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Film adaptations of books that worked surprisingly well

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    #26
    Originally posted by Amor de Cosmos View Post

    Which one? The Lana Turner/John Garfield (1946) version, or the Jessica Lange/Jack Nicholson (1981.) I might agree with former but not the latter, in spite of the big names attached to the production.
    Jean Renoir had also been planning an adaptation even earlier, and passed on the idea to Luchino Visconti, whose Ossessione (1942) is a fantastic early example of Italian Neo-Realism, and just happens to be one of my two or three favourite films. Well worth watching if you can catch it. I haven't read the book so couldn't say how far it strays from the plot or how it rates as an adaptation.

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      #27
      Originally posted by Cal Alamein View Post

      Yer reading my mind. Saw the movie first, loved it. Read the book, got through it, but the movie stuck more w/ me.
      My Mum’s habit of buying the book of the film meant I got to read this, Jaws, The Exorcist, The Boys from Brazil, Marathon Man... at a young age, too young to see the films in most cases. I still have the Kesey copy.

      edit: oh and Six Days of the Condor which I thought was great- one of my 1st experiences of ‘unputdownable pageturner’- tho the film version only gave him 3 days
      Last edited by Felicity, I guess so; 14-08-2020, 06:12.

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        #28
        I thought Jaws the movie was better than the book - and I liked the book.

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          #29
          I loved Trainspotting the film and Trainspotting the book. Although if I'd have read the book first, I might have viewed the film differently.

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            #30
            Yeah, I thought the film came across as too shallow and shite flashy stylised (Danny Boyle's entire career but) compared to the book and play. Film Spud should have played Renton, as it was in the theatrical adaptation at the Arches, Renton is supposed to look like Alex McLeish, not be good looking.

            also, too much shite zeitgeist britpop soundtrack, plus Ewan fucking McGregor cant even do a decent Embra accent, the posh Crieff wank. Seriously, Johnny Lee Millar's is better.

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              #31
              People say Miller's accent was pretty good but I have no way of knowing

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                #32
                Yeah, it was, 2nd best of the main characters. There was too much weegie in Carlyle's, fucking McGregor was unspeakable, Bremner being from Embra was perfect, unsurprisingly.

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                  #33
                  Originally posted by Amor de Cosmos View Post

                  Which one? The Lana Turner/John Garfield (1946) version, or the Jessica Lange/Jack Nicholson (1981.) I might agree with former but not the latter, in spite of the big names attached to the production.
                  I was actually thinking of both. But, then again, I watched the 1981 film both before the 1946 and actually reading the book, so it might be that my understanding of the story is shaped by that.

                  However, I did find reading both The Postman and Double Indemnity rather underwhelming experiences, and the films have stuck with me much more vividly.
                  Last edited by Belhaven; 14-08-2020, 10:09.

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                    #34
                    Originally posted by Lang Spoon View Post
                    Yeah, it was, 2nd best of the main characters. There was too much weegie in Carlyle's, fucking McGregor was unspeakable, Bremner being from Embra was perfect, unsurprisingly.
                    You're a hard man Spoony, bad accents can be one of life's joys. The Cruiser and Nicole attempting to do Irish accents is the only thing worthwhile in Far and Away.

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                      #35
                      Heh, true dat. Robert Duvall mangling the accent as a hardman Scotch fitba coach is the only thing that's enjoyable about The Cup/A Shot at Glory.

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                        #36
                        The annoying thing about McGregor (apart from being a terrible actor) is he can't do any fuckin accent at all, even within Scotland. His sneery Scots Standard English In Trainspotting is the same as in Shallow Grave, more unacceptable than his bad American he's showcased since.

                        Same complaints I've often aired on here about Aiden Gillen (the worst thing about the Wire that isn't season 5), can't even do a Dub accent, chews scenery wherever he goes. At least fuckin Castleknock Boy Phone Box Farrell can fake Salt of De Eart' Dub, Gillen was as shite at Dub Inner City in Love/Hate as McG was at Muirhoose Embra.

                        And fuckin Gillen is from fuckin Dublin, at least couthy Ewan has the excuse of being a fuckin Teuchter.

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                          #37
                          I’m not a massive MacGregor fan either, Spoony, but grudgingly admit he was decent enough in the last tv Fargo series.

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                            #38
                            Haven't seen any of that, scared of ruining the film (also hate Martin "Hobbit Cunt" Freeman).

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                              #39
                              The Fargo series is outstanding.

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                                #40
                                Love/ Hate spent a fortune on Gillen as the big star, and then found the likes of Tom Vaughan Lawlor acting rings around him. They couldn't wait to kill him off.

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                                  #41
                                  Even fuckin Eoghan "Co living" Morphy's bro out acted him in Love/Hate. And I couldn't stop laughing at that fucker in Dublin (eh... Belfast) Murders.

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                                    #42
                                    Originally posted by Hot Pepsi View Post
                                    The Fargo series is outstanding.
                                    100% agree with this assessment. All three series have been great, although the first one was my favorite. Billy Bob was so good in that one.

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                                      #43
                                      Roman Polanski did a great job withTess.

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                                        #44
                                        The Godfather the book is pretty low quality airport dross as indicated above (I remember a lot of poorly written sex scenes) and a straight adaptation would have been terrible, but Coppola was able to sift through the dirt to find the gold.

                                        The Exorcist is a (slightly) better book, but Friedkin elevated it to a whole new level. The sequels were of the same quality as the source material.

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                                          #45
                                          Originally posted by jwdd27 View Post
                                          The Godfather the book is pretty low quality airport dross as indicated above (I remember a lot of poorly written sex scenes) and a straight adaptation would have been terrible, but Coppola was able to sift through the dirt to find the gold.

                                          The Exorcist is a (slightly) better book, but Friedkin elevated it to a whole new level. The sequels were of the same quality as the source material.
                                          That’s interesting. I never read The Godfather but bought The Sicilian when it came out in the 80s thinking “oh that’s a Mario Puzo book, I bet it’s really good.” It wasn’t.

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                                            #46
                                            A Monster Calls was really well adapted from the book to the film.

                                            The film of The Eagle Has Landed was a pretty good adaptation of the book, which I read as a teenager and thoroughly enjoyed. It's not great literature but then most good reads aren't.

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                                              #47
                                              I read and enjoyed a few Jack Higgins books in my teens. In his prime he was an effective thriller writer. He carried on for a long time past that though. I picked a recent-ish (this century) one of his off the bookshelf when staying at a relative's a few years ago and it was terrible, just really badly done. There were quite a few former Book of the Month Club stalwarts who carried on turning out their annual effort for committed fans for decades after fading from wider public awareness; Hammond Innes, Clive Cussler, etc .
                                              Last edited by Benjm; 18-08-2020, 16:59.

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                                                #48
                                                Originally posted by Patrick Thistle View Post
                                                A Monster Calls was really well adapted from the book to the film.

                                                The film of The Eagle Has Landed was a pretty good adaptation of the book, which I read as a teenager and thoroughly enjoyed. It's not great literature but then most good reads aren't.
                                                A plus for us what that it had “Alderney” scenes filmed in Charlestown, the Cornish village we used to holiday in every summer. It was exciting seeing Donald Sutherland getting chucked out of a window of the Pier House Hotel, and Robert Duvall facing a firing squad on the beach we used to swim from. Dodging the floaters from the sewage outlet around the point.

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                                                  #49
                                                  Originally posted by Patrick Thistle View Post
                                                  A Monster Calls was really well adapted from the book to the film.

                                                  The film of The Eagle Has Landed was a pretty good adaptation of the book, which I read as a teenager and thoroughly enjoyed. It's not great literature but then most good reads aren't.
                                                  One refers back to the actors thread.

                                                  "Michael Caine has never been shit in anything he's appeared in"

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