Saturday, January 22, 2011

Books to movies - with reader participation!

At work we are finishing up preliminary program planning for the spring. It’s also getting closer to February, so I am looking at which films I want to show during my two scheduled movie programs. This all has me thinking about books that have been adapted into movies. The list of them is extensive. Some have been very well done. Others…well, not so much.

When I see that a book I enjoyed is being turned into a movie, I go through a myriad of emotions, mostly a heavy mixture of two: Joy (another way to enjoy this book!) and Worry (will the writers/directors/actors/editors/etc. screw it up?).

An example: Where the Wild Things Are. This is one of my absolute favorite children’s books. The trailers for the movie looked fantastic. I couldn’t wait to see it. But I was worried, as well. What would they do to this beloved tale in order to make it long enough for a full feature length film? I was very upset with the film version of the story.

Then there is the 1992 version of John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men, starring John Malkovich and Gary Sinise. I had to read the novel for school around the same time that the movie was released on video, so of course I watched the film after reading the book. Not only did it star two wonderful actors, but the film version is spot on.

There are countless examples of film adaptations of books. What are some of your favorites? Which ones were you most disappointed about after watching?

No comments: