If you don't know the Top Ten Tuesday concept you must visit The Broke and the Bookish at http://www.brokeandbookish.blogspot.com/ It is a fantastic blog and they do this wonderful weekly meme called Top Ten Tuesday. This week we are counting down from tent to one of the best book-to-movie adaptions ever.
What a great theme!
10) Romeo + Juliet with Leonardo diCaprio and Clarie Danes. A fantastic modern adaption of the Shakespeare classic! It is adaptions such as this one that will make teenagers flock to read the masters.
9) Les Liasons Dangereuses/Dangerous Liaisons with Glenn Close, John Malkovitch and Michelle Pheiffer is an apation of the epistolary novel by Chloderlos de Laclos and it has the same sense of danger and flirtation as the book.
8) Shawshank Redemption is a classic – both the story by Stephen King and the movie is spectacular in their description of a man imprisoned on false charges.
7) The Talented Mr. Ripley starring Gwyneth Paltrow, Jude Law and Matt Damon is a bit of a feast. Not only is it visually delicious with beautiful scenes filmed in Italy but it also haves the same thrill and excitement as the book.
6) Sense and Sensibility won an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay and it was well-deserved! Emma Thompson and Kate Winslett make Elinor and Marianne come to life and the film does the book justice.
5) Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire managed to convey the sense of magic and boarding school drama that made the book so special. My favourite parts of the movie are the Yule Ball (especially when Hermione comes down the stairs) and
4) Trainspotting. One of the coolest movies from the 90’s, an absolute classic! The language and tone of the film is very close to the book.
3) Fight Club starring Brad Pitt and Edward Norton. With a cast like that it could hardly go wrong and it is a spectacularly cool movie! It has the same hard edge as the book and gave me the same kind of chills!
2) Towelhead. This adaption perfectly captures the fragility and sensitivity of the main charater, teenage girl Jasira while dealing with a string of difficult topics with a sense of humour but in a respectful way very much like the novel by Alice Erian.
1) Pride and Prejudice, the BBC mini-series featuring man-of-my-teenage-dreams Colin Firth. The scene with the lake and the clinging shirt. The scene with Mr. Collins' proposals. The opening scene with Mrs. Bennett. Fantastic! I rest my case.
Which ones are your favourite book-to-film adaptions?
I love the Baz Luhrmann Romeo and Juliet! Which may or may not have something to do with the young and beautiful Leonardo Dicaprio...
ReplyDeleteMy list is here :) http://devouringtexts.blogspot.com
Out of this whole wonderful list, I have only read AND watched the two Jane Austens. I must get to reading. And watching.
ReplyDeleteHere's my post: http://readerbuzz.blogspot.com/2011/02/top-ten-book-to-movie-adaptations.html
I always find the Leonardo Decaprio version hilarious -- it's so JARRINGLY funny to see people shooting at each other like a gangster flick, but shouting in 16th-century English!
ReplyDeleteLaura: you may have a point there ;-)
ReplyDeletesmellingcoffee: i didn't notice that - last time I saw it, I was 15 and completely crazy about Leo. But I think I will have to re-watch it and take notice.
Deb: You have a lot of good stuff waiting for you!
my favourite film is wings of desire wenders and that is partially based on a rilke poem ,all the best stu
ReplyDeleteI forgot about Romeo and Juliet- I enjoyed the modern adaptation with DiCaprio but I also loved the Franco Zeffirelli's 1960's version (it was the one we watched in school but had to get parental permission to watch, lol).
ReplyDeleteI haven't read the book, but the film version of "Shawshank Redemption" is perfect. And I could watch "Sense and Sensibility" all day. Excellent additions to your list!
ReplyDeleteI'm embarrassed to admit that I didn't realize until now that Shawshank Redemption was a Stephen King novel :/
ReplyDeleteI love the movie...now I'll have to get the book :)