What books have been butchered in movie form?

[Godhumor]

Butchered being the key work here--not just making some changes--it has to be something just hideous when compared with the book.

Let's see, there was the 1930 version of "Moby Dick" that had next to nothing to do with the book and ended with Ahab killing the whale and returning to his beloved.

There's the God awful Demi Moore "The Scarlet Letter" with a happy ending.

I still can't forgive Hollywood for what they did to "Starship Troopers" either. That one still hurts.

[cobalt1999]

1. All of them.

[quip]

15. No! Redford's The Natural was waaaay better than the book! n/t

[fishwax]

41. yet another one changed to a happy ending for hollywood

I like the book better :)

[GoddessOfGuinness]

60. I'm with you...

I thought the book sucked.

[porphyrian]

2. All of them?

Wait, what's wrong with Starship Troopers?

[Dr. Strange]

3. Starship Troopers tops the list.

It was wrong, so wrong.

[Godhumor]

6. I don't even know why they bothered keeping the name

I could have accepted the movie if they pretended it was in no way associated with the book, but no...

Sigh.

God help me if they ever make a movie adaption of "The Forever War".

[AllegroRondo]

105. Gods, yes, that was my first thought too.

"The Puppet Masters" turned out pretty awful as well.

[flvegan]

4. "Children of the Corn" by Stephen King

WTF was that movie doing?

"Outlander!!!!"

I wish He Who Walks Behind the Rows kicked the shit out of that Malachi.

[JVS]

89. That movie was teh RoXXorZ!

[PassingFair]

5. D-U-N-E n/t

[Godhumor]

7. Oh lord, I forgot that stinker

That was such an odd mishmash of stuff from the book while still completely missing the point. Yuck.

[DarkTirade]

30. The really bad opening narration lets you know ahead of time what's coming though...

"Oh, and by the way, the spice is necessary for faster than light travel." :)

[QueenOfCalifornia]

47. You mean the longest

narration ever stuck at the beginning of anything? I was PISSED off at that nightmare... after about 10 minutes I was almost in tears...

[Mayberry Machiavelli]

27. What, you didn't enjoy the David Lynch freakshow version of one of the great sci-fi epics ever?

Actually I like David Lynch freakshows, myself, but not when they are supposed to depict one of my favorite books ever, that is not anything like what was filmed.

[TZ]

33. That was the FIRST one that popped in my head

Oy was that bad..should have known when they handed out info FLYERS before the movie "to clear up the background story".:eyes:

[PassingFair]

34. My husband was watching it last night while I was typing....

I could hear the "narration", and I chuckled when I saw the thread title.

Dino DeLaurentis fucks up EVERYTHING he touches.
For instance, read this, it will BREAK YOUR HEART:

http://www.duneinfo.com/unseen/giger.asp

[TZ]

36. AHHHHHHH!!!

Why does hollywood feel the need to try to do this again?! GEEZ....they never learned..although..I didn't mind the SF miniseries Dune and Children of Dune. But the novel just DOES NOT translate into a good 2-3 hour movie.....:banghead:

[Paladin]

70. It's Pretty Vile, Alright

Somebody help me with this---what was the final line of the movie, spoken by that pipsqueak woman/child? I've viewed it a couple of times, but her shrill voice and poor enuncuiation make it impossible to understand.

Not that it's any big deal.....

[nuxvomica]

82. "He *is* the Kwisatz Haderach!" IIRC

I actually liked the David Lynch version except for the ending which took some liberties. I think I was just very grateful that the film was finally made and that the worms turned out pretty cool.

[Paladin]

86. Jeez, No WONDER I Didn't Understand it!

Thanks.....

[swag]

8. Lolita (twice)

[Lydia Leftcoast]

19. I remember reading a review of the 1960s film of "Lolita"

All it said was, "This film has nothing to do with any book by Vladimir Nabokov."

[swag]

9. "Crash" by JG Ballard

[swag]

10. "Naked Lunch" by William Burroughs

[asthmaticeog]

103. GOD, yes, that was such a shitlousy film.

I left the cinema pretty angry that day.

[GRLMGC]

11. There was a 1940s version of The Great Gatsby

There's a scene where Myrtle gets hit by a car that's so shitty looking. I need to track that movie down.

[Broken_Hero]

12. Dreamcatcher, by S. King

the movie was...

:puke:

[ironflange]

29. I haven't seen the movie

Did it include the business with the bacon? If so, then :puke: is very appropriate.

[Broken_Hero]

85. No they left the bacon/mayo

part out of it(I actually thought it was funny ) :D

[Adsos Letter]

13. "The Day of the Jackal" by Forsythe

The movie wasn't horrible, but the book was way better.

[Paladin]

73. You're Talking About The Bruce Willis Version, Right?

Not the original, directed by Fred Zinneman, which is very highly thought of and is one of my favorites (and yes, I have read the book)......

[WinkyDink]

83. What?! Edward Fox was BRILLIANT in a BRILLIANT movie!

And I've read the book at least twenty times.

[Tyler Durden]

14. Hannibal.

Turned me off Ridley Scott FOREVER. How he could direct what they did to the book is beyond me.

The movie itself is not bad, just grossly off from the book.

[QueenOfCalifornia]

48. Ack!

I didn't see your post when I posted below...

It was the biggest stinker of a movie adaptation of a book that has ever been done... IMHO

[Tyler Durden]

66. BOY do WE grok.

Talk about perverting main characters and diverting the entire thrust of the last 1/3 of the film!

[QueenOfCalifornia]

79. Correct.

In Thomas Harris's masterpiece, the last part of the book was MAGICAL. How did Ridley Scott ever come up with such a horrible screenplay? It makes me oh...so...MAD.

[Tyler Durden]

81. Starling at the end is reduced from complexity to a COP.

And what's WORSE, Scott's Hannibal RESPECTS her for it!!

[QueenOfCalifornia]

87. Hannibal

would have never cut off his own anything... Much less his hand. Considering that in the book Hannibal is nowhere near being captured why did Ridley Scott decide to have him handcuffed to a refrigerator???? To make sure that the bad guy learns a lesson?

The book is so much more satisfying. Starling and Hannibal balance each other.... peace... and no more human liver with fava beans.

[Tyler Durden]

101. And poor Barney...

Wouldn't you have LOVED to see him in the scene at that Opera?

And Margot Verger. The loss of her character was enough that if I had been a studio head, I wouldn't care WHAT Scott had done in the past...he wouldn't be doing anything for ME in the future.

Hack.

[pokerfan]

16. Spielbergs' War of the Worlds

Also The Time Machine by Simon Wells.

Poor H.G. must be turning about 7200 RPM.

[Pale Blue Dot]

17. Actually Speilberg's version was less a butchering than the original 1956 version.

nt

[pokerfan]

18. while that's true, it was still craptacular

A great book deserves and equally great film, or no film at all.

[BlueIris]

20. "The Scarlet Letter" (via the Demi Moore version).

"Freely adapted from the novel by Nathaniel Hawthorne."

It was basically made to showcase the "hot" sex between Moore and Gary Oldman. Everything else was filler which bore only the vaguest resemblance to the plot of the novel.

[cathandler]

88. Demi Moore said she didn't care that she'd butchered the story

because people didn't read it anyway! Ack!

[XemaSab]

21. I know the answer to this one.

"The Haunting."

[Liberal Veteran]

22. I, Robot

Not even close.

[DarkTirade]

32. Considering that I, Robot the book was a collection of short stories if I remember correctly...

yeah, just wondering why they even kept the name. Even more nowhere-near-the-book than Starship Troopers was.

[haf216]

23. The Weight of Water by Anita Shreve

Cut out a major charater, I could not watch more than 5 minutes.

[billyoc]

24. Jurassic Park

Spielberg bunk-humpery at its worst. :puke:

[mvccd1000]

25. Everything by Stephen King

With the exception of "Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption," which turned out to be one of the greatest movies of all time, and remained very true to the book. (I think it did, anyway; it's been decades since I read the book.)

[Mayberry Machiavelli]

26. No, "Stand By Me" is a good rendition of "The Body" by King. "Carrie" is also pretty good, IMHO. But

almost everything else of his, including "The Shining", was butchered.

Actually I thought that "Apt Pupil" improved the story slightly since the ending was less "out of control".

Most of his stuff was made by hack directors/actors on a lowish budget by studios just trying to cash in on the horror craze of the 80s.

[FloridaJudy]

43. The original film of "The Dead Zone" was good as well

The 1989 Cronenburg movie was one of the best adaptations of a King work I've seen. People tend to overlook it, since it wasn't a big budget blockbuster. Martin Sheen was unforgettable as the creepy Presidential candidate from hell, and Walken shone as a modern day tragic hero.

[krispos42]

92. Martin Sheen's character makes me think of Bush.

Scary, isn't it?

[FloridaJudy]

107. Both actors were playing *against* type

Walken usually plays the creepy villain, and Sheen is usually the hero. Sheen's character reminds me more of Cheney: Bu$h just isn't that bright.

[mvccd1000]

50. Forgot that one. Didn't "Four Seasons" include...

Shawshank, The Body, and Apt Pupil (along with one other)? If so, he really knocked one out of the ball park with that book.

[Mayberry Machiavelli]

64. Yeah it's a great book. The last story was written in the manner of Peter Straub's "Ghost Story" and

ironically, was the only story with supernatural elements and is easily the weakest of the bunch (evidence: I can't even remember the name).

[FloridaJudy]

95. That was the one in which "natural childbirth"

Was carried about as far as you could go. I think it was called "The Breathing Method" or something similar.

[QueenOfCalifornia]

49. Did you miss

Misery?

because it was a damned good movie.

[mvccd1000]

51. Yeah, I guess that one didn't fall all the way to the category of butchered.

He's just such a master of characterization that it's extremely difficult to capture all of the thought and emotion experienced by the characters in his books on the big screen. The movie would have to be 20 hours long instead of two.

Most of his "short stories" or novellas would probably be a lot easier to translate to film.

[jeff30997]

52. Lawnmower man

It have absolutely nothing to do with King's story.Except the title of course.

[krispos42]

93. God help us if they try to do The Dark Tower series

I have the cast picked out in my head, but it would be like 100 hours of film to get it all done.

Viggo Mortenson as Roland, Halle Berry as Suzannah, Topher Grace as Eddie.

[SmokingJacket]

72. I like all the movies better.

:hide:

[skygazer]

28. Gone With the Wind

I know there are people who think it's the greatest movie on earth but I think it sucks and doesn't even remotely resemble the book.

[terrya]

31. "Bonfire of the Vanities"

I'm not a huge fan of the book...but I did like it. But Brian DePalma turned the book into a cinematic abortion. A truly legendary horror film (different definition of the word "horror", of course)

[femmocrat]

90. My choice too!

The actors were all terribly mis-cast. It was a travesty!

[yurbud]

100. just about every casting choice and story change was tone deaf and neutered the story

[MorningGlow]

35. The Black Cauldron

Lloyd Alexander's Chronicles of Prydain (five-book set) are a great YA introduction to Welsh mythology, but the movie of the second book (animated, no less!) was a MESS. :(

[catmandu57]

37. Even Cowgirls get the Blues

was horribly mis figured then hacked and sacked, thankfully it died a quick death, I'm not even sure it made it to video. There was talk of making a Freak Brothers movie, I don't think that ever happened, that would have been sacrilege.
I'd say just about every movie adapted from a book has been butchered to an extent, even the recent Lord of the Rings was hacked up.

[yellowdogintexas]

38. Too many to count nt

[SallyMander]

39. The Power of One

One of the best books i've ever read -- ever!!!

And a truly terrible movie.

[krispos42]

40. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

a couple of years ago.

Ouch.

[Godhumor]

44. I know each version is supposed to be different

But the movie really seemed to take massive liberty with the rather solid source stories. There were certainly a lot more changes than I was expecting.

[krispos42]

45. The BBC series from I-don't-know-how-many decades ago was good

The 2005 version sucked like a singularity.

[FloridaJudy]

96. "Sucked like a singularity"

:spray: :rofl:

That was wonderful. I intend to steal it.

[krispos42]

97. Go ahead...

...I stole it from some sci-fi book I can't remember now.

Hmmmm... where DID I get that from?

Probably Niven.

[Dystopian]

42. The Grapes of Wrath

Read it three times in my life, and I don't know why. A few years ago got excited to see the movie on TV...it was terrible. I've never seen a movie that could even compare to the book...

peace~

[alphafemale]

56. Henry Fonda's Tom Joad?

You didn't like this?

It is one of my favorites.

[Felix Mala]

106. Seabiscuit, Slapstick

The movie was a cartoon version of the book. Since they telegraphed the ending way in advance there was no doubt he was going to win the BIG race. The three main characters were far more complex in the book. The trainer character looked like he was lifted out of The Horse Whisperer. I like Bill Macy as an actor, but his character turned an elegant story about a horse racing into a clown act.

Slapstick is so bad, they actually gave up on the book altogether half way through the movie. The only decent films of Vonnegut novels are Slaughterhouse-5 and Mother Night. Breakfast of Champions wasn't too bad, except the Kilgore Trout character was very two dimensional -- a benign loon.

If Confederacy of Dunces ever gets to the screen, they'll do the same thing to Ignatius J. Reilly, make him into scampish crazy person.

[QueenOfCalifornia]

46. Hannibal

One of the best books ever and the worst crapstink in movie form...EVER. When Jodi Foster read the script she said... No... Never... No way.
The movie resembled the book for about 10 minutes. The rest? Pure shit.
Read the book. I promise it is amazing.

[Tyler Durden]

67. BOY we really DO agree!

Thomas is a first class wordsmith. Why he approved that screenplay I'll never know.

Hannibal Rising was OK, though.

[cuke]

53. Farenheit 451

Oh wait!...They burned books in that one, right?

Stupid! :banghead: Stupid! :banghead: Stupid! :banghead: Stupid! :banghead: Stupid! :banghead: Stupid! :banghead: Stupid! :banghead: Stupid! :banghead: Stupid!

[jeff30997]

54. Fahrenheit 9-11

The guy who made the movie obviously never read the book.

[cuke]

57. Or saw the movie

Oh wait!...wrong temperature

Stupid! :banghead: Stupid! :banghead: Stupid! :banghead: Stupid! :banghead: Stupid! :banghead: Stupid! :banghead: Stupid! :banghead: Stupid! :banghead: Stupid!

[jeff30997]

58. Lol! Stop being so hard on yourself !

Oh wait!...I was supposed to post that in the Paris Hilton thread.

Stupid! :banghead: Stupid! :banghead: Stupid! :banghead: Stupid! :banghead: Stupid! :banghead: Stupid! :banghead: Stupid! :banghead: Stupid! :banghead: Stupid!

[cuke]

59. In that case

I should head on over there so I can read it

[YankeyMCC]

61. "Enemy Mine"

I saw the movie first and only a few years ago found the book, actually one of a trilogy of novellas, that is based on (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enemy_Mine).

The trilogy is just outstanding and technically the movie completely butchers the story. However, I do still like the movie and there is some remaining kernel of the spirit of the books.

[InvisibleTouch]

74. That's one where I would say...

...the book and movie were equally good, just in different ways.

[Fox Mulder]

55. Queen of the Damned was horrible.

Although the soundtrack was pretty decent.

[Perry Logan]

62. In fairness, some of these books deserve to be butchered.

[begin_within]

63. "One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest" is a hatchet job on one of the best novels of the 20th century

They completely ignored the fact that the entire book is an allegory, where and the hospital and Nurse Ratched represent the Establishment, with the full power of authority, and McMurphy represents the individual who only has his own indomitable will. There is no mention of "the Combine" in the movie. They reduce Chief Broom to an "extra" in the movie, while he is the narrator of the book, and his progress from paranoid schizophrenic at the beginning to full sanity and freedom at the end, is another major theme of the book, and is evident by the words he uses to tell the story. Ken Kesey, the author of the book, hated the movie version and stated that Nicholson's portrayal was not like what he intended the character to be.

[SacredCow]

104. Agreed....

I saw the movie long before I read the book, so initially I found it entertaining though not very thought-provoking. After reading the book, however, it would seem that they share the title and a few character names, but that's about it. SO much of the meaning was lost.

[Sweet Freedom]

65. Ghost Story and Wolfen /nt

[Paladin]

69. "Ghost Story," Without A Doubt

Far and away the scariest book I ever read, translated into a clunky, low-rent stinker of a movie. And what an absolute sin, that those four legendary old actors should end their careers in such a fashion.....

[mitchum]

68. "Last Exit To Brooklyn" was a horrible adaptation of a brilliant novel

[lightningandsnow]

71. Fried Green Tomatoes

OK, it was actually a good movie on its own. But I really hate how they "de-gayed" it so they wouldn't scare the straight people by making a movie about *gasp* lesbians.

[alphafemale]

98. I don't know, I picked up that it was a lesbian relationship and I'd never read the book.

:shrug:

I am pretty good at picking up on nuances though.

[Rhiannon12866]

75. Fried Green Tomatoes.

Loved the book, read it more than once, but then saw the movie (with nuxvomica) and he wanted to walk out, it changed the book so unforgivably. I would have joined him. The thing that we didn't understand was that Fannie Flagg, who wrote the book, was consulted on the movie and even appeared in it...:shrug:

[philosophie_en_rose]

76. The Dark is Rising

I haven't even read the book, but the movie was just so damned awful.

[MilesColtrane]

77. "The League of Extrordinary Gentlemen"

It was a clunky, fetid piece of bad CGI driven Hollywood garbage.

Actually, trying to adapt any of Alan Moore's work for the screen is a suckers bet.

"V for Vendetta" was a nice try, but it ultimately left me cold compared to the book.

I have no hope for the upcoming "Watchmen" movie.

[Godhumor]

80. But but "Watchmen" is being directed by the "300" guy!

How can anything possibly go wrong with that?

[EstimatedProphet]

78. Nightfall - twice

I think both went directly to video too. And there was real talent in the productions too. John Hurt was in the first one. Unfortunately, the idiot screenwriters never understood the point of the story.

[WinkyDink]

84. EITHER version of "Casino Royale".

[Tanuki]

91. Zora Neal Hurston's incomparable "Their Eyes Were Watching God"

was turned into a made-for-tv movie that was so forgettable, even with Halle Berry in the lead role, that it might as well have been based on a mediocre romance novel. Hurston's descriptive language and narrative gift were what were missing.

[AZBlue]

94. The Firm.

The book was so much better.

[yurbud]

99. the TEN COMMANDMENTS. the book is out of print now, but I think it had a different ending

[raccoon]

102. The Sound and the Fury. Nothing like the book. nt

[Taverner]

108. Queen of the Damned by Anne Rice

The movie sucked shite big time