| 1 | [[quoteright:250:[[Webcomic/SaturdayMorningBreakfastCereal https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/the_film_of_the_book.jpg]]]] |
| 2 | [[caption-width-right:250:A ''horror'' movie...]] |
| 3 | |
| 4 | ->''"From J.K. Rowling, the author of the book series that kept Borders open for another few years, comes the movie adaptation for people too lazy to read."'' |
| 5 | -->-- '''Epic Voice Guy''', ''WebVideo/HonestTrailers'', trailer for ''Film/HarryPotter'' |
| 6 | |
| 7 | Got a hit [[{{Literature}} book]]? Turn it into a hit [[TheMovie film]]. What could be more natural? The name alone will sell tickets, the movie will bring the books back into the light for people wanting to read the original, and everybody either makes huge wads of cash or has a good time contributing to the economy. Simple, right? |
| 8 | |
| 9 | Unfortunately, as many studios have found, it's ''not'' that simple. Print and film are very different media; what works for one will fall flat on the other. In print, special effects are cheap; in film, they are more expensive. In print, describing a character's thoughts is par for the course; in film, a voiceover is seldom acceptable. In print, a short story can take days to read; in film, audiences generally won't sit still for more than a few hours. In print, your award-winning author may have a way of spinning BlackComedy between dialogue; in film all their clever wordplay is fed to the dogs, making the film deadly serious. Getting round these problems means [[AdaptationDecay changing the story, for better or for worse]]. |
| 10 | |
| 11 | One issue is that a typical novel is simply [[DoorStopper much too long]] to fit all of it into a two (or even ''three'') hour movie, so [[CompressedAdaptation significant parts of it must be hacked out]]. Sometimes entire characters may be changed, have their screen time lengthened/shortened (if not [[AdaptedOut cut altogether]]), or important book-related plot points or dialogue may be whizzed by, creating a moment of FridgeLogic. All of this tends to a trendy belief that [[AudienceAlienatingPremise no matter how good or bad the movie is, "The book was better."]] |
| 12 | |
| 13 | Sometimes though, the film is so successful [[AdaptationDisplacement the book gets forgotten over time]]. Other times, the original book is still read long after the film is forgotten. Most frequently though, the book will probably be republished with a cover based on the movie poster and ''"Now a major motion picture!"'' or something the like emblazoned on it. |
| 14 | |
| 15 | The Film of the Book is the opposite of {{Novelization}}, except when it's a ''[[RecursiveAdaptation new]]'' novelization of The Film of the Book. |
| 16 | |
| 17 | [[Website/{{Wikipedia}} The Other Wiki]] has [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Film_adaptation something to say]] about this kind of thing in its usual style. Adaptations like this are likely to lead to OldGuardVersusNewBlood incidents. |
| 18 | |
| 19 | See also TheShowOfTheBooks, TheFilmOfThePlay, TheMovie. |
| 20 | ---- |
| 21 | !!Examples: |
| 22 | |
| 23 | [[foldercontrol]] |
| 24 | |
| 25 | [[folder:Action]] |
| 26 | * The film adaptation of Jack Higgins' "The Eagle Has Landed" is very different from the book; it eliminates the Birmingham Gangsters that provide Devlin with the stolen military vehicles later used by the Germans-masquerading-as- British-paras (the film apparently has the IRA steal them from an army base),and the two Special Branch policemen who almost arrest Devlin after the failure of the mission, and, most importantly, the British traitor Harvey Preston who is the only real Nazi in Steiner's Fallschirmjager team. |
| 27 | * ''[[Literature/TheBourneSeries The Bourne Identity]]'' had its setting moved from TheSeventies to the PresentDay, and as a consequence its plot, a UsefulNotes/ColdWar tale featuring RippedFromTheHeadlines villain Carlos the Jackal, had to be completely reworked and now featured the US government, rather than Carlos, as the BigBad. For some unearthly reason, Marie is turned from a Canadian economist into a German ''hippy''. On the other hand, the adaptations of ''The Bourne Supremacy'' and ''The Bourne Ultimatum'', which were shot by a different director, bear almost no similarity to the books and a major character ([[spoiler:Marie]]) is killed off fairly early on. |
| 28 | * ''Literature/JamesBond'': |
| 29 | ** ''Film/{{Goldfinger}}'': [[Literature/{{Goldfinger}} The book]] has a plot to steal the gold from Fort Knox (which the movie Bond points out is impossible) using a nuclear bomb to blow open a door while everyone is suicidally close. The movie changes the scheme into a plan to raid the fort just long enough to place the nuclear bomb in the main vault. Any gold surviving the blast would be radioactive and thus worthless, making the value of Auric Goldfinger's own gold jump at least tenfold. |
| 30 | ** ''Film/DiamondsAreForever'': While earlier films played it pretty close to the books (especially ''Film/OnHerMajestysSecretService'' and, for obvious reasons, ''Film/{{Thunderball}}''), this one changed everything about [[Literature/DiamondsAreForever the book]]'s plot and setting, except its central plot conceit about diamond smuggling. Also, the RoaringRampageOfRevenge was not there, at least not at first, in the actual follow-up novel, ''Literature/YouOnlyLiveTwice'', being replaced instead by a massive and prolonged HeroicBSOD that takes [[spoiler: Bond being assigned a suicide mission by M to snap him out of it, and which does lead to the smackdown being placed, hard and ruthlessly, on Blofeld.]] |
| 31 | ** ''Film/TheSpyWhoLovedMe'' was based on one of Fleming's [[Literature/TheSpyWhoLovedMe least favorite Bond novels]], which centers around Bond rescuing a woman from two assassins in a ski lodge. The movie threw it out and replaced it with Bond teaming up with a Russian agent to stop a plot to wipe out mankind. Justified since Fleming himself gave the filmmakers the rights to the title only, not any of the contents of the book. |
| 32 | ** The only Bond movie from the eighties to follow the plot of the novel was ''Film/TheLivingDaylights'', which was [[Literature/OctopussyAndTheLivingDaylights a short story]] with major AdaptationExpansion. |
| 33 | ** All of the ''Bond'' films borrow elements from the various novels, with the titles being somewhat arbitrarily attached from the long list afterward. As such, anything added probably came from one of the other books, and anything taken away will probably show up in a later film. (The Creator/BasilRathbone ''Sherlock Holmes'' films used the very same technique). |
| 34 | * ''Film/{{Jaws}}'' started life as a harmless-enough [[Literature/{{Jaws}} page-turner]] with extremely unlikeable characters, and was adapted into one of the best movies ever made. |
| 35 | * ''K-20: Kaijin nijû mensô den'' (English title: ''Film/K20LegendOfTheMask'') is an adaption of ''Kaijin Nijū Mensō Den'' by Sō Kitamura, itself based upon the characters from Edogawa Rampo's stories. |
| 36 | * ''Franchise/DieHard'' was based on an [[AirportFantasy airport novel]]. |
| 37 | * ''Film/FightClub'': Even [[Literature/FightClub the book]]'s [[Creator/ChuckPalahniuk author]] thinks the film ended better. A foreword in a later run even {{lampshade|Hanging}}s this trope; "[[AdaptationDisplacement There was a]] ''[[AdaptationDisplacement book?]]''" |
| 38 | * Movie adaptations of Creator/TomClancy's ''Literature/JackRyan'' novels have gone from remaining true to the spirit of the original to... not, as the movie series rolls on, according to some fans of the original novels. |
| 39 | * ''Film/{{Watchmen}}'' obviously comes from the graphic novel ''ComicBook/{{Watchmen}}''. The ending is changed to something... less bizarre. |
| 40 | * The ''Series/BandOfBrothers'' miniseries is based on a historical novel written by Stephen Ambrose, despite a few blatant inaccuracies. The sequel, ''Series/ThePacific'', is based on several veterans' memoirs. |
| 41 | * ''Film/TropicThunder'' {{lampshade|Hanging}}s and parodies this trope. The entire premise of the film is that a movie company is attempting to make a film based on an in-universe book of the same name. Humorously enough, it's implied that the script is fairly faithful to the book... it's just that nobody has read either. The trope is eventually subverted twice when it's revealed that [[spoiler:[[BasedOnAGreatBigLie the author never went to Vietnam]]]] and at the end, when [[spoiler:the film is changed to ''Tropic Blunder'', a documentary on [[TroubledProduction how badly the production of the film failed]]]]. |
| 42 | * ''Literature/TheGunsOfNavarone'' became [[Film/TheGunsOfNavarone a movie]]. |
| 43 | * The book ''Literature/BattleRoyale'' was made into a film [[Film/BattleRoyale of the same name]]. |
| 44 | * ''Smith's Dream'', by C. K. Stead, about an industrial dispute that grows into civil war in New Zealand, was adapted as ''Film/SleepingDogs1977'' in 1977, the first film to be entirely produced and set in that country. |
| 45 | * ''[[Literature/TheTomorrowSeries Tomorrow, When the War Began]]'', an adaptation of the book of the same name. This is used for a meta joke when one character, while reading a book, remarks about how the book is always better than the movie. |
| 46 | * The ''Franchise/{{Rambo}}'' movies started out as [[Film/FirstBlood an adaptation]] of a novel entitled ''Literature/FirstBlood''. The movies diverge from the source material after the first act of the first film, and never look back. They brought the original author, David Morrell, back to write the {{Novelization}} of the [[Film/RamboFirstBloodPartII second film]], and in the introduction he mused on some of the major differences between the first book and its film adaptation. |
| 47 | * ''Film/KingsmanTheSecretService'' based on ''ComicBook/TheSecretService''. |
| 48 | * ''Film/{{Stormbreaker}}'', based off the first ''Literature/AlexRider'' novel of the same name. |
| 49 | [[/folder]] |
| 50 | |
| 51 | [[folder:Adventure]] |
| 52 | * Tom Wolfe's ''Film/TheRightStuff''. The movie turned out to be pretty faithful. |
| 53 | * ''Literature/WhiteFang'' and ''Literature/TheCallOfTheWild'' by Creator/JackLondon. The problem seems to be that Hollywood can't handle an animal as the main star of a movie, and so completely rewrites the story to include an important human who is actually the main character. The canine star becomes the {{sidekick}}. |
| 54 | * Somewhat inverted in ''Film/MontyPythonAndTheHolyGrail'' with "The Book of the Film" which they dip into to cover the boring bits quickly. |
| 55 | * ''Film/TheSeeker'' is supposedly based on ''Literature/TheDarkIsRising''. The book is pretty good, to the point that some consider it an underground classic of (children's?) literature. The movie is pretty bad, to the point where it deserves to have an episode of ''[[Series/MysteryScienceTheater3000 MST3K]]'' based around it. |
| 56 | [[/folder]] |
| 57 | |
| 58 | [[folder:Biblical Stories]] |
| 59 | * ''Film/TheTenCommandments1923'' |
| 60 | * ''Film/TheTenCommandments1956'' |
| 61 | * ''Film/BenHur1907'' |
| 62 | * ''Film/BenHur1925'' |
| 63 | * ''Film/BenHur1959'' |
| 64 | * ''Film/BenHur2016'' |
| 65 | * ''WesternAnimation/ThePrinceOfEgypt'' |
| 66 | * ''Film/TheGreatestStoryEverTold'' |
| 67 | * ''Film/ThePassionOfTheChrist'' |
| 68 | * ''Film/TheNativityStory'' |
| 69 | [[/folder]] |
| 70 | |
| 71 | [[folder:Biography]] |
| 72 | * ''Literature/TheBlindSide'' was originally half a biography of future NFL player Michael Oher and half a story of the evolution of his [[UsefulNotes/AmericanFootball American football]] position of offensive tackle. The movie focused solely on Oher. |
| 73 | * ''Film/BriansSong'' is based on [[UsefulNotes/NFLOffensivePlayers Gale Sayers']] account of his friendship with film subject Brian Piccolo in his autobiography ''I Am Third''. |
| 74 | * ''Film/TheBuddyHollyStory'' is based on the Music/BuddyHolly biography book ''Buddy Holly: His Life and Music'' by John Goldrosen. |
| 75 | * ''Film/GiftedHandsTheBenCarsonStory'', based on Ben Carson's memoir of the same name. |
| 76 | * ''Literature/HillbillyElegy'', an autobiographical memoir by J.D. Vance about his upbringing in the UsefulNotes/{{Appalachia}}n diaspora and his journey to Yale Law School, was made into a Creator/{{Netflix}} film of the same title directed by Creator/RonHoward. |
| 77 | * ''Film/HoldingTheMan'' is based on a memoir of the same name, telling the relationship of its writer Timothy Conigrave and his lover [[StraightGay John Caleo]] from when they were in high school until they both die from AIDS complication. |
| 78 | * ''Film/MalcolmX'', based on Alex Haley's ''The Autobiography of Malcolm X'' |
| 79 | * ''Literature/NakedLunch'' is un-adaptable, for a variety of reasons. (Chief among them; semi-obscene, no coherent plot.) Creator/DavidCronenberg's solution when doing [[Film/NakedLunch the film adaptation]] was to graft a few scenes and ideas from the novels onto a RomanAClef version of author William S. Burroughs' life. |
| 80 | * ''Film/OctoberSky'' was based on ''Rocket Boys'', Homer Hickam's autobiographical memoir of his West Virginia youth. |
| 81 | * ''Film/WhatsLoveGotToDoWithIt1993'', based on Tina Turner's autobiography |
| 82 | [[/folder]] |
| 83 | |
| 84 | [[folder:Children's Fiction]] |
| 85 | * [[Franchise/DisneyAnimatedCanon Disney Animated Films]]: |
| 86 | ** ''WesternAnimation/{{Dumbo}}'' |
| 87 | ** ''WesternAnimation/PeterPan'' |
| 88 | ** ''WesternAnimation/{{Bambi}}'' |
| 89 | ** ''WesternAnimation/{{Pinocchio}}'' |
| 90 | ** ''WesternAnimation/AliceInWonderland'' |
| 91 | ** ''WesternAnimation/TheSwordInTheStone'' |
| 92 | ** ''WesternAnimation/TheRescuers'' |
| 93 | ** ''WesternAnimation/TheManyAdventuresOfWinnieThePooh'' |
| 94 | ** ''WesternAnimation/TheGreatMouseDetective'' |
| 95 | ** ''WesternAnimation/{{The Hunchback of Notre Dame|Disney}}'' |
| 96 | ** ''WesternAnimation/{{Frozen|2013}}'' is very loosely based on ''Literature/TheSnowQueen''. |
| 97 | ** ''WesternAnimation/TheLittleMermaid1989'' |
| 98 | ** ''WesternAnimation/TheJungleBook1967'': In the [[Literature/TheJungleBook book]], Kaa was a wise and trusted friend who took over as Mowgli's mentor when he was too grown-up for Baloo. Baloo and Bagheera's personalities were switched, with book-Baloo being a serious and wise mentor, and book-Bagheera being playful. Book-Hathi was the wisest and strongest of the animals and generally acknowledged as Master of the Jungle (until Mowgli learned a secret about him). The monkey-folk didn't have a king, and if they had, it wouldn't be a member of a different genus from a couple of thousand miles away. Book-"Father Wolf" is renamed "Rama" which is the name of a ''bull'' in Kipling's original. And many other things as well. Other than the setting and some names, there is next to no resemblance. |
| 99 | ** ''WesternAnimation/OneHundredAndOneDalmatians'': A PragmaticAdaptation that actually stays commendably faithful to the original, more so than almost any other Disney film listed here. There's a mere ''two'' {{Composite Character}}s, the remaining human characters get somewhat expanded roles and in Mr. Dearly's case a different job, Cruella's LivingProp husband is excised completely and most of the events of the trip from London to Suffolk are [[CompressedAdaptation streamlined a bit]]. The only significant criticisms that can be made stereotypical, [[OohMeAccentsSlipping inconsistent]] or occasionally [[NotEvenBotheringWithTheAccent non-existent]] British accents that the whole Disney Animated Canon suffers from, and the decision to turn the chapter in which all 101 Dalmatians hitch a ride in the back of a removal van into a full-on ChaseScene. They get away with the latter, however, because it was one of the best parts. |
| 100 | ** ''WesternAnimation/TheAdventuresOfIchabodAndMrToad'' is a "[[AnthologyFilm package film]]" adapting both ''Literature/TheWindInTheWillows'' (and taking considerable liberties with the source material) and ''Literature/TheLegendOfSleepyHollow'' (a mostly faithful adaptation). |
| 101 | * ''Literature/CharlottesWeb'': Author Creator/EBWhite was understandably displeased with the first AnimatedAdaptation of his story. It's impossible to know how he would have felt about the new live-action film, but at least it's mostly faithful to the book (although the animated one is, as well; White's problem was simply with the addition of songs). |
| 102 | * ''Literature/WatershipDown'' had a fairly good animated movie, despite cutting off some characters and changing minor plot points. Fortunately, it wasn't {{Bowdlerise}}d. |
| 103 | * ''Literature/MrsFrisbyAndTheRatsOfNIMH'' is a good book, and ''WesternAnimation/TheSecretOfNIMH'' is an equally good movie, but while they share some similarity of plot, they diverge sharply in genre and character focus. ''WesternAnimation/TheSecretOfNIMH 2: Timmy To The Rescue'', a straight-to-video musical with virtually nothing to do with the first film. |
| 104 | * Much of Creator/RoaldDahl's children's fiction canon has been made into movies. Results vary considerably. In an example proving that faithfulness to the book is not ''always'' a good thing, of the two feature film adaptations of ''Literature/CharlieAndTheChocolateFactory'', the Johnny Depp version is closer to the source material, but the Gene Wilder version clocks in nearly ten percentage points higher on Rotten Tomatoes. |
| 105 | * Creator/DrSeuss: In addition to the many [[MadeForTVMovie animated TV specials]] based on the works of Dr. Seuss, four of his stories have made it to the big screen: ''Film/HowTheGrinchStoleChristmas'' ([[WesternAnimation/TheGrinch2018 twice]]), ''Film/TheCatInTheHat'', ''[[WesternAnimation/HortonHearsAWho2008 Horton Hears a Who!]]'', and ''WesternAnimation/{{The Lorax|2012}}''. While originally live-action, they are required to be animated after Audrey Geisel's distaste for ''The Cat in the Hat'' meant she wouldn't allow anymore live-action Dr. Seuss films. |
| 106 | * ''Literature/{{Holes}}'' by Louis Sachar has a pretty faithful adaption, but that's mostly because Sachar wrote the screen play. |
| 107 | * ''Film/EllaEnchanted'' takes the premise of [[Literature/EllaEnchanted Gail Carson Levine's novel]] and plays it for unsubtle comedy. |
| 108 | * ''WesternAnimation/ChildrenVsWizards'' is an AnimatedAdaptation of the first book of a Russian Orthodox propaganda trilogy. |
| 109 | * ''Film/CityOfEmber'' is actually not a bad movie on its own, though it did add a new {{mentor|s}} character and also a [[NightmareFuel giant mole that chases the kids through an empty storeroom]], among other things. |
| 110 | * ''WesternAnimation/{{Coraline}}'' is a nice example of PragmaticAdaptation. A lot of it is pretty inaccurate to [[Literature/{{Coraline}} the book]] in details ([[AdaptationExpansion they invent]] [[CanonForeigner a few new characters,]] for starters), but in spirit it was faithful. Some changes were adding a character named Wybie to allow Coraline a chance for exposition and tying him in to the backstory ([[spoiler:his grandmother's twin sister was one of the children the Other Mother kidnapped, leading him to comment that his grandmother didn't like renting the house to people with children.]]). Apparently author Creator/NeilGaiman saw that the first script was extremely faithful to the book and told them to make a few changes -- because if someone wanted the book they'd read the book. |
| 111 | * ''Film/WhereTheWildThingsAre'' |
| 112 | * ''WesternAnimation/HowToTrainYourDragon2010'' is an animated film set in a very similar world to that of the original children's books, with many of the same characters, but in a PragmaticAdaptation the premise is altered to allow for dramatic conflict and dragon riding that impress on-screen. |
| 113 | * ''WesternAnimation/TheBraveLittleToaster'', even though [[KeepCirculatingTheTapes it's probably not possible to get the book anywhere except online]] [[CrackIsCheaper for a ridiculous price.]] |
| 114 | * ''Film/RamonaAndBeezus'' |
| 115 | ** There was a Canadian TV series in the 1980s based on the Ramona books, starring a young Sarah Polley. |
| 116 | * ''Film/HarrietTheSpy'' |
| 117 | * ''Literature/TheNutcracker'' has many adaptations, and sometimes fan wars over them. |
| 118 | * ''Film/DiaryOfAWimpyKid'' is a film series based on a [[Literature/DiaryOfAWimpyKid book series]], which is based on the webcomic ''Webcomic/DiaryOfAWimpyKid''. |
| 119 | * ''Film/ErikTheViking'' is The Film Of The Book in name only, and not even that, as the book was called ''The Saga of Erik the Viking''. After much disagreement between the Terrys -- author Jones and director Gilliam of ''Series/MontyPythonsFlyingCircus'' -- the ship being sneezed out of the dragon's nose ended up being the only scene the film and the book had in common. It's also not a children's film; it opens with the title character accidentally killing a woman he was trying to save from being raped, PlayedForLaughs. |
| 120 | * ''WesternAnimation/Shrek1'' was considerably expanded from the source material. |
| 121 | * ''Literature/TheLittlePrince'' has a loose [[WesternAnimation/TheLittlePrince2015 adaptation]] made by ''WesternAnimation/KungFuPanda1'''s director. |
| 122 | * ''Literature/WhenMarnieWasThere'' is a 1967 children's novel by Joan G. Robinson. In 2014 it was adapted into an [[Anime/WhenMarnieWasThere animated film]] by Creator/StudioGhibli. |
| 123 | * ''WesternAnimation/CuriousGeorge2006'' is an animated film based on the ''Literature/CuriousGeorge'' children's books. |
| 124 | * ''Film/StuartLittle'' is based on the ''Literature/StuartLittle'' book, but it has very little to do with its source besides the fact they're both about mouse(-looking) boys raised by humans. |
| 125 | * A LiveActionAdaptation of ''Literature/{{Stargirl}}'' was released on [[Film/{{Stargirl}} March 2020]]. |
| 126 | * Many of Creator/AstridLindgren's works have been turned into films and TV series, whether they're live-action or animated, including ''Literature/PippiLongstocking'' and ''Literature/RonjaTheRobbersDaughter''. |
| 127 | * ''Film/HorridHenryTheMovie'' is loosely based on ''Literature/HorridHenry'' |
| 128 | * ''WesternAnimation/DorothyMeetsOzmaOfOz'' is a special based on ''Literature/OzmaOfOz''. |
| 129 | * ''Anime/TheWizardOfOz'' is a 1982 AnimatedAdaptation of ''Literature/TheWonderfulWizardOfOz'' by Creator/{{Toho}}. |
| 130 | * ''Literature/TheLittleWitch'' has been adapted into a German puppet television film in 1969, a Soviet hand-drawn filmstrip in 1977, a Soviet live-action television film in 1986, a Soviet animated film in 1991, and a German-Swiss live-action film in 2018. |
| 131 | * ''Film/TheWizardOfOz1925'' is a loose adaptation of various ''Literature/LandOfOz'' books. |
| 132 | * ''WesternAnimation/TheTaleOfDespereaux'' |
| 133 | * ''Anime/PrincessArete'' is loosely based on the children's fantasy novel ''Literature/TheCleverPrincess'' by Diana Coles. |
| 134 | [[/folder]] |
| 135 | |
| 136 | [[folder:Comedy]] |
| 137 | * ''Film/GetShorty'' as well as its sequel, ''Film/BeCool''. |
| 138 | * ''Film/WaitingToExhale'': turned Robin from a career-driven woman who was burdened with caring for her elderly parents into a naive nymphomaniac who had book sense but no common sense. |
| 139 | * ''Film/TheMenWhoStareAtGoats'' |
| 140 | * ''Film/{{MASH}}'' |
| 141 | * ''Film/CatchTwentyTwo'' |
| 142 | * ''Film/TheGraduate'' |
| 143 | * ''Film/CKDezerterzy'': the movie starts InMediasRes, with Kania already being stationed in Satoraljaujhely (as opposed to the book that begins with his arrival), changes some of the names and shuffles scenes and dialogues around. |
| 144 | * ''Red Alert'' by Peter George was a straightforward serious Cold War tale which was made into a movie in 1963, then turned into a black comedy a year later as ''Film/DrStrangelove''. |
| 145 | * ''Film/EightBitChristmas'' |
| 146 | * Most of the films in the ''Film/DoctorSeries'' are based on Richard Gordon's ''Doctor'' novels: |
| 147 | ** ''Film/DoctorInTheHouse1954'' is based on the 1952 novel of the same name. |
| 148 | ** ''Film/DoctorAtSea'' is based on the 1953 novel of the same name. |
| 149 | ** ''Film/DoctorAtLarge'' is based on the 1955 novel of the same name. |
| 150 | ** ''Film/DoctorInLove'' is based on the 1957 novel of the same name. |
| 151 | ** ''Film/DoctorInClover'' is loosely based on the 1960 novel of the same name. |
| 152 | ** ''Film/DoctorInTrouble'' is loosely based on the 1961 novel ''Doctor on Toast''. |
| 153 | * ''Film/NoKidding'' is based on Verily Anderson's memoir ''Beware of Children''. |
| 154 | * ''Film/PoorThings'' is based on [[Literature/PoorThings Alasdair Gray's novel of the same title]]. |
| 155 | [[/folder]] |
| 156 | |
| 157 | [[folder:Coming-of-Age Story]] |
| 158 | * ''Literature/ToKillAMockingbird'': Replacing all of those subtly significant threads with the most important subplot (Boo Radley) and taking a more guarded approach to characterization would've made the book rather simplistic, but made the movie great. |
| 159 | * ''Literature/GoneWithTheWind'' |
| 160 | * ''Literature/OneFatSummer'' was adapted into ''Measure of a Man'' in May 2018. They simplified the plot a bit, but it remains pretty faithful to the theme of the book. |
| 161 | * The 2003 ComingOfAgeStory ''Literature/FatKidRulesTheWorld'' was adapted into film in 2012. |
| 162 | * ''Film/ThePerksOfBeingAWallflower'' was released in 2012, directed and adapted by the novel's author Stephen Chbosky. |
| 163 | * The 1990 film ''Film/{{Mermaids|1990}}'' is based on a 1986 novel of the same name by Patty Dann. |
| 164 | * ''Film/YouAreSoNotInvitedToMyBatMitzvah'' is based on a 2005 novel of the same name. |
| 165 | [[/folder]] |
| 166 | |
| 167 | [[folder:Drama]] |
| 168 | * ''Film/Custody2007'', a MadeForTVMovie, is based on Mary S. Herczog's ''Figures of Echo''. |
| 169 | * ''Film/ForrestGump'' was adapted from a very funny novel about an IdiotSavant who becomes an astronaut, a chess master, a harmonica player and a millionaire into a guy who's InspirationallyDisadvantaged, and who [[HistoricalInJoke touches important events and people]]. The character of Jenny was changed from a sensible GirlNextDoor type into a tragic shallow party girl (admittedly deepening her character). The sequel, ''Gump And Co.'', followed more in the vein of the movie, both in increasing the number of random cameos and retaining the deaths of Forrest's Mom and Jenny, neither of whom died in the original book. |
| 170 | * ''Literature/TheGodfather'' novel, written by Mario Puzo which becomes: |
| 171 | ** ''Film/TheGodfather'' movie, directed by Creator/FrancisFordCoppola, which has since become one of the premiere classics of the genre. In the subsequent 18 years, two more movies were produced; Part II, which [[EvenBetterSequel surpassed even its worthy predecessor]]. And Part III, which [[{{Sequelitis}} didn't]]. |
| 172 | ** In the early 2000s, an author named Mark Winegardner published two [[{{Novelization}} books]], entitled ''The Godfather Returns'' and ''The Godfather's Revenge'', which in many ways are sequels to Part II. In many ways, the new novels read very much as if written in Mario Puzo's own hand, only enhanced in quality and subtly altering [[CanonDisContinuity facts which simply did not fit]]. Eventually, in the closing chapters of the second book, we learn that [[ManipulativeBastard Nick Geraci]], a Winegardner original character who had died trying to take over the Corleone family business, had written his memoirs while in exile and had them published posthumously. Which, in time, are... |
| 173 | ** ...made into a trilogy of movies (two of which become cinema classics) detailing the story of a "fictional" mafia family through the years. Thus, it is suggested that, within this apparently separate universe, the [[BasedOnATrueStory events of the books and film are true]] and were [[DirectLineToTheAuthor brought to us by somebody who was there]]. |
| 174 | * ''Film/Apollo13'' was based on ''Lost Moon'', written by mission commander Jim Lovell about his experience on that mission. In fact, filming started before Lovell had finished the book—he had pitched the book idea to publishers, who sent it to filmmakers while Lovell was writing. |
| 175 | * ''Film/PrimaryColors''. An epilogue is added to the movie that is not in the book but which naturally follows from [[VeryLooselyBasedOnATrueStory the story the book was very loosely based on.]] |
| 176 | * ''[[Literature/TheDamnedUnited The Damned Utd]]'' was later made into a movie titled ''The Damned United''.%%The book's actual title has "Utd" instead of "United", despite the title of the wiki page. The film title spells out "United". |
| 177 | * ''Film/FridayNightLights'' is a mostly-faithful adaptation of H. G. Bissinger's ''Friday Night Lights: A Town, a Team and a Dream''. |
| 178 | * Most of Creator/JohnGrisham's early novels have been made into films by this point, with varying degrees of success. Even the novel that Grisham said he would never option for film (''Film/ATimeToKill'') was made into a movie... a fairly good one at that. It helps that Grisham's novels are essentially beach-read page-turners. |
| 179 | * ''Film/{{Invictus}}'' was based on ''Playing the Enemy'', a book by British journalist John Carlin about how UsefulNotes/NelsonMandela used the 1995 UsefulNotes/{{Rugby|Union}} World Cup, hosted by South Africa, to help reconcile South Africans in the post-[[UsefulNotes/TheApartheidEra apartheid]] era. |
| 180 | * ''Film/KillThePoor2003'', based on the book of the same name by Joel Rose. |
| 181 | * ''Film/KillersOfTheFlowerMoon'' is a 2023 adaptation of a critically acclaimed 2017 nonfiction book of the same title by David Grann. |
| 182 | * ''Never Let Me Go'', based on the book of the same name by Creator/KazuoIshiguro, kept the majority of the plot intact, as well as pulling off spot-on portrayals of the three main characters. |
| 183 | * [[http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1066120-scarlet_letter/ Several]] [[http://www.rinkworks.com/badmovie/reader/43.shtml reviewers]] [[http://www.hit-n-run.com/cgi/read_review.cgi?review=40461_wyldfyr have]] [[http://www.cnn.com/SHOWBIZ/Movies/9510/scarlet_letter/review/index.html criticized]] ''Literature/TheScarletLetter''. This was mocked in ''Film/EasyA'', in reference to English students watching the film adaptations of their required reading in lieu of doing the actual reading. |
| 184 | * ''Film/NoCountryForOldMen'' by Creator/TheCoenBrothers is a very rare example of a film that's even better than the book on which it was based. And the book is pretty damn good. |
| 185 | * ''Film/MysteriousSkin'' is considered another rare success: It is both faithful to the book, and it presents the difficult subject matter with consideration instead of [[{{Anvilicious}} shoving it into the viewer's face]]. |
| 186 | * ''Film/OnlyLove'', based on the book of the same name by Creator/ErichSegal. |
| 187 | * ''Literature/TheLovelyBones'' is a highly-acclaimed book and [[Film/TheLovelyBones a movie]]. |
| 188 | * ''Greed'', the film adaptation of the novel ''[=McTeague=]'', is famous in film history as the most literal adaptation ever. Director Creator/ErichVonStroheim faithfully recreated every scene as it appeared in the novel, included every character most of the dialogue (not a mean feat considering that it's a silent movie), and was shot on location. The result was a movie that was a unwatchable mess (except to film buffs) that's over ''ten hours'' long (for comparison, the unabridged audiobook of the novel was only 14 hours long). The producers trimmed the footage down to a more manageable 2 hours, whereupon von Stroheim disowned the film. A four-hour cut has since been assembled that uses production stills and title cards to re-create the missing scenes. |
| 189 | * ''Film/TheColorPurple1985'' |
| 190 | * ''Literature/DeepLove'' though the film was displaced by the later series. |
| 191 | * ''Film/ColdMountain'' was based on the novel of the same name by author Charles Frazier. |
| 192 | * ''Film/TheConstantNymph'' by Margaret Kennedy and the 1943 film starring Creator/JoanFontaine. |
| 193 | * S.E. Hinton's ''Film/TheOutsiders'' was adapted into a movie that was identical. To know one is to know the other. |
| 194 | * Creator/JamesEllroy's novels: |
| 195 | ** ''Film/LAConfidential'' managed to make a great film out of a brilliant book, despite having to shed about half a dozen subplots, compress the action from five years down to one, and alter the ending slightly. |
| 196 | ** ''Film/TheBlackDahlia'' however, didn't do so well. Ellroy even mocked it before it was being made. |
| 197 | * ''Film/JackieBrown'', Creator/QuentinTarantino's adaptation of Elmore Leonard's ''Rum Punch'' |
| 198 | * ''Film/LaReineMargot'', adapted from the novel of the same name by Creator/AlexandreDumas, père. |
| 199 | * ''Film/MyLeftFoot'' was made into an Oscar-winning movie of the same name. |
| 200 | * The book ''Film/{{Trainspotting}}'' was made into a movie, but not without a PragmaticAdaptation as the content was deemed unfilmable. |
| 201 | * The 2007 film version of ''Film/GoneBabyGone''. Director Creator/BenAffleck did a good job of condensing and streamlining a very complex novel. |
| 202 | * Nathanael West's 1939 novel ''Literature/TheDayOfTheLocust'' was made into a feature film in 1975. |
| 203 | * ''Film/MildredPierce'' was adapted for the screen in 1945 and again for a TV mini-series in 2011. |
| 204 | * Larry [=McMurtry=]'s novel ''Film/TheLastPictureShow'' was made into a feature film in 1971. |
| 205 | * ''Film/ManilaInTheClawsOfLight'' is an adaptation of the novel ''In the Claws of Brightness''. |
| 206 | * Judith Guest's 1976 novel ''Literature/OrdinaryPeople'' was made into a Best Picture Oscar-winning film in 1980. |
| 207 | * The 1982 film ''Film/SophiesChoice'' was adapted from the 1979 novel of the same name by William Styron. |
| 208 | * Horace [=McCoy=]'s 1935 novel ''Literature/TheyShootHorsesDontThey'' was adapted into [[Film/TheyShootHorsesDontThey a film]] in 1969. |
| 209 | * ''Film/InherentVice'' is the first attempt to adapt a work by Creator/ThomasPynchon, whose work was previously thought to be un-filmable. |
| 210 | * As with a number of Jason Reitman's films [[note]]''Film/ThankYouForSmoking'', ''Literature/UpInTheAir''[[/note]], ''Film/MenWomenAndChildren'' is adapted from a book. One of the key advantages to putting the work to a visual medium is getting to make use of PopUpTexting and overlaying certain websites and video game sequences over their users' faces in real-time for "show, don't tell" emotional reactions. |
| 211 | * The film version of ''Literature/TheJoyLuckClub'' stuck admirably to the book until Ying Ying's confrontation with her daughter, which is emotionally powerful but very brief. Creator/FranceNuyen was one of the few exceptions to the decision to cast mostly unknowns in the main roles, and Creator/AmyTan (and presumably Creator/OliverStone) were apparently concerned that the gifted veteran Nuyen would steal the entire movie if she were allowed to do and say everything she does in the book. Ms. Nuyen, understandably, was pissed. |
| 212 | * ''Film/ADogsPurpose'' is based off a {{xenofiction}} book of [[Literature/ADogsPurpose the same name]]. It removed segments of the book and had a lot of {{Composite Character}}s. It also removed a lot of the xenofiction and the darker elements of the book. |
| 213 | * ''Literature/ADogsWayHome'' has a film adaptation that was released in 2018. |
| 214 | * ''Film/TheSicilian'' is based on the Mario Puzo [[Literature/TheSicilian novel of the same name]]. |
| 215 | * The baseball series ''Literature/{{Battery}}'' has been adapted into a Japanese film named ''The Battery''. |
| 216 | * Teen drama novel ''Literature/OneFatSummer'' was adapted into a movie entitled ''Measure of A Man.'' |
| 217 | * ''Film/LizInSeptember'': It's based on the play ''Last Summer at Bluefish Cove'', although not strictly. |
| 218 | [[/folder]] |
| 219 | |
| 220 | [[folder:Fantasy]] |
| 221 | * ''WesternAnimation/TheBlackCauldron'' is a bit of a mash-up of elements from the first two books of ''Literature/TheChroniclesOfPrydain'' series, ''The Book of Three'' and ''The Black Cauldron''. |
| 222 | * ''Film/FieldOfDreams'' was based on Creator/WPKinsella's novel ''Shoeless Joe''. The film eliminates Ray's twin brother Richard, and transfers Richard's rift with their father onto Ray himself. It also changes J.D. Salinger into the fictional author Terrance Mann and makes Ray's wife Annie a stronger character, and her brother a more believable "Bad Guy". |
| 223 | * The ''Literature/HarryPotter'' films are considered masterpieces, but have some removed plotlines. Major in the case of the third, fourth, and fifth movies, which took good chunks out of the main plotline. |
| 224 | ** Most obvious in the third movie, as some of the stuff taken out was vital to understanding the plot. It's never explained that the four names appearing in the Marauder's Map are the pen names of Professor Lupin, Sirius, Peter Pettigrew and James Potter. |
| 225 | ** Cho and Harry's relationship in ''Order of the Phoenix'' is changed to take up less time. In the book, they date until Harry realizes they're only together because Cho thinks being with him will help give her closure over [[spoiler:Cedric's death]]. In the film, the romance dies earlier as Chang tells Umbridge about Harry's secret society (Dumbledore's Army); even after it's revealed that [[spoiler:it was because she was forcefully given Veritaserum to confess against her will]], the two characters never get along again. |
| 226 | ** Major in the case of the sixth movie, which misses the overall function of the book by almost entirely omitting [[spoiler: the lessons delving into Voldemort's past that ultimately help Harry understand and thus defeat Voldemort.]] |
| 227 | * ''Film/{{Eragon}}'' has an adaptation whose problem is multiple missing main characters, more main characters having a single line or so, completely different locations, general failure to understand universal laws such as magic in-universe, and a completely different ending. Proved a FranchiseKiller to the prospect of a movie of the sequel, since so much was omitted or defiled, although it still managed to make a profit. |
| 228 | * ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings'', some notable differences are the removal of the Tom Bombadil and the Scouring of the Shire subplots, the increased role for Arwen, and the different motivations and actions of Faramir's character (and Elrond's). The biggest change was making Gimli a comic relief character--though there was comedy of juxtaposition in the book-Gimli's infatuation with Galadriel, which was retained in the film. The original book primarily used Sam (the rustic/loyal retainer) and Merry and Pippin (the young innocents) for comic relief purposes, as the films did as well; though unlike Gimli the hobbits, in the films as in the books, got a lot of character development that made their comedy dark and bittersweet by the end. |
| 229 | * ''Literature/PercyJacksonAndTheOlympians'', based on the novel of the same name. |
| 230 | ** The bare bones of the book's story is there ([[spoiler:Poseidon's child is framed for stealing Zeus's lightning bolt, he goes on a quest to get it back with Annabeth and Grover, he's successful]]). Might be more towards executive meddling because a number of the plots that were left out because they leave things open for future movies, which they didn't know wouldn't happen. Add to that some of the character personal changes (namely aging the main characters 4-6 years) made it easier to make the movie. |
| 231 | ** They removed a swordfight with the god of war. |
| 232 | ** The biggest outright removal was the [[BigBad main villain]] of the series, [[spoiler: Kronos]]. Among other things they changed the character of Grover from a somewhat serious character who had moments of comic relief, to an outright jive-talkin' black kid. They removed the concept of mist, which explains why [[WeirdnessCensor no one noticed]] greek gods actually existing. They didn't mention the prophecy that led to no children of the big three being born. All the characters were changed from ages 12 to ages 16, and the main overarching romantic plotline between [[spoiler: Percy and Annabeth]] was resolved in the first film. |
| 233 | ** The second movie is stated to be more accurate to the literature than the first one. Although there's a still a lot of small changes though, but like the first film, the main premise and plot of the book are the same in the movie. |
| 234 | * ''Literature/ThePrincessBride'' had a particularly accurate [[Film/ThePrincessBride film version]]. It helps that Creator/WilliamGoldman (who was an Oscar-winning scriptwriter to begin with) wrote both the book and the movie. |
| 235 | * ''Film/MaryPoppins''. P. L. Travers, author of the ''Literature/MaryPoppins'' books, was horrified with the result, even after demanding and getting an unusual amount of creative control. |
| 236 | * ''Literature/TheNeverendingStory'': [[Film/TheNeverendingStory The film]] doesn't actually show the whole book. Far from it. It simply couldn't. Even so, some changes were unnecessary. In the book the protagonist (Bastian Balthasar Bux) is an overweight, awkward kid and his Fantasia-based friend Atreyu is green-skinned. The second half of the book puts the protagonist in grave danger. The movie, if faithful to its source, needed to be at least two movies long. The second film covers the second half of the book, and takes more liberties with it. |
| 237 | * ''Literature/TheChroniclesOfNarnia'' films, which made it to the third book before the franchise fell apart and slowly became forgotten. |
| 238 | * ''Film/TheGoldenCompass'', an adaption from the ''Literature/HisDarkMaterials'' novels, suffered from considerable ExecutiveMeddling for its [[RageAgainstTheHeavens subject matter]] and DownerEnding. While it is often praised as a good film by people who haven't read the book, the ExecutiveMeddling caused many fans of the series to hate the film. |
| 239 | * ''Film/{{Stardust}}'' took Creator/NeilGaiman's pointedly BittersweetEnding and changed it so that the last line of the movie is "And they all lived happily ever after". They also threw out Tristran's sister and step-mother. Then they changed the main character's name (removing the second R), removed the FairyTale and {{nursery rhyme}}s that marked it as a fairy tale for adults, but instead pumped it full of {{One Scene Wonder}}s, fleshed-out versions of previously bland characters (especially the one that Robert de Niro played), and gave the story a genuine climax. |
| 240 | %%* ''Film/InterviewWithTheVampire'' |
| 241 | %%* ''Film/QueenOfTheDamned'' |
| 242 | * ''Film/SevenFacesOfDrLao'' is the film adaptation of ''Literature/TheCircusOfDoctorLao''. |
| 243 | * Creator/{{M|etroGoldwynMayer}}GM's ''Film/TheWizardOfOz'', somewhat loosely based on [[Literature/TheWonderfulWizardOfOz the first book]], shortened the journey to Emerald City and ended the story shortly after the Wicked Witch was killed. Among other changes was addition of [[CanonForeigner original characters]] like Almira Gulch, creating a new subplot involving Dorothy's family. Perhaps the most infamous change in the movie was that Oz had been made an elaborate dream instead of a fantasy country. The reasoning for this was that [[ExecutiveMeddling executives believed that]] [[ViewersAreGeniuses audiences were too "sophisticated"]] [[FantasyGhetto to accept a "real" fantasy world.]] |
| 244 | * ''Film/WhatDreamsMayCome'' is based on a 1978 novel of the same name by Richard Matheson. There are substantial differences between the book and movie in the characters, the presentation of afterlife, and the ending. Matheson based his depiction of afterlife on extensive research into mysticism and near-death experiences, which he lists in a bibliography at the end. He states in an author's note at the beginning that the characters are the only fictional component of the book. |
| 245 | * ''Literature/{{Dinotopia}}''. The miniseries and TV series were very different than the books. |
| 246 | * ''Literature/TheSagaOfDarrenShan'': |
| 247 | ** When the book was adapted into a movie, ''Cirque Du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant'', there was a mixture of outrage and pure disgust from fans of the series. The first three books were attempted to be crammed into the movie (plus added spoilers from book nine) meaning many scenes were missed out. |
| 248 | ** Some fan favourite characters were cut (Debbie and Sam) and put back in as a single entity: Rebecca the monkey girl. Personalities of both main and secondary characters were changed and an added pairing was put in, practically destroying a canon one apparent in later books. |
| 249 | ** Something that also annoyed many UK and Ireland fans was the way the whole thing was Americanised, as the general consensus is that the main character is Irish, [[spoiler:due to him supposedly being the same person as the Author, just from a parallel world]]. |
| 250 | * The [[Creator/{{Sky}} Sky1]] {{Made For TV Movie}}s based on the ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'' novels have been generally well-received, although it's been observed they've been getting steadily more [[PragmaticAdaptation pragmatic]]. ''Film/GoingPostal'' keeps the main characters, their basic characterisation and the broad strokes of the plot, and proceeds to change almost everything else. |
| 251 | %%* ''Film/VampireAcademy''. |
| 252 | %%* ''Film/TheMortalInstrumentsCityOfBones''. |
| 253 | * ''WesternAnimation/TheFlightOfDragons'' is loosely based on ''The Dragon and the George'' by Creator/GordonRDickson, the first book in ''Literature/TheDragonKnight'' series". Starting with the same basic premise of "a man from the 20th century enters a fantasy medieval world and accidentally winds up sharing a body with a dragon", the stories go in very different directions. The title, main character's name, and the biological details of dragons (how they fly, how they breathe fire, etc.) come from an unrelated book by Creator/PeterDickinson and were not part of Dickson's work. |
| 254 | [[/folder]] |
| 255 | |
| 256 | [[folder:Horror]] |
| 257 | * Pick any Creator/StephenKing book, and chances are it's been adapted to film (in some cases, ''twice''). In turn, pick any of those movies. Chances are, Stephen King himself didn't like it. He's outright stated that he hates some of the movies based off his books, such as the [[Film/ChildrenOfTheCornIITheFinalSacrifice two]] [[Film/ChildrenOfTheCornIIIUrbanHarvest sequels]] of ''Film/ChildrenOfTheCorn1984'' and ''Film/TheShining'' (Creator/StanleyKubrick removed several plot elements that King felt very personal about, [[WriteWhatYouKnow because they were partly based on his own life]]). He did, however, like the movie's ending of ''Literature/TheMist'' even more than his original. |
| 258 | * All of Thomas Harris's books involving Hannibal Lecter -- in fact, the most recent one, ''[[Literature/TheSilenceOfTheLambs Hannibal Rising]]'', saw the screenplay (also by Harris) finished before the ''book'' was. The series of four novels has produced ''five'' movies (''Literature/TheSilenceOfTheLambs'', ''Film/RedDragon'', ''[=Hannibal=]'', ''Hannibal Rising'', and ''Film/{{Manhunter}}'', an earlier adaptation of ''Literature/RedDragon'' starring William Petersen). ''Literature/TheSilenceOfTheLambs'' is one of the few movies that is probably better than the book. |
| 259 | * ''Film/AnAmericanHaunting'' was based on the novel ''The Bell Witch: An American Haunting'' by Brent Monahan, which was [[VeryLooselyBasedOnATrueStory itself based]] on the Tennessee legend of The Bell Witch. |
| 260 | * Although frequently so altered as to be nearly completely unrecognizable, almost every single movie by Creator/StanleyKubrick and Creator/AlfredHitchcock were based on books (notable exceptions are ''Film/TwoThousandOneASpaceOdyssey'' and ''Film/NorthByNorthwest'', and Kubrick wanted the ''2001'' book written and out before the movie). The early sections of ''2001'' (set on the Moon) were based on Creator/ArthurCClarke's short story, "The Sentinel". |
| 261 | * ''Stir of Echoes'' is a movie "based" on a book of the same title by Richard Matheson. Other than one or two plot points, they have nothing else in common. The book itself is fairly outdated, which probably explains why the movie managed to be so removed from it and still be good. |
| 262 | * ''Literature/TheRelic'' was a highly entertaining book that has spawned a really interesting series. The movie, not so much. |
| 263 | * ''Film/{{Psycho}}'', the classic film by Creator/AlfredHitchcock, was adapted from a much less well-known book of the same name by Creator/RobertBloch. |
| 264 | * ''Literature/{{Dracula}}'' has been made into dozens of films, the most notable being [[Film/{{Dracula 1931}} the 1931 Bela Lugosi film]] (actually an adaptation of a play that was based on the book) and [[Film/HorrorOfDracula the 1958 Christopher Lee film]] (a direct but loose interpretation). |
| 265 | %%* ''Literature/{{Haunted 1988}}'' |
| 266 | * ''Film/FlowersInTheAttic'' was adapted in 1987 from the 1979 novel of the same name. |
| 267 | * ''Series/{{Eye Candy}}'': Creator/RLStine wrote the novel as his last attempt at taking on the adult market. The TV show is not only {{Darker and Edgier}}, it also gives the heroine and her two potential love interests drastic upgrades in personality, IQ, backstory, and general appeal. It changes the killer's identity, but the path to discovering said killer is much more intricately plotted; the killer also gets an upgrade: from [[spoiler: a two-part threat: a troubled but ultimately harmless guy with delusions of killing women, ala Patrick Bateman, and a homicidally jealous room-mate who really should have been caught much earlier in the book]] to a cyber-genius psychopath and stalker. |
| 268 | * ''Film/TheVisitation'' was adapted from ''Literature/TheVisitation''. |
| 269 | * ''Film/RosemarysBaby'' was ''extremely'' faithful to the book by Ira Levin, mainly because Creator/RomanPolanski had never done a film adaption from a book before and he didn't realize he was ''allowed'' to make any changes. Because there are so many details, right down to exact dates, he was able to make the picture very realistic. He about went nuts trying to find which "shirt that was in the ''New Yorker''" Guy said he had gotten until Levin revealed he had just made that up and hadn't actually picked out a shirt from ads in the magazine. |
| 270 | * ''Film/TheHouseWithAClockInItsWalls'' is adapted from the Creator/JohnBellairs [[Literature/TheHouseWithAClockInItsWalls novel of the same name]]. |
| 271 | * ''Film/ScaryStoriesToTellInTheDark2019'' takes some of the most well-known stories from the source material and ties them together in an overarching narrative about a group of teenagers suffering the wrath of a ghostly curse whose methods of killing are tied to a DeadlyBook. |
| 272 | * ''Film/TheHowling'': The first movie and a few of the sequels loosely adapt the books by Gary Brandner, but many of the films have [[InNameOnly no connection]] to them beyond revolving around werewolves and featuring "The Howling" in the title. |
| 273 | ** ''Film/TheHowling1981'' shares its basic premise and certain plot points with the [[Literature/TheHowling1977 first novel]], but otherwise tells its own story and the way it depicts the werewolves differs slightly. In both stories, the protagonist is a woman who is left traumatised by a attack and moves to a remote town in the countryside, only to be terrorised by werewolves while her husband grows distant. The movie also notably has a more [[BlackComedy darkly]] [[LighterAndSofter comedic tone]] compared to the novel. |
| 274 | ** ''Film/HowlingIIITheMarsupials'' is credited as being based on ''The Howling III: Echoes'', but adapts virtually nothing from that book; about the only things they share in common are taking a more sympathetic stance on the werebeasts than is typical for the franchise. |
| 275 | ** ''Howling IV: The Original Nightmare'' is heavily inspired by the first novel, actually being [[TruerToTheText more faithful]] to the book than the 1981 movie in places, though it also takes several liberties, such as adding a plotline about nuns and the heroine being plagued by mysterious visions and dreams. |
| 276 | ** ''The Freaks'' bears little resemblance to any of the novels, but it does take a few pointers from the third book, such as featuring a sympathetic werewolf protagonist and werewolves working for a carnival freakshow. |
| 277 | ** ''Reborn'' is credited as being based on the second book, ''The Howling II'', but it actually has more in common with the first and third books while still mostly being its own thing, such as starring a sympathetic young werewolf and ending with [[spoiler:the protagonists burning down a building to kill the evil werewolves]]; it also takes cues from the first movie by having the last scene feature [[spoiler:the protagonist transform on-camera to reveal the existence of werewolves]]. |
| 278 | [[/folder]] |
| 279 | |
| 280 | [[folder:Mystery]] |
| 281 | * ''Literature/TheDaVinciCode''. |
| 282 | * ''Film/{{Enola|Holmes}} [[Literature/EnolaHolmes Holmes]]'' |
| 283 | * Creator/KennethBranagh's [[Film/HerculePoirotKennethBranagh film series]] adapting Franchise/HerculePoirot stories. |
| 284 | ** ''Film/{{Murder on the Orient Express|2017}}'' (''Literature/MurderOnTheOrientExpress''). |
| 285 | ** ''Film/{{Death on the Nile|2022}}'' (''Literature/DeathOnTheNile''). |
| 286 | ** ''Film/AHauntingInVenice'' (''Literature/HalloweenParty''). |
| 287 | * ''Literature/TheNameOfTheRose'' described itself as a "palimpsest" of the book. A palimpsest is a page of a manuscript that has had the text scraped off and been reused as blank space, a medieval practice (paper was expensive). Nowadays, both the original and the follow-up text can be read with UV light and other tricks. Appropriate for a movie based on a book about Franchise/SherlockHolmes in the 14th Century, no? |
| 288 | * Subversion, but also a confirmation of the reasoning behind most changes -- the Vayner brothers' 300 page detective novel ''Era Of Mercy'' was adapted nearly word-for-word into a 9 hour "cinematic serial". Even that didn't satisfy the fandom, which complained about insufficient motivation for one of the leads without a voiceover to explain his thoughts. |
| 289 | * Creator/JamesPatterson's first two novels, ''Film/AlongCameASpider'' and ''Film/KissTheGirls'', became films, as did ''First to Die'', the first book in the Women's Murder Club series, though that was direct-to-DVD. |
| 290 | [[/folder]] |
| 291 | |
| 292 | [[folder:Romance]] |
| 293 | * ''Film/Adam2019'': It's based on a 2006 book of the same name. Both feature a cisgender boy dating a queer girl who thinks he's trans. |
| 294 | * ''Film/BeautifulCreatures'' |
| 295 | * ''Literature/BloodAndChocolate1997'' was made into [[Film/BloodAndChocolate2007 a movie]] in 2007, by completely subverting the entire theme presented in the original book. |
| 296 | * ''Film/{{Carol}}'' was based on Patricia Highwater's novel, ''The Price of Salt''. |
| 297 | * ''Film/{{Charly|2002}}'' is based on [[Literature/{{Charly}} the 1980 book]]. |
| 298 | * ''Film/{{Devdas}}'' has been adapted to film numerous times, with perhaps the best known being the 2002 version with Creator/ShahRukhKhan, Creator/AishwaryaRai, and Creator/MadhuriDixit. |
| 299 | * ''Literature/TheEnglishPatient''; the movie [[PragmaticAdaptation left out]] a lot of the book, in the process shifting the focus onto the title character's backstory. Often blamed for encouraging MisaimedFandom directed the destructive, violent love affair central to said backstory. |
| 300 | * ''Film/TheFaultInOurStars'' |
| 301 | * ''Film/HowStellaGotHerGrooveBack'' |
| 302 | * ''Literature/{{Olivia|1949}}'' was adapted in 1951 into the French film ''Olivia''. |
| 303 | * ''Film/RedWhiteAndRoyalBlue'' is the film adaptation of Casey [=McQuiston=]'s [[Literature/RedWhiteAndRoyalBlue novel of the same name]]. |
| 304 | * Creator/EmmaThompson's [[Film/SenseAndSensibility adaptation]] of ''Literature/SenseAndSensibility'' shows us scenes which are only exposited in the book, which makes the opening third easier to follow. |
| 305 | * Multiple Creator/NicholasSparks' books including ''Film/TheNotebook'', ''Film/DearJohn'' and ''Film/AWalkToRemember''. |
| 306 | * ''Literature/{{Twilight|2005}}'', along with its sequels. |
| 307 | [[/folder]] |
| 308 | |
| 309 | [[folder:Science Fiction]] |
| 310 | * With the exception of ''Literature/AScannerDarkly'', no book by Creator/PhilipKDick will ever be faithfully adapted. Mostly because he was crazy, and yet the books were incredibly smart. Also, almost none of the movies keep the titles of the books and stories that inspired them, mostly due to trying to turn quirky, introspective science fiction into bigass action movies, and the names had to reflect that switch. |
| 311 | * ''Film/ChildrenOfMen'' was more enjoyable than the book, which was a 350 or so page guide to how to do Christian symbolism in the [[{{Anvilicious}} least subtle way possible]]. |
| 312 | * ''Film/TheDarkestMinds'' |
| 313 | * ''Film/Dune1984''. Creator/DavidLynch took a ''lot'' of liberties in this adaptation (and so did the ExecutiveMeddling). The film's biggest hurdle, though, was telling the story in less than six hours -- if you've read the original, there's a reason its first volume is divided into three "books". [[Creator/{{Syfy}} Sci Fi Channel]]'s MiniSeries, ''Series/FrankHerbertsDune'' and Creator/FrankHerbert's ''Series/ChildrenOfDune'', were much more faithful than David Lynch's film, though they still took a few liberties. Such as increasing certain characters' roles, and downplaying or outright removing other characters. |
| 314 | * ''Film/{{Dune|2021}}'' and ''Film/DunePartTwo'' by Creator/DenisVilleneuve. It aims at succeeding where the [[Film/Dune1984 1984 film]] didn't. |
| 315 | * ''Film/TheGiver'' |
| 316 | * ''Literature/TheHitchhikersGuideToTheGalaxyTrilogy'' was made into a [[Film/TheHitchhikersGuideToTheGalaxy2005 film]] (with the screenplay written by the book's author, Creator/DouglasAdams). An unusual example in that the series ''doesn't have'' a canon, which is how it's been since the beginning, and after a while Creator/DouglasAdams almost certainly did it deliberately. The books it was based on were comedic and satiric, but the laughs, except for a few throwaway lines, did not come from the dialogue or the situations but rather from the narration itself. The novel were themselves adaptations of the original radio series, as well as lending and taking elements with the British television production, during all of which Adams constantly fiddled with jokes and narrative order. |
| 317 | * ''Film/TheHost2013'' |
| 318 | * ''Film/TheHungerGames'' was rather faithful to the books, especially in terms of tone and theme. It is at the same time a PragmaticAdaptation, cutting out several minor characters and plot threads. One very noticeable change is in Haymitch, whose alcoholism is severely downplayed in the films. |
| 319 | * ''Film/{{Divergent}}'' |
| 320 | * Richard Matheson's novel ''Literature/IAmLegend'' has been adapted to film four times in four wildly different versions: ''Film/TheLastManOnEarth'', starring Creator/VincentPrice; ''Film/TheOmegaMan'', starring Charlton Heston; ''Film/IAmLegend'', starring Creator/WillSmith; and Creator/TheAsylum [[TheMockbuster mockbuster]] ''I Am Omega'', starring Mark Dacascos. Not a single one of those adaptations is faithful to the book. |
| 321 | * ''Literature/IAmNumberFour'' is based on the book of the same name by Pittacus Lore, a penname of James Frey and Jobie Hughes. |
| 322 | * Creator/EdgarRiceBurroughs' ''[[Literature/JohnCarterOfMars A Princess of Mars]]'' was made into ''Film/JohnCarter''. Some needful updating was done but some very pointless major alterations were also made. Instead of Mars being a dying planet simply because it's really frigging old, the Therns were dragged in from a later book, ''Gods of Mars'', as the real power behind the Zodangan leader Sab-Than. He leads the mobile city (perhaps inspired by Creator/GregBear's ''Strength of Stones''?) of Zodanga. Mars' deprecated state is blamed on the planet-wide resource pillaging of the Zodangans, with the Therns as the shadowy big bad behind the scenes, though they show up in the first few minutes. The atmosphere factory, powered by Ninth Ray energy is nowhere in the film. It was likely excised to give Dejah Thoris a reason to be made over into a scientist working on a machine to use the Ninth Ray to restore the environment. To make it a family friendly instead of NC-17 film, everyone on Mars is wearing way too much clothing. To the good, the designers got the Tharks, thoats, Woola, white apes and other critters dead on to the book. Too bad they didn't adhere so close to the actual story. |
| 323 | * ''Literature/{{Jumper}}'' was adapted into movie form. "[[InNameOnly Based on the novel]]" was very noticeable during the opening credits of [[Film/{{Jumper}} the movie]]. Other than the title, only three points from the source material remain: the protagonist ran away from his alcoholic father, he uses his ability to teleport ("jump") to steal money from a bank vault, and he ends up in a relationship with a girl named Millie; and the backstories involving each of these events were considerably changed. |
| 324 | * 1962's ''Film/TheManWhoFellToEarth'', by Walter Tevis, was adapted for the big screen in 1976. The basic plot is the same -- an AlienAmongUs, trying to save his dying planet/race via establishing a MegaCorp on our world to provide the means, falls prey to human treachery and addictive vices like alcohol and television. But the movie is far less straightforward in the telling of it, to MindScrew levels. In addition, the relationship between him and a hotel maid is upgraded from mere friendship to increasingly troubled romance and the sex lives of ''all'' the significant characters are explored (often in depth) whereas the book never even raises the issue. On the other hand, the side issue of how Earth will benefit if the hero's plot succeeds is dropped. Creator/TheCriterionCollection DVD edition allows viewers to compare and contrast the book and the film by including a physical copy of the novel as an extra feature. |
| 325 | * ''Film/TheMazeRunnerSeries'' |
| 326 | ** ''Film/{{The Maze Runner|2014}}'' |
| 327 | ** ''Film/MazeRunnerTheScorchTrials'' |
| 328 | ** ''Film/MazeRunnerTheDeathCure'' |
| 329 | * ''Film/MortalEngines'' |
| 330 | * The Japanese book ''Parasite Eve'' circa 1995 got sent to the big screens in '97. Then in '98, ''Creator/SquareSoft'' caught on and made a video game sequel called (you guessed it) ''VideoGame/ParasiteEve''. |
| 331 | * ''Literature/ThePostman'' became ''Film/ThePostman'' |
| 332 | * ''Literature/PlanetOfTheApes'' has had two very different film adaptations in [[Film/PlanetOfTheApes1968 the 1968 film]] and in [[Film/PlanetOfTheApes2001 the 2001 film]]. |
| 333 | * Richard Matheson's novel ''Bid Time Return'' was made into ''Film/SomewhereInTime'' (the title of which was used for later editions of the book). There are some significant changes in its adaptation to screen, most notably in the period to which the protagonist travels back in time (in the book, it's the late 19th century, in the movie early 20th) and in the nature of what's happening (in the book, but not the movie, the protagonist is dying from a brain tumor, raising questions about whether the time-traveling experience is real or not). Also, the movie but not the book includes a spectacular [[TemporalParadox ontological paradox]] centering around a watch with apparently no origin (the protagonist receives it from an old lady in the present day; he goes back in time and gives it to a younger version of the same lady, and that's how ''she'' got it in the first place; and so on). |
| 334 | * ''Film/StarshipTroopers'': The script was already mostly written (under the title "Bug Hunt at Outpost Nine") when they heard about "[[Literature/StarshipTroopers a book that had a bug war similar to the one in the script]]" as well as Verhoeven ''never finishing the actual novel''. |
| 335 | * ''Film/TheFifthWave'' |
| 336 | * ''Literature/BattlefieldEarth'''s [[Film/BattlefieldEarth film]] is a good example of a PragmaticAdaptation not being enough to salvage the source material, but can at least be said to have turned out better than a purely faithful adaptation. |
| 337 | * ''Series/The100'': While [[AdaptationExpansion expanding]] on the subject of the adults from the Ark and the inhabitants of Earth (Grounders and Mountain Men), the TV series also kill off one of the POV characters (Wells) in the second episode and introduce a bunch of {{Canon Foreigner}}s among the titular Hundred. |
| 338 | * ''Film/JurassicPark1993'' changed quite a bit of [[Literature/JurassicPark1990 the novel]], including deleting characters or making them composites of each other, changing Nedry from trying to get back at Ingen for how poorly he'd been treated by them to simply being greedy, making Hammond a kindly old man who created the park to make children smile instead of being only in it for the money, deleted scenes, gave the kids a much larger role in the plot (in addition to switching their ages), and completely changing the ending. |
| 339 | * ''Film/TheLostWorldJurassicPark'' deviated from [[Literature/TheLostWorld1995 its literary material]] even further, completely overhauling the plot, changing the villains to all new characters, adding a climax where one of the dinosaurs is brought back to the mainland and goes on a rampage, and even [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking altering the title]]. |
| 340 | * ''Literature/ChildhoodsEnd'' has been adapted into [[Series/ChildhoodsEnd a three-part miniseries]], with some obvious changes to fit with a modern setting. |
| 341 | * ''Film/HowToTalkToGirlsAtParties'', based on the short story of the same name by Creator/NeilGaiman. |
| 342 | * Kelly Eskridge's novel ''Solitaire'' was adapted to the 2017 film, ''Film/{{Otherlife}}'' |
| 343 | * ''Film/BicentennialMan'': This movie is based on Creator/IsaacAsimov's "Literature/TheBicentennialMan". The opening credits also [[MythologyGag reference]] the {{novelization}} co-authored with Creator/RobertSilverberg, ''Literature/ThePositronicMan''. |
| 344 | * ''Film/ChaosWalking2021'' is based upon the 2008 novel ''Literature/TheKnifeOfNeverLettingGo'', the first instalment in the ''Literature/ChaosWalking'' trilogy from which the film takes its title. |
| 345 | [[/folder]] |
| 346 | |
| 347 | [[folder:Swashbuckler]] |
| 348 | * ''Literature/LeBossu'' by Creator/PaulFeval has seen several adaptations, the most famous ones being 1959's ''Film/{{Le Bossu|1959}}'' and 1997's ''Film/OnGuard''. |
| 349 | * ''Film/LeCapitaineFracasse'' (1961), from the novel by Creator/TheophileGautier. There's also ''Film/CaptainFracassasJourney'', but this one is very much ''[[SubvertedTrope not]]'' a swashbuckler. |
| 350 | * ''Film/LeCapitan'' (1960), from the novel by Michel ZĂ©vaco. |
| 351 | * ''Film/{{Ivanhoe}}'' (1952), from the Creator/WalterScott [[Literature/{{Ivanhoe}} novel]]. |
| 352 | * ''The Miracle of the Wolves'' by Henry Dupuy-Mazuel, in 1924 and [[Film/TheMiracleOfTheWolves 1961]]. |
| 353 | * ''Literature/{{Scaramouche}}'' by Creator/RafaelSabatini, in [[Film/Scaramouche1923 1923]] and [[Film/Scaramouche1952 1952]]. |
| 354 | * Creator/AlexandreDumas' ''Literature/TheThreeMusketeers'' has been adapted [[AdaptationOverdosed countless times]]. On this wiki alone: [[Film/TheThreeMusketeers1921 1921]], [[Film/TheThreeMusketeers1948 1948]], [[Film/TheThreeMusketeers1953 1953]], [[Film/TheThreeMusketeers1961 1961]], [[Film/TheThreeMusketeers1973 1973]], [[Film/TheThreeMusketeers1993 1993]], [[Film/TheThreeMusketeers2011 2011]] and [[Film/TheThreeMusketeers2023 2023]]. [[DerivativeWorks/DArtagnanRomances This isn't even scratching the surface!]] |
| 355 | [[/folder]] |
| 356 | |
| 357 | [[folder:Thriller]] |
| 358 | * ''Literature/LeftBehind'', the religious thriller by Tim [=LaHaye=] and Jerry B. Jenkins, got two different adaptations. The first was in [[Film/LeftBehind2000 2000]], which featured Kirk Cameron in the role of Buck Williams, and condensed the first book fairly well, leading to two sequels that were both based on the second book ''Tribulation Force''. The second was in [[Film/LeftBehind2014 2014]], which featured Creator/NicolasCage in the role of Rayford Steele, and focused mostly on the airplane flight during which the Rapture took place and occurs in the book's first chapter. |
| 359 | * ''Literature/TheSecretAgent'' by Joseph Conrad was adapted into the film ''Film/{{Sabotage|1936}}'' (1936) by Alfred Hitchcock. The film had a number of changes such as turning Verloc's shop into a Cinema and portraying Stevie as an ordinary schoolboy. A straight adaptation from 1996 was released too, following the book's plot more closely. |
| 360 | * ''Film/ThroughBlackSpruce'': It's the adaptation of a novel with the same name by Joseph Boyden in 2008. |
| 361 | [[/folder]] |
| 362 | ---- |
| 363 | ->'''[[WesternAnimation/RockosModernLife Heffer:]]''' "''The book was better.''" |
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