worst adaptation of a book into a movie?

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blueboxdoctor

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#1 blueboxdoctor
Member since 2010 • 2549 Posts

So yeah, what do you think's the worst book turned into a movie? For me the ones that instantly come to mind are A Clockwork Orange and Jurassic Park.

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biggest_loser

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#2 biggest_loser
Member since 2007 • 24508 Posts

Tomorrow when the War began (2010). I read the book when I was in year 9 (so 2004) and the movie was like something for a 14 year old. Its like they didn't think that some of the readers and people who cared about those books had actually grown up a lot.

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sammyjenkis898

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#3 sammyjenkis898
Member since 2007 • 28392 Posts

For me the ones that instantly come to mind are A Clockwork Orange and Jurassic Park.

blueboxdoctor

Care to elaborate? I think it's one of the rare cases where the film is actually better.

Watchmen's adaptation was terrible.

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TheHighWind

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#4 TheHighWind
Member since 2003 • 5724 Posts

The island of doctor moreau

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Allicrombie

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#5 Allicrombie
Member since 2005 • 26223 Posts
Shutter Island was pretty bad compared to the book. Interview With a Vampire was a much better book.
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spazzx625

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#6 spazzx625
Member since 2004 • 43433 Posts
Girl, Interrupted was a much better book than a movie...But I feel like there's a really bad Stephen King book/movie I'm forgetting...
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Jolt_counter119

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#7 Jolt_counter119
Member since 2010 • 4226 Posts

Twilight. Oh you meant good books that were bad movies? Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince. They butchered what was probably my favorite book in the series.

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NukaNuked

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#8 NukaNuked
Member since 2011 • 973 Posts

[QUOTE="blueboxdoctor"]

For me the ones that instantly come to mind are A Clockwork Orange and Jurassic Park.

sammyjenkis898

Care to elaborate? I think it's one of the rare cases where the film is actually better.

Watchmen's adaptation was terrible.

What is your opinion on the game? (Watchmen)
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22Toothpicks

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#9 22Toothpicks
Member since 2005 • 12546 Posts
Harry Potter, the entire series, because before the movie came out I had my own idea of what the universe and the characters looked like, now when I read the books all I picture are the actors from the movies. Craptacular compared to my vision.
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22Toothpicks

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#10 22Toothpicks
Member since 2005 • 12546 Posts

So yeah, what do you think's the worst book turned into a movie? For me the ones that instantly come to mind are A Clockwork Orange and Jurassic Park.

blueboxdoctor
I don't see how you can say JP. Crichton is such a bore to read; I found the movie to be much more exciting.
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ValHazzard

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#11 ValHazzard
Member since 2009 • 829 Posts

I don't know but it's definately something Stephen King wrote

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Dylan_11

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#12 Dylan_11
Member since 2005 • 11296 Posts
Not a film but The Walking Dead has thus far been complete s*** in comparison to the graphic novel.
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dsmccracken

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#13 dsmccracken
Member since 2003 • 7307 Posts
Running Man... short story by Stephen King. The movie shares only it's title with the written work.
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black_cat19

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#14 black_cat19
Member since 2006 • 8212 Posts

Bram Stoker's Dracula. The movie pretty much takes a **** on the book with its sexual obsession and made-up love story between Dracula and Mina.

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TheHighWind

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#15 TheHighWind
Member since 2003 • 5724 Posts

I don't know but it's definately something Stephen King wrote

ValHazzard

The Shining = good movie

Misery = good movie

IT.... was it IT?

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NeverGTS

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#16 NeverGTS
Member since 2011 • 55 Posts

I don't know but it's definately something Stephen King wrote

ValHazzard
I know what ya mean, his books has so much potential to make a good movie but no one knows how to do it right.
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muffincakes87

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#17 muffincakes87
Member since 2008 • 3913 Posts

The Kite Runner—it's critically acclaimed, but I thought it was so bad compared to the book.

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22Toothpicks

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#18 22Toothpicks
Member since 2005 • 12546 Posts

[QUOTE="ValHazzard"]

I don't know but it's definately something Stephen King wrote

TheHighWind

The Shining = good movie

Misery = good movie

IT.... was it IT?

How about the Langaliers mini-series that came out in the mid '90s? *BARF* What a disaster tha*BARF*...oh, god, it's everywhere!
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ValHazzard

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#19 ValHazzard
Member since 2009 • 829 Posts

[QUOTE="ValHazzard"]

I don't know but it's definately something Stephen King wrote

TheHighWind

The Shining = good movie

Misery = good movie

IT.... was it IT?

Yeah, they were, i didn't say they weren't.

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22Toothpicks

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#20 22Toothpicks
Member since 2005 • 12546 Posts
Running Man... short story by Stephen King. The movie shares only it's title with the written work.dsmccracken
I had no idea that was a Stephen King creation. It's a cheesy ass movie but I really enjoy it for some reason.
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Uchiha_Sasuke1

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#21 Uchiha_Sasuke1
Member since 2002 • 1636 Posts

I read and saw clockwork orange and it wasn't as bad as people vote it here. The book was good and the movie was yeah brutal (explicit) , maybe It was the wrong clockwork orange book that I read when I saw the movie but it was still OK.

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TheHighWind

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#22 TheHighWind
Member since 2003 • 5724 Posts

[QUOTE="dsmccracken"]Running Man... short story by Stephen King. The movie shares only it's title with the written work.22Toothpicks
I had no idea that was a Stephen King creation. It's a cheesy ass movie but I really enjoy it for some reason.

Wait is that the Ahrnold movie? Hahahaha I loved that movie! They had a hockey player named Sub-Zero in it, how could you not like that movie?

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22Toothpicks

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#23 22Toothpicks
Member since 2005 • 12546 Posts

[QUOTE="22Toothpicks"][QUOTE="dsmccracken"]Running Man... short story by Stephen King. The movie shares only it's title with the written work.TheHighWind

I had no idea that was a Stephen King creation. It's a cheesy ass movie but I really enjoy it for some reason.

Wait is that the Ahrnold movie? Hahahaha I loved that movie! They had a hockey player named Sub-Zero in it, how could you not like that movie?

Oh, but I do like that movie. It's terrible in all technical categories but very entertaining. Plus some guy gets his head 'sploded in it. Nice.
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nitekids2004

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#24 nitekids2004
Member since 2005 • 2981 Posts

Percy Jackson and thr Lightning Thief.

Movie butchered the book so much.

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Ikouze

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#25 Ikouze
Member since 2009 • 2027 Posts

Percy Jackson and the Olympians.

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Blue-Sky

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#26 Blue-Sky
Member since 2005 • 10381 Posts

Persy Jackson comes to mind, what a side excuse for an hour and a half for product placement.

He defeats Medusa using an iPod. Really?

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Tokugawa77

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#27 Tokugawa77
Member since 2009 • 1554 Posts

I thought Jurassic park was a good movie. Worst adaptation of a book? prpbably Eragon. I loved that book as a kid but when I went to watch the movie in my teenage years it was terrible

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BuryMe

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#28 BuryMe
Member since 2004 • 22017 Posts

I'd go with To Kill A Mocking Bird.

They cut so much important stuff out of the movie.

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soulless4now

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#29 soulless4now
Member since 2003 • 41388 Posts

Eragon

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Moriarity_

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#30 Moriarity_
Member since 2011 • 1332 Posts
Eragon. The only thing in common between the book and the movie were the names. Virtually everything else was different.
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dsmccracken

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#31 dsmccracken
Member since 2003 • 7307 Posts
[QUOTE="TheHighWind"]

[QUOTE="22Toothpicks"] I had no idea that was a Stephen King creation. It's a cheesy ass movie but I really enjoy it for some reason.22Toothpicks

Wait is that the Ahrnold movie? Hahahaha I loved that movie! They had a hockey player named Sub-Zero in it, how could you not like that movie?

Oh, but I do like that movie. It's terrible in all technical categories but very entertaining. Plus some guy gets his head 'sploded in it. Nice.

I agree, I liked the movie (especially as a kid), but I listed it more because it is so ridiculous to use a Stephen King story as the basis for a movie, then literally change everything about it except the name. I don't mean it was changed a bit, or had an altered ending... no, I mean that they are COMPLETELY different stories.
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ToastRider11

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#32 ToastRider11
Member since 2010 • 2573 Posts

I would have to say Eragon. Absurd movie. It should be remade and done properly.

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Film-Guy

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#33 Film-Guy
Member since 2007 • 26778 Posts

These are easily the worst.

I am Legend

Slapstick ( Of another kind)

The Bonfire of the vanities

The Scarlet letter

All the King's Men 2006

Even Cowgirls get the Blues

The Hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy

The Seeker: The Dark is rising

The Beach

The Golden Compass

Bicentennial Man

Captain Corelli's Mandolin

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#34 sailor232
Member since 2003 • 6880 Posts

While not a movie, "The legend of the Seeker" the tv show, is terrible. Nice to have Darken Rahl look 5-10 years older than Richard and have an impeccable face, he looks pretty good for a man that got badly burnt by wizards fire, no licking of fingers and rubbing them through his eyebrows or anything. Kalyn wasnt even that hot looking, especially for one of the most beutiful ladies in the world, more than one confessor a live, I could go on forever but yeah.

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Legendaryscmt

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#35 Legendaryscmt
Member since 2005 • 12532 Posts

Fahrenheit 451 was a pretty bad movie. Although I never read the book, I'm take a stab in the dark that Dreamcatcher was a pretty bad one too.

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immortality20

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#36 immortality20
Member since 2005 • 8546 Posts

War of the Worlds was pretty bad. I know there's worse though.

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Travo_basic

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#37 Travo_basic
Member since 2003 • 38751 Posts

The Kite Runner-it critically acclaimed, but I thought it was so bad compared to the book.

muffincakes87
I have yet to see that movie. is it close to the book?
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muffincakes87

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#38 muffincakes87
Member since 2008 • 3913 Posts

[QUOTE="muffincakes87"]

The Kite Runner-it was critically acclaimed, but I thought it was so bad compared to the book.

Travo_basic

I have yet to see that movie. is it close to the book?

I saw it years ago, but from what I remember is that I felt like that skipped around too much. The character development for Amir and Hassan didn't seem right. The book made the rape scene heartbreaking, while the movie made it seem dumb.

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JediXMan

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#39 JediXMan
Member since 2007 • 5238 Posts

V for Vendetta.

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KH-mixerX

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#40 KH-mixerX
Member since 2007 • 5702 Posts

Eragon.

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HoolaHoopMan

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#41 HoolaHoopMan
Member since 2009 • 14724 Posts
I am Legend was pretty sucky.
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deactivated-5f9e3c6a83e51

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#42 deactivated-5f9e3c6a83e51
Member since 2004 • 57548 Posts

Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan

The Dark Is Rising - Susan Cooper

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trick_man01

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#43 trick_man01
Member since 2003 • 11441 Posts
Kind of surprised no one has mentioned this one yet, but "Starship Troopers". The book is incredibly deep. The movie well... not so much.
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LegendaryFox77

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#44 LegendaryFox77
Member since 2007 • 1196 Posts
The girl with the dragon tattoo.
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blueboxdoctor

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#45 blueboxdoctor
Member since 2010 • 2549 Posts

[QUOTE="blueboxdoctor"]

For me the ones that instantly come to mind are A Clockwork Orange and Jurassic Park.

sammyjenkis898

Care to elaborate? I think it's one of the rare cases where the film is actually better.

Watchmen's adaptation was terrible.

I'm assuming you mean to elaborate on Clockwork Orange, but I'll do it for both real quick.

Clockwork Orange:

To start, the book was a lot darker. I felt that over sexing the movie took away from the true darkness of the world. For me, the best part of the book was when Alex talked with the priest (i think that's what he was) in prison. It really was the point in which the moral issues of the story came alive, and this was pretty much missing from the movie. Taking from that, I actually cared about Alex despite his character basically being evil. When they tried to convert him to be a good person in the movie it just felt flat and it didn't seem like they were taking his soul away. Basically, the movie just felt like a cheap way to cash on the movie rather than really delving into the deeper issues presented in the book. However, the one thing done right in the movie was not including chapter 21 of the book, which really made it less impactful (though it does make sense why it's there, I tend to prefer the darker tone since it feels more fitting for the character).

Jurassic Park:

I saw the movie first and thought it wasn't bad. The special effects were pretty much great for the time and still hold up pretty well considering all the leaps and bounds in technology since then. However, upon reading the book I was appalled to find that the movie had basically no sci-fi at all. Sure, nothing in the book in terms of science was probably real, but it added a lot more depth to it. Also, the kids weren't really a big part of the book, which was good since kids tend to get annoying in movies (indiana jones 2 anyone?). The book just felt so much fuller where the movie basically took the barebones of "let's take an island, bring some dinosaurs, have some people get chased by them, and then have them live happily ever after." Well ok, this did happen in the book, but there was more character development and it was a lot more engaging as a piece of sci-fi than the movie was.

Still, I'd rather watch Jurassic Park over if it were on TV than a clockwork orange unless I had to for some reason.

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blueboxdoctor

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#46 blueboxdoctor
Member since 2010 • 2549 Posts

Kind of surprised no one has mentioned this one yet, but "Starship Troopers". The book is incredibly deep. The movie well... not so much.trick_man01

Lol, that movie is classic because it embraces being over-the-top. It's like a spoof on action sci-fi movies. I'll have to give the book a read just to see how different it is.

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ChrisSpartan117

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#47 ChrisSpartan117
Member since 2008 • 4519 Posts

Fahrenheit 451 was a pretty bad movie. Legendaryscmt

Oh man I forgot that one. Yeah, we read that book and then watched the movie afterwards for English 11. They cut out so much of the plot and completely butchered the ending.

In other news, I haven't even read Eragon and thought the movie was terrible. I was really optimistic when seeing the ads, and...wow.

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Planet_Pluto

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#48 Planet_Pluto
Member since 2011 • 2235 Posts

Sahara (written by Clive Cussler)

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Kurezan

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#49 Kurezan
Member since 2008 • 1850 Posts

Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief.

They changed key plot points from the book. Percy is supposed to be 12 in the first book, and he's 16 in the movie. In the books, when he turns 16 a prophecy is supposed to be fulfilled... BUT HE'S ALREADY THAT AGE IN THE MOVIE! And each book is a year apart, and there is four.

They also changed one of the main characters to African American (WHY). And turned the Blonde Haired Heroine into a brunette.

Not to mention they took out on of the coolest fights in the book. :(

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Swanogt19

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#50 Swanogt19
Member since 2008 • 24159 Posts

I'd go with To Kill A Mocking Bird.

They cut so much important stuff out of the movie.

BuryMe
I agree with you. 100%