Tom and I went to see The Odyssey the very weekend it opened back in July. It was really, really good. (A 3-hour movie . . . and I never even got up to pee! Actually, neither did anyone else . . . in the entire theatre. Seriously. You could hear a pin drop in there. It was riveting.)
Anyway. Seeing the movie, and thinking about reading both The Iliad and The Odyssey when I was in high school, made me start thinking about . . . movie adaptations of books . . . and how that might be a fun topic for us here in the Read With Us LOUNGE.
Most of the time, when I see a movie based on a book I’ve loved, I’m . . . not a fan. I almost always think the book is better than the movie. But there have been a few movies . . . that have surprised me. Hamnet, for example. I loved the book so much, I almost couldn’t bear to go and see the movie version when it came out. Even though the trailer looked gorgeous. Even though I read reviews that indicated the movie was true to the book. I was pleasantly surprised when I finally got over my dread and watched the movie. (I think I cried even more during the movie, truth be told.) The movie was not quite as good as the book, but very, very close. One recent(ish) movie surprised me by being (in my opinion) BETTER than the book . . . Brooklyn. I loved the book by Colm Toíbín . . . but the movie brought the story absolutely to life — and I ended up loving the story even more.
So. What do YOU think? Do you enjoy seeing movies based on books you’ve read and loved? Which movies have done a good job faithfully representing the book? And which ones do you think were total clunkers? Let’s talk about it in the comments . . .
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The Read With Us LOUNGE is open all summer long!
Grab a book. Find a comfy spot to read with us for awhile – and chime in with your thoughts and insight, too.
No rules!
Just fun!
And be sure to visit Bonny and Carole today to see what they’re talking about in the LOUNGE.
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And now . . . we’ve got a little Read With Us LOUNGE surprise for you. Back in June, we weren’t exactly sure if our “anti-book bingo”/LOUNGE idea would work . . . but you have helped to make it a rousing success with your thoughtful comments and discussion, no matter what the topic was.
If you’ve participated in our discussions this summer, we have a small thank you gift to send you. But . . . we’ll need your mailing address to send it to you. If you’d like a commemorative sticker – and if you’re comfortable sharing your address – please send me your name and mailing address via email (there’s a link in the sidebar) and we’ll send your parting gift to you. (You can send your info to either Bonny, Carole, or I — you don’t need to send it to all three of us.)
Thanks again! We really appreciate your commitment to our No Rules. Just Fun. concept.
And we’ll continue opening the Lounge each week through the end of August.
Like you (and others), I almost always think the book is better than the movie. But, I do have two movies that I absolutely LOVE (which is so weird for me): Cross Creek (about Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings with Mary Steenburgen and Peter Coyote – what’s not to love?) and Out of Africa. I also really liked Julia (Vanessa Redgrave and Jane Fonda – based on a chapter from Lillian Hellman’s book Pentimento). I agree that Hamnet was done so well!
I still haven’t watched Hamnet! I really want to, but I need to find a time when I can watch all of it and bawl (one reason I didn’t want to see it in the theater). I’ll admit I was disappointed by The Odyssey, or at least by the script, but having been her student I have to be on Emily Wilson’s side. I think some of the best film adaptations I’ve seen have been the Merchant Ivory films, like A Room with a View. And I still adore the Colin Firth/Jennifer Ehle Pride and Prejudice miniseries.
Ahhh… books to movies! Such a fascinating topic! What immediately springs to my mind are the Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit! I loved the books AND seeing them come to life so brilliantly in the movies! I have reread the books and watched the movies dozens of times! I remember reading and loving Mario Puzo’s The Godfather (perhaps the first really adult book I read) and well, the movies are ones I could watch over and over (though I have never reread the book) Though I am loath to give the writer of the Harry Potter series any bandwidth… I loved the books and the movies. (But perhaps the fact that my kids all loved them so much was an over riding factor!) Like you, I loved Hamnet the novel… and was a bit hesitant with the movie… but really enjoyed it! I never read Project Hail Mary… but I watch the movie and oh, my, goodness… I loved it so much! (and I now have the book on my list to read… and soon!)
This is an interesting topic! Before watching Hamnet, I might have said that books were almost always better than their movies, but I was pleasantly surprised by how much I liked the movie. I loved the book more but the movies is close. I think the movie of Project Hail Mary is even better than the book, which was a bit too technical in my opinion. A few other great movie adaptations are The Princess Bride, Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistlestop Cafe, A Beautiful Mind, and The Queen’s Gambit. The stories were good but the movies really brought them to life.
Oh gosh, some of the movies were so long ago I can’t remember if they were faithful to the book or not. So, off the top of my head I loved Out of Africa the movie almost as much as the book and will never be totally satisfied by any movie version of Little Women as much as the book. That 10-year-old imagination cannot be duplicated by adult interpretations no matter how they try. I read the first Harry Potter book and was pleased by the movie. I did Not read Brooklyn (I don’t think) but really liked the movie. Sometimes I am bitterly disappointed by the actor who played a character I envisioned totally differently. ConverseIy I loved the movie version of the Godfather, probably more than the book, and how it showed Brando’s genius by how he played that part….And now I have to see The Hail Mary Project.
The Odyssey had me in awe the whole time, too. However, I felt it too honed into a Nolan film and not the Odyssey I had recently read. Nolan made it into a powerful message for our time and that made his version worthwhile.
I sobbed through Hamnet in the theater (nearly empty theater) and loved seeing it on the big screen. I also remember reading The Price of Tides (so, so many years ago!) and loving the adaptation by Barbra Streisand. Frankly, I rarely go to movies and usually eschew adaptations in general.
Oh, I would love a sticker. My car backside windows are filling up wth stickers I love.
I thought the Gentleman from Moscow series was so very good. I have watched it twice. Nobody’s Fool movie with Paul Newman (swoon), To Kill a Mockingbird with Gregory Peck, Shawshank Redemption, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, Green Mile, The Color Purple, Forest Gump, and some others.
I’ve appreciated movies from books much more once I got it firmly in my head (duh) that they are different things. The book almost always IS better. None of the Pride & Prejudice films are as good as the book, but I love them anyway. For one thing, I find I “get” humor on screen better than from a book. I will admit that the TV version (not quite the question, I realize) of Louise Penny’s Gamache series is NOT my cup of tea. but oh, I love when Mick Jagger’s voice starts the Slow Horses episodes. I have one (now adult) kid who adores the Harry Potter movies and another who is irritated with every wrong detail or thing they left out.
I have yet to see the Odyssey. I think Christopher Nolan does amazing work but I don’t always enjoy it, so we’ll see.
I agree with you about Hamnet and Brooklyn! I’ve always loved the film adaptation of To Kill a Mockingbird, probably my favorite. Other adaptations I think were well done include Dr. Zhivago, Out of Africa, and the Colin Firth version of Pride and Prejudice. I would also add the Alfred Hitchcock version of Rebecca.
I have not yet seen The Odyssey and will probably wait until it is available to stream.
I was absolutely going to say Brooklyn! It’s one of the only instances where I can say that the movie was actually better than the book. I think they did a pretty good job with Remarkably Bright Creatures, too.