No doubt about it, books provided an unparalleled entertainment for centuries, even before television, internet, and gaming apps were invented. In these times, one might argue that movie adaptations of books are doubly entertaining (and educational, as the case may be). However, quality film adaptations of books seem to be few and far-between, with many complaining of such negative issues like miscasts, too-commercialized takes, the wrong culture or traditions represented in the plot, and other concerns.
Today, we will give you the top five movie adaptions from books we consider worth watching (and reading!).
1. A Clockwork Orange
This bold yet loyal Stanley Kubrick adaptation of the novel by Anthony Burgess deals with an unknown, surreal future where ‘droogs’ or sociopathic criminals roam the streets looking for trouble. What the book lacks in accompanying visuals, the movie more than makes up for with stunning production design and costumes.
2. Lord of the Rings
A true visual feast, the LOTR trilogy of movies was still largely respectful of JRR Tolkien’s vision in the written novels. Whatever creative license Peter Jackson took when filming were certainly justifiable: the novels were lengthy and filled with detail. Condensing the contents into a couple of hours of movie-time required some tweaking here and there. Overall, the results were fantastic and nothing short of epic.
3. The Godfather
Some film critics point out that the movie adaptation of Mario Puzo’s novel about a New York Mafia “family” is more popular than the book itself. This is not hard to believe, as a power house cast headed by Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, and James Caan added dramatic life to the characters and rendered the film a classic favorite.
4. Blade Runner
Sci-fi novels have become favorite sources of movie adaptations because of the rich visual challenges they offer, as well as a plot that goes beyond traditional storytelling. Philip K. Dick’s novel “Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?” was the inspiration for the 1982 Ridley Scott movie Blade Runner. The movie has since become a cult hit, and, according to Wikipedia, was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant”.
5. The Hunger Games
The Hunger Games, only released in theaters this year, enjoys that special privilege of having more movie-goers see it in film form rather than in book-form. Many are surprised that it is filed under the “young adult” classification in book shops, since its plot reveals a very well-thought out and complicated story that has socio-political echoes. Those who have both read the book and seen the film applaud the lead actors for playing the main characters faithfully, and for the director for revealing the story in a coherent way even for those who have not read the novels.
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