Lesser Known Movies Adapted From Books

[Baburra]

I think movies are a great way to introduce audiences to the literature they are adapted from, and I've come across many but I'm looking for some lesser known ones. Of course the obvious and popular ones are movies like Harry Potter, To Kill a Mockingbird, but I'm sure there are lots more movies that people might not be aware of it coming from a book. Any suggestions? Also please share your opinion on which medium would be best to check out first on certain titles.

[sidney]

I have watched The Talented Mr. Ripley and I loved it. I also recommend the movie Sin City, it was based from a comic book, although I think with the release of Sin City 2, the movie is now widely known to be taken from a comic book now. Come to think about it, I ought to download those 2 films so that I can watch it again.

[deathbyprayer]

Kind of tough to find one that isn't mainstream because most of the time a book to movie adaptation often entails some sort of widely known recognition.

I'm not sure if this movie is mainstream I think it is but you can try "Red Dragon" and "The Silence of the Lambs" they're both movie adaptations of the novel of the same title written by Thomas Harris. They're pretty well made so I think you'll enjoy them nonetheless.

[beccagreen]

Kind of tough to find one that isn't mainstream because most of the time a book to movie adaptation often entails some sort of widely known recognition.

I'm not sure if this movie is mainstream I think it is but you can try "Red Dragon" and "The Silence of the Lambs" they're both movie adaptations of the novel of the same title written by Thomas Harris. They're pretty well made so I think you'll enjoy them nonetheless.

I agree. But I think both those movies and books are pretty much mainstream. The character of Hannibal has been an icon so I think it's not really lesser known. But I think it is not that well known with this generation.

[Trellum]

So many, actually many horror movies I've watched lately came from a book Like for example the Amytiville Horror, Rosemary baby, the shinning and others.  I personally love movies based on books, because most of the time I can just go read the book again after watching the movie. I did that with Harry Potter, it helped me understand a lot things from the movie.

[Juan Fuentes]

One of my favorite movies from all time is "Fight Club". It's an adaptation of a book written by Chuck Palahniuk. Another one I love is "into The Wild", which is an adaptation of a book written by Jon Krakauer, this one actually based on a real life story. Both are great movies that I highly recommend.

[zabina12]

It is right that some horror movies are stories written in the books first. As well as other famous movies like Forrest Gump, Casino Royale and Die Hard. It is hard to tell movies from books that are not known or not famous and interesting to know some of that here.

[NATASHA]

I think it is a good idea to make those kind of books into movies because not many people would take the time to read a classic and the movie is a great for telling the story. I do however find that the movie is never as good as the book because when you read it gives you room to use yor own imagination whilst picturing the scene and after reading a very good book and watching the movie adaptation, it sometimes is a let down.

[takibari]

One of my favorite movies from all time is "Fight Club". It's an adaptation of a book written by Chuck Palahniuk. Another one I love is "into The Wild", which is an adaptation of a book written by Jon Krakauer, this one actually based on a real life story. Both are great movies that I highly recommend.

I'd recommend Fight Club, too!!! What about the book by Rebecca Wells entitled The Divine Secrets of the Ya-ya Sisterhood? It was written in 1996 and was later adapted into a movie starring Sandra Bullock! Bullock played the character of Siddalee Walker.

[hudsonhawk]

I'm not sure if it would be considered "lesser known," but High Fidelity (adapted from the Nick Hornby book) definitely wasn't a blockbuster. The book is about a record-store owner who experiences sort of a mid-life crises following a break-up and has to come to terms with his life, his relationships, and to some extent his obsession with pop-culture. He does this in part by tracking down the women at the other end of his most painful break-ups and trying to figure out what went wrong. The movie stars John Cusack, has a couple cameos by a thoroughly unlikable character played by Tim Robbins, and was one of Jack Blacks early major roles. It's kind of a chick flick for guys. The thing I loved about the movie is how it completely captures the book while completely changing the details. The book is set in London and is very British, but the movie is set in an American city (Chicago, I think). Largely by changing the pop culture "language" of the characters, the film makers made the movie very American. The result is that the book and the movie are somehow exactly the same and completely different at the same time.