Author Topic: Great books butchered by Hollywood (Read 1326 times)

Karnak · « **Reply #30 on:** April 22, 2003, 09:31:16 PM »

Quote

Originally posted by udet
for the worst movie adaptation I nominate "The Postman" what a waste of a good license. Kostner sucks ass.

Yup. Great book, horid, horid movie.

David Brin is my favorite author.

Puke · « **Reply #31 on:** April 22, 2003, 09:37:04 PM »

That's why I never read books. I have no problems at the theater.

Saurdaukar · « **Reply #32 on:** April 22, 2003, 09:46:49 PM »

Battlefield Earth (although admittedly, I have no idea what Travolta was thinking when he thought he could condence a book of this length into 90 minutes)

rpm · « **Reply #33 on:** April 22, 2003, 09:59:02 PM »

Debbie Does Dallas...

mjolnir · « **Reply #34 on:** April 23, 2003, 03:18:40 AM »

Definitely agree on Starship Troopers, Battlefield Earth, Jurrasic Park, and I admit to being pretty peeved at Peter Jackson for Two Towers. It was one thing to omit stuff for time reasons in Fellowship of the Ring, but he was making **** up in TT. Running Man (the movie) is basically a completely different story from Running Man (the book), so I enjoy the movie just for the cheesy one-liners that Arnold throws out there. I think they could have done a much better job with The General's Daughter, too. Maybe it's just that Travolta really is a ****ty actor though.

There have been a couple of movies that they actually did a decent job with when converting from books. The ones that I can think of off the top of my head are The Last of the Mohicans, The Shawshank Redemption, and The Green Mile. There were minor deviations in all of them, of course, but I still think they followed the book pretty closely.

gatt · « **Reply #35 on:** April 23, 2003, 03:35:36 AM »

yeah *great* book, awful movie

Animal · « **Reply #36 on:** April 23, 2003, 04:58:48 AM »

All my choices are already mentioned.

I just wanted to say that I read a rumor that William Gibson's "Neuromancer" is being adapted to film, and if its gonna be anything like Johnny Mnemonic, I'm already weeping.

Fatty · « **Reply #37 on:** April 23, 2003, 05:28:19 AM »

Fletch.
The book series is much better but much darker than Chevy Chase running about, which is probably why hollywood gutted it. I think if they kept to the book it would go over most's heads and they'd come out crying from "that sad movie." Hilarious read, there's a half dozen or so total.

Bourne Identity was about the worst departure I've ever seen. I don't know if they even read the book before writing the movie script, you couldn't tell it was the same story.

Modas · « **Reply #38 on:** April 23, 2003, 07:16:30 AM »

Gotta go with Battlefield Earth. Absolutely fantastic book. Didn't even get 1/2 thru the move before I turn it off. Absolutely terrible....

SLO · « **Reply #39 on:** April 23, 2003, 10:08:52 AM »

Butchered Battlefield Earth......just terrible

Two Towers.....chit it had nothing to do with the book.....

Starship Troopers......only good part was DENISE....oh baby she makes ya forget:D

DUNE.....book series is too much for movie

Tuomio · « **Reply #40 on:** April 23, 2003, 10:55:33 AM »

All of the Stephen King based movies except Dreamcatcher which ive never read and The Shining, which i never saw (miracle in itself!). I however saw the Matt Groenings version and it was good..

Also Dune comes in to my mind, but there were two quite sexy actresses present (cant remember their names) so i forgive it. The black tight desertsuits looked good on them!

udet · « **Reply #41 on:** April 23, 2003, 11:20:01 AM »

I don't know what to think of Riverworld. Obviously the movie was intended as a series, so it could capture at least some of the complexity of the book (that is, of 5 books). Still, I was a bit dissapointed by the pilot. I think, as a fact of life, that no great book can be made into a good movie. Not even "Sophie's Choice". Meryl Strip was a pooor 'choice'

LLv34_Snefens · « **Reply #42 on:** April 23, 2003, 11:20:24 AM »

I was a few chapters in the Bourne Identity when I watched the movie. Fatty is right. The only resemblence is that he lost his memory off the French coast and that he had a account number of a swiss bank on him. Good thing was that I could keep reading the book after the film and still not know what would happen but neither the book or film was anything spectacular.
I Got frustrated with the book after Bourne for the 5th time managed to avoid getting killed with the bad guys pointing/firing their guns at him from point blank range.
Also laughed out loud when he kept giving the french taxidrivers 100 francs extra after which they agreed to the most strange things. yes I know it was in 1980, but come on.

Nifty · « **Reply #43 on:** April 23, 2003, 12:57:48 PM »

heh, they've all been mentioned.

The original Dune movie was a complete mockery (weirding modules and sound? WTF?)

Spielberg had to tinker with JP and Lost World, tinker being an understatement. He completely re-wrote just about every character save for Dennis Nedry.

The Two Towers... I don't get it. The book was laid out so nicely, why did they even need to mess with it? I can understand changing around Arwen so she is in the minds of the viewers, but like said before, Elves in Helm's Deep? Faramir kidnapping Frodo (it was perfect right up until they captured Gollum in the pool.) Frodo freaking out on Sam at whatever town they were at when the Nazgul were flying over? I just really didn't understand those deviations from the book.

As for the cartoon The Hobbit, it's been so long since I've seen it that I don't remember what happened.

Oh, a movie that was a pretty good adaptation of the book is Orwell's 1984. I think it followed the book very well.

Boroda · « **Reply #44 on:** April 23, 2003, 01:07:37 PM »

Starship Troopers is a great book, and the movie is not an illustration for it.

The movie is a nice parody, many many things look just as they want to laugh at spectators, curious if they will understand it. In fact they show an absolutely ill society, that lives under laws given by RAH. At least it looks like that to me.

That's just my HO

I enjoyed the book much more then the movie.