the book/movies took place.  The Winding Stair was a notorious hideout for scofflaws back during those days.

 
Title: Re: Favorite movie based on a great book
Post by: oldbike54 on August 21, 2019, 02:33:47 PM
 Was wondering when someone was going to point out the fact that where we have the Okie is where the story took place  :laugh:

 Dusty

 
Title: Re: Favorite movie based on a great book
Post by: ScepticalScotty on August 21, 2019, 03:15:34 PM
Once We're Warriors
Hunt For The Wilderpersons
The Motorcycle Diaries
Title: Re: Favorite movie based on a great book
Post by: rocker59 on August 21, 2019, 03:49:59 PM
Was wondering when someone was going to point out the fact that where we have the Okie is where the story took place  :laugh:

 Dusty

 :boozing:

(https://static01.nyt.com/newsgraphics/2014/07/15/footsteps-map/acdd0a56e10b9bae92140b0b297cafede27676db/0720-web-FOOTSTEPSmap-720_WEB.png)

A good read about someone following the trail of True Grit:  https://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/20/travel/on-the-trail-of-true-grit-a-tale-comes-to-life.html

Title: Re: Favorite movie based on a great book
Post by: yogidozer on August 21, 2019, 04:05:07 PM
:boozing:

(https://static01.nyt.com/newsgraphics/2014/07/15/footsteps-map/acdd0a56e10b9bae92140b0b297cafede27676db/0720-web-FOOTSTEPSmap-720_WEB.png)

A good read about someone following the trail of True Grit:  https://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/20/travel/on-the-trail-of-true-grit-a-tale-comes-to-life.html
You need to create an account to read that. And that means you'll be bombarded with spam.
Bet it would be an interesting hike/trip for those living nearby.
Title: Re: Favorite movie based on a great book
Post by: Muzz on August 21, 2019, 04:13:17 PM
Once We're Warriors
Hunt For The Wilderpersons


Any of you Northern Hemisphearians seen these movies?

Once Were Warriors (Alan Duff) was a particularly "raw" movie.
Title: Re: Favorite movie based on a great book
Post by: Jim Rich on August 21, 2019, 05:06:34 PM
Moby Dick
Title: Re: Favorite movie based on a great book
Post by: rocker59 on August 21, 2019, 07:02:10 PM
You need to create an account to read that. And that means you'll be bombarded with spam.
 

I was not asked to create an account to read it. 
Title: Re: Favorite movie based on a great book
Post by: yogidozer on August 21, 2019, 07:15:59 PM
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Title: Re: Favorite movie based on a great book
Post by: rocker59 on August 21, 2019, 07:30:38 PM
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Maybe my Wildguzzi press credentials get me in free?  Dunno...
Title: Re: Favorite movie based on a great book
Post by: Lannis on August 21, 2019, 07:33:37 PM
"Paper Moon" is a great movie, but it's only taken from the first third of the book, which is even better.

"Long Boy" and "Addie" go on to run scams on cotton warehouses and an old New Orleans family.   I'd love to see someone do up the whole thing ....

Lannis
Title: Re: Favorite movie based on a great book
Post by: Chuck in Indiana on August 21, 2019, 07:38:33 PM
Maybe my Wildguzzi press credentials get me in free?  Dunno...

I read it, too.. <shrug>
Title: Re: Favorite movie based on a great book
Post by: ILM Rosso on August 21, 2019, 07:51:03 PM
Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep      Phillip K Dick

Blade Runner      Ridley Scott

 :thumb:
Title: Re: Favorite movie based on a great book
Post by: Moto on August 21, 2019, 08:11:24 PM
Once Were Warriors (Alan Duff) was a particularly "raw" movie.

Very powerful movie. I am not aware of the book it may have been based on.

Moto
Title: Re: Favorite movie based on a great book
Post by: sidmonsters on August 22, 2019, 11:35:58 AM
Apocalypse Now is an awesome take on Conrad's Heart of Darkness.
Additional votes for The Godfather and No Country for Old Men.
Steve
Title: Re: Favorite movie based on a great book
Post by: Socalrob on August 22, 2019, 12:23:28 PM
My biggest problem with the True Grit story is that John Franklin Cogburn was never a US Marshall , or any kind of lawman . He was really an outlaw who fought with law enforcement . Kind of disappointing .

 Dusty

Loved the book and both movies.  Read the book after seeing the remake, and rewatched the first movie too.

Instead of nitpicking things I tend to go with the story, sit back and enjoy.

Did Porto’s ever write another significant book? 
Title: Re: Favorite movie based on a great book
Post by: rocker59 on August 22, 2019, 12:33:03 PM
Loved the book and both movies.  Read the book after seeing the remake, and rewatched the first movie too.

Instead of nitpicking things I tend to go with the story, sit back and enjoy.

Did Porto’s ever write another significant book?

Novels

1966: Norwood
1968: True Grit
1979: The Dog of the South
1985: Masters of Atlantis
1991: Gringos

Nonfiction

2012: Escape Velocity: A Charles Portis Miscellany


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Portis


Title: Re: Favorite movie based on a great book
Post by: Matteo on August 22, 2019, 01:15:19 PM
Moby Dick
:thumb:
Title: Re: Favorite movie based on a great book
Post by: drbone641 on August 22, 2019, 01:31:27 PM
The Fountainhead, was one of my 5 favorite books, because of the main character, Howard Roark. I’m not sure anyone could have played that as well as Gary Cooper. I was always a frustrated architect and F L Wright was and is my favorite. I’m pretty sure he has to be Ayn Rands role model for Roark.
Title: Re: Favorite movie based on a great book
Post by: adaven on August 22, 2019, 01:55:55 PM
I really enjoy reading Portis. His tungsten dentures, "el tigre" and his comparison of baby raccoons to smart women are unforgettable.
Title: Re: Favorite movie based on a great book
Post by: Zoom Zoom on August 22, 2019, 03:15:03 PM
Thought of another one. The Ghost In The Darkness. True story. The actual events were downplayed for the movie. Something you seldom see with movies.

ZZ
Title: Re: Favorite movie based on a great book
Post by: LowRyter on August 22, 2019, 04:28:38 PM
I thought this movie would be impossible to make.  The book was more than great for the times.

(https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51FbCnKYe0L.jpg)
Title: Re: Favorite movie based on a great book
Post by: Chuck in Indiana on August 22, 2019, 07:26:58 PM
^^^^You sort of had to be there once or twice to really understand, but the good Dr. was hilarious.  :grin:
Title: Re: Favorite movie based on a great book
Post by: LowRyter on August 22, 2019, 09:26:43 PM
what he said   :thumb:
Title: Re: Favorite movie based on a great book
Post by: yogidozer on August 22, 2019, 09:51:31 PM
I'm sure everyone has seen, The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. But I bet you never saw how the theme song was made!
The Danish National Symphony Orchestra (Live)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=enuOArEfqGo
Title: Re: Favorite movie based on a great book
Post by: LowRyter on August 22, 2019, 11:01:12 PM
Wrong link Yogi, I would like to see it.
Title: Re: Favorite movie based on a great book
Post by: rocker59 on August 22, 2019, 11:25:09 PM

Dusty,

I don't think you'll want to watch this one, but:

2002 "We Were Soldiers" movie from the 1992 novel, "We Were Soldiers Once, and Young".
Title: Re: Favorite movie based on a great book
Post by: yogidozer on August 23, 2019, 05:18:16 AM
Wrong link Yogi, I would like to see it.
Fixed it, thanks for letting me know.
I should know by now to check my own posts, 'puters are out to get me!
Title: Re: Favorite movie based on a great book
Post by: kenvil1 on August 23, 2019, 06:30:21 AM
One of my favourites is "The Great Train Robbery" by Michael Crichton which takes place during the Victorian era. Sean Connery played the main character in the 1978 British crime film based on the book and directed by its author. I enjoyed the film too, but more so than my friends who hadn't read the book.
Title: Re: Favorite movie based on a great book
Post by: rjamesohio on August 23, 2019, 09:23:29 AM
I haven’t seen the movie yet, but I liked the book “Racing in the rain”.

We’ll see if the movie lives up to the book!

Ron
Title: Re: Favorite movie based on a great book
Post by: LowRyter on August 23, 2019, 09:26:49 AM
Fixed it, thanks for letting me know.
I should know by now to check my own posts, 'puters are out to get me!

that's fantastic  !

Sometimes the best singing has no words to it.
Title: Re: Favorite movie based on a great book
Post by: Lannis on August 23, 2019, 10:46:03 AM
I'm sure everyone has seen, The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. But I bet you never saw how the theme song was made!
The Danish National Symphony Orchestra (Live)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=enuOArEfqGo

That's great .. .thanks for the link.   I'm sure that Ennio Morricone did it a bit differently 50 years ago, but that's a pretty faithful cover!

The combination of music and camera work in the scene where Tuco is running through the cemetery looking for Arch Stanton's grave is one of the greatest scenes in cinemadom.    I'm gettin' it back out and watching it.

Lannis
Title: Re: Favorite movie based on a great book
Post by: yogidozer on August 23, 2019, 10:52:47 AM
I love all kinds of music, except rap and hip hop. Sadly I have no gift in playing an instrument or singing.
Often I hear a song and wonder what instrument is being used.
Never expected what that orchestra, especially that woman could do that.
And she looks like, no big deal that she's doing it.
I watched that movie last night. Truly a classic.  :thumb:
Title: Re: Favorite movie based on a great book
Post by: Lannis on August 23, 2019, 11:18:43 AM
I love all kinds of music, except rap and hip hop. Sadly I have no gift in playing an instrument or singing.
Often I hear a song and wonder what instrument is being used.
Never expected what that orchestra, especially that woman could do that.
And she looks like, no big deal that she's doing it.
I watched that movie last night. Truly a classic.  :thumb:

I think the woman's voice was being "buzzed" a bit with some sort of electronics OR with an echo chamber of some kind, but still she had to hold the true note, volume, etc so there's some real talent behind that.   And she DOES look like "Hey, this is EASY ..."

I was really surprised to see a simple 'recorder' and an even simpler Ocarina being used in the theme song, and an oboe in the second piece, as well as some of the percussion, like two boards being slapped together.   You just never know what people can do with talent ....

Lannis
Title: Re: Favorite movie based on a great book
Post by: LowRyter on August 23, 2019, 12:29:29 PM
I thought it was great.  I've always wondered what instruments were being played and how Ennio Morricone put it together.   Whether this exactly how Morricone actually did, it still gives me a good visual.

And to bend the subject, I think western themed music is an interesting take on the "classical" symphonic tradition.  You have musical works like Appalachian Springs, and great movie themes like Morricone, Elmer Bernstein's Magnificent 7 and Comancheros.  I'll bet we could do a thread on this alone.
Title: Re: Favorite movie based on a great book
Post by: Don G on August 23, 2019, 03:26:13 PM
Who has seen the wind by W. O. Mitchell. A story about life and the way it was  during the Dirty 30's in rural Saskatchewan. DonG
Title: Re: Favorite movie based on a great book
Post by: bigbikerrick on August 28, 2019, 05:16:57 PM
I went to watch Racing in the Rain with the wife. First time to a new fancy dancy theatre they opened in Tucson with electrically reclining chairs , where they serve beer , wine,and pizza, and must say, I am ruined from now on. :grin:
  The movie was a great movie, but it made me feel sad, through most of it. Its , been a long time since a movie has brought out feelings of sadness in me, but this movie accomplished that. That being said, it does have an "uplifting"ending, which I wont ruin for those that have not seen it.
Its a good movie to take a date to!
Rick.
Title: Re: Favorite movie based on a great book
Post by: Toecutter on August 29, 2019, 10:00:50 AM
"The Road" by Cormac McCarthy

But... be warned. A "feel good" story it ain't. Hell, the movie is actually a bit easier to watch than the book is to read.
Title: Re: Favorite movie based on a great book
Post by: pressureangle on August 30, 2019, 07:32:44 AM
Guardians of the Galaxy.

 :boozing: