Does a Great Book = A Great Movie?

You shouldn't judge a book by its cover, but can you judge a book by its movie? I can't count the number of times I have sat down with friends, family or even acquaintances and debated which one was better - the book or the movie. Nowadays it seems like that question comes up all the time with just about every best-selling book being turned into a movie. While this is not a new trend it does seem to be growing as movie executives discover it can be easier to adapt a great book with a built-in fan base than starting from scratch.

The Hunger Games (opening in Fredericksburg area theaters Friday, March 23) is the latest  attempt to create a blockbuster franchise from a best-selling book series. I for one am a huge fan of the trilogy and am hoping the folks at LionsGate Films do not fail the loyal and growing fan base.  Make sure to check back here next week when I will let you know if you should spend your hard-earned money visiting the world of Panem.

As I anticipate the Friday release of The Hunger Games my family and I decided to share our thoughts on a few of the best and the worst book-to-movie adaptations.

The Best

The Lord of the Rings Trilogy (2001,2002,2003) - The adaptation of The Lord of the Rings trilogy in my opinion is one of the best because it does a wonderful job of portraying a very complex and intriguing world without dismissing key points from the author's original work and in fact at times highlighting even the most mundane of details to great effect. Also, thanks to the advances in special effects,
the movies at times seem to literally pull you into the world of Middle-earth and let you see for the first time unbelievable creatures like Gollum, Nazgul, and Oliphaunts.

Harry Potter Series (2001-2011) - A favorite of both my wife and my son, they feel the movie did an excellent job bringing "Muggles" into the wizarding world of Harry Potter.  With characters that are well-developed and incredibly well acted (our particular favorite is the casting of Alan Rickman as the ambiguous Professor Snape), you come to care about them all.  Each sequential movie, like the book series, becomes darker both in tone and in physical aspects.  While not able to include absolutely everything, the movies do an excellent job of placing seemingly insignificant facts and items throughout the series. Indeed, it is just as much fun to re-watch these movies and look for things you may have missed the first time around.

Diary of a Wimpy Kid (2010) - Diary of  Wimpy Kid was one of the first chapter books my son read at age 6. The book uses simple language, humor and a lot of cartoon drawings to encourage kids to keep reading. As a parent, I loved all these aspects of the book. As a child, my son thought the book was good but the movie was even funnier because he could see all of the awful and crazy things happen to kids just like him. Better yet it made him excited to read the next book in the series.

The Help (2011) - My wife believes The Help does an excellent job of bringing the lovable and not-so-lovable characters of the book to life on screen.  It didn't grab her right from the beginning, but by the end she was laughing, crying, fearing, rejoicing, and reveling in sweet revenge with the women  just as she had when she read the book.

Gettysburg (1993)  - Gettysburg is actually a made-for-television movie based on the historical fiction book Killer Angels by Michael Shaara. By no means is this a blockbuster movie but it stays true to the book, at times even quoting it verbatim, giving people a riveting look at the battle that changed the course of the American Civil War and perhaps the United States. How to do this poorly is exemplified below in the adaptation of the Jeff Shaara book Gods and Generals.

The Ten Commandments (1956) - Okay, so this isn't exactly your typical movie adaptation but it is one of the most famous and critically acclaimed movies of all time based on portions of the most read book of all time. Even if you are not religious you have to be impressed by the acting, special effects and ability of this film to convey the dramatic moments that are key in portraying the story of Moses and the Ten Commandments.

The Worst

Gods and Generals (2003) - The movie Gods and Generals is based on the book of same name about the early days of the American Civil War. It is actually a prequel to the movie Gettysburg I discussed earlier, however was produced nearly a decade later and released in theaters nationwide. Despite its larger budget and bigger stars it was not nearly as good as Gettysburg. This is largely because it relies too much on star power instead of telling the dramatic story battles such as Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville. If you don't know the stories of these battles I recommend skipping the movie and reading the book instead. Better yet, get outside and drive a couple miles to see the battlefields and
hear the stories for yourself at our local Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Parks.

Dr. Seuss' The Cat in the Hat (2003) - If you have ever been a child (and let's admit it, we all were at some point) you have probably read The Cat in the Hat at least once. That is why it was so disappointing to watch the 2003 live action adaptation of the classic children's story. The movie turns a whimsical story of children finding fun things to do indoors on a rainy day into a disturbing psychedelic nightmare with a "Cat" that at times seems a little more scary than fun.

The Polar Express (2004) - Listing The Polar Express as one of the worst movie adaptations may be a little too strong. It is not that the movie is bad, but maybe just a little too long and boring to be true to the classic Christmas story. The book is a simple and short story that puts a unique and wonderful twist on the magic of Christmas. Perhaps a half hour version of the story (see the 1966 How the Grinch Stole Christmas cartoon) would be better and avoid the need to add strange and unnecessary adventures such as runaway trains and strange Hobos.

Angels and Demons (2009) - My wife loved the book, but felt there was simply too much to condense into a 2-hour movie. The movie simply failed to convey the urgency, the frustration of trying to unravel the riddles, the beauty of the art and sculptures involved (despite the fact they could actually show them instead of just describing them). To top it all off, the movie made the villain much less exciting.

The Mist (2007)  One of my wife's favorite Stephen King short stories, she thought the movie did a good job of conveying the fear and uncertainty of the major characters, and process of a religious zealot converting people in a vulnerable situation, however the ending of the movie was altered too drastically.  She considers it one of the worst movie endings ever.

Agree? Disagree? Do you have a best or worst book to movie adaptation? Help your fellow citizens avoid the zeros and watch the heroes. Make sure to leave your comments below.