Super Tremendous has rated the 10 Greatest Books Adapted into Movies. It’s hard to tell whether this is based on the greatness of the movie, the book, or the adaptation (that is, how faithful the movie is to the book). I personally love to see movie adaptations of the books I read, even if I didn’t particularly enjoy the book, so this list is right up my alley.
Caveat: I have not read/watched all of these listed, but that’s never stopped me from offering my opinion in the past.
#10 Jurassic Park: I enjoyed the movie but have not read the book. From what I hear, most of Crichton’s books read like movies anyway. (And this has been true with ones I have read: Timeline and Airframe.)
#9 Forrest Gump: Loved the movie, haven’t read the book. Heard the book was a real disappointment, actually.
#8 Breakfast At Tiffany’s: Neither read nor seen.
#7 One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest: Ditto.
#6 Schindler’s List (Based On The Novel Schindler’s Ark): Great movie. Haven’t read the book.
#5 Apocalypse Now (Based On The Novle Heart Of Darkness): Thought the movie was mind-numbingly boring, and considering my dislike for maritime fiction, I don’t see myself reading the book any time soon.
#4 Goodfellas: Neither seen nor read.
#3 Jaws: Ditto.
#2 The Godfather: Finally one where I can weigh in completely! The movie was pretty good (though I hear the second one is better – one of these days I’ll get around to watching it) but the book was complete pulp.
#1 Gone With The Wind: I read this around the same time as The Godfather, during a “reading books that have been made into movies I haven’t seen” kick in early college, after which I proceeded to watch all the movies. (Another selection from this time period was Silence of the Lambs.) I actually rather enjoyed the book. Yes, Scarlet is terribly unlikeable and the African-American characters are all offensive stereotypes, but I still liked it for what it was. The movie was okay, even if they cut out most of Scarlet’s husbands and children. Not something I’d read (or watch) over and over again, but it was fun the first time around.
And there you have it. Some I’m surprised were left out: The Princess Bride (GREAT movie, kind of meh book), Lord of the Rings (great movies, reportedly great books, though I haven’t read them), Silence of the Lambs (both were excellent), the Harry Potter series (some good, some not, but decent overall), etc. What are some favorites you’d like to see on this list?