Best movie adaptation?
Now this is the kind of discussion I used to love having at TORC.
PJ's LOTR is a very good adaptation, in the sense that PJ took a much beloved book and translated it to screen extremely effectively, satisfying both hardcore devotees
and people who wouldn't know Tolkien from, well, their elbow.
Of
course I think his adaptation could have been even better in places ... I'm a Tolkienista, for goodness sake. PJ sometimes does the most infuriating things with the material (e.g. Frodo sending Sam away,
) But his film trilogy really does deserve to be seen as magnificent. He captures so many iconic moments, and the films often achieve the sublime.
And for the luvva pete, it's still our beloved LOTR up there on the screen, when all is said and done.
As for the other films on the list, I can only comment on those in which I have both read the book
and seen the film adaptation:
8 ) Pride and Prejudice (A&E, 1996)
Ahem, BBC 1995.
Yes, this is a delightful and faithful adaptation, IMO. Low points: shrieking Alison Steadman as Mrs Bennet. High points: the sexing up of Jane Austen.
11) Sense and Sensibility
I love Ang Lee's film version. Very good adaptation indeed. Quibbles: Emma Thompson is too old for Marianne, but her performance is lovely. I adore Kate Winslet as Marianne - perfectly cast, perfectly played. Low point: Hugh Grant as Edward. Grant's dopey Englishman act really irritates me. The way he dithers about drives me CRACKERS.
13) Rebecca (Hitchcock, 1940)
Now we're talking. This is probably one of the most PERFECT adaptations of a book EVER. Srsly. Fabulous, fabulous film.
14) The English Patient
Hmmmm. Not sure. I read the book after I saw the film and my opinion of the film changed. Granted, this is a very, very difficult book to translate to screen. Best thing in the film was Juliet Binoche.
15) Little Women (1995)
Yeah, I like this. Good casting: Claire Danes as Beth is perfect. Susan Sarandon as Marmee is rather more palatable than Marmee in the book.
17) A Room with a View
Gorgeous film version. Very true to the book. Helena Bonham Carter is rather annoying as Lucy though. I liked Lucy better in the book.
19) Howards End
I liked the film. I can't remember whether I've read the book or not.
That's not very flattering to EM Forster, is it?
I've read his other books and liked them though.
I will add some others to the list, not mentioned in the Amazon list:
Cold Mountain (Anthony Minghella)
I loved the book, couldn't put it down. I thought Jude Law was well cast as Inman. But Nicole Kidman is totally miscast as Ada and so the film failed for me. I would have liked to have seen Julianne Moore in that role.
Great Expectations (BBC, 1999)
I just watched this, a friend lent it to me. Ioan Gruffud as Pip, Bernard Hill as Magwitch, Charlotte Rampling as Miss Havisham. I liked this a lot: very dark, atmospheric and moody, and the humour was dark too. A faithful adaptation, although a major plot point was changed in the final episode. It was handled well though and didn't impinge on the main storyline, which of course is the Pip/Magwitch/Estella narrative. The Pip/Estella relationship was brilliantly portrayed in this BBC version - very poignant, very convincing. David Lean's 1946 film version of 'Great Expectations' is generally regarded as one of the very finest film adaptations of all time. Regrettably I've never seen it.
Black Narcissus (Powell & Pressburger, 1946)
Fabulous British film version of Rumer Godden's novel. Very faithful to the story. Nuns get disturbed by their eerie outposting in the Himalayas and erotic tensions rise to the surface. Mad Sister Ruth is one of the scariest characters ever portrayed on film.
"Frodo undertook his quest out of love - to save the world he knew from disaster at his own expense, if he could ... "
Letter no. 246, The Collected Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien
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