The 10 Greatest Books Adapted Into Films
Which is better? The book or the film? For many, the answer is pretty easy to determine, and with one of the great crime novels The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo arriving in cinemas nationwide on the 13th March we decided to take a look back at some of the greatest books which were adapted into feature films. Since no one nowadays has the time, patience, or even bother to put in the effort of reading anymore (like ourselves), films give us the visual experience of some of the greatest novels of all time.
Let's start this off.
10.) Forest Gump
Is a 1994 American comedy - drama based on Winston Groom’s novel. The film differs substantially from Groom’s novel on which it was based, but the film ended up earning over $677 million worldwide in its theatrical run, and gathered plenty of awards, so it deserves its spot on our list.
9.) To Kill A Mocking Bird
The 1962 drama film adaption of Harper Lee’s novel is a timeless classic. The plot is about growing up in the Southern States of America during The Great Depression. The Film has won 3 Oscars deservedly since its release, so in my opinion, this is a great novel to film adaption.
8.) Twilight Saga
Is a series of fantasy, horror, and romance novels by Stephanie Meyer. The series is about Bella Swan, who falls for 104 year old vampire Edward Cullen with the series being told from Bella’s point of view. Twilight and New Moon have both been released so far in 2008 and 2009. Twilight brought in a net gross of $35.7 million on its opening day with New Moon bringing in $72.7 million on its first day, bringing high expectations for the release of the next film in the series Eclipse.
7.) Breakfast at Tiffany's
The 1961 film starring Audrey Hepburn is based on Truman Capote’s novel. The film made Hepburn one of the most iconic actresses in Hollywood History. It also turned out to be Blake Edwards “Perfect 10” in his directing career. One of the greatest adaption’s made.
6.) Harry Potter
Is a fantasy adventure series based on the Novels by J. K. Rowling. The Harry Potter franchise is the highest grossing film series in history with all films ranking in the 25 highest grossing films. The cycle of Rowling's -inspired films is almost complete feeding all magic hungry viewers all the witchcraft owls and magic talking hats that they can take with the final novel being released soon in 2 parts.
5.) The Girl with The Dragon Tatoo
Is an award winning crime novel by the late Swede Stieg Larsson. Following his death in 2004, he left three unpublished books which made up his trilogy. This became a best seller in some European countries. The film has already been viewed in several countries including Sweden, Norway, Finland and Denmark since early 2009. So far it's the most viewed Swedish film in Norway and Denmark while total admissions for the film in Sweden have passed the million mark.
4.) The Girl with The Dragon Tatoo
"This is a novel?!" Yes. It was, this proves my earlier point that no one pays attention to books these days. Chuck Palahniuk’s debut novel has become somewhat of a bible to the world of a generation of Angst, revenge, and self destruction. Oh what a beautiful world that must be. The film is a mind-bender, thriller, and a comedy all rolled into one, and it’s pretty damn fun too.
3.) Goodfellas
The 1990 American semi-fictional crime film directed by Martin Scorsese. The novels title is known as Wiseguy and is written by Nicholas Pileggi, who also co-wrote the screenplay of the film. Based on the real life story of mobster turned informant Henry Hill, the film has made everyman from America want to become a gangster from now to eternity. Nicely done..
2.) Lord Of The Rings
Is three action fantasy films based on the trilogy by J. R. R Tolkien. The series has become irresistible to teenage boys as Peter Jacksons ability as a visual story teller gave the franchise its pulling power. Considered to be one of the biggest and most ambitious film projects ever undertaken, the series had won 17 of the 30 awards they were nominated for and will always be known as one of the greatest novel to film adaptions of all time.
1.) The Godfather
– Is a 1972 crime drama based on the novel by Mario Puzo. Francis Ford Copollo adapted Puzo's novel into one of the greatest films in the history of the cinema giving the men of the world enough quotes to last a lifetime. Based on a Sicilian Mafia family in New York, the film received Academy awards and has been selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry. To add to its achievements it ranked as the second greatest film American cinematic history. Known in my opinion as one of the greatest novel to film adaptions in history and deserves its spot as our number 1.
