The Best Movie Adaptations to Watch This Evening

Georges Méliès’ 1899 movie is the first ever film adaptation of the book. He was the first to take the literary basis and visualize it. First it was “Cinderella” by the Brothers Grimm, and then the more serious “King John” based on the works of Shakespeare. Since then, no popular book has been overlooked by filmmakers and soon found itself on the screen. Some of these adaptations are as entertaining as books and bring even more joy than bookmaker gambling. Just watch 20 movies made from books.

Fight Club

In retaliation for a publisher refusing to print his novel Invisible Monsters, Chuck Palanick wrote an even more outrageous book that initially failed to generate interest. Until it fell into the hands of David Fincher. The author of the novel himself welcomed the director’s version, while admitting that some of the simplifications even improved the story. Palahniq’s novel is a cry of rage and frustration, while Fincher’s movie is a nuanced critique of consumer culture and the concept of masculinity.

The only entertainment for the dull office plankton that is the Narrator is to buy furniture from catalogs. A chance encounter on a plane with Tyler Durden changes his life. Finding on his return that his perfect apartment was destroyed by fire, the hero calls for some reason this particular soap salesman with an extremely philosophical outlook on life.

Forrest Gump

The movie won six Oscars, including Best Picture, making Tom Hanks America’s favorite actor and director Robert Zemeckis a modern classic. The picture is based on Winston Groom’s novel of the same name, but the novel was a very different story. The original book is darker and morally heavier, but abandoning that complexity in favor of an expansive journey through the twentieth century is what made the picture charming. The beloved 1994 tearjerker is now a canon of American cinema and introduced audiences to a remarkable protagonist who seems to have done a little bit of everything in a legendary life.

This guy, diagnosed with borderline mental retardation, somehow manages to survive all the triumphs and tragedies of the era. Telling his life story to random people, he claims that he taught Elvis Presley his signature dance, that John Kennedy himself thanked him for his success in sports, and that he received an award for his exploits in Vietnam personally from the hands of President Lyndon Johnson. With equal parts grief and life-affirming joy, Forrest overcomes many ups and downs, eventually finding love, purpose, and peace.

To Kill a Mockingbird

Harper Lee’s Pulitzer Prize-winning book has become a literary classic. And the 1962 adaptation became a movie classic thanks to director Robert Mulligan and screenwriter Horton Foote. Not to mention Gregory Peck, who won an Oscar for his role as Atticus Finch. The book and movie versions of To Kill a Mockingbird retain their power more than half a century later, and their themes remain relevant in today’s world.

In the fictional quiet town of Maycomb, Alabama, the Finch family lives: lawyer dad Atticus, older son Jim, and six-year-old Jean-Louise. The children spend this summer playing with their friend Dill, and the father takes on a difficult case – defending a black guy accused of raping a white girl. Everyone in the town is dead set against Atticus and his client, and even his children are affected by these sentiments.

The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring

Peter Jackson took on a book that for years was considered great, but not screenable. And the result is one of the most successful movie franchises of all time. Originally published in 1954, J.R.R. Tolkien’s novel The Fellowship of the Ring became the basis for a new genre of high fantasy and influenced many imitators. The movie version, however, won four Oscars out of 13 nominations, although Jackson had to direct another “Return of the King” to win in the Best Picture category. And in 2021 The Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring was listed in the U.S. National Film Registry as “culturally, historically or aesthetically significant.” But the most important thing the director managed to do was to use innovative computer graphics to portray the most famous fantasy universe the way most fans of the book saw it.

Middle-earth is in danger – the dark lord Sauron wants to take over the world, and the only way to stop him is to destroy the Ring of Omnipotence, which he himself created. Hobbit Frodo Baggins goes on a quest with the brotherhood of the Ring to get rid of this artifact. Eventually the brotherhood disintegrates, and onward Frodo goes with his friend Sam and the traitor guide Gollum. The strongest warriors unite to confront Sauron: Aragorn, heir to the throne of Gondor, his fellow elves Legolas, the dwarf Gimli and the wizard Gandalf.

Little Women

Americans’ favorite late 19th-century novel has been adapted eight times, but Greta Gerwig’s version, released in 2019, is considered the most successful. This film adaptation of Louisa May Olcott’s novel Little Women turned out to be light and playful, painting the relationship of the March sisters without diving into the slapstick sentimentality that previous versions suffered from. The film was a reimagining rather than a retelling, but introduces a more contemporary tone that is true to the writer’s basic intentions of creating a story about female strength.

In a small New England town, the March family lives. The father is in the Civil War and the mother is raising four daughters alone. The girls’ first stages of growing up are set against the backdrop of the war, but their emotions are full and sincere. They are both first loves and first disappointments, as well as their search for themselves and their place as women in the modern world.

Perfume: The Story of a Murderer

A number of prominent directors asked Patrick Suskind for film rights, but the author of the bestseller, which was published in 47 languages and sold over 12 million copies, refused them all. The exception was his friend, the producer Bernd Eichinger, who invited Tom Tykwer to direct. Apparently, the author so carefully followed the preparation of the script that the film was almost an exact reproduction of the original text. Of course, some things had to be cut out to reduce screen time, but the scenes are recreated with close attention to every little detail.

Jean-Baptiste Grenouille was born in the stinkiest place in Paris, under a counter in a fish market. Unwanted by his criminal mother, he spends his entire childhood in an orphanage, barely speaking. He doesn’t need speech because the boy perceives the world through smells – he has an incredible sense of smell. Growing up, Jean-Baptiste learned to mix such scents that allow him to control people. But the dream of this adult, but still feeling abandoned, is to create a scent that will make all people love him. To do this, Grenouille begins to kill.

The Great Gatsby

Francis Scott Fitzgerald’s classic has survived four movie adaptations, including two particularly high-budget films: the 1974 version starring Robert Redford and the 2013 movie starring Leonardo DiCaprio. But conservative literary critics assure us that none of the Gatsby films can replace the book. However, Baz Luhrmann’s King of the Camp version definitely helps to visualize the characters and see the greatness of the hero’s parties: the picture has stunning visual effects, dance scenes and the kind of energy that previous movies lacked.

After World War I, the US was in a gold rush, with a construction boom, price cuts and, as a sign of prosperity, the most lavish parties. During this period, in the summer of 1922, Yale graduate Nick Carraway moved from the Midwest to New York. Next door to him happens to be the home of Jay Gatsby, who throws the most lavish parties on Long Island. When Nick finally gets to one of them, he learns the owner’s incredible story.