You’ve probably heard it over and over. After seeing a movie that’s based on a book, a friend will say “If you liked the movie, the book is SO MUCH BETTER”. I’ve said it myself about some of the movies listed below. The following is a list of some of the best movies based on books. Some of the movies you may not have known were based on a book, and a lot of the movies ARE better than the book.
The following list does not include movies based on books that are non-fiction or movies based on comic books/graphic novels. They’re in alphabetical order except for the first one.
BEST MOVIE BASED ON A BOOK: “The Godfather” (1972)
Based on the book: (same name) (1969)
Of course, I need to start with my favorite movie(s) of all time. “The Godfather” movie takes the best parts of the book and removes a lot of the unneeded subplots. Then, “The Godfather Part 2” has a little bit from the book (such as the backstory of Vito Corleone) and adds so much more to the story than the book has.
“Blade Runner” (1982)
Based on the book: “Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?” (1968)
There are a ton of people who will argue if the recent Dune movies, or the Lord of the Rings movies, or the Harry Potter movies are better than the books or vice versa. For me, there’s no argument about this sci-fi/fantasy movie. The book is good, but the movie is much better. It’s also the favorite sci- fi movie according to an IMDB poll.
“Catch-22” & “M*A*S*H” (1970)
Based on the book: (same name) (1961).
Based on the book: “MASH: A Novel About Three Army Doctors” (1968)
There are a lot of movies based on books about war including “All Quiet on the Western Front”, “Black Hawk Down”, and “A Bridge Too Far”. Even “Saving Private Ryan” is based on some stories written by Stephen Ambrose. However, if you’re trying to make a comedy about war, the movie usually works better than the book. Both movies are prime examples. I put these two together because both movies came out in 1970 and they’re both dark comedies about war. “M*A*S*H” won the Academy Award for best adapted screenplay and “Catch-22” had a WGA nomination for the same category. In a way, the movies competed against each other when they were released. Now, the “MASH” movie is overshadowed by the hit television series and the “Catch-22” movie is overshadowed by the more popular book (I read the book in high school and didn’t even know there was a movie until years later). However, both movies are very good and very funny.
“Death on the Nile” (1978) & “Evil Under the Sun” (1982)
Based on the book: (same name) (1938)
Based on the book: (same name) (1941)
I am a HUGE Agatha Christie fan and I prefer the Hercule Poirot books. I believe I’ve read all of them. For the movies, Kenneth Branagh’s modern portrayal of Poirot is pretty good, Albert Finney in “Murder on the Orient Express” (1974) is exaggerated, and David Suchet who played Poirot in a few TV movies and shows is OK. The one that I think most closely resembles the Hercule Poirot I imagine when I read the books is Peter Ustinov in these two movies. He really makes the character come to life. He also played Poirot in a few TV movies and a movie that may have been released theatrically in 1988 called “Appointment with Death”, but these are two really good Agatha Christie murder mysteries that feature Ustinov and Poirot.
“Die Hard” (1988) & “Die Hard 2: Die Harder” 1990)
Based on the book: “Nothing Lasts Forever” (1979)
Based on the book: “58 Minutes” (1987)
Believe it or not, BOTH movies are based on SEPARATE BOOKS. “Die Hard” is based on a book originally titled “Nothing Lasts Forever” written by Roderick Thorp. The sequel “Die Hard 2” is based on a book originally titled “58 Minutes” written by Walter H Wagner. Both books are pretty good. I could definitely see why they used the story from the books to make the movies.
“Diggstown” (1992)
Based on the book “The Diggstown Ringers” (1978)
If you have never heard of this movie, I highly recommend it. It’s my favorite sports movie (boxing) based on a book. The story of con artist who bets another con artist that a boxer can beat 10 other boxers in a day (24 hours). The book is good, but the movie is better. I’d suggest seeing the movie first, so it won’t spoil the surprises in the movie.
“Fast Times at Ridgemont High” (1982)
Based on the book: “Fast Times at Ridgemont High: A True Story” (1981)
The book is a somewhat real and somewhat fictional story about when Cameron Crowe posed as a student for a year at Claremont High School in San Diego, Ca in the 70s (he looked younger than he really was). The movie is the first screenplay that Cameron Crowe ever wrote and the first movie that Amy Heckerling ever directed. The book is good, but the movie is one of the most popular teenage comedy movies and one of the first roles starring roles for actors Sean Penn, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Judge Reinhold, and Phoebe Cates.
“Full Metal Jacket” (1987)
Based on the book: “The Short Timers” (1979)
Believe it or not, almost all the movies Stanley Kubrick directed were based or inspired by books. “Eyes Wide Shut” was inspired by a book, “The Shining” is based on the Stephen King book, “Barry Lyndon” is based on a book, “A Clockwork Orange” is based on a book, “2001 A Space Odyssey” is supposedly based on short story by the screenplay co-writer Arthur C Clarke (although it’s uncredited in the movie), “Lolita” is based on a fairly famous book by Nabokov, “Spartacus” was based on a book, and “Full Metal Jacket” was based on a book. Of all the books that I’ve read, I liked “The Short Timers” but “Full Metal Jacket” is much better partly because – as a lot of people online are saying – the movie “…denies the spectator identification with a consistent point-of-view; rather, it establishes a serial, roaming identification that results in our panoramic point-of-view.”
“The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” (2009 – Swedish version)
Based on the book: (same name) (2008)
There have been a lot of popular book series made into movies including “The Hunger Games”, “Interview with a Vampire”, and “Fifty Shades of Grey”. This book is the only one I read (I haven’t finished the other books in the series yet – I started reading them but never finished) and I prefer this movie over the book.
NOTE: This is the Swedish version. The US version of the movie isn’t as good (in my opinion). Also, if you really love the book(s), in Sweden this movie is part of a miniseries “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo Trilogy”. The miniseries contains an extended version of this movie plus movie versions of the other two books in the trilogy. I’ve seen the extended version, but I personally prefer the first (shorter) version released in the U.S.
“Jaws” (1975)
Based on the book: (same name) (1974)
There are classic monster movies like “Dracula” and “Frankenstein” and more recent monster movies like “The Thing” and “Jurassic Park” that are all based on books, but my favorite is the one that scared hundreds of people from going to the beach for a while back in the 70s. Also, Steven Spielberg has directed a few other movies based on books (“Jurassic Park”, “Schindler List”, “Ready Player One”, Color Purple, etc.) but I think this is his best movie based on a book that I’ve read).
“Kiss Kiss Bang Bang” (2005)
Partly based on the book “Bodies Are Where You Find Them” (1941)
This one is a little unfair because the plotline of the book basically “inspired” PARTS of the plotline for the movie, so the storylines are VERY DIFFERENT, but this is one of my favorite comedies and the book is also a very good read.
Note: the book is part of a series of books called “The Mike Shayne Mysteries” so there’s a few things you might not understand if you don’t read the other books (I had to look up a couple things).
“L.A. Confidential” (1997)
Based on the book: (same name) (1990)
A lot of people prefer other crime movies that were based on books like “The Maltese Falcon” or “The Big Sleep”. However, James Ellroy is one of my favorite authors and I think this movie captured the spirit of his book really well. Also, this is one where you can see the movie or read the book first without ruining the other. The book has so many subplots that they can possibly make another movie based on the same book. Also, the book is part of the “L.A. Quartet” of books (“The Black Dahlia”, “The Big Nowhere”, “L.A. Confidential”, “White Jazz”) and some of the characters in the “L.A. Confidential” book are also in the 4th book. So – without spoiling anything – the last part of the movie is very different than the last part of the book.
“My Man Godfrey” (1936)
Based on the book: “1101 Park Avenue” (1935) – later renamed to “My Man Godfrey”
A couple years ago, I discovered that one of the funniest screwball comedies is based on a book. The book is funny, but you can’t really write a “screwball comedy” book so they’re funny in different ways.
“Out of Sight” (1998)
Based on the book: (same name) (1996)
There have been a few movies based on Elmore Leonard books including “Jackie Brown”, “Get Shorty”, and “Be Cool” (which is the sequel to “Get Shorty”). Some may disagree, but I think Stephen Soderbergh and screenwriter Scott Frank did better than Quentin Tarantino (who directed “Jackie Brown”) to make a movie from one of his books. Also, this is the ONLY Jennifer Lopez movie (so far) that I recommend. The character she plays – Karen Sisco – was also a TV series starring Carla Gugino. The TV series credits both Elmore Leonard and Scott Frank.
“The Pelican Brief” (1993)
Based on the book: (same name) (1992)
I’ve never been a fan of political books from authors such as John Grisham or James Patterson, but I saw this movie and really liked it, so I decided to read the book. The book is pretty good, but I liked the movie a lot better.
“The Player” (1992)
Based on the book: (same name) (1988)
I am a big fan of movies about the movie industry such as “Singin in the Rain”, “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”, “Sunset Blvd” and several others. A few of them – such as “The Stunt Man”, “Get Shorty”, and this movie – are based on books. Of all of them this, this is the best. The book (which I just learned has a sequel book) is good but the movie is better.
Full disclosure: I’m slightly biased because a scene in this movie was filmed on the street I grew up on. You can see my parents’ house in the background of one shot on the street June Gudmudsdottir (Greta Scacchi) lives.
“The Princess Bride” (1987)
Based on the book: (same name) (1973)
The book is very good and very funny, but the movie brings the characters in the book to life in the best way possible. That’s why it’s one of the most popular comedy movies ever. Director Rob Reiner has directed other movies based on books (“Misery”, “Stand By Me”) but I think this is the best one he directed.
“Psycho” (1960) & “Rear Window (1954)
Based on the book: (same name) (1959)
Based on the short story: “It Had to Be Murder” (1942) – later renamed “Rear Window”
For movies that Alfred Hitchcock directed that were based on books, I think “Psycho” and “Rear Window” are tied. One for horror and the other for mystery. There are other notable horror books made into movies (“Silence of the Lambs”, “The Shining”, “The Exorcist”, etc.) but I think the best is still one of the first – “Psycho”. The book is pretty creepy. In fact, Alfred Hitchcock had someone purchase all the copies of the book right before the movie was released so it wouldn’t spoil the movie. However, the movie is even creepier. There are also other mystery books based on movies. Other than the movies from Agatha Christie books (a couple of which are also on this list), this is one of the best mystery movies based on a book.
Note: I recommend the book “Rear Window and Other Murderous Tales” because it has this short story and a few others that are also good.
“The Shawshank Redemption” (1994)
Based on the novella: “Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption” (1982)
I had a really hard time picking my favorite movie based on a Stephen King book. Practically every book he’s written has been made into a movie or a TV show – some of them more than once. There are some that I didn’t like the movie, some that I didn’t like the book or the movie, and some books I haven’t read. In the end I picked this one because they turned a somewhat short story into a full-length movie that is much better.
Close runner up is “Stand By Me” (1986) based on the novella “The Body” (1982).
“Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy” (2011)
Based on the book: (same name) (1974)
I’m a fan of the spy movies such as the Jack Ryan movies based on Tom Clancy books, the James Bond movies based on Ian Fleming books, and the Jason Bourne movies based on Robert Ludlum books, but I haven’t read any of the books except this one. This is the only movie I liked so much that I read the book after seeing the movie. The book is good but the actors such as Gary Oldman, Colin Firth, Tom Hardy, Benedict Cumberbatch, and others make the story come to life in the movie.
“Who Framed Roger Rabbit” (1988)
Based on the book: “Who Censored Roger Rabbit” (1981)
Arguably the best animated movie based on a book ever made, except that it’s not completely animated. They took a pretty good story from the book and then made it into a great movie where real people and animated people realistically live together. Much better than the other movies director Robert Zemeckis made based on books like “Forrest Gump”, “The Polar Express”, or (one of the versions of) “A Christmas Carol”.
“Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory” (1971)
Based on the book: “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” (1964)
There are several family movies including “Wizard of Oz”, “Oliver Twist”, and “A Christmas Carol” which have been made into movies or TV movies several times, but I think the best is the original “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory” which really brings the book to life. Roald Dahl, the writer of the book, wrote the script for the movie and even helped get the movie made.
Honorable Mention:
As I was writing this, I discovered that the movie “The Sting” (1973) was partly based on the book “The Big Con: The Story of the Confidence Man” (1940). I’m a big fan of the movie so I plan on reading the book soon. The movie may be added to this list after I read it.
There are quite a few movies that aren’t on this list including “Grapes of Wrath” (1940), “Gone With the Wind” (1939), “Breakfast and Tiffany’s” (1961), or “To Kill a Mockingbird” (1962) because I haven’t seen the movie and/or haven’t read the book. I’m sure at least some of them would be on the list if I had time to read the book and/or see the movie.
LOS ANGELES FILM REVIEW 