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'.
The Bridge of San Luis Rey (2004)
5.1/10
Director: Mary Mcguckian
Starring: Robert De Niro, Kathy Bates, Gabriel Byrne, Harvey Keitel, F Murray Abraham, Ger...
Adapted from Thornton Wilder's Pulitzer-winning novel, and set in Peru in 1714 when the collapse of a rickety bridge kills five people. Brother Junip... Read more
The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957)
8.2/10
Director: David Lean
Starring: William Holden, Alec Guinness, Jack Hawkins, Sessue Hayakawa, James Donald, Ann...
Epic story of British prisoners of war held by the Japanese, combines psychological battles of will with gripping action. Winner of seven Oscars inclu... Read more
The Bronte Sisters (2005)
7.5/10
In 1847 three seminal works of English literature were published - Charlotte Bronte's 'Jayne Eyre'; Emily Bronte's 'Wuthering Heights' and Anne Bronte... Read more
The Bunker (1981)
7/10
Director: George Schaefer
Starring: Anthony Hopkins, Richard Jordan, Piper Laurie, Cliff Gorman
In 1945, The Third Reich is in its death throes with the Allies relentlessly attacking the capital city of Berlin. Adolf Hitler retreats into his fort... Read more
The Butcher Boy (1998)
7.2/10
Director: Neil Jordan
Starring: Eamonn Owens, Stephen Rea, Fiona Shaw, Ian Hart, Sean McGinley
A blackly comic study of an Irish boy who doesn't have a chance in life; his father is a perpetual drunk, his mother a mentally fragile soul. Yet he g... Read more
The Canterbury Tales (1972)
6.5/10
Director: Pier Paolo Pasolini
Starring: Laura Betti, Ninetto Davoli, Pier Paolo Pasolini, Hugh Griffith, Josephine Chapl...
The second part of Pasolini's 'Trilogy of Life' (beginning with 'The Decameron' and ending with 'Arabian Nights') is based on the 14th century stories... Read more
The Celestine Prophecy (2006)
4.9/10
Director: Armand Mastroianni
Starring: Matthew Settle, Thomas Kretschmann, Sarah Wayne Callies, Annabeth Gish, Hector E...
Based on the New Age best-seller from James Redfield following one disillusioned man's spriritual awakening. John Woodson follows a trail of synchroni... Read more
The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith (1978)
7.4/10
Director: Fred Schepisi
Starring: Tommy Lewis, Angela Punch McGregor, Jack Thompson, Freddy Reynolds
Jimmie (Tommy Lewis), an Aborigine man of mixed racial heritage, faces prejudice and abuse in 19th-century Australia while performing the lowliest men... Read more
The Children Act (2017)
6.7/10
Director: Richard Eyre
Starring: Emma Thompson, Stanley Tucci, Ben Chaplin, Fionn Whitehead
In the midst of a marital crisis, a High Court judge must decide if she should order a life-saving blood transfusion for a teen with cancer despite hi... Read more
The Chronicles of Narnia 1 - The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (1989)
Director: Marilyn Fox
Starring: Richard Dempsey, Sophie Cook, Jonathan R Scott, Sophie Wilcox, Barbara Kellerman
Lucy, Peter, Susan and Edmund are magically transported to the enchanted world of Narnia through an old wardrobe in a countryside estate. In Narnia th... Read more