EVERYONE Has Read This but Me - The Catch-Up Book Club discussion

Name one book that was also a good movie.

Arrival by Ted Chiang

Pride and Prejudice - The 1995 miniseries
The Silence of the Lambs
The Godfather
Rebecca - the 1979 version made for TV
To Kill a Mockingbird
Misery
Dolores Claiborne
Hamlet (the Mel Gibson version)
Romeo and Juliet (the Zefferelli version)
Much Ado About Nothing (the Branagh version)

Coraline,
Jane Austen’s Northanger Abbey (2007)
Sense and Sensibility (the 1995 Emma Thompson version is my favorite but the more recent mini series is good too),
Dracula with Bela Lugosi,
The Witcher Netflix series,
Babe (the sheep pig)
The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe and Prince Caspian,
The Color Purple,
A Wrinkle In Time,
There are tons of adaptations of Emma, and they all have their good points.
Likewise, there’s tons of adaptations of Little Woman and most of them are good

Cheryl, I may be even bold enough to say that the movie was far, far better than the short story. The movie had better flow, narration, connection.

Thank you

The Green Mile

Another one is Elmore Leonard's "Get Shorty." For some reason before this Leonard's books never got their due on screen. He also wrote westerns that did a little better on screen, 3:10 to Yuma, Hombre, Valdez is Coming.

Jaws

Forrest Gump.

Movie = ☆☆☆☆☆
Book= -2☆'s

The Help by Kathryn Stockett

The time traveler’s wife

The Perks of Being a Wallflower. The tunnel scene always makes me cry, no matter if I read or watch it.

Sarah, Plain and Tall
The Shining Jack Nickerson version per my husband
Misery by Stephen King

All three of the films based on Stephen King’s Different Seasons novellas were good. (I don’t think anyone has ever made a film of the fourth.) Honestly, I think two of them—Stand by Me, and The Shawshank Redemption—were better than the novellas. Apt Pupil was also good, though not better.

From the top of my head, Lord of the Rings, Emma and Pride & Prejudice, Stardust, Coraline. And like others said above Arrival by Ted Chiang and Narnia. Incidentally, most of these are among my favourite movies ever, but only Jane Austen and Coraline are favourite books

Eni wrote: "From the top of my head, Lord of the Rings, Emma and Pride & Prejudice, Stardust, Coraline. And like others said above Arrival by Ted Chiang and Narnia. Incidentally, most of these are among my fav..."

Which versions of Jane Austen are you liking best?

Jan wrote: "Eni wrote: "From the top of my head, Lord of the Rings, Emma and Pride & Prejudice, Stardust, Coraline. And like others said above Arrival by Ted Chiang and Narnia. Incidentally, most of these are ..."

Oh I love Emma 2020. It's everything, though it is enhanced by having read the book for sure. I like how complete and faithful to the source the BBC miniseries is, but I didn't FEEL it as much and I prefer Anya Taylor Joy's version of Emma better. And 2005 Pride & Prejudice, of course.

Off the top of my head?

Sense and Sensibility

Double Indemnity

The Postman Always Rings Twice

The Big Sleep

In a Lonely Place

Laura

(Noir books translate really well to the screen)

A better question is when was a movie better than the book. That one is easy: Field of Dreams. The wife in the movie is amazing. The one in the book is a bloody drip. I'd kill myself if I were that much of a limp rag.

Barbara wrote: "...The Godfather..."


My only complaint with the Godfather was Al Pacino. The guy had only one facial expression for intense emotions. He looked the same seeing Apollonia for the first time as he did when he was telling that guy in Vegas "you get nothing," as when he was slamming the door in Kay's face.

Gorgeous man, but his range has sometimes been on the narrow side during his career.

The best performances in the Godfather films were Marlon Brando, Robert Duvall, and (surprisingly) James Caan in the first film, and in the second, DeNiro, DeNiro and, oh yeah, DeNiro. He simply dominates the sequel.

The film of The Talented Mr. Ripley was better than the book. I find the plotting in the film more complex, and more interesting. The characters and their relationships, as well. I’m ticking through them in my mind, and every single character is more interesting in the film. Ripley is more sympathetic, Dickie is a much fuller character, the triangular relationship among them & Marge is more interesting, etc. Philip Seymour Hoffman’s portrayal of Freddie Miles is one of the all-time great examples of a character actor at his peak. Then there are other characters who don’t—or barely—show up in the novel. Meredith Logue, Peter Smith-Kinsley. I assume they might be characters from later books in the series or something, but they do add quite a bit to the film.

I haven’t seen the original French film adaptation, Plein Soleil (Purple Noon), but since I know it has some of the same elements (not to mention Alain Delon), I suspect it might also beat the novel for me. Come to think of it, I will make an effort to watch it and see.

There are several: To Kill a Mockingbird, Pride and Prejudice, The Help, Gone with the Wind, Rebecca, The Grapes of Wrath, Little Women, Breakfast at Tiffany’s, One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest, and Silver Linings Playbook

The Perks of Being a Wallflower
The Outlander (season 1 as compared to the first book)