Best Book to Movie Adaptations
Hello everyone and welcome back to the blog! Today I wanted to do something a little different. In the book community, I feel like the average expectation is that the movie will never be as good as the book. But there are quite a few movies and tv shows that are really good and true to the source material. So, let’s get into it.
I think the first one worth mentioning is the original eight Harry Potter movies. I know there are a lot of smaller details that were left out, but I think for the amount of material there is and what made it to the big screen is pretty good. From what I can remember there wasn’t too much deviation from the books. Also, from what I can remember JK Rowling was heavily involved in the making of those movies and the casting.
I think having an excellent and consistent cast is what really helped these movies. Everyone was such a great actor who loved the books as much as the audience did. As a viewer, you can tell when an actor cares about the book(s). There was also so much attention to detail, and I mean, there’s a reason why everyone still loves those movies 25 years later.
In the same vein, I think The Hunger Games movies are the greatest, if not the best, book to movie adaptations I’ve ever seen. I think it was the excellent casting, the budget was properly utilized, and the director and co. cared about staying true to the books. The Hunger Games movies now have almost triple the budget as the first three. The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes was amazing, and I can’t wait for Sunrise on the Reaping.
The other thing Hunger Games has going for itself is that unlike other dystopian worlds, when the author comes out with new books it adds to the world we already know, the world already created. It doesn’t feel like a cash grab. It doesn’t feel like the author just wants to prolong their fame by making unnecessary content. Suzanna Collins has always said she will only write The Hunger Games books when she has something to say, and I think she has stood by that statement. There’s nothing worse than an author, artist, creator who doesn’t know when to stop.
Switching gears from movie to television, I recently just wanted the limited series Daisy Jones & The Six. Now, I feel like there were a lot of changes from the book, but as someone who read the book then watched the show, I honestly didn’t mind them. The changes that occurred made sense to me. They didn’t take away from the storyline, they weren’t crazy that it took away from the book/show, and honestly it made the show more entertaining.
I won’t get into what exactly was changed because I don’t want anyone to worry about spoilers but just know if you read the book there’s a good chance that you’ll love the tv show. I also think it just adds to the experience of reading the book. We follow a band in the 60s-70s trying to make it big. In the book, we’re reading about these songs that propelled them forward, and gave them a name. We read about the intimacy of song writing between Daisy and Billy, so to see that unfold on screen was really cool. Plus, actually hearing their music was a 10/10 experience. I cannot recommend the show enough.
If anyone is keeping note, that’s two A+ adaptations starring Sam Claflin…just saying.
The last movie that is worth mentioning is Where the Crawdads Sing. This book was a part of Reese’s book club and honestly took the world by storm when it was released. I ended up really liking the book, and I thought the movie was great. Plus, I love Daisy Edgar Allen. To be honest, it’s been a while since I’ve seen the movie or read the book, but I don’t remember there being a whole lot of changes. I thought the movie was well done and had an excellent cast.
Overall, there are some really well done book to movie adaptations. Is every single one a homerun? No. But that doesn’t mean there aren’t some gems out there.
Alright folks, that is all I have for this week! Come back next Wednesday for another blog post. As always, thank you for reading :)