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Disappointed book inspired films

54 replies

Moyerette · 07/10/2013 18:38

What book inspired films would you say really let the literature down?

One that really sticks in my mind is Cecelia Ahern's PS: I Love You. I adore the book. It has moments of laughter and sadness. I actually cried reading it.

The film was a huge disappointment. I just couldn't gel with it. It didn't flow right and quite a substantial amount of the book was left out.

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beatricequimby · 25/10/2013 22:51

Disappointed by I Capture the Castle
Also the film 'Ramona and Beezus'. Ramona was cutesy which she absolutely isn't in the books. And the family were too well-off, in the book they are refreshingly normal.

CircassianLeyla · 22/10/2013 21:09

I have to disagree about The Time Traveller's Wife. I really liked the naked Eric Bana film. I really liked the book. I liked them as separate things though as I couldn't connect them together.

As a die hard Louis de Bernieres fan, I threw a teddy at the TV and shouted about 30 mins in. This is one film that misses the point entirely.

Mhw02 · 16/10/2013 22:51

Completely agree on The Golden Compass. For a start because they called it The Golden Compass. It's not a compass, it's an alethiometer! And then, cutting the ending - why? Why?

Valium, don't quite agree with you about Atomement - I thought the film was excellent, but I preferred the way the ending played out in the book, it was so poetic and haunting it gave me shivers, though it was so introspective I can see it was have been nigh on impossible to film.

Nivet · 16/10/2013 17:01

Divine Secrets of the YaYa Sisterhood - loved the book, the film is an abomination starring Sandra Bollock!

VerySmallSqueak · 16/10/2013 16:11

Agree with The Golden Compass.

Although World War Z was completely unlike the book I still really enjoyed Brad Pitt the film. I went into it with an open mind having heard that it wasn't true to the book though so I was prepared.

The zombie film 'Autumn',however, was crap compared with the book of that name by David Moody.

I have the book of 'The Beach' waiting to read,having enjoyed the film,so I'm doing that one in reverse.

WhoKnowsWhereTheBonnetsGo · 16/10/2013 16:03

It's not film, but I really didn't like the TV adaptation of Little House on the Prairie. To be fair, I only ever watched it a few times, it wasn't how I imagined so I didn't like it, I don't know true to the books it really was.

I very rarely watch films or TV adaptations where I have read the books - if I loved the book they generally don't live up to it, if I didn't love the book there's not much incentive to watch either.

DontMentionThePrunes · 16/10/2013 12:24

I am not a huge fan of the book, but I loathe The Hobbit. I think I basically hated everything about it, even Ken Stott.

freemilk · 16/10/2013 12:19

grrrrr typos

sorry

freemilk · 16/10/2013 12:19

Can I include Dangerous Liaisons (although i have to confess I havn't rad the book) saw the play which was so fantastic I wanted to go twice the film was dire in comparison

crocodileshavenoears · 16/10/2013 12:16

AnythingNotEverything - yes, The Time Traveller's Wife. I loved the book and the film was such a disappointment.

And "A Little Princess" - boarding school in New York? Chase across the rooftops? Noooooo!

WhoKnowsWhereTheBonnetsGo · 16/10/2013 12:02

Neither version of CATCF is a patch on the book IMO, it's years since I've seen either (only seen each once) but I won't be watching them again any time soon.

Heartbrokenmum73 · 15/10/2013 20:15

Awww, I love the Gene Wilder version! I know it's quite unlike the book (don't get me started on the dreadful Oompa Loompas and how that film has given the world that version of them!) but I think Gene Wilder's great in it, even though he doesn't look anything like a Quentin Blake illustration.

Whereas Luisa from this years Apprentice was the spitting image of Quentin Blake's illustration of one of The Witches...

JollyScaryGiant · 15/10/2013 04:38

I thought the newer Willy Wonka film was grim actually. It really bugs me when films invent bits. The whole back story for Wonka bothered me.

WhoKnowsWhereTheBonnetsGo · 14/10/2013 23:38

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (Gene Wilder version, the newer one isn't so bad).

PinkFairyArmadillo · 14/10/2013 23:32

all Stephen King books except the green mile and Shawshank

This, except I'd also add The Mist and 1408 as good adaptations. Yes, the end of The Mist is different but Frank Darabont really understood what the book was actually about and didn't just make it an all out monster movie. Apparently Stephen King wishes he'd thought of that ending first Grin

Stanley Kubrick's version of The Shining is awful, it bears no resemblance to the book other than the fact there's a hotel in it.

AnythingNotEverything · 14/10/2013 23:24

The Time Traveller's Wife. Such a beautiful love story, but the film just misses the point entirely somehow. And miscast.

I'm actually still cross about it, and I don't think I even watched all of the film.

EmergencyNicknameForMyOwnProte · 14/10/2013 23:19

Interview with a vampire. Fucking jowly-chops Brad Pitt and twatty Tom Cruise . And Claudia. She's supposed to be about 5 years old, not 12! All the stuff about a mature woman being stuck in the body of a tiny child is rendered completely sodding null and void because in the film she's 12. wanders off muttering and tearing hair out

martinedwards · 14/10/2013 20:18

Oh yeah, I'm currently reading the Bourne trilogy.

now the films are great.... the books are great.

book 1.... close

book 2? utterly different.

I'll tell you about book 3 when I've read it!

martinedwards · 14/10/2013 20:17

all Stephen King books except the green mile and Shawshank

A good year. no similarity to the book. the screenwriter never even opened it! My guess is he read the back cover blurb.... English bloke goes to France looking for a vineyard and finds love instead... and then wrote a whole new story!

Chocolat.... all wrong!

CoteDAzur · 14/10/2013 20:05

Dune
World War Z
Minority Report
Anna Karenina

... And come next month, I will almost certainly be adding Ender's Game to the list.

jeee · 14/10/2013 14:26

Agree with you about adding bits into Narnia Heartbrokenmum73 - but given that they left out the first half of the book of Prince Caspian (there was nothing about Caspian's childhood in the film), and given the book was pretty short anyway, they had to add loads of extra stuff.

Might have been easier if they'd actually used the content of the book before they started making stuff up.

Heartbrokenmum73 · 14/10/2013 14:10

God yes to Dark is Rising. I've read those books so many times since I was a kid and I don't understand why they had to change so much of what is a wonderful story.

Same with the Disney Narnia films - those stories are already exciting, gripping, tense adventures - why feel the need to add more? Wtf was the waterfall nonsense, the fox, etc? Why, Disney, why?

1944girl · 13/10/2013 23:57

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

valiumredhead · 13/10/2013 23:42

I agree bionic, it was shocking and totally unnecessary.

bionic77 · 13/10/2013 23:12

The Beach with Leonardo di Caprio. They changed so much, none for the better.

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