Based on...
Books and films are two closely-related forms of art and entertainment. Since the science of film was first established in the late 1800s filmmakers have been using it to tell stories, and they soon began utilising the existing narratives and characters of novels. These films have succeeded (or not) to varying degrees in the transition, some accurately portraying the writer's intention, some building on it and some disappointing the original readers. No matter how well the adaptation is done however, it is still nice to be reminded that yes, happily, there is more to read than Harry Potter.
For screen translations of Charles Dickens, Agatha Christie, Stephen King and many other notable authors click their links under this category, left. For adaptations of plays and Shakespeare, use the 'Alice's Playhouse' link.
Right: Kubrick's adaptation of Thackeray's novel 'Barry Lyndon'.
Thank You For Smoking (2005)
7.6/10
Director: Jason Reitman
Starring: Aaron Eckhart, Maria Bello, Cameron Bright, Adam Brody, Sam Elliott, Katie Holme...
Nick Naylor is Big Tobacco's go-to-guy when they need a good spin on something. Like premature death, lung cancer, etc. But Nick revels in the twist... Read more
The 13th Warrior (1999)
6.6/10
Director: John McTiernan
Starring: Antonio Banderas, Diane Venora, Omar Sharif
Based on Michael Crichton's "Eaters of the Dead", this medieval adventure stars Antonio Banderas as a 10th-century ambassador from Baghdad who is conf... Read more
The 3 Worlds Of Gulliver (1960)
6.5/10
Director: Jack Sher
Starring: Kerwin Mathews, Jo Morrow, June Thorburn, Peter Bull
The Spellbinding Adventures Of "Gulliver's Travels" are transformed into three-dimensional reality in this live-action adaptation of Jonathan Swift's... Read more
The 39 Steps (1935)
7.8/10
Director: Alfred Hitchcock
Starring: Robert Donat, Madeleine Carroll, Lucie Mannheim
A Canadian leaves London and goes to Scotland in order to find the spy ring that has stabbed a woman to death at his flat. What follows is Hitchcock's... Read more
The 39 Steps (1959)
6.6/10
Director: Ralph Thomas
Starring: Kenneth More, Taina Elg, Brenda De Banzie
Kenneth More stars in this faithful (some might say, to a fault) remake of Hitchcock's 1935 classic, as a man accidentally involved in murder and espi... Read more
The Agony and the Ecstasy (1965)
7.2/10
Director: Carol Reed
Starring: Charlton Heston, Rex Harrison, Diane Cilento
The battle of wills between Michelangelo and Pope Julius II over the artist's painting of the Sistine Chapel ceiling is turned into a sumptuous histor... Read more
The American Friend (1977)
7.4/10
Director: Wim Wenders
Starring: Dennis Hopper, Bruno Ganz, Lisa Kreuzer, Sam Fuller
Using Patricia Highsmith's novel, 'Ripley's Game', Wenders has made a spellbinding existential thriller which moves from the docks of Hamburg to the s... Read more
The Amityville Horror (1979)
6.2/10
Director: Stuart Rosenberg
Starring: James Brolin, Margot Kidder, Rod Steiger, Murray Hamilton
The best-selling, supposedly true book, 'The Amityville Horror' caught the world's headlines with its tale of possession, murder, demons and the haunt... Read more
The Amityville Horror (2005)
6/10
Director: Andrew Douglas
Starring: Philip Baker Hall, Jesse James, Melissa George, Ryan Reynolds, Chloe Grace Moret...
One of the '70s most celebrated horror films is given a makeover by blockbuster producer Michael Bay. George and Kathy Lutz (Ryan Reynolds, Melissa Ge... Read more
The Andromeda Strain (1971)
7.2/10
Director: Robert Wise
Starring: Arthur Hill, David Wayne, James Olson, Kate Reid
A tense science-fiction thriller, this film focuses on a team of scientists attempting to isolate a deadly virus while racing against time and the pos... Read more