Disappointed book inspired films

[Moyerette]

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.

Circle of Friends by Maeve Binchy is my all time favourite book
The film didn't come anywhere close to capturing it

Oh God yes, that was truly dire I agree.

I Capture the Castle I thought was very poor, though starring a young Henry Cavill as Stephen.

Agree absolutely about Atonement, better than the book.

I've never read Dark is Rising (we have it somewhere, I shall dig it out).

news about World War Z. Loved the book, was going to get the film now it is on DVD. Am not usually good at blood/guts type horror on screen but was going to psych myself up for this one as I liked the book so much. Shall I not bother??

Also I hated the film version of Anna Karenina which came out last year with Keira Stick Insect Knightley.

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

I agree bionic, it was shocking and totally unnecessary.

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?

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.

Dune
World War Z
Minority Report
Anna Karenina

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

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!

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!

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

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.

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

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.

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

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.

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...

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.

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!

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

grrrrr typos

sorry

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.

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.

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.