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Author Topic: Top 5 Books that should be movies  (Read 21998 times)

Katebo

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Top 5 Books that should be movies
« Reply #10 on: August 25, 2006, 12:00:26 AM »
Boy's Life by Robert McCammon

Anyone read it? I had to for hs several years back and loved it- read the 600+ page book in one day, in one sitting. Couldn't put it down. It starts out a fairly typical last-summer-of-innocence/childhood-type story, then takes a turn when the main character witnesses the afteraffects of a brutal murder. I especially love the way the author deals with magic as a part of childhood and innocence and the sense of wonder he gives even the most simple game of baseball. It's good stuff.

wilson1290

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Top 5 Books that should be movies
« Reply #11 on: August 25, 2006, 08:02:42 PM »
Quote from: "CSSCHNEIDER"
wilson1290,

I've read The Things They Carried.  Its a facinating book, one I think could make a good miniseries as there are scenes in this that could make hour long episodes in themselves.  Also, the book has something that might work against it in that some of it reads almost like stream of consiousness.  If done say by Terrance Malick you might have a winner.


The problem with The Things They Carried is that in making it into a movie I feel like the whole trippy what's real, what's not part of the novel would be lost, but even if it was just the narrative parts of the book were taken it would be one awesome war film. I agree that Malick would do justice to the novel, I also have this weird feeling that Clint Eastwood could do great with it. I read somewhere that Speilberg had planned on making it into a film before reading the script for Saving Private Ryan. I cant see him doing a faithful version of the book, part of the impact is the fact that O'Brien is so blunt in his descriptions, Speilberg I feel would sugercoat the film too much (Even Private Ryan had those two "Veteran visits gravesite" bookends to glaze over the gore)
And so we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past."

wilson1290

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Top 5 Books that should be movies
« Reply #12 on: August 25, 2006, 08:09:36 PM »
Quote from: "circuitsnake"
I dunno. I mean this seems like a book review top 5 not a film review top 5.


Not neccissarily, there are some great books like The Catcher In The Rye and the works of Faulkner that wouldnt work as films because much of what we love of the books have to do with the narrarator.

By the way CSSCHNEIDER good call on The Island, I hadnt heard of it until a couple months ago when one of my students told me about it when I mentioned Hatchet. Its definately a great book but so much of it is internal, I wonder what director would ever want to tackle it.
And so we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past."

MagnusFromBerlin

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Top 5 Books that should be movies
« Reply #13 on: August 28, 2006, 01:46:14 PM »
Quote
Not neccissarily, there are some great books like The Catcher In The Rye and the works of Faulkner that wouldnt work as films because much of what we love of the books have to do with the narrarator.

which brings us to our next top 5: "Good Books That Shouldn't Be Movies"

CSSCHNEIDER

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Top 5 Books that should be movies
« Reply #14 on: August 28, 2006, 04:35:41 PM »
wilson1290,
When I was reading it again I was struck by how internal the main character's struggle was.  But thankfully he is given a lot of external material to do as he tries to feel his way through the struggle.  Namely painting, drawing, and "dance".  Most of the storytelling on the island would have to be done with very firm and beautiful camera work.  

And not to be biased to my current home, but if I were to make it, I'd shoot it here in North Carolina.
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Dave

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Top 5 Books that should be movies
« Reply #15 on: August 28, 2006, 05:31:22 PM »
Books that should be movies... Hmmmkay, after years and years of reading I have given up on literature, and have currently limited myself to pulp, pulp science fiction if possible. I'm a sucker for the cheap thrills, outworldish storylines and cheezy characters. Most of what I read now would not translate very well on the big screen.

So after long thought, here's my list:

- The Historian (Elizabeth Kostova) (Movie rights sold.)
- Snow Crash (Neil Stephenson)
- The Traveller (John Twelve Hawks) (Movie rights sold.)
- The Divine Comedy (Dante) (Has already been filmed/referenced, but I would love to see a more recent (and decent) adaptation.)
- Storm (Martin van Lodewijk/Don Lawrence) (Comic book series, mainly popular in The Netherlands and the UK.)

Kind regards,

Dave
(The Netherlands)

wilson1290

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Top 5 Books that should be movies
« Reply #16 on: August 29, 2006, 12:17:47 AM »
Quote from: "wilson1290"


Not neccissarily, there are some great books like The Catcher In The Rye and the works of Faulkner that wouldnt work as films because much of what we love of the books have to do with the narrarator.


By the way can I call myself out on spelling necessarily wrong, Im pretty sure thats grounds for getting my B.A. revoked
And so we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past."

Oskar

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Top 5 Books that should be movies
« Reply #17 on: August 29, 2006, 07:47:55 AM »
Quote from: "MagnusFromBerlin"
2. Philip K. Dick - Valis
with all the K Dick movies out, i wonder why noone ever tried this one... you could mix this perfectly with a Philip K. Dick biography on another level of the film...


This is one of my favourite books of all time, but I don't think that it could be made into a good movie. It's so focused on the text itself (how would you incorporate the excerpt from Exegesis, for instance), and on Dick's own personal descent into madness. It would be like trying to make Ulysses into film, you can do it (as proven by the 1967 movie), but you lose so much in translation. It just wouldn't be the same thing.

A book that would become a great film however is Dick's Ubik. Just imagine David Lynch behind the wheel of that puppy, I mean my god, Mullholland Drive would look downright linear in comparison!

JoshuaOst

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Top 5 Books that should be movies
« Reply #18 on: August 29, 2006, 03:13:26 PM »
I seriously want the book "The Toy Collector" to be turned into a movie although I know it won't because the author won't sell the rights.
So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past."
-F. Scott Fitzgerald

csymeonides

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One Hundred Years Of Solitude
« Reply #19 on: September 04, 2006, 07:41:34 AM »
One Hundred Years Of Solitude... that could be a truly great film. I'm not sure who could pull it off though. First of all it would have to be 3 hours long, and even then the adaptation would have to be super-tight. I'd hate it if they decided to focus on just one character instead of following all the different stories (and they're all interesting). The director has to be someone with true vision, an eye for the surreal, and the ability to do an epic... If it was my decision I'm not sure I could trust anyone with it!!!