Top Ten Tuesday: Books Into Movies

It's been a good long time since I've participated in the TTT meme, but this week's happens to be a repeat of one I participated in a couple of years ago, so I'm reposting.  ;-)

Sponsored by The Broke & the Bookish, this week's topic is top ten book-to-movie adaptations. I suspect that this list will be more controversial than most. It's no secret that books have certain advantages over their film versions: namely, the luxury of time to tell the tale properly and the unlimited imagination of the reader. I used to be one of those folks who condemned books-into-movies, ipso facto.  Now I don't care as much if the director & screenplay writer aren't true to the letter of the book as long as they are true to the spirit of the book.  It's a tremendous bonus if the movies actually give me a new insight into the books.   Also, I'm only including books which I've read on this list. So here's my list of books-into-movies where I read the book and LOVED the movie. In no particular order:

I am not left handed!

1) The Princess Bride by William Goldman.  One of the most eminently quotable movies EVER. Anybody want a peanut?

2) Legends of the Fall by Jim Harrison.  Best. Novella. Ever. As far as I'm concerned, anyway.  Didn't like the film until after I had read the book.  Then, boy howdy, I loved it! And no, that love is not actually related to Brad Pitt, though I admit I think it's his best role.

3) The Fellowship of the Ring by J. R. R. Tolkien.  Yes, I do distinguish the first part of the film trilogy as being significantly better than the subsequent two.  I emphatically did not like the pointless addition of a battle scene and the mucking around with essence of Faramir's and Boromir's characters from the other two movies.

Yeah, I'm a Snape fan.

4) Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J. K. Rowling.  In my opinion, the pinnacle of Rowling's plotting and writing--and Cuaron was the only director who brought something more (read "better") to the film version.  Back when we thought Jo would allow for some Slytherin redemption by the end of the series.  But don't get me started down that road...

5) The Godfather by Mario Puzo.  Because it's an expected answer. I didn't actually make it all the way through the book, but I read enough for it to qualify in this part of the list instead of in the Honorable Mentions below.

6) The Silence of the Lambs by Thomas Harris.  If there's a more chillingly charismatic on-screen villain than Sir Anthony Hopkins's Hannibal Lector, I've not seen the likes of it.  Talk about a great cast, raising a book from pulp fiction to something memorable.

7) The Notebook by Nicholas Sparks.  God bless him for his sense of romance and his ability to publish a book every year while reading 5-6 books per week (yes, I interviewed him once and this is what he said), but a great stylist he ain't.  I think this book makes a pretty fine romantic drama, however.  This is one of the truly rare cases where the movie is better than the book.

8) Q & A by Vikras Swarup (known to the English speaking world as the film Slumdog Millionaire).  One of those cases where the plot points didn't overlap all that much, but where the spirit of the book was translated well into film.

9) The Last of the Mohicans by James Fennimore Cooper.  Yes, they're almost unrecognizable as springing from the same source.  But it's a fine, fine movie with an excellent soundtrack.

10) The Black Stallion by Walter Farley.  I wanted to work another children's or YA book onto the list, but the movie really does stand on its own merits.  Beautifully filmed!

Ooh, but that leaves out Out of Africa by Isak Dinesen, which was wonderful!  I had to eliminate all Jane Austen adaptations or else there'd be very little room for other movies.  Or the Twilight franchise. (Just kidding--wanted to see if you were paying attention!) I thought this would be a difficult list to compile, but there are actually far more good film versions of books than I can name here.

Honorable mentions for movies I've seen and thought were excellent, but whose antecedents I have not read: The Reader, Casino Royale, The Shawshank Redemption, The Children of Men, Chocolat, Forrest Gump, and The Name of the Rose.  There are lots of others, but I think I'll leave it there for now.  

What did I leave out?  What would you have on your list?  

Les Miserables: Do you hear the people sing?

Enroljas and Marius

I got a little behind with my end-of year posts in 2012 because of some health issues in my family.  On Christmas Eve Eve (or Dec 23), my husband had to go to Mass General hospital in Boston because he woke up that morning in terrible back pain, unable to move the fingers on his left hand. Yikes!  I went with him, and despite the many tests, includinh two MRIs, nothing was conclusive so they discharged us around 5:30 am on Christmas Eve. On Boxing Day (or Dec 26) my mom had to have surgery to have a cancerous growth removed, and while she was in the hospital she had a minor heart attack. Double yikes!

Now I am writing from Wisconsin, where I am ensconced in my mother's condo, taking care of both of them. Though admittedly my husband is doing pretty well, despite lacking motor control over the fingers on his left hand, and my mom is doing better than I expected.  We're taking it easy, which means there's lots of time for napping and reading, but in my true family fashion, we're also able to make time for drinking and games. My brother, sister-in-law, and nephews are all ill, and one nephew has just been laid off, but we feel as if we still have plenty to celebrate, what with my mom's recovery and my husband's good spirits.

Hugh Jackman as Jean Valjean/24601

Yesterday we went to go see the film Les Miserables, based on the musical of the same name, which is based on the book of the same name, written by Victor Hugo (and thus legitimizes my blogpost as bookish). While I've long loved the musical numbers from Les Mis, this book ranks among the best I've ever read.  It's really got it all: history, philosophy, politics, humanity, romance, action, intrigue. And despite that century's tendency to overwrite everything, it winnows down to a timeless storyline.

When earlier in 2012 I heard that (1) Les Mis was being made as a movie-musical, and (2) that Hugh Jackman had been cast as Jean Valjean, I immediately started counting down the days until its end-of-year release.  Believe you me, I was looking forward to this film more than any other film adaptation of the year, including Lincoln, The Hobbit, Life of Pi, and Breaking Dawn II. (Hah!  Just kidding about that last one!) So when my mom, her partner, my sister, and my husband settled into our seats, popcorn at the ready, we were all aflutter with excitement as the lights went down.

Russell Crowe as Javert

I was fully expecting to love this film beyond all others, but I ended up merely liking it a good deal.  My main interest in the film, Hugh Jackman, I felt was the weakest link among the main characters. While his acting was just fine, his singing voice sounded strained for most of the big numbers.  Russell Crowe as Inspector Javert, whom I expected to be tolerable at best, turned out to be the biggest highlight of the film for me. It's true that he relied on recitative moreso than the other main characters, and that his voice isn't as large as those men who played the role on stage, but I felt he really shone.

Amanda Seyfried as Cosette

Anne Hathaway was as terrific as I expected her to be and made me wish that Fantine had a larger role.  I have actively disliked Amanda Seyfried in the past, but I have to admit that her singing role in the uber-light Mamma Mia did nothing to prepare me for how lovely and purely altitudinous her soprano was. Much has already been made of Samantha Barks and Eddie Redmayne as Eponine and Marius, respectively, and I have nothing new to add to that discussion, but the other standout performance from my point of view was new-to-me Aaron Tveit as Enjolras.

No doubt this will be a film that I will purchase once it's available on DVD, if for nothing else than to see the behind-the-scenes features of the making of the movie.  I liked it very much. But love it?  I'm sorry to say that I did not.

NB: That does not, however, mean that the lyrics from the various songs are live-streaming through my head at any given moment of the day now. I like to sing and have no compunction about belting out random bits of words from time to time, so I may well startle someone in the midst of their grocery shopping with "the blood of the martyrs will water the meadows of France!"  Or with mockery exclaim, "I am the law and the law is not mocked!"