What’s the worst book to film/tv adaption you’ve seen?

[Soubriquet]

Mine is Miss Peregrines home for peculiar children.

In the book, Emma controls fire. She’s sassy, strong, stands up for herself and calls out peoples shit.

In the film, she is lighter than air and defers to her male costar. I was really disappointed by this film

Daisy Jones and the Six is the most recent one for me. Absolutely loved the book. The TV adaptation ruined all the images I had formed of the characters.
I probably would have enjoyed the TV series if i hadn't already read the book. So often the way.

The Snowman by Jo Nesbø. I loved the book, but the film version is utter rubbish, missing out hugely important bits of the plot and scenes that could be visually horrific, yet they're just not there.

Eragon. Wasn't the biggest fan of the books anyway but the film was a mess.

The Book Thief

Atonement - what an absolute stinker that was. I absolutely loved the book and was so looking forward to seeing it. We all sat down to watch it at home and at the end there was a stunned silence until someone ventured "Is it just me or was that... AWFUL?!"

Bridget Jones Diary. Renee Zellwegger was terribly miscast and things that were funny in the book came across cringey in the film. I know you were supposed to cringe at her mishaps but it just didn't work in the film.

A couple of people have mentioned The Handmaid's Take but I have to disagree. I did the book for A Level English and hated it but loved season one of the adaptation. Yes the commanders and wives were too young but Yvonne Strahovski was brilliant as Serena Joy and Anne Dowd as Aunt Lydia. Offered/June was submissive in the first season and we don't know if the character would have become more rebellious in the book as it finished where season 1 ended and we don't know how her story ended . Unfortunately the TV series went off the boil once it departed from the end of the book.

SpikeWithoutASoul
That horrendous Fleabag-style adaptation of Persuasion with Dakota Johnson.

Even worse than the one with Sally Hawkins and Rubert Penry-Jones, apparently, and something has to be pretty bad to surpass that one.

Yes. They were both awful. However the prize for the worst Austen adaptation must surely go to the version of Mansfield Park with Billie Piper playing Fanny.

Agree with others that the film of Captain Corelli's Mandolin was a huge disappointment.

I've always loved Georgette Heyer's novels. Sadly the only film of one of her books - "The Reluctant Widow" - is a stinker.

This is why, when I was young, I wanted to adapt books, produce and direct them!! Sadly, I didn't have the required confidence, dedication, money and talent required.

Noo I love that musical/film! It's so well-done

Some, of course, are better than the original. IMO Evil Under the Sun with Diana Rigg and Maggie Smith is so much more fun than the book. It does help that it's reset in an exclusive Mediterranean island hotel rather than Cornwall. What with the title and everything.

I like the Russian 1965 version of War and Peace. Sat through all 6 hours and 33 minutes in one day!

I saw the 1972 Anthony Hopkins one but was a small child so don't remember much but I bought the soundtrack as a single (1812 overture iirc!)

Oh yes! I saw the film of that before reading the book and couldn't believe it when I found out the "link" between the 2.

Don't rate the film of Regeneration that highly either. Probably unfilmable tbf.

Malory Towers. Completely overhauled to be PC and all boxes ticked. I was so excited that my childhood favourite was finally going to be on the telly. I must say though that the young actress who played Darrell is exactly how I imagined Darrell to be.

And Gone Girl, why do they have to move locations from UK to USA?

Money innit?

A Little Princess. Nearly every single detail was horribly, horribly wrong.

This thread has got me worrying that they will move Richard Osman's story to a care home in Florida.

Any of the tv/film adaptations of the Terry Pratchett books. A huge amount of the charm of the books is the way he describes the situations and so far that's always been lost in any of the adaptations.

For me, the only style of adaptation that would work would be similar to the film Starlight where it's narrated so you don't lose all of the important 'Terry-ness'

I couldn't stand the musical film version of Matilda. Just everything about it was wrong.

I refuse to watch it. Couldn't bear it to be rubbish............

Saveforthat, the only reason I watched any of Mallory Towers after the first ep was for the quilts and crochet blankets on the dorm beds - lush.

Yes, strange, because Iannucci is a wonderful writer and a passionate Dickens fan.

The Hobbit is unwatchable.

The BBC adaptation of Graves’ I Claudius, on the other hand, is so good it’s actually better than the novel.

My Sister’s Keeper. The best part of the book for me was the shocking and totally unexpected ending. The film changed the ending to what you’d expect to happen and made it boring.

Gillian Flynn's novel Gone Girl took place in the USA; they didn't change that for the movie.

Maybe I just read the wrong edition, and all the bits pertaining to fizzy drinks and recreational vehicles were edited out during the transcription to King James' version.