movies following the book - or not

[John McFetridge]

Sometimes the movie adaptation follows the book very closely and sometimes the movie is completely different.

Does it matter?

Anyone have any examples of movies that followed the book closely and were good because of it or any examples of movies that were very different from the books and still very good?

[Dana King]

THE MALTESE FALCON is almost word for word from the book and it works perfectly. The one exception that comes to mind is when Spade lies about Wilmer Cook waiting outside in the book, as a way to con Brigid to spend the night. The Hays Office would never stand for that in the movies.

JAWS is a much better movie than book. The book has a unnecessary love affair between the ichthyologist and the chief's wife that stops the story dead every time it comes up. Benchley has to kill him off to get out of it. The movie's pace is better, and the plotting is much more elegant. THE GODFATHER also benefits from some judivious cutting of the Las Vegas subplot.

GET SHORTY was so well done I never realized how much the movie differed from the book until I read it and watched it back to back. A wonderful example of how a movie can to true to the spirit of a book without slavish adherence to the letter.

[Debbi Mack]

In THE MALTESE FALCON, another big deviation from the book was the omission of the story of Flitcraft--you know, the story Spade tells Brigid (I think) about a guy walking down the street, who nearly gets hit with a falling beam and the consequences of his close call.

Nice parable, but not terribly cinematic in the telling. And not something that would move the story forward as each scene in a script is supposed to.

[Jude Hardin]

I thouht the film adaptation of Mystic River was great, and very much true to the novel. The Color of Money was a pretty good film, but the only resemblance to Walter Tevis's novel was the characters' names.

[Dana King]

THE COLOR OF MONEY was a sequel, picking up Fast Eddie's story thirty years later. THE HUSTLER was a great movie, and held pretty close to the book, though I'll admit it's been over thirty years since I read the book. It certainly holds true to the spirit, if not each particular.

[Jon Loomis]

I took my first college creative writing class with Walter Tevis back in 1977 or '78, at Ohio University. He probably would have taught me a thing or two, had I not been so distracted by the intensely cute girl who always sat next to me.

[Jude Hardin]

Very cool, Jon! I've only read The Hustler and The Color of Money, but I really like his style.

[Jude Hardin]

The novel was also a sequel, Dana, but the story lines were completely different.

[Dana King]

Thanks, Jude. I wasn't aware of that. I'll have to look for it.

[Jack Getze]

Anybody besides me ever see Mr. Majestyk, the movie they made from Leonard's book of the same name? Charles Bronson played the Vietnam vet trying to raise watermelons in the southwest and pissing off the mob-run union. I thought they a good job of doing Elmore's book with that one. I still love to watch it when it comes on.

[John McFetridge]

The best ever pick-up truck chase.

And Charles Bronson wasn't anything like the character in the book, but he worked well in the movie.