"You should read the book because the movie is not close or good." This is a statement I have heard often when books are made into to movies. But I believe there are a few books that have been adapted well even with some major cuts or additions to the original story. Yes, books can show the inner thoughts of characters, but great actors have the ability to realistically translate the page to the screen. While I will always suggest you read the book first, I believe the following movie adaptations are top notch! - Gwen
Prince of Tides
The book was written by Pat Conroy and published in 1986. This is the story of turbulent Tom Wingo and his gifted and troubled twin sister, Savannah. Over a forty-year period, the story explores Tom & Savannah's struggle to triumph over the dark and tragic legacy of their family. A movie by the same title was released in1991 starring Nick Nolte as Tom Wingo, Melinda Dillion as Savannah and Barbara Streisand as her psychiatrist.
KEY POINT: The element that makes this movie as good as the book is that the screenplay stays true to the essence of survival in the book.
Bridges of Madison County
The novella was written by Robert James Waller and published in 1992. It tells the story of a married Italian-American woman, Francesca Johnson, living on a Madison County, Iowa farm in the 1960s. She is connected in a sudden, impossible romance with a world-traveling photographer, Robert Kincaid, who is employed by National Geographic. Released in 1995, the movie earned Meryl Streep, who played Francesca, the 1996 nomination for an Academy Award for Best Actress. Kincaid was portrayed by Clint Eastwood who also directed the film.
KEY POINT: Because the book is short, the movie was able to incorporate almost all aspects of it.
The Notebook
Published in 1996, this debut book of author Nicholas Sparks was written in six months during 1995. He based it on his wife's grandparents who were married for more than 60 years. The book centers on the relationship between Noah Calhoun and Allie Nelson. Spanning over five decades, their love endures an uncertain beginning, the onset and conclusion of World War II, the death of one child, and Allie's eventual diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease. Noah Calhoun is portrayed by two actors in the movie, Ryan Gosling & James Garner and Allie Nelson by Rachel McAdams & Gena Rowlands.
KEY POINT: Finding your true love is conceivable and that love can feasibly make it through trauma both physical and spiritual.
The Horse Whisperer
This novel was written in 1995 by Nicholas Evans, an English author making his debut. It is one the best-selling books of all time according the L.A. Times. Coming in at 678 pages this book is about a teenage girl who is involved in a car accident while riding her horse. Sadly, she loses a leg and the horse goes mad. As she won't allow him to be destroyed, her mother, a New York magazine editor, quits her job, leaves her husband and takes horse and daughter to a rancher in Montana, said to cure horses by talking to them. Despite cultural differences--she is British--love blooms between editor and rancher. The film was released 1998 starring Scarlett Johansson as the teenage girl, Kristin Scott Thomas as her mother and Robert Redford as the "horse whisperer".
KEY POINT: Despite the fact that ending is changed in the movie, both book & movie make it clear that how you treat a broken horse or broken person takes patience, serenity and love.
About the Author
Gwen has been working in Technical Services at EPL since 2005. She enjoys reading Amish & Christian fiction, African-American non-fiction, and all things with her grandchildren.