Books Into Movies?

Posted on March 14th, 2010

I have been pondering this question: What movies stand out as good versions of good books or short stories?

The answer to this question, of course, becomes subjective for more than a few reasons, but one reason stands out: an individual’s definition of the qualifier (good) complicates the question. The answer is also complicated by the reality that no one person has either read every good book or seen every good movie.

Nevertheless, setting aside the considerable difficulties and subjectivities associated with the question, I shall briefly offer my own answer (with an important caveat): only a couple of movies (and television films) and books come to my mind – Alfred Hitchcock’s Strangers on the Train; Laurence Oliver’s Hamlet; Orson Welles’ Macbeth; John Huston’s Moby-Dick; John Huston’s Wise Blood; John Huston’s The Dead; Martin Ritt’s The Spy Who Came In From the Cold; Fred Zinneman’s The Member of the Wedding; Henry King’s The Sun Also Rises; Fernando Birri’s A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings; Karel Reisz’s The French Lieutenant’s Woman; and the television version of Colin Dexter’s Inspector Morse novels and stories.

I know my list is really short, but the reason, you see, lies in the caveat: I very rarely go to movies or watch such programs on television. So, I guess my contribution to the discussion is rather meager, which means I must turn to you for the answers.

Tell me about what movies (or television films) stand out as good versions of good books or short stories?

Tags: Alfred Hitchcock, Colin Dexter, Fred Zinneman, French Lieutenant, Good Books, Henry King, Inspector Morse, John Huston, Laurence Oliver, Martin Ritt, Member Of The Wedding, Moby Dick, Orson Welles, Orson Welles Macbeth, Question The Answer, Reisz, Strangers On The Train, Television Films, Television Version, Wise Blood
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