Greetings, reader!
My friend Inari recently suggested this: a list of the worst book-to-film adaptations (which I did last week), and a list of the best ones. Here are some of the groundrules for how this double list works:
1. These are ranked based on how good they are as adaptations, and not as overall movies. Of course, this is often a gray area - being a good adaptation is about more than 100-percent plot loyalty, so this week's list does feature some films where quite a lot has been changed - as long as the changes are well-reasoned and in the spirit of the book. Similarly, last week's list had some instances where the film is actually very good overall, but still a poor adaptation.
2. It should go without saying, but I'll say it anyway: I've had to have read the book in order for the movie to qualify. There are many great films that I've seen that I know to be based on a book, and with many of them I've heard that they're loyal to the source material - but I can't be the judge of that unless the book is familiar to me.
3. Movies based on plays do generally qualify, especially if it's an older play so that they're clearly adapting the text, much like you'd do with a book adaptation, and not a whole live stage production. Musicals are a gray area, but I ended up excluding them, because movies based on Broadway musicals are never just adaptations of the text but also of the visual side of the stage production. Movies like 2012's Les Miserables, that are based on stage musicals that are based on books, were a grey area, but I ended up excluding them as well.
4. There are plenty of great TV shows based on books, but I decided to limit these lists to movies. Maybe I'll make a separate list of the worst and best book-to-television adaptations some day!
5. When a whole movie series is based on a book or a series of books, it can qualify as the whole series or as individual part depending on how my opinion of the adaptations fits these lists. Essentially, if the movie series is consistently good or bad as an adaptation, it will be counted as a whole for one of the lists, but if the series contains a film that is particularly well-adapted and one that is particularly ill-adapted, both individuals can qualify for their respective lists.
6. As is tradition with my lists, I attempted to look at these adaptations from every possible viewpoint, with each adaptation's specific ranking containing a sum of the good and bad parts. For example, the Hobbit trilogy won't be on either list, because there are elements that are so well-adapted that it didn't quite warrant a placement on last week's list, but there are also elements so overkill that it didn't make it to today's one either.
7. And finally, I limited these lists to adaptations that are at least somewhat conventional: for example, 10 Things I Hate About You is in many ways one of the coolest and most genius book adaptations out there, but it's so unconventional (because that's the point) that it's pretty impossible to compare to other, more conventional adaptations for the purposes of this list.
Without further ado, these are my favorite book-to-movie adaptations of all time!
Here are my honorable mentions: Pet Sematary (1989), The Green Mile (1999), Memento (2000), The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (2005), The Tragedy of Macbeth (2021).
15. Misery (1990)
Okay, I'll adress it right out the gate - there's going to be a lot of Stephen King on today's list. Not only is he one of my all-time favorite writers, but a whole bunch of his books have been made into exceptionally awesome movies. The first of many such cases on today's list is Misery, which is one of the more no-nonsense book-to-film adaptations I've seen.
The claustrophobic and thrilling atmosphere of the book translates well onto the screen, and Kathy Bates was just an unreal casting choice in terms of bringing the complex and iconic villain Annie Wilkes to life. I still prefer the book, as is almost always the case, but I can't imagine the film version of that particular novel being much better than this.
14. A Clockwork Orange (1971)
Hiring a notoriously weird filmmaker to adapt a book is always a bit of a risky choice (just look at what David Lynch did with Dune, or Kubrick himself with The Shining as I discussed in last week's post). However, in certain cases where the source material itself is weird in a way that matches the adapting filmmaker's freak, it can occasionally make for a match made in heaven.
Such was the case with Anthony Burgess' strange-ass novel A Clockwork Orange, and the wonders that Kubrick did with it. The atmosphere of the film is pretty unforgettable with its zany aesthetic and soundtrack, but when you read the book, you can just hear the music from the film and Malcolm McDowell's snarly voice in your head, because they fit the atmosphere of the original work so well. Some changes are made, but they are justified ones in my opinion.
13. Othello (1995)
I regret to say that I haven't gotten to see Shakespeare performed on the theater stage (at least yet - it is one of my great wishes in life to do that some day). I can only imagine how much even the best big-screen adaptations of the Bard's works are beaten by the real thing - but, as long as I keep not having the chance to see the real thing, the movie adaptations have been a big comfort. There are many brilliant ones out there, but the one I'd single out above all others is Oliver Parker's Othello.
Out of all the Shakespeare plays I've read, Othello is probably the best-suited one for a movie adaptation, with its thrilling plot and vibrant milieu. The movie gets many things right, with the biggest praise going to casting - Laurence Fishburne nails the title role, and lifelong Shakespeare enthusiast Kenneth Branagh knocks it out of the park as Iago, one of the most interesting (and hard-to-play) characters from the Bard's works. Branagh's delivery of Iago's soliloquies alone makes this film worthy of today's list.
12. Carrie (1976)
This King adaptation is even more by-the-book (haha, literally) than Misery. If these were ranked purely based on plot loyalty, Carrie would be even higher - but making a truly great adaptation is about more than that. You know how some adaptations use remarkably appropriate music, casting and style choices to make it feel like the pages of the book are coming to life before your very eyes, with everything looking and feeling just like you imagined?
For whatever reason, Carrie doesn't quite reach that height, even though it does everything right on paper. It does everything a good adaptation should do, not taking any major liberties and just telling the book's story in cinematic form - yet it's still not among the highest tier of greats. The best adaptations feel almost as good as the book (or, in some extremely rare cases, even better) - and no matter how much one has to appreciate the loyalty of the Carrie movie, it's inevitably much lesser to the source material.
11. Tuntematon Sotilas (1955)
A true classic of Finnish literature, turned into a true classic of Finnish cinema. While there's no beating Väinö Linna's original novel, Edvin Laine's film is an exceptionally well-made adaptation, and truly the next-best-thing for this particular story. The casting is impeccable, as the beloved characters from the book come to life just like the reader imagines them, and the ratio between grim realities of war and moments of humor and levity amidst the horrors is nearly the exact same as in the book.
10. The Long Walk (2025)
Yet another King adaptation, and a very recent one this time! One could accuse me of recency bias in ranking The Long Walk this high, but I think I've thought it through - in addition to being one of this year's best overall movies, it's the kind of next-level book adaptation that only comes along every once in a while. The book is colored by a very specific atmosphere of grueling anxiety, and that translates impressively onto the big screen in the film. Watching the film feels exactly like reading the book, with both versions of the story being the same sort of almost-physical experience as you get invested in the premise and locked in to the intense plot.
The story progresses in a very loyal fashion - up until the ending, which was totally changed to my surprise. But I'm not giving minus points for that, because I see it as the kind of change that can be rationalized in any number of ways. King himself was involved with the film, so you know he was okay with it (hell, I'm half-guessing it was his idea, as he wrote the book at such a young age and is notoriously critical of his own endings so it would make sense that he'd see this film as a 'second chance'). Additionally, the film's ending is very much in the spirit of the book, as I could imagine the source material having taken the same route just as easily.
9. The Martian (2015)
Usually, even the better book-to-movie adaptations are either ones where the plot takes liberties but the atmosphere makes up for it, or ones where the atmosphere isn't exactly nailed but the narrative loyalty makes up for it. It's rare for a film based on a book to score high marks in both factors, but such was the case with Ridley Scott's adaptation of Andy Weir's The Martian. The vibe of the book, built on a delicate balance of gallows humor, clever science antics and intense moments of survival, translates remarkably well onto the big screen, and the plot progresses in a delightfully similar way, with only some small changes on that front. So, yeah, we're really starting to get to the good ones here.
8. Stand By Me (1986)
Aaaaaaaand it's more King. I swear, I read other books too, but his bibliography has just made for a weirdly big chunk of my favorite book-to-film adaptations!
Based on King's short story The Body, this timeless coming-of-age film expands its story in a way that feels very much in the spirit of the original work. Between the more original material, every great part from The Body can be found, and the brilliant casting of just the right child actors makes sure that the characters look, sound and feel exactly like their literary counterparts. The most important part of why Stand By Me works so well as an adaptation is, however, the adapting of the book's themes: the film makes the viewer feel the exact same emotions as when reading the original, and they both provoke similar trains of thought.
7. The Wizard of Oz (1939)
One can easily forget that this giant of cinema even was based on a book, as the film has surpassed the original work bright and clear in terms of iconic status and cultural value. But, in addition to changing movie history forever, The Wizard of Oz is a spectacular adaptation of L. Frank Baum's The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. Some changes are made, but they're all justified, in the spirit of the book, and ones that make the end product so much better than a 100% loyal adaptation could've ever been. For the most part, the film follows the book's plot quite carefully, with the magical locations and zany characters looking just like you'd imagine when reading the pages of the source material.
6. The Harry Potter franchise (2001-2011)
Let me begin by stating the obvious - fuck J.K. Rowling.
Like many in my generation, I grew up reading the Harry Potter books and loving them almost as much as she-who-must-not-be-named loves punching down and bullying people into suicide. I then watched the movies, over and over again, falling in love with the style of adaptation and the magical locations. There are unforgettable moments to be found - heartbreaking storylines like the innocent Buckbeak getting killed because Draco Malfoy spewed inflammatory lies about him 'being a threat' for no other reason than spite. For those who still support the author of the books, I want to make it clear that as hard as it is to understand, Malfoy is supposed to be the bad guy in that situation. Similarly, in The Deathly Hallows, when Voldemort is waging a war on innocent witches and wizards who are just trying to live their lives simply because he deems them to be un-pure - believe it or not, Voldemort is the villain and not the hero in that story.
Yeah, the Potter movies are very well-made, and more easily enjoyed than the books these days as all three main actors are thankfully good-hearted people who have made clear their support for the trans community. But separating the art from the artist is particularly hard with this franchise, so I can't really discuss it without some heavy disclaimers about real-life issues that are bigger than any fantasy series. One needs to, as Ron would say, sort out their priorities.
While I'm complimenting these films on my blog, I'm not endorsing watching them unless it's pirated, from an old and already-bought DVD, or any other manner that doesn't put a single penny into Rowling's pockets. She has repeatedly vowed to use the money she continues to make off the franchise to wage her war against gender minorities. It's important to remember that this isn't just about a 'difference of opinion', as Rowling is actively funding anti-LGBTQ+ legislation in the U.K. and her well-platformed hate speech has a clear correlation with the rise in violence and hate crimes against trans people. If you've spent money on the franchise and want to counteract the funding of such a monster, I can recommend donating to causes like the Trevor project, who work hard on preventing the bullying and suicides that the Rowlings of the world insist on causing.
5. The Shawshank Redemption (1994)
Ah, about time for more King, wouldn't you say?
This one is hard to rank, as it could easily be argued for the #1 spot - it's one of the greatest movies of all time, and inescapably one of those rare cases where the movie is even better than the book. That just goes to show how much nuance went into today's list - there are adaptations ahead of this one where the movie isn't as good as the book, and where the movie isn't as good as this movie, yet they still are somehow better as adaptations in my book (pun not intended).
Mind you, The Shawshank Redemption is fantastic as an adaptation - but that's far from its biggest strength. Remember how last week's post discussed Kubrick's The Shining, and how it is a masterpiece for reasons very unrelated to the source material? The same is technically true with Shawshank, but with the key difference that Shawshank is ALSO a good adaptation in addition to being a cinematic masterpiece. The film's biggest strengths come from elements like Thomas Newman's score, which isn't as "wow, this feels just like the atmosphere in the book!" as some, but doesn't feel particularly different from the book either, and is a masterpiece in any case.
The same goes for the acting performances, the dialogue and the directing style - it's similar enough to the book to work as an adaptation, but it's also masterful in a way that doesn't exactly come from the book but from Frank Darabont's own vision. That explains how the arguably greatest film of all time could have been made from a book that isn't even a top 10 Stephen King book for me - the source material isn't an all-timer, but it's still really good. More specifically, it's good enough that the highest-rated film on IMDB could have been made from it, but only if the film expands on its greatness like this one did.
4. The Perks of Being a Wallflower (2012)
Like quite a few on today's list, this one is difficult to judge because I saw the film first (several times, no less) before I read the book. It's a similar situation as The Shawshank Redemption - the movie is arguably even better, not because it changes things, but because it expands on certain concepts to make the story even more powerful. That being said, I consider this one to be even better as an adaptation.
One possible reason for this is that Stephen Chbosky, who wrote the book, also wrote and directed the movie. That is very rare - it's quite typical for the original author to work as a script consultant, producer or even screenwriter, but you rarely see them directing the films based on the books they wrote. However, based on this experiment, I'd like to see more of that phenomenon - Chbosky obviously understands the source material better than anyone, and that translates beautifully into the adaptation. Every change is a well-justified one, and there are delightfully few of them. It's the same story, with the same atmosphere and same themes, with the only changes being ones where something that worked better in literary format is switched up to whatever works even better on the big screen to drive home the same point.
3. It (2017)
I swear, this is the last King one! The exact quality of It as an adaptation has been subject to debate since its release, and rightfully so. Believe it or not, I see both sides, even though today's ranking reveals which one I personally landed on. I get why many fans of the book were let down by the movie: if you're going by plot accuracy, there are many adaptations that would kick this one's ass. The story takes a bunch of liberties - yet I'm still ranking it as the third-greatest book-to-movie adaptation of all time. And that is because the atmosphere is so spectacularly well-done.
I would dare say that no book-to-movie adaptation has utterly perfected the atmosphere of the source material as completely as this one. I'd rank it deadass first if the vibes were the only factor, but obviously I have to give some minus points for the plot threads. But when all is said and done, I can't help but see It as a fantastic adaptation: watching the film just feels like reading the book, to a staggering degree. The score, the lighting and cinematography, the sets, the excellent casting...it all comes together in a remarkable manner.
2. The Lord of the Rings trilogy (2001-2003)
Yeah, this is a no-brainer right here. The greatest trilogy in literature was turned into the greatest trilogy in cinema by the visionary Peter Jackson and his diamond-quality team. There are some changes to the plot, more than in the most plot-loyal adaptations but not nearly as much in others, and all the changes are quite well-reasoned. In terms of atmosphere, it's right up there with It, which is extra impressive as Tolkien's books have such an specific, magical and epic vibe to them.
The visual of beloved locations like Rivendell and the Shire is just unreal, while Howard Shore's score sounds exactly like the feel of the books if it was translated into the language of music - and don't get me started on the casting. Viggo Mortensen as Aragorn, Sean Astin as Sam, Sir Ian McKellen as Gandalf, et cetera...they really struck gold with this one. The movies are on par with the books - I've been asked multiple times which version I prefer, and to that, I will quote Rio Ferdinand when he was asked to weigh in on the Messi vs. Ronaldo debate: "People try and make comparisons...just enjoy them both, man".
1. Dune (2021) and Dune: Part Two (2024)
As overall movies, the two Dune adaptations Denis Villeneuve has graced us with so far don't quite hold a candle to the LOTR trilogy - although they come impressively close. Purely as adaptations, I'm holding on to my hot take that they're even a tad better.
I mean, where to start? Maybe with the whole production team - I've seen interviews of low-ranking set design assistants and costume department hands, all of whom are diehard Dune fans since childhood. That is probably the #1 lesson in making a good adaptation, and one that Hollywood fails at more often than not - it's not enough to have skillful people. You need to have people who are legitimately passionate about the subject matter. That's how you get a team who are hellbent in making the cinematic Arrakis look exactly like the one we know and love from the books - because they know and love it too, and understand what a special and magical thing they're a part of.
That goes for the cast as well - just listen to Javier Barden describing how it felt crazy to receive a paycheck for this role, because he's such a huge Dune geek that he would've paid money to get to play a character as fascinating as Stilgar. This cast-and-crew-spanning passion is obviously personified in the big man himself - in the decades where sci-fi fans were adamant that there will never be a good Dune adaptation because the book is so intricately complex and with such a large scope that the task is impossible, Denis Villeneuve grew up doing two things: 1) learning the art of filmmaking, and 2) reading his favorite book again and again. Villeneuve directed some of the best sci-fi films of the 2010's, like Arrival and Blade Runner 2049, and has casually stated that he viewed them as his 'audition tapes' to prove himself worthy of the Dune job - the project he was destined to make (I know, I sound like a fanatic Fremen).
Not only do both films look like Frank Herbert's Dune - they sound like it, they feel like it, to an almost transcendental degree. Also, the plot (especially in the first one) is remarkably accurate for a Hollywood book-to-movie adaptation, but honestly, that isn't even my main focus here. Anyone could to a loyal plot adaptation (which makes you wonder why Hollywood almost never does), but it takes deeper understanding than that to make an adaptation where every location and every character looks exactly like you imagined when reading the books. Kudos, Mr. Villeneuve - here's to the upcoming Dune Messiah.
Thank you for reading! Tune in next week for a silly one - a ranking of all the chess pieces.
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