My Top Five Novels-To-Films
-->Here is my current list of my top five books that have been adapted for film.
1. One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest
I made the effort to read the book before seeing the movie and I’m glad I did. The book is superior (in the way novels usually are) and certainly allows for greater detail and character development, but I loved the movie just as much.
2. High Fidelity
I saw the movie before I ended up reading the book, and I have to say both are great. As far as movie adaptations are concerned, this one really maintains the original essence of the book, despite changing the setting from the London, England area to Chicago, Illinois.
3. The Maltese Falcon
Another one where I saw the movie before reading the book. The book is a great read with lots of detail and plenty of action that kept me interested through the whole story. Humphrey Bogart’s interpretation of Detective Sam Spade in the movie was also top notch.
4. The Godfather
It’s not often that a novel and a movie are both considered classics. Needless to say this list would not be complete without The Godfather.
5. Planet of the Apes
Having recently finished the novel I decided to include Planet of the Apes in this list. I was reluctant at first, since the original movie and the book are so different. However, since I can appreciate them both for different reasons, I’ve decided to include it. One novel/film that didn’t make the top five but deserves being mentioned is About A Boy, since I liked boh the novel and the film. It would have made the top ten though.
There were also some books/films I did not include because while I liked the book, I didn’t care for the movie, such as Kiss The Girls by James Patterson. There are plenty of movies I like but don’t have equal appreciation for the novels they were based on: The Shining or The Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy, and several others.
There are plenty more novels/films where I’ve seen the movie but not read the book or vice versa, so there’s a good chance that this list could change in the future. In fact, as a result of putting this list together, I’ve added a few select books that were adapted to film to my wishlist.
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