The 10 best book adaptations of all time –

(10) Fight Club

A film adaptation of a brilliant book that surpasses the original in terms of narrative and entertainment value is as common in the history of cinema as four-leaf clovers, or unicorns. It almost never happens, but it did when big boss David Fincher turned Chuck Palahniuk’s sick book about self-deception, the deconstruction of social norms, and the bizarre nature of today’s overconsumption and capitalism into an amazing film that delivers all the right emotions and right themes with less debauchery and less taste for the disgusting. Many called Fight Club (the film) ambiguous. Is it about mental illness? Is it about toxic masculinity? Is this the convulsive stranglehold of capitalist society on us all? For me, it’s a certain kind of ambivalence and, above all, nuance in Fincher’s storytelling that makes this adaptation sharper than its book counterpart.

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(09) American Psycho

The book is more bloody. The book is rougher. The book is sicker. He’s honestly sick in the head. The film version, directed by Mary Harron, did an excellent job of cutting out the worst of the original’s gore without ever getting lost in trying to portray the right tone and the right kind of identity for the story. On the contrary. The film adaptation is in many ways sharper than the book in terms of dramatic thrust and thematic motifs, and Bale plays the role of a lifetime here, so early in his career.

(08) LA Confidential

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Filming Ellroy’s masterpieces, drenched in detail and exhaustingly difficult to read, cannot be an easy task. Because if there’s one thing the man likes, it’s detailed descriptions of every last millimeter of his noir-soaked detective worlds. Curtis Hanson’s main mission in creating the film adaptation was therefore to cut, cut and cut which, as we all know, often leads to half-baked, broken films with no thread or sensible narrative. But not in the case of LA Confidential, not for a second. Screenwriter Brian Helgeland manages to find the original story in Elroy’s rich stew and boils it down to a stark backdrop of corrupt police darkness in early 1950s Los Angeles.

(07) Silence of the innocents

Unfortunately, I “accidentally” read Thomas Harris’ fantastic book when I was 14, which may not have been the smartest thing I did. Because it left marks. That book scared me, honestly. Something that even Jonathan Demme’s wonderful film adaptation does and has always done. Because it’s very faithful to the book, to this film. Very much so. Terribly raw, dark, mean-spirited and character-soaked with a brilliant Foster and a brilliant Hopkins as the cannibal Lecter.

(06) Dune & Dune: Part Two

Trying to summarize and partially reduce Herbert’s moderately enormous sci-fi epic and all of its intricate mythology into one, or two, films seemed absolutely impossible beforehand. Twin Peaks Lynch tried it once and the result was pure rubbish, which in no way stopped Blade Runner2049 director Denis Villeneuve from trying. In retrospect, there’s not much we can do other than celebrate the work done here and acknowledge that Dune + Dune: Part Two is one of the best-made book adaptations of all time.

(05) The Godfather

Mario Puzo’s seminal thriller is darker than Coppola’s first two films. There’s a nervousness there, an excess of violence and a kind of humor that occasionally shocks whereas films are more common in that sense. This is not to say that Coppola did a terrible job with what are considered two of the best films of all time (all categories), quite the opposite. The Godfather and The Godfather II are masterful films, of course, soaked in character, suspense, drama and, above all, incredible performances.

(04) No Country for Old Men

McCarthy’s iconic book does a beautiful job of trying to describe the insignificant difference between good and evil, between light and darkness, and how it is only the inconveniences, or moments, that separate the two sides. The Coen brothers’ film doesn’t do exactly the same thing. His interpretation of the fight between Llewelyn Moss and Anton Chigurg is clearer in its portrayal of evil itself, which only makes the film more effective, the tension more palpable. Other than that, the Coen brothers’ adaptation is very faithful to the book and is an absolutely brilliant thriller.

(03) Breakfast at Tiffany’s

Truman Capote’s absolutely brilliant book is certainly darker and more unforgiving in its portrayal of the emotions and tragedy that is embedded in this story, but other than that, I think Blake Edwards’ adaptation is ridiculously good. This film is as beautiful as it is tragic and the way the now 65 year old romance is portrayed still feels more “real” and genuine than 99% of all the sweet love in Hollywood.

(02) Jurassic Park

Michael Crichton’s eye for detail, as well as his training as a doctor and scientist, led him to delve into the real science of how extinct monster lizards were revived in the book Jurassic Park. In addition to the purely technical side of things, Crichton was also more descriptive in how the dinosaurs ripped off the arms and legs of the poor humans who were eaten in the book, something that Spielberg, of course, chose not to include in the 1993 blockbuster. the film version easily surpasses the book version thanks to the charm, character, and sense of adventure that Spielberg builds, and even though Steven skips 80% of the book’s technical descriptions of how DNA science actually works, there are still enough reasons and credible explanations of the science behind the experiments to make the film seem logical.

THE BEST BOOK ADAPTATION OF ALL TIME:10
(01) Lord of the Rings

At the risk of being taken here, right after the end of the lunch break, by one man, I am one of those who believe that Peter Jackson, Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyen’s interpretation of Tolkien’s trilogy of books is better, tighter and more entertaining than the iconic literary story that more or less formed the basis of the entire fantasy genre. Tolkien had a bit of trouble sticking to any kind of throughline, never using the “kill your darlings” concept, but getting bogged down in relatively insignificant details and clues far too often – something that was completely cut when the books were turned around. on film for just over 20 years. Jackson’s trilogy is not only the best film trilogy of all time, in every category, but a great work that, without a doubt, is at the top of this mountain of adaptations.

What are your top ten favorites?